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Hello,
I am Virginia Montecino, and I retired in June, 2004 from teaching at George
Mason University in Fairfax
County, Virginia,
where I
taught since 1985. My most rewarding teaching experiences occured when
I was a visiting
assistant professor at New
Century College, an integrative studies, learning community
model
of education at GMU. I have been involved in enhancing
teaching and learning with technology for many years. I created
numerous
Web-based "How-to"
guides and resources.
I designed a computer-mediated,
distance learning advanced composition curriculum (See related
article .). |
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| I
incorporate many Internet based teaching and learning activities into
my
classroom practice, both in real-time classes and in asynchronous,
distance
learning classes.
I teach courses on Information
in the Digital Age, Internet Literacy, Cyberculture and Virtual
Communities,
Introduction to Computer Science, Advanced Composition for Science
Majors,
technical writing, literature, and multidisciplinary courses.
My
George Mason University Web site has extensive material pertinent to
teaching
and learning with technology in the GMU environment.
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| Presentations: |
| 2004 |
AACU
(American
Association of Colleges and Universities) conference on
"PRACTICING
LIBERAL EDUCATION: Deepening Knowledge, Pursuing Justice, Taking
Action."
Presented with Lesley Smith and Jim Young on "The Learner-Centered
Classroom:
How Teaching with Technology Transforms Theory into Practice: Teaching
with technology drives faculty to move beyond the now "safe" model of
learner-centered
teaching in which faculty authority can easily remain largely
unchallenged
into a more experimental model where they share authority with their
students,
Washington, D.C, Jan. 23. |
| 2003 |
AAHE
(American Association of
Higher Education)
- Presented with Lesley Smith and Jim Young on "Sustaining Innovation:
Grass Roots Faculty Leadership for Change" (http://classweb.gmu.edu/nccassess/aahe/),
based on our College of Arts and Sciences "Technology
Across
the Curriculum" grant. We also conducted a workshop which
modeled
the
principles of exchange, collaboration and authority sharing, that
support
successful technology-enriched teaching and curriculum design,
Washington
D.C., March 15 |
| 2001 |
WAC
(Writing
Across the Curriculum
Conference) Writing, Teaching and Learning in New Contexts,
Indiana
University, June 1, 2001, Session 7D - Writing
In and Across New Contexts.. |
| 2000 |
"Technology:
A Service Learning Tool to Bridge the Digital Divide," for Bridging the
Gap: Service Learning To Social Justice, June 2000, at the National
Gathering of the Invisible College For Service Learning Educators,
Georgetown
University. Presented with Molly Davis, Social Work, on student service
learning projects - my students in NCLC 249 - Internet Literacy,
tutored students in technology skills at non-profit computer learning
centers. |
| 1999 |
VAG
(Virginia Assessment Group) Conference on "The Assessment of IT
Literacy
in a Learning Community at GMU" - presented with James Young,
Williamsburg,
VA, Nov 5, 1999. |
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NCTE
(National Council of Teachers of English - 4Cs.
Chaired" Making the Invisible Visible in the Paradoxical Intimacy /
Distance Environment of a Web-based Composition Class - Atlanta, March
1999. |
| 1998 |
CPSTC
(Council
for Programs in Scientific and Technical Communication)
presented
with
Jim Henry on "A 7:1 Student/Teacher Ratio at a State University? A
Virtual
Environment in a Technical Writing Course Makes it Possible . . . ," See Mason
Gazette article.) |
| 1997 |
"E-Mail,
the WEB, and MOOs: Developing the Writing Skills of University Students
in Cyberspace" - by the Consortium of Universities of the
Washington
Metropolitan Area |
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"Worried
in Cyberspace: Asynchronous Anxiety," TCC - Online
Conference, sponsored by Kapi'olani Community College, Hawaii, for
Trends and Issues
in Online Instruction. |
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"Composition
in Cyberspace" for "Astride the Divide: Mapping New
Rhetorical Spaces
in the Teaching of Composition" Third Epiphany Institute Project. |
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4Cs (Conference
on College Composition and Communication) "Teaching teachers
CMC techniques for classroom practice" - Conference on College
Composition
and Communication, NCTE, Phoenix.. |
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George
Mason
University GMU TV panel on Distance Learning |
| 1996 |
MAACW (Mid-Atlantic
Alliance
for Computers
and Writing) - presentation on distance learning,
computer-mediated
English 302- Advanced Composition (pedagogy and technology) |
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Facilitator
for Teaching and Learning with Technology Roundtables, affiliated with AAHE. |
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Presented
on
distance learning English 302 to members of the Virginia Business
Higher
Education Council |
| Grants: |
- College of
Arts and Sciences Technology Across the Curriculum grant (Oct. 2001) - with Lesley Smith and Jim
Young - for a New Century College-wide project to survey faculty about their IT
enriched
learning goals, to build on the integrated technology sequences in New
Century College first year learning communities, to develop guidelines
for electronic portfolios and to develop an electronic presentation of
learning.
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- George
Mason University, College
of Arts and Sciences Technology
Across the Curriculum grant (Dec. 1999) - with Jim Young and Lesley
Smith - to develop ways to assess the impact of information technology on
students'
ability to learn.
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- Participant in George Mason
University Celebration of Learning grant project (1999) on "Crossing
the
Digital Divide Through Service Learning," initiated by Dr. Molly Davis,
Dept. of Social Work to "develop technology transfer strategies for
linking
GMU students with community agencies through service learning. As part
of Molly Davis's project, students in my NCLC 249 - Internet Literacy
class,
provided technology outreach to students at community sites to improve
technology literacy in the community.
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Former GMU Positions:
Education technology
specialist for George Mason University's College of Arts and
Sciences - Along
with my teaching responsibilities, my job included researching teaching
and learning with technology and helping faculty envision ways to
enhance
their teaching with technology. For example, I taught faculty
how
to create Web pages and how to facilitate class discussion using
computer-mediated
communication mediums.
Assistant Undergraduate
Coordinator, George Mason University, English
Department - I
advised secondary education English majors and evaluated transfer
credits.
Committee
work:
Member of NCC Council for Bachelor of Individualized Study (BIS); BIS liaison for New Century College.
Past committee work: Served on a faculty panel in Jan 2002 to establish
standards for a technology test to measure student technology
competencies
(in response to a charge from the State Council of Higher Education);
English
Department composition committee, GMU distance learning task force.
Consulting:
Evaluate
computer-mediated
communication software programs: Norton Textra Connect, University On
Line,
6th Floor Media's Commonspace, Daedalus. Review texts-in-progress on
teaching
and learning with computer-mediated communication and writing across
the
curriculum. Contribute
content to online educational sites, such as Blackboard.com.
Publications:
Case
study on experiential
learning in chapter called "Utilizing Case Studies to Link
Theory
to the Service Learning Experience, " Oates, K.K. and Leavitt, L.H.
(2003) Learning
Communities and Service Learning: Integration and Assessment. AACU
Washington, D.C.; Inventio
(ejournal) review titled "Multi-Layered Literacy," of Global Literacies and the World Wide
Web,
by Hawisher and Selfe ; Response to Media
Bytes: Computers, Writing & Distance Learning in English
Matters (Issue 3); Web sites: Online
Writing Guide for New Century College Students (See related Mason
Gazette article.)
Online
References to my
work:
References
Professional
Affiliations:
Conference
on College Composition and Communication, Educause,
Epiphany
Institute, HTML Writers' Guild.
Favorite
Hobby:
Gardening
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updated Feb 2009 |
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