TSYS School associate professor of computer science Linqiang Ge has been nominated by the Turner College's Awards & Scholarships Committee for the 2025 CSU Excellence in Online Teaching Award. This award recognizes a faculty member's strong commitment to quality online teaching and learning. The criteria for selection include demonstration of teaching, service and scholarly activities designed to advance the quality of online teaching and learning; the use of effective and innovative online teaching practices that result in student engagement, student satisfaction, and effectiveness in achieving desired learning outcomes; and an extraordinary commitment to fostering the academic success of online students through the development of rapport with individual learners in and beyond the virtual classroom. As Ge explained his approach to online teaching to Turner Business, "Throughout my time at Columbus State University, I have worked to achieve and maintain excellence in online teaching, to ensure student success in the online learning environment, and retain students in our programs. Teaching computer science in the digital age comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities. As an associate professor in computer science, I've embarked on a journey into online teaching, navigating through virtual classrooms and digital landscapes to deliver quality education to my students." For distance learning classes, Ge records all the lectures and posts the videos on CougarView. He arranges evening time as office hours since many online graduate students have daily jobs. Within the classes, he sets clear and consistent goals to facilitate student success. All of Ge's assignments are introduced in stages that require research and idea development before production of the actual piece begins. He always prefaces each assignment with a technical lecture that will inform students about the process and fieldwork that will encourage them to develop individual ideas to solve the problems in the assignments. As he explains, "When teaching online courses, one of the primary challenges I encountered was maintaining student engagement in a virtual setting. To address this, I redesigned course materials to be more interactive and visually stimulating. Incorporating multimedia elements, interactive simulations, and gamified learning activities helped sustain student interest and participation throughout the online sessions. Moreover, I leveraged collaborative tools like Google Docs and GitHub to encourage peer-to-peer learning and collaboration on coding projects. Building a supportive and inclusive learning community was paramount in the online environment. I initiated virtual office hours, discussion forums, and group projects to foster meaningful interactions among students. Additionally, I utilized breakout rooms during live sessions to facilitate small group discussions and collaborative problem-solving exercises. By creating spaces for interaction and collaboration, I aimed to replicate the sense of camaraderie and teamwork synonymous with the traditional classroom setting." Turner Business wishes Ge the best of luck in April 2025, when the winner of the award will be named.
Comments
Post a Comment