OC offers iPad to students

First university in the state to offer device to all new undergraduate students

The newest mobile device from Apple is now available to students at Oklahoma Christian University. Fulltime undergraduate students already receive a MacBook laptop and their choice of an iPhone or iPod touch. As an alternative to the latter devices, undergraduate students can now choose to pay an upgrade cost and receive an iPad.

According to Oklahoma Christian staff and faculty, the device offers students an improved experience, especially in regard to reading and retrieving online content.

“The bigger screen and the usability factor really make this device stand out,” said John Hermes, vice president and chief technology officer. “The impetus for us to add this device is that there are potential advantages for students. The e-book reader is very advanced. If publishers adopt this technology and develop content for it, I believe students will have better access to course content as well as see potential cost savings over traditional textbooks.

“The content is going to drive the long-term success of these devices and we have already seen changes in academic content delivery methods with the iPhone and iPod touch in the past two years.”

Oklahoma Christian faculty are also excited about potential advantages that the iPad brings to the university.

“This is a great device for students,” said David Crismon, professor and chair of the art and design department. “Photos and ads are so much more realistic, especially in online magazines. The full screen option is great and allows you to scale up without losing quality, which is not true of the iPhone.”

For Crismon, the device is great for taking notes, managing e-mail and using the Internet.

“The iPad is so much better for information retrieval and browsing online,” he said. “It’s really hard to browse through a magazine or website with the iPhone. It just has such a small screen. The same can be said for sending e-mail from a phone. The iPad is much more like the size of an actual book or magazine. I relate to it so much better.”

One area that Crismon could see the device enhancing is taking tests.

“This would be great for multiple choice image tests in some of my art classes,” he said. “No laptop has the image quality of the iPad. Plus, unlike a heavy laptop, there’s no need to carry around a keyboard.”

Oklahoma Christian has long been leaders in integrating technology into an academic environment. It was the one of the first universities in the country to offer laptops to all students and to offer a completely wireless campus. In the last two years, fulltime undergraduate students have been able to choose an Apple MacBook and an iPhone or iPod touch.

“We think this device will be attractive to our students too, especially for those who may have chosen the iPod,” Hermes said. “Some students are locked in contracts with other providers and are unable to switch to AT&T for access to the iPhone. Since we have a completely wireless campus, the iPad has full functionality.”

According to Hermes, technology can transform the way students study and learn through enhanced communication with faculty and instant access to course content in and out of the classroom. Other areas that the iPad has been praised for enhancing are taking notes and delivering presentations.

“The usability for e-mail and word processing is great, as well as for making digital presentations,” Hermes said. “The iPad connects straight to the projector, so we really see a great application for many disciplines across campus.”

According to Crismon, finding a place and use for a third device has not been difficult.

“Some people have said the iPad is redundant, but I don’t feel that way, with the scale of the device. I relate to it differently than I do to my phone or laptop. It’s great for taking notes in a meeting or a class,” Crismon said. “I also enjoy watching movies on this device. I don’t even consider doing that on my iPhone. There are a lot of things we do throughout a day that each of these devices help. But there are some tasks for which one device works much better than another, so I think there really is a need for it.”

New undergraduate students will be able to pick up their new iPads when fall classes begin at Oklahoma Christian.

OC professor selected to study Holocaust literature and classroom best practices

Willie Steele, associate professor of language and literature, spent the last two weeks examining Jewish responses to the Holocaust in diaries, letters, artwork and community documents at the nation’s premier Holocaust museum. He also discussed and learned best practices for teaching the important topic in the classroom. Steele’s two-week study was made possible when he was selected to attend the 2010 Curt C. and Else Silberman Seminar at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The 2010 Curt C. and Else Silberman Seminar for University Faculty, hosted by the museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, focused on the Jewish responses to the Holocaust and was titled Teaching the Victims’ Perspective. The seminar, held annually, is a higher education program that promotes, protects and strengthens Jewish values in democracy, human rights, ethical leadership and cultural pluralism.

“This year’s Silberman Seminar caught my interest because it looked specifically at the victims’ perspectives, a view that has gained momentum in recent years,” Steele said. “Being a part of the 21 faculty from around the country chosen for this opportunity gave me a great chance to learn from experts in a variety of areas related to Holocaust studies.”

The seminar introduced Steele to the variety of Jewish responses to the Holocaust—the largest victim group—and expanded the knowledge base and pedagogical techniques that he uses in his Holocaust studies course. Jewish responses to persecution were explored through an investigation of both primary and secondary source readings, and included presentations, participant-facilitated discussions of classroom teaching methods and roundtable discussions of teaching strategies across multiple disciplines. 

“Having the opportunity to study under some of the top scholars was truly a once in a lifetime experience,” Steele said. “Dr. Deborah Lipstadt is one of the world’s leading scholars on disproving Holocaust deniers, and Dr. Susan Sulieman has written and lectured about the role of memory in Holocaust literature.”
According to Steele, the museum follows through on its mission to inspire citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, promote human dignity and prevent genocide.

“The entire staff at the Holocaust museum went out of its way to provide resources and materials that I plan on integrating in my Holocaust literature course,” Steele said. “Realizing the impact that the Holocaust continues to have, 65 years after the camps were liberated, continues to amaze me, and this seminar greatly reinforced the importance of teaching this subject for generations to come.”

Curt C. Silberman was a jurist, community leader and organizer of numerous Jewish organizations and social agencies in Germany and the United States. He devoted his life to fighting for the rights and serving the interests of Jews and Jewish victims of Nazi persecution, and to assuring that the roots of prejudice and the Holocaust are understood. He believed the lessons learned would contribute to the betterment of society.

This is the second seminar that Steele has attended at the Holocaust museum. In addition, he was one of three faculty winners in the 2009 Faith and Learning scholarship contest at Oklahoma Christian. Steele won for his essay titled “Suffering with Faith: The Holocaust and Christian Education.”

Doug Wheelock NASA Liftoff Watch Party

Col. Doug Wheelock made a strong impression on Oklahoma Christian University in March of this year. He was the guest speaker at the Associate’s Dinner, spoke in chapel, ate lunch with our honor’s students and spent time in several classrooms. On June 15th at 4:35 pm (Central Time), our adopted astronaut will launch from Russia to spend approximately 6 months as the commander of the International Space Station.

We encourage you to watch him liftoff on this historic mission. If you are close to the campus, join us at 4 pm in Judd Theater. If you are unable to join us, use this link to watch: http://www.oc.edu/NASA.

OC represented in academic conferences and publications

While summer is a break for students, many professors engage in academic research and publishing. Associate professor of family studies Scott Harper will represent Oklahoma Christian in Singapore this summer at the international Asia Research Institute July 27.

Harper was one of only five scholars from the United States selected to present on issues pertaining to fathers in Asian cultures. He will be joined by professors from Stanford University, Penn State University, the University of Florida, the University of California as well as scholars from top universities across Asia and Australia. Harper will discuss his research about the effect of transnational migratory labor on families in the Philippines.

“I want to thank the ARI for covering all but a small portion of the costs for this trip,” Harper said. “Also, a special thanks goes to the OC college of arts and sciences for their assistance in making this trip possible.”

ARI was established as a university-level institute in 2001 as one of the strategic initiatives of the National University of Singapore. Its mission is to provide a world-class focus and resource for research on the Asian region.

In addition, Allison Garrett was cited as an expert source in Research Magazine, which serves the investment advisor industry. Garrett, vice president for academic affairs and an adjunct business lecturer, was quoted in the article “Think Locally: Global Investors Face Diverse Rules.” The article was published this month in a special issue titled The Research Magazine Guide to International Investing 2010. The article can be downloaded online here.

Sponsored by Nasdaq OMX, the supplement focuses on trends in global investing, with views from portfolio managers and other experts on the debt crisis in Greece, bright spots in Eastern Europe and related trends.

OC graduate named Associate Dean at Pepperdine

Dr. Michael Williams, a graduate of Oklahoma Christian University, has been appointed Associate Dean for Full-time MBA and Full-time Master of Science in Applied Finance and Global Business degree programs at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management in Malibu, Calif. He will also oversee the Office of Alumni and Career Services and recruitment operations for full-time programs.

Williams joined the Graziadio School in 2004 and was recently approved by the Pepperdine University Board of Regents for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor of Information Systems. Over the past year, he has served as the interim director of Pepperdine University’s Center for Faith & Learning, advancing its mission to enhance the connections between classroom teaching, scholarship, and Christian faith and practice.

Prior to entering academia, Williams created technology and business process solutions for a wide variety of corporate, non-profit, and government clients as a consultant in Washington, D.C. A Microsoft Certified Professional, he has developed business solutions using a number of database and programming technologies and worked with firms such as Dynamac, the U.S. Army, SkillsUSA, and Aspen Publishers.

Williams earned a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He received a M.Div. and M.S. from Abilene Christian University. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oklahoma Christian University and an A.A. from Northeastern Christian Junior College in Villanova, PA. Williams’ research focuses on decision-making and information technology. He has conducted empirical research at International Fortune 500 companies, public universities, and health care providers. He has published his research in several IS journals, books, and conferences.