Shenandoah University is pleased to announce the continued success of its Pharmacy and Music Production and Recording Technology (MPRT) programs, which have been renewed as Apple Distinguished Programs for 2016-18. These programs have received recognition for enhancing and extending teaching and learning with creative and effective implementations of technology.
The Apple Distinguished Program designation is reserved for programs that meet criteria for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence, and demonstrate a clear vision of exemplary learning environments. Shenandoah’s two academic programs were renewed for 2016-18, after first achieving the recognition in 2011 and earning initial renewal in 2012-13 and again for 2013-15.
“These recognitions bring into sharp focus the excellence in teaching being done by Shenandoah Conservatory and the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy – teaching that is empowered by the Apple iMLearning tools,” said Director for Transformative Teaching and Learning and Co-director of Shenandoah University’s Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology Anne Marchant, Ph.D.
“These distinguished programs are exemplars, and they continue to inspire our larger Shenandoah University community to transform teaching and learning,” added Co-director of Shenandoah University’s Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology and Adjunct Associate Professor of Education Richard Pierce, Ed.D., who is also an Apple Distinguished Educator.
Through Shenandoah’s iMLearning technology program, incoming undergraduate students, full-time students in designated graduate programs and faculty use MacBook Pros and iPads in their daily work. Students and faculty use the tools to gain 24/7 access to information, both in and out of the classroom, helping to facilitate more effective teaching and learning. This fall, Shenandoah issued to new students a MacBook Pro Retina and an iPad Pro 9.7-inch with an Apple Pencil. The Apple Pencil was added to facilitate note taking and problem solving.
The MPRT program, in which students learn how to produce and record commercial music, uses Apple devices to give students hands-on experience with the technology they will encounter in the industry. Each student uses this technology to enhance his or her own learning experience in a unique and personal way.
Students in the MPRT program use their Apple devices to collaborate on projects, do research, and record their private music lessons for later reference. Students create and record their own musical compositions on their laptops, present them to classes and receive immediate feedback from instructors and classmates.
Faculty members in the MPRT program frequently give presentations that walk students through the completion of difficult tasks in programs and applications that students will encounter in the industry.
The pharmacy program, which includes teaching students to understand how an individual’s genetic makeup affects a body’s response to drug therapy, uses progressive instructional technology to educate and train students and pharmacists to become ethical, compassionate health care professionals, who serve their patients and community with optimal pharmaceutical care and advance the pharmacy profession.
Pharmacy students use Apple devices for mobile assessments, polling and quizzes within the lecture hall and as an extension of class via recorded lectures. Student-captured video using iMovie and observational assessments using the iPad are featured in the program’s Patient Assessment class.
A rapidly expanding tool base, available through iTunes, allows pharmacy faculty members to improve their practice and effectively mentor students using powerful and authentic tools. The combination of iOS devices and Apple TV facilitates wireless streaming to display devices, which in turn, promotes flexible learning spaces and nimble communication practices.