August 4, 2003

Engineering Dean Schrader Presented
With Award For Online Course

Cheryl Schrader, dean of the College of Engineering at Boise State University, was awarded an Exemplary Course Project Award on July 17 in San Diego at an international conference on Web-based learning solutions attended by more than 1,000 college and university educators. Six recipients — four from the United States, one from Canada and one from the United Kingdom — received Exemplary Course Project Awards at the conference sponsored by WebCt, which provides e-Learning solutions to thousands of institutions in more than 80 countries. Schrader received the award for a graduate-level Linear Systems and Control course she developed last year as an electrical engineering professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. As Schrader was in Boise in July beginning her new role as engineering dean at Boise State, her UTSA colleague who worked with her on implementing the course, John Flores, accepted the award at the conference. Schrader tackled the challenge of teaching abstract concepts online by incorporating video streaming, discussion groups, custom icons and online quizzes with immediate feedback. She also used the capabilities of the Web by linking to online demonstrations and labs across the world. The Exemplary Course Project Award recognizes courses that “take teaching to a higher level and can be a catalyst for changing the way educators communicate with students,” according to WebCT. The courses are presented at the annual conference as models for course design. Schrader plans to work with the engineering faculty at Boise State to develop more online offerings of engineering classes. -30- Contact Cheryl Schrader Engineering dean 208 426-1153 Media contact Pat Pyke communications and marketing 208 426-1987 Return to News home

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