Ann C. Clements, associate professor of music education, professor-in-charge and graduate program chair for music education in the College of Arts and Architecture, was lauded with the 2018 Teaching and Learning with Technology Impact Award.
The Teaching and Learning with Technology Impact Award celebrates the accomplishments of faculty members whose work transforms education through the use of technology. This award is given in recognition of excellence represented by a single contribution or series of contributions.
“Clements has an extraordinary passion for teaching and for developing innovative approaches to contemporary and modern teaching, learning with technology and for leading in these areas,” a colleague said. “She is a creator, a divergent thinker and an extraordinary leader.”
Clements, who has given more than 50 national and international presentations and numerous publications on teaching with technology, has in many ways used technology to enhance the learning process.
● In 2011, she created the first tablet-based collegiate musical ensemble. The Penn State iEnsemble was widely recognized for innovative mobile technology use and was replicated at multiple other universities across the country.
● In 2013, her project titled the Collaborative Music Education Series fostered a multi-university collaboration of more than 30 faculty members, all members of the Big Ten in the creation of 47 open education resources learning modules that are being used globally. The lessons borne out of this project have been viewed more than 45,000 times.
● In 2015, she was the inaugural winner of the Penn State Open Innovation Challenge for the idea of building a machine-learning-based, virtual-reality program for pre-service teachers.
● In 2017, she and her colleagues launched the Center for Pedagogy and Art and Design, which is a collaboration between the College of Arts and Architecture and Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT). This center ensures a continuing relationship with educators and TLT professionals.
“Digital technology offers an unprecedented ability to draw students in, to provoke them, and to invite them in to actively participate in their academic and personal development,” Clements said. “As such, I have spent the past decade using digital technology in attempts to solve problems that affect student learning. This has led to new approaches and new inventions that have positively impacted my students’ understanding of themselves and the world in which they live.”