As workplaces and communities discover new ways to communicate and collaborate, higher education is often seen as left behind.
But the Warner School of Education’s new Center for Learning in the Digital Age seeks to lead the way in capitalizing on the power of digital technology in education.
With focus on “digitally-rich learning,” or learning supported by digital technology, Dean Raffaella Borasi says the LiDA Center exists to “harness the power of digital technologies to help level the education playing field and enhance learning and development for all.”
After serving for over 18 years as dean of the Warner School, Borasi plans to step down at the end of the semester to become the inaugural director of the new center. With roots as a mathematics educator, she has a deep passion for educational innovation and is excited for the transition.
“Online learning has been exploding around us and digital tools are transforming not only what we do in online teaching, but also what we may do in classroom teaching,” Borasi said. “The LiDA Center will build on the momentum created by several projects already undertaken at Warner to continue to develop these new learning experiences and educational models.”
Borasi says the Center, which launched over the summer, also takes advantage of the Warner School’s existing resources to provide a central platform for faculty development in digital learning.
“Even if you figure out ways to innovate education, you still need to train the teachers,” Borasi said. “There is a role for the School of Education to provide this training.”
While the center won’t be a physical space on campus, students at UR can look forward to the launch of the center’s new website in the coming months as well as continued the center’s continued initiatives focused on bringing higher education into the digital era.
