Gordon State College Professor Presents at Conference in Orlando, FL

Gordon State College Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Jessica Traylo
Gordon State College Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Jessica Traylo

Online Learning Consortium Accelerate Conference

By: Brittany A. Tennant, Communications Specialist

Dedicated scholar and Gordon State College Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Jessica Traylor spoke at a conference in Orlando, Fl about how online educational classes can benefit students. Traylor co-presented on a panel with three other faculty members from across the country who are using Lumen Waymaker Open Educational Resources (OER) courseware. OER is a software combined with high-touch personalized learning tools aimed to strengthen metacognition and student success.

Traylor will be presenting her work Turbocharging Open: How using OER courseware changes teaching and learning. According to Traylor the panel will explore how “courseware can provide helpful learning data to pinpoint where students struggle and inform the faculty member and the student about how learning is progressing. It can also introduce nudges and interventions aimed to address common challenges in the educational experience, especially for disadvantaged or historically underrepresented students.”

Traylor has worked for GSC since 2015 and will be presenting at Online Learning Consortium Accelerate Conference for the first time. Department Head of Business, History and Social Science and Professor of History Dr. Tom Aiello said, “speaking at the OLC, a collaborative community of higher education leaders and innovators is a signal achievement in Dr. Traylor’s higher education career and she will, I am certain, ably represent the Highlander Nation.”

During Summer 2019 Traylor helped with the production of their newest Waymaker course, Lifespan Development, which Traylor’s class is currently piloting for free. Lifespan Development examines the physical, cognitive, and socioemotional changes that occur throughout a lifetime. The course covers the essentials in understanding human development, psychological research, and theories of growth and development.

Traylor said, “My hope is that I can inspire other faculty members to consider using these low-cost products. My students are paying $25 for a digital textbook, quizzes, and assignments that fully integrate with D2L and provide more value than a traditionally published textbook.”