It has long been known within the OSU-CSE community that Drs. Tim Long and Bruce Weide bring more than just smarts to their classrooms. Now the state of Ohio has recognized the fact. The Ohio Board of Regents named them "Faculty Innovators" along with eight other Ohio educators in this first recognition of faculty and teams who have introduced "digital course materials in the classroom that enrich learning and make college textbooks more affordable for their students."
"Making college more affordable, including leveraging technology to reduce out-of-pocket textbook costs for students, is a priority of the University System of Ohio," said Chancellor Fingerhut. "We commend the awardees for developing outstanding, affordable materials for their students and want to share their 21st century ideas and practices with others across the System."
The awardees used a variety of means to save their students money. In some instances, textbooks were replaced completely while others used online sources to share class notes, audio files, music recordings, and video clips. Some taught classes in the use of online technology.
In The Ohio State University's introductory computer science and engineering courses (a three-quarter sequence taken by about 250 students per year), the awardees have put all of the course materials online where students can access everything using a web browser. If they wish, students can still buy paper copies of the two textbooks (of which professors Weide and Long are the authors), but this purchase is optional because the books and all other course materials are also available online. There is no cost to students for course materials, and this innovation is made possible by using web-based technology.
This award is not the first recognition Drs. Long and Weide have received for their teaching skills. In 2000, they received the International Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Science & Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award. Dr. Long received The Ohio State University Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching. Bruce Weide has received the CSE Teaching Award several times.