Gisclair travels to Spain for digital teaching tools seminar

Jessica Gisclair, associate professor and department chair in the School of Communications, was one of seven academics selected to participate in a seminar titled “Digital Teaching Tools: Exploring Culture, Communication, & Community” held June 4-10 in Seville, Spain. The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), a recognized world leader in international education, sponsored the weeklong academic instruction.

CIEE’s International Faculty Development Seminars (IFDS) provide faculty and administrators from institutions of higher education with access to the rich academics, diverse intercultural experiences, and innovative approaches to learning and problem solving that enhance syllabi, internationalize curricula, and increase global understanding on campuses.

“My interest in CIEE’s IFDS stemmed from my desire to continue learning and exploring as a global citizen, stretching my boundaries,” Gisclair said. “I chose the digital teaching tools seminar because it was outside my area of expertise and the seminar taught me to develop narrative skills for multiplatform media in a different setting.”

​The participants learned that an efficient use of digital communication tools increases students’ capacity to work outside of the classroom and to interact with greater sense of purpose within the communities that host them. 

Gisclair noted that the seminar gave her a good perspective of what students experience when they study abroad. “As a participant in this seminar, I gained a new global view into the course content of digital learning,” she said. “I was encouraged to break from conformity to experience Seville through the eyes and ears of a storyteller and I had to maneuver a landscape of which I was unfamiliar.” 

Elon University is a CIEE Academic Consortium member institution that strongly encourages global engagement for students and faculty members. 

For more information, visit CIEE’s International Faculty Development seminars page.