Paige Vitulli

Paige Vitulli, Ph.D.

I am Paige Vitulli and a faculty member at The University of South Alabama in the Department of Leadership and Teacher Education. I teach all undergraduate and graduate arts education courses for the college as well as instructional strategies courses for graduate students.

My professional research interests include art education, arts integration across all content areas, instructional strategies and technology integration.

I look forward to this and continued projects with graduate students such as Lindsay and Ashley; the students are the reason I am here and they inspire me to follow my professional passions.

I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.
~Pablo Picasso

BYOD: Bring Your Own Device

As a student teacher, I have seen students’ eyes ablaze with interest as they seamlessly navigated their digital world. The Shift in Technology is happening before our eyes, and as teachers, we must learn to approach this reality as we are the students’ guides. In the iSchool initiative video Lindsay posted, Travis Allen talks extensively on how technology makes logical sense in an educational setting. School systems have the potential to save thousands of dollars by going digital. Fox 10 News featured a story yestereday on how our local school system plans to do just that. In a program cleverly termed, BYOD: Bring Your Own Devices, the Mobile County Public School System is implementing the use of home devices such as iPads, iPods, and even iPhones in the classroom. Three schools are already using these devices, and three more schools will be added by next month. What are your thoughts on students bringing devices from home to supplement their learning in the classroom? What will be the teacher's role in this process? Who stands to benefit?

Ashley Ryals

Hello! I am so thrilled to begin working on this research project! I graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Elementary Education (minor Psychology) from the University of South Alabama in the fall of 2011. I began pursuing a master's degree in School Counseling in the summer of 2012. As part of my graduate career at the University, I have been afforded the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant in the Department of Leadership and Teacher Education. I thoroughly enjoy this position for many reasons, chief among those is being able to assist former professors with research. I am always fascinated with their varied interests, and every day lends an opportunity for me to learn something new. Entranced by technology as a small child, I still maintain the wonder of a tool that optimizes efficiency. Because I have increased my effectiveness at work through the utilization of this powerful tool, I am curious as to how other graduate students and professors are collaborating with technology, as well. The Shift in Technology is here to stay, progressing from higher educational institutions to elementary classrooms. More than a tool, it is the newest generation’s way of life.