Here’s what Jane Baird sees when she looks at a classroom full of faces aglow in the blue light of laptop computer screens: connections. She sees connections between herself and her students, between students and each other, and between students and a world of information. She helped build those connections by working on the College of Business Information Technology Initiative.
The IT Initiative began four years ago as a modest project involving a small group of students using leased laptops. Lessons learned then shaped ambitious plans soon adopted by the entire College. Now, the program involves all business faculty and their 2,000 students.
The learning environment has been transformed. Classrooms have been converted into comfortable, functional platforms for cutting-edge technology. Old desks and chairs are gone, replaced by work surfaces tailored for laptop users and seating arrangements suited for group or individual projects. Instructors use interactive technology to enhance traditional teaching, and they provide unprecedented access to materials online. All students own powerful laptops custom configured for their business courses. "I don’t think anybody can be successful if they don’t have a strong grasp of technology and different software applications," says Baird, who teaches accounting and auditing. "And by utilizing the software, they can spend more time thinking about what it all means."
Baird is always seeking better ways of doing things. Her work on the IT Initiative signifies as much. She’s also a prolific researcher whose work has won high regard. Her publications and conference presentations demonstrate a dual focus on innovation in the academic world and important forces in the marketplace into which her students will soon venture.
For eleven years at MSU, she's put students first. Her work shows commitment to new ideas in teaching and technology in the classroom. And like her colleagues in the College of Business, Baird strives to give students the knowledge they need and the skills to put it to work.
