College's Innovation in Teaching and Technology program gets new director
Nicholas Holt, an information technology manager in the College of Education's Office of Information Technology who has years of experience in digital game systems and interactive technology, has been named the director of the College's Innovation in Teaching and Technology program.
The program, which began as an initiative under former dean Andy Horne, provides professional development and cutting-edge training for full-time faculty in the College of Education. Each semester, the ITT program offers two innovation tracks culminating with a presentable project and certificate in a new or emerging aspect of teaching.
Holt, an Athens native who received his doctorate from the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, teaches a course in that department on games, culture and human development. He also earned a master's degree in instructional technology from the College. He has decades of experience in technology-focused fields such as consulting on educational games for the Walt Disney Co., managing technology for the band R.E.M. and producing the Kudzu Film Festival.
He holds an undergraduate degree in classical cultures from UGA, and spent a part of the early years of his career excavating Roman ruins in North Africa.
But Holt's time in Aderhold began when he was still in middle school, when his mother was a member of the College of Education faculty and he spent time in summer camps hosted by the Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development. The camps introduced Holt to, separately, the Apple IIe computer and archeology — experiences he firmly believes shaped the direction of his life.
"I have a strong belief that the opportunities children are exposed to have a strong influence on who they grow up to be," he said.
In his new role with the Innovation in Teaching and Technology program, Holt will be responsible for setting the topics for the semester ITT Academies, researching the latest innovations in teaching technologies, and innovative applications for them. He will work with Gretchen Thomas, an instructor in the Department of Career and Information Studies who has also been instrumental in planning and organizing each semester's academies.
Holt is moving into the role held until recently by Lloyd Rieber, a professor in the Department of Career and Information Studies who launched the ITT program.
The fall semester's ITT Academies, open to full-time faculty members, are "Linking Pedagogies with 21st Century Learning" and "Investigating Trends in Education." For more information on the academies or to sign up, email Holt.