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Continuing & Innovative Education Welcomes Guests to Explore UT

April 21, 2008

On Saturday, March 1, 2008, The University of Texas at Austin welcomed an estimated 40,000 visitors to campus for Explore UT, “the biggest open house in Texas.” Explore UT offers a unique opportunity for our Texas community to come together to participate in a wide range of fun and exciting activities, all designed to exhibit the rich educational resources found at the university. At this year’s event, Continuing & Innovative Education (CIE) hosted nine programs that provided a sample of the division’s range of expertise and creativity.

Judy Ashcroft, dean of Continuing & Innovative Education, expressed how pleased she was to participate in the annual event. “Explore UT is the perfect opportunity to showcase CIE services to the entire UT community and to visiting students,” said Dean Ashcroft. “We are grateful for the opportunity and look forward to next year.”

Rebecca Baughman, senior administrative associate, CIE, was able to line up a stellar showcase of strong CIE offerings from across the division. “Organizing this event and seeing how many people across campus and within CIE volunteered their time and talent really filled me with the sense of community that exists on campus. It is a unique place that can bring that many people together with such a simple goal in mind.”

Many CIE employees and volunteers were on hand to help explorers find fun and adventure. Among the explorers were 300 buses full of K-12 schoolchildren, parents and teachers, assembled from 173 schools and 79 school districts throughout Texas. Dianne Kline, senior administrative associate, Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment (DIIA), was a CIE volunteer at the event. “We had a lot of adults and children sign up for our programs, but even more attended than we had registered,” noted Dianne.

CIE programs offered at Explore UT 2008:

  • The University Charter School (UCS) presented student gymnasts who demonstrated ways to enrich the body and mind through gymnastic training in Flipping Over UCS.
  • The “Art” of Expression, also from UCS, helped students express their emotions with interactive art projects.

  • UCS reading specialists were on hand for Parents, Give Your Children the Gift of Reading, a program offering strategies to help parents encourage their children to become better readers. “Our intention was to model for parents how to become involved with their children’s nightly reading. We gave strategies and activities to help their children develop literacy skills,” stated Wendy Riney, program coordinator, UCS. “For example, we had one reading specialist read a story and then model comprehension strategies in front of the parents.” Other activities included showing students how to make origami figures of their favorite storybook characters. Wendy added, “I remember one parent saying, ‘These were great ideas to get my son excited about reading and simple enough I can do them nightly.’” Kathy Golden, program coordinator, UCS, joined the session to give additional instructional ideas for parents. UCS also offered parents sessions on literature and bookmaking.

    "I was grateful for the opportunity provided to University Charter School by Dean Ashcroft to participate in the Explore UT program," said Velma Wilson, assistant superintendent/Curriculum & Instruction, UCS. "Our participation gave UCS staff and students an opportunity to highlight for the UT community the significant role the charter school plays in providing a quality education for students with exceptional needs."

  • Drillin’ for Oil from Petroleum Extension (PETEX) decked out participants in hard hats while teaching them about the energy industry.
  • Help Your Students Graduate from High School, hosted by the Migrant Student Graduation Enhancement Program, provided information to teachers and parents about UT Austin resources available to migrant high school students. Peggy Wimberley, program coordinator, K-16 Education Center, commented, “It was a pleasure to see so many students, parents, and educators on the university campus during the Explore UT event. Students of all ages were clearly enjoying all the fun activities that were provided for them.”
  • Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment (DIIA) presented Teachers are on Earth, Students are in Cyberspace in the Digital Media Lab. This presentation explored how 20th Century teachers are teaching 21st Century learners and what teachers can do to “reach and teach” them.
  • Kyung Huh, assistant director, DIIA, presented Virtual Worlds in Education. Attending students had the opportunity to experiment and practice with Second Life, a multi-user virtual environment. “We had an unexpectedly large crowd. All of the students were extremely fascinated by the visual effects of Second Life,” Kyung reported. “Additionally, parents were very interested in the use of virtual worlds and games for learning.” Shan Evans, assistant dean of DIIA, co-hosted the event. “It was a roaring success. We actually had to go into overtime because there were so many people, and we wanted to make sure we could accommodate everyone.”
  • Other DIIA programs, You’re Not Dumb – You Just Learn Differently and Motivating Students to Learn addressed different learning styles and ways to motivate students in the classroom.

CIE thanks its participants, workers, and volunteers who all contributed to an exciting, successful Explore UT 2008. See you next year!