Sacred Heart Professor Chosen for Apple Digital Innovation Bootcamp

As technology continues to weave itself into our everyday lives, higher education is moving to capitalize on these groundbreaking tools. Colleges must incorporate this technology to enable students to compete in this highly technological era.

One Sacred Heart professor who saw the imperative need for integration in a classroom setting set out to identify and increase opportunities. Clinical Assistant Professor Rhonda Tower-Siddens saw the possibility to combine online tools with Sacred Heart’s already competitive nursing program.

The American Association of Collegiate Nursing (AACN) conducted its second Digital Innovation Bootcamp at Apple headquarters in Austin, Texas, and Tower-Siddens was one of only 35 applicants nationwide selected to attend. This conference specifically endeavored to provide new opportunities for academic nursing programs to leverage the latest technology in classroom and clinical learning, giving faculty more advanced methods of incorporating technology while teaching to increase student engagement and promote higher learning outcomes.

“One goal of the conference was to make our courses more mobile, so students can engage in learning on-the-go instead of sitting at a desk,” said Tower-Siddens. She explained that she currently teaches the online Master of Science in Nursing program remotely from Texas, and the conference helped her understand how she can better use technology for her students.

Tower-Siddens said the conference was an opportunity to learn how she can better capitalize on technology in a textbook-heavy program allowing for more innovation and interaction in her asynchronous learning environment. One focus of the conference, for example, was delivering content in more interactive ways by adding in videos or photo galleries to promote student engagement. Additionally, the integration could result in more collaboration of online group work with students and professors.

“The ability to work together on projects is essential. In nursing, facilitating teamwork is important. For students to actually be able to work on the same document or assignment allows for more innovative assignments. Also, if I can review the assignment while they’re working, I can give feedback to promote in-depth learning before they turn it in,” Tower-Siddens explained.

Tower-Siddens has been a professor at Sacred Heart University since 2015. Working remotely from Texas, she teaches in the online nurse educator track. She earned her Apple Teacher recognition at the innovation bootcamp.

While the conference revolved around Apple products, Tower-Siddens believes there is an opportunity to integrate the skills she gained from the conference into some of Sacred Heart’s technological offerings. “The digital bootcamp was very beneficial. We have a great opportunity in our online program to be a leader in online learning. We need an info technology-type design person to assist in development of the online courseroom. We are nurses; we can give you the content and ideas, but need someone to assist with the technology aspect,” said Tower-Siddens.