Peggy Hartwick
Linguistics and language studies professor Peggy Hartwick won the Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award in 2013. She was recognized for her work breaking down language barriers using an online 3D environment.
Peggy teaches ESL for academic purposes and found students responded to the virtual campus space, taking more language risks. It allowed them to communicate by typing instant messages, speaking in microphones, and physically moving through the space with unique avatars designed by each participant. She was so interested in the teaching potential of 3D learning environments that it became the focus of her PhD thesis.
Her greatest strengths lie in creating and executing blended courses using traditional, online and virtual teaching environments, something that earned her a 2015 Desire2Learn Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning.