Marian Fedak, an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at Carlow University, is definitely not new to the teaching profession. She began teaching in 1968 as a Clinical Instructor at the now defunct South Side School of Nursing. In 1987, she came to Carlow as a full-time instructor in the Nursing program, well over 18 years ago. While she is a "seasoned" teacher, she describes herself as relatively new to the technology arena. She constantly strives to learn more uses of technology every chance she gets. She refers to herself as a dabbler, avidly seeking "bytes" of technology to incorporate in her courses. She attends just about every workshop offered through the Computer Café, Carlow's technology workshop series. She says, "If I can learn one more thing, it's worth my time."

Marian continues to add technology to her "teaching tool belt." Blackboard is one of these tools. Learning how to use Bb has been very beneficial. Utilizing a student centered approach, she puts the future nurses at the heart of her teaching. She designs her courses with a Blackboard supplement to engage students in the learning process. Marian currently has 57 students in three different sections of a course, all combined in one Blackboard site. She is trying to facilitate communication among her students so that they develop into learning communities and formulate strong relationships. She said that Nola Coulson, Instructional Technology Coordinator at Carlow, gave her a tip that she would not forget: "To encourage students to use technology, you sometimes have to dangle a carrot." Marian has taken this advice and posted information beyond the traditional syllabus and course content. Not only does she provide tips on the best places to find lab coats, she also posts pictures of the particular style that is appropriate. Making the site visually attractive is also important to entice students. Her welcoming banner, color schemes, and clear organizational structure catches the students' attention and keeps them interested.

Not only has Marian faithfully pursued learning the Blackboard tool, she has also spent countless hours developing custom-made PowerPoint presentations. The nursing curriculum has content heavy courses with a considerable amount of material to cover in order to prepare students for the nursing exams. Using detailed slides rich in content and diagrams, Marian is able to review more material in a shorter period of time. For example, she covered a 58 page chapter in 1 ½ hours. She uses Blackboard to prepare her students for the classroom lecture and discussion. She posts her PowerPoint content in outline form on Blackboard. She says, "Students really like the Blackboard supplement. They keep wanting more."

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