Using Technology to Motivate and Communicate
Nita Copeland has always sought new ways to reach students and has worked tirelessly at using technology to do so. This is evidenced through her ability to establish and maintain new programs and social networking sites to make course content, as well as herself, readily available to her students and colleagues.
She uses social networking programs, such as Ning, Elluminate, and Facebook to create a virtual environment conducive to learning. These efforts have paid off by improving the student retention in the Health Sciences Department.
This instructor led the department’s efforts to become one of the first online degree programs at UA Little Rock. She developed the first online class as well as eight other courses, including the final one required for the online degree program. Copeland has also been the first in her department to successfully use the Respondus Lockdown Browser to ensure academic integrity in online assessments. She is the recipient of the Arkansas Blackboard Users Group (ARBUG) Diamond Award in honor of her exemplary Blackboard course.
Copeland shows respect for her students and possesses the ability to motivate them to learn. She spends countless hours before and after class working with students individually to ensure that the content is both understandable and that they can apply the information to future course work.
Copeland received M.A. and B.A. degrees from Harding University.