Newly appointed associate vice president for Learning Technologies Anne Leftwich has a passion for teaching.
“I come from a family of K-12 teachers,” she said. “I started out thinking I would become an elementary school teacher, but during my student teaching, I received a state-wide award for using technology in the classroom and that really spurred on my love of using technology with students.”
“While earning my masters, I taught the undergraduate educational technology course for teachers and loved sharing new and creative ways to use technology for teaching and learning. And to gain more insight into the best research-based practices, I decided to pursue my PhD at Purdue in educational technology with an emphasis on teacher education, which led to my first professoriate job at IU in 2006.”
Now as Associate Vice President for Learning Technologies in the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology, Leftwich will lead staff who focus on using technology to improve the classroom experience and learning processes for students and faculty across all Indiana University campuses.
Leftwich is currently the Barbara B Jacobs Chair in Education Technology within the IU Bloomington School of Education, a full professor in the Instructional Systems Technology Department and has previously served as the department chair for the Learning Design and Adult Education Department within the School of Education. During the past 17 years at IU, she has been conducting outreach, teaching, researching, and writing on these topics, as well as the principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on externally funded grants and projects worth millions of dollars.
“My goal has been to help the K-12 community, and especially teachers, address computing and digital education around technology, computer science, and artificial intelligence,” Leftwich said.
In her newest role, Leftwich brings her experience in helping others use technology in ways that complement or work within their belief structures, as well as her ability to explain complex topics—such as AI and computer science.
Rob Lowden, vice president of information technology and chief information officer, highlights Leftwich’s skills as a researcher and practitioner of learning technologies.
“Anne’s passion for teaching and technology has made her an ideal candidate for this position,” said Lowden. “Her experience and talent in working with faculty and students alike to use technology in a way that works best for them is inspiring, and I have absolute confidence she will carry on that tradition in this new role.”
Leftwich notes that she’s excited to work with the various Learning Technologies directors.
“There’s a really great quote from the National Council for Women in Technology,” Leftwich said. “The idea you don’t have is the voice you haven’t heard. My first instinct is to listen and learn from the phenomenal directors and staff within Learning Technologies who are already doing amazing things.”
Leftwich said bringing new technologies, such as AI, to help both students and faculty is one of her most anticipated parts of the new position.
“I’m really excited about getting AI in the hands of students and faculty in a way that’s going to help inform their teaching and learning, especially discipline-specific teaching and learning. That opportunity is really what I am most excited to explore at Indiana University.”
