The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has named six faculty members “master teachers” for the 2000-01 academic year for their use of technology in the classroom.The master teachers are David Stuart, associate professor of music, Tom Ingebritsen, associate professor of zoology and genetics, Doug Yarger, professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, Rebecca Burnett, professor of English, Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science, and Bob Stephenson, university professor of statistics. Although they were named in the fall, the professors will be officially honored at a faculty forum held Wednesday from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union.The forum will enable the master teachers to give previews of their one-and-a-half hour workshops, given to other faculty on campus in February, March and April, said Lee Haugen, faculty development specialist for the Center for Teaching Excellence.He said the center helps the faculty members spread their knowledge to others through the workshops.”They’re selected for their expertise in some area, and then we help them share that expertise with other faculty across campus,” Haugen said, “I think it spotlights the innovative things that faculty are doing that other faculty probably wouldn’t know about otherwise.”Teaching is a profession typically done behind closed doors, he said, but a program like master teachers makes it “community property.””We feel there is a lot of benefit in having faculty members talk to each other,” Haugen said.This is the second year the LAS college has named its faculty members master teachers, he said. Last year, faculty members were honored for their success in teaching large classes.”Last year the workshops were filled each time and we got a lot of positive feedback from the faculty who attended,” Haugen said, “We’re assuming something similar is going to happen this year.”Ingebritsen said he uses technology daily through online courses. With Project BIO, Ingebritsen assists faculty in developing and delivering Internet-based instructional materials.The project went online in the fall of 1996, he said, and currently offers nine courses each semester to about 600 students. Ingebritsen, director of the program, said he has heard positive feedback from students regarding the self-pacing and flexibility on the online courses.”They like to listen to a lecture at midnight in their pajamas,” he said.He will be holding his workshop, “How To Teach a Course on the Internet — Project BIO Model,” which will focus on developing and carrying out online courses.Stephenson said he was recognized as a master teacher for his role in bringing distance learning to industries such as 3M, General Motors and Rockwell International.”The technology I use is sort of the interface between computers, video, TV and ICN all put together,” he said.Stephenson said he teaches a semester sequence course called Applied Statistics for Industry with a “live audience” at Iowa State, and then sends videotapes to off-campus students, primarily in industrial settings.”The intent of the course is to provide practical application for statistics to industrial problems,” he said.Videotaping the course is a convenience to company employees, enabling them to fit the course with their job constraints, Stephenson said. However, he said offering courses for access via videocassettes or the Internet requires instructors to make changes to their traditional teaching styles in the classroom.In his presentation to ISU faculty, entitled “Filmed in Front of a Live Audience — Technology for Distance Education,” Stephenson will address these changes.He said the workshop gives him an another opportunity to teach, this time to faculty members, and to learn from the other master teachers.”The group of master teachers are really a wonderful resource,” Stephenson said, “Meeting with them through this program has just been a tremendous opportunity.”