JOHN JAY COLLEGE WINS BLACKBOARD CATALYST AWARD

(New York, NY) –Last spring, hundreds of professors only had a few days to move from classroom teaching to a fully virtual classroom, and now the people who made the transition are being honored for their dedication. Members of the Department of Online Education and Support (DOES) and the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice were named winners of the Blackboard Catalyst Award to the Initial and continuing educationhonoring those who use Blackboard programs to support and enhance the education and professional development of their faculty and staff.

The award is the result of urgent and extensive work to move John Jay College to an online-only platform when the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York City. The college relied on in-house expertise and a dedicated team of administrators and professors to handle the changes, train professors quickly in new software, and offer intensive workshops on teaching in a virtual environment. [Blackboard explains John Jay’s award-winning efforts https://youtu.be/Nn26Yjdah1U]

“Covid-19 has brought so many new challenges to our community that we are happy to have these award-winning educational leaders on our team who are committed to helping our dedicated teachers successfully adapt their lessons to the online environment.” says John Jay to President Karol V. Mason. “Your hard work has enabled hundreds of faculty to confidently and effectively train our students in a distance learning environment.”

“For many of our professors, online teaching represented a completely new approach to pedagogy; one they had to accept without warning, ”said Yi Li, Provost of John Jay College. “In a year like no other, the constant was the commitment of our professors and educators to the well-being of our students. This award is a good reflection of the excellent work our DOES / TLC has done to support this commitment. “

The administrators of John Jay College honored for their work are:

• Judith Cahn, Ed.D., Director, TUT

• Holly Davenport, Director of Instructional Design, DOES

• Helen Keier, Associate Director for Learning Management Systems, DOES

• Patrizia Magni, Senior Instructional Designer, DOES

• Gina Rae Foster, Ph.D., Director, TLC

“Blackboard Learning Management System is a huge, global company. If you look at the list of winners – with only a few from the US – you immediately realize how impressive this recognition is, ”said Cahn, Director of DOES. “This global corporation saw our workshop and praised our innovation in teaching. They praised us for our excellence in education. For us as educators this is enormous. ” [Holly Davenport and Judith Cahn explain the differences in online teaching]

“We are excited to honor this year’s Blackboard Catalyst Award winners for their commitment to improving the educational experience for all learners through EdTech and sharing these insights with the wider community,” said Lee Blakemore, chief client officer and president, Global Markets at Blackboard. “We pride ourselves on working with institutions that innovate to promote academic success.”

Founded in 2005, the annual Catalyst Awards recognize and honor innovation and excellence in Blackboard’s global community of practice, where millions of educators and learners work every day to redefine what can be done using technology. The winners are selected by a cross-functional team of Blackboard experts and represent the best in their field.

John Jay’s award was announced along with other Blackboard Catalyst Award winners during BbWorld 2021, Blackboard’s annual user conference.

For more information on the Blackboard Catalyst Awards, please visit: https://community.blackboard.com/catalystawards.

About the John Jay College of Criminal Justice:
The John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York is a leading international judicial institution and is a Hispanic Serving Institution and Minority Serving Institution that offers 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 135 nations a rich curriculum in the humanities and professional studies. John Jay hosts faculties and research centers that are at the forefront of advancing criminal law reform and social justice reform. In teaching, science and research, the college deals with the topic of justice and researches fundamental human desires for fairness, equality and the rule of law. For more information, visit www.jjay.cuny.edu and follow us on Twitter @JohnJayCollege.

About Blackboard
Blackboard is a leading EdTech company serving academic, K-12, business, and government customers around the world. We combine a deep understanding of education with the power of technology to continually push the boundaries of learning. Our mission is to advance learning together with the global educational community so that all learners, educators and institutions can achieve their goals today and prepare for tomorrow.