| Sangeetha
Gopalakrishnan has been director of the FLTC since about 2004.
Having joined the FLTC as its Instructional Technology Coordinator
in 2002 she has been at Wayne State University for about 10
years. In her capacity as director she fosters the integration
of technology in instruction, oversees the functioning of
FLTC’s extensive technology infrastructure, and ensures
quality support to faculty and students. To motivate faculty
to use technology in innovative ways in the teaching of language,
literature and culture she has instituted several initiatives
including a mini-grants program. She also endeavors to enhance
the student learning experience with technology in a variety
of ways.
Her
research interests include technology integration at academic
institutions, particularly online learning, and the role of
leadership. In her doctoral study she identified best practices
and leadership strategies for implementing successful online
programs at universities and developed a model that incorporated
these practices and strategies. Using a framework of change
management she examined the online efforts of public institutions,
at the research and master’s level, which are successful
in providing online education. She also investigated the leadership
role of an individual charged with establishing large-scale
online programs. In addition to her role at the FLTC, Sangeetha
has also taught graduate courses for the Instructional Technology
program and German intermediate-level courses for the Department
of Classical and Modern, Languages, Literatures and Cultures
at WSU.
Before
she moved to the U.S. Sangeetha was a full-time instructor
at the Goethe Institute in Chennai, India, where she taught
German language courses for several years to diverse audiences.
Prior to her appointment as instructor, she earned the Deutschlehrer-Diplom,
a diploma granted by the Goethe Institute upon completion
of its German teachers’ training program in India and
Germany. During her career at the Goethe Institute she was
also invited to seminars in Germany on integrating media in
the teaching of German. As a language student she received
the Kleines Deutsches Sprachdiplom from the Goethe Institute,
a certification for advanced proficiency in the German language.
She
received a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from the College
of Education at Wayne State University in 2011 and a M.S.
in Educational Technology from Purdue University in 2001.
She also holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees
in Mathematics from the Universities of Delhi and Madras,
India, respectively. While she maintains close ties with family
and friends in India, she has come to think of the U.S. as
her second home. She loves to travel, garden, cook and watch
films from all over the world, Hollywood, and Bollywood.
|
Muhammad
Faisal received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering in from
N.E.D University-Pakistan, MBA from Karachi University and
M.S. in Computer Engineering from Wayne State University.
He is working with Wayne State University as a Systems Administrator
since 2002. His primary responsibilities included server maintenance,
website development, problem analysis, system administration
and provide technical support.
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