Newly appointed Associate Vice President of 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 wanted to be an elementary school teacher, but during my student teaching I received a statewide award for using technology in the classroom, and that has really fueled my love of using technology with students.”
“While earning my Masters, I taught the Bachelor of Educational Technology 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 in teacher education, which led to my first professorship at IU in 2006.”
Now as Associate Vice President of Learning Technologies in the office of the Vice President of Information Technology, Leftwich will lead staff focused on using technology to enhance the classroom experience and learning processes for students and faculty across all Indiana University campuses.
Anne Leftwich portraits at IU Bloomington on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Photo: Chris Meyer/Indiana University)
Leftwich is currently the Barbara B Jacobs Chair in Education Technology within IU Bloomington School of Education, full professor in the Instructional Systems Technology Department and previously served as department chair for the Learning Design and Adult Education Department within the School of Education. Over the past 17 years at IU, she has conducted outreach, taught, researched and written on these topics, as well as the principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on multi-million dollar externally funded grants and projects.
“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 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,” Lowden said. “Her experience and talent in working with both teachers and students to use technology in a way that works best for them is inspiring, and I have every confidence that she will continue that tradition in this new role.”
Leftwich notes that she is 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 employees at Learning Technologies who are already doing great things.”
Leftwich said one of her most anticipated parts of the new position is bringing new technologies, such as AI, to help both students and faculty.
“I’m really excited about getting AI into the hands of students and faculty in a way that will help inform their teaching and learning, especially discipline-specific teaching and learning. That opportunity is really what I’m most excited to explore in Indiana University.”