Curt Bonk, a professor with Instructional Systems Technology, has won the 2020 President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Technology from Indiana University.

The award was created to recognize faculty who have made significant contributions to enhancing the classroom experience with new technologies. Bonk says while this award is a reflection of more than three decades of integrating technology in his instruction, the one constant throughout his career has been leveraging technology for global and international projects and exchanges that can foster perspective taking and hopefully enhancing social cognition.

“That is the goal at all times: to employ technology for transformative change for global educational pursuits and enhancing awareness of the diversity of the members of the planet. In the current semester alone, I have brought in over 30 guests, including many IU alums, to share their careers and expertise with my students. It has been fascinating,” he added.

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Bonk says he constantly reflects on his teaching with current and former students and visiting scholars from across the globe. He is fortunate to be in the School of Education at IU which has allowed him to experiment with synchronous and asynchronous technologies, videoconferencing, and blended or hybrid in his teaching and research scholarship since the early 1990s.

One of Bonk’s scholars was also honored at the virtual ceremony: Rob Elliott, a senior lecturer in Computer and Information Technology in the School of Engineering at IUPUI and doctoral candidate working with Bonk, received the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching. View the program for the ceremony here.

“Being considered for any university wide teaching award is a deeply gratifying experience and an extreme honor,” Bonk said. “But what doubled the dosage of joy for me was attending the ceremony with my doctoral advisee, Rob Elliott. He is an amazingly innovative and devoted instructor who knows a ton about integrating technology for creative global exchange. I heartily congratulate Rob, and I continue to learn a great deal from him. It is a fabulous feeling when my students are my mentors, and hopefully I am theirs too at times.”

Bonk added he was most fortunate to Interim Dean Anastasia Morrone for this award nomination in her previous position as Associate Vice President of Learning Technologies within UITS. He was announced as a winner last year, though the ceremony was postponed because of the pandemic.