Dr. Amanda Phalin honored with Judy Fisher Teaching with Technology Award

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Dr. Amanda Phalin, Lecturer in the Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, was the recipient of the 2016 Judy Fisher Teaching with Technology Award.

The award is given annually to the Warrington College of Business professor whose teaching best exemplified the use of technology over the past year.

Phalin was recognized for implementing a team-based, online simulation of international business called GlobalDNA, which replaced her final exam starting in the fall of 2015. Students work on a team or as an individual depending on the semester, and the program gives them the opportunity to create a product, run their own company and export the product to different markets.

“What I think this type of technology allows us to do as educators is connect the concepts with critical thinking and actually use those concepts in the real world,” Phalin said. “This simulation allows students to understand through hands-on work how these concepts really play out in the real world. Rather than cramming for an exam and memorizing a concept, they’re actually learning the concept because they’re doing it themselves as they go through the semester.”

Each student company is broken into four different departments – research and development, marketing, production, and finance. Students learn to run all aspects of the global business through information provided by the software. They engage with market data and perform substantive analysis.

“The best thing about the simulation is it allows the students to take everything we learned about international business and apply it in a real-world setting,” Phalin said.

The Judy Fisher Teaching with Technology Award helps encourage the College to continually innovate in the field of teaching with technology. The award was established in memory of Judy Fisher, Ph.D. She joined the faculty in 2001 as an Instructional Technologist and was the first person ever employed by Warrington to bridge the gap between the faculty and technology staff.

As a unit highly dependent on advanced technologies, Fisher’s background (a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology, coupled with more than 25 years of business consulting in instructional design) enabled her to have a profound effect on teaching with technology. The College is proud to honor Fisher, who passed away in 2007, and her many contributions to the teaching and learning environment through this annual award.

Learn more about how Phalin used technology in her teaching on YouTube.