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The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

9201 University City Blvd


Charlotte, NC 28223

Academic Technology, College of Health and Human Services (CHHS)


704/687-8654/http://health.uncc.edu/administration/academictechnology
February 16, 2016
USDLA Award Submission Letter of Support
To Whom It May Concern:
I am happy to provide this letter of support for Dr. Florence Martin towards the
submission of her course for the USDLA Best Practices in Distance Learning Teaching
Category III award.
Dr. Martin brings to the university a high level of expertise in her teaching, research, and
service to the institution and to her students. Whether it is her teaching, or her
professionalism in workshops and various projects to the university, her passion for
excellence is seen in her willingness to share her expertise and knowledge.
Service:
Dr. Martin is sought after by the Center for Teaching and Learning at the university to
provide workshops for teaching and learning as well as the intentional use of technology
in teaching and learning. She has always provided insights into various teaching
methods as it relates to online course development and delivery. Some of the
workshops she has provided to the UNC Charlotte teaching community are:

Teaching an Effective Online Course


Quality Matters Online Course Showcase
Instructional Alignment
Teaching Online webinars

Teaching:
When the university sought to pursue integrating the Quality Matters Rubric into the
fabric of courses, Dr. Martin was one of four faculty members asked to lead this initiative,
which she graciously agreed to participate. As one of the Instructional Technologists
tasked with supporting the process, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Martin as she
developed and implemented the core components of the rubric into her course. Within

the cohort of these faculty members, Dr. Martins course layout and attention to detail
provided a strong component of how courses could be developed to support excellent
teaching in an online course. The other faculty members were able to implement some
of Dr. Martins course components because of the easy layout of her course. These
components supported strong alignment between student learning goals, course
objectives, instructional material, activities, and assessments. As you will see in her
course, the course goals are clearly written with outcomes that are measurable. The
weekly objectives are also measurable and consistent with the course goals.
It is these same components that have enabled Dr. Martin to gain high marks in the
Quality Matters certification for all her courses. These components are visible in the
course submitted for this USDLA category award.
Instructional Technology:
The various instructional technology tools used by Dr. Martin support the course goals
set in her course and promote student engagement and active learning. Additionally, she
provides ample opportunity for student-to-faculty interaction, student-to-student
interaction, as well as student-to-course material interaction. Many of the tools she uses
in her courses include VoiceThread, Saba Meeting, social bookmarking apps, online
image editors, e-Portfolios, among others.
Based on Dr. Martins teaching and service activities that I have observed, I
wholeheartedly provide this letter of support to her for the USDLA Best Practices in
Distance Learning Teaching Category III award.

Yours sincerely,
Bruce Richards, Ed.D.
Instructional Technologist
Academic Technology, CHHS and the Center for Teaching and Learning
University of North Carolina - Charlotte

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