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Digital Learning Awards Panel

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for advancements in digital learning. Over the last two years, WVU faculty have developed new and innovative practices to improve the digital learning experience for their students. To celebrate excellence and innovation in digital learning across the University, the Office of the Provost and West Virginia Public Education Collaborative announced the fourth annual faculty Digital Learning Awards. The following faculty received the 2022 Digital Learning Award and will speak about their innovative teaching practices during the pandemic, and answer questions.

For more information, visit the Digital Learning Awards webpage.
Erin Brock Carlson

Erin Brock Carlson

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

Erin Brock Carlson’s research centers the relationships between place, technology, and power, focusing on how communities work together to address complex public problems through communication and community organizing. Her current projects include documenting the experiences of West Virginians affected by natural gas pipeline development; advocating for access and distribution of ethically collected and curated public health data; and developing place-based methods for community engagement pedagogy.

Erin is also working on a larger project about the importance of place-based knowledges to Appalachian organizing and activism in the midst of regional economic transition, drawing from a yearlong participatory photovoice project with a group of community organizers.

She teaches courses in professional, technical, and multimedia writing, as well as Digital Humanities and accompanying research methods.

Justin Wartella

Justin Wartella

TEACHING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

Dr. Justin Wartella came to WVU from University of Missouri (Mizzou) where he served as an assistant teaching professor of Sport Management beginning in 2017. Prior to Mizzou, he was a professor at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania. Prior to LHU, he held positions at two institutions in The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) and served as a teaching assistant for the Department of Sports Education and Leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. At Millersville University, he gained experience working in higher education as a graduate assistant for the Department of Campus Recreation which included the coordination and management of all intramural, club sports, outdoor recreation opportunities and extracurricular programming for the university.

Upon completion of his master’s degree in Sport Management, he acquired his first professional position at Mansfield University, where he served as director of the Kelchner Fitness Center. While at UNLV, Wartella served as assistant coordinator of the Physical Activity Program (PEX) and taught courses in the Athletic Administration and Coaching Education curriculum and coaching intern supervision. As a graduate student at UNLV he served as a student staff member with the UNLV Intercollegiate Division I athletic department.

Wartella has experience at the interscholastic and youth athletic levels through the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association and Nevada Interscholastic Athletic Association. He worked at the IMG Sports Academy and served as sport management liaison and Executive Council member for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association.

Jenny Murray

Jenny Murray

WVU Extension Specialist – 4-H Curriculum

Jenny Murray has served as a WVU extension agent since February 2008 and as the adviser to the Taylor Country 4-H program, which includes the Leaders Association, seven community 4-H clubs and two specialty 4-H programs. Murray organized efforts among her colleagues to create 46 virtual and hybrid workshops for West Virginia youth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 800 people in attendance statewide. These programs worked to develop life skills, increase knowledge and improve workforce readiness through 4-H learning experiences.