Central Michigan University student Jill Fuller of Dixfield, Maine, organizes the flow of information to the animation of certain processes that are difficult to teach in audiology.
MOUNT PLEASANT - A Central Michigan University audiology student from Dixfield, Maine, will receive a $5,000 award from Singular Solutions, a nationwide information technology firm.
Jill Fuller, a graduate student in CMU's doctorate in audiology (Au.D.) program, will receive a Delmar Learning Scholarship at the Council of Academic Programs in Communications Sciences and Disorders April 10 in Albuquerque, N.M.
"I am honored and humbled," said Fuller. "I applied because my mom always taught my sister and me that we should apply for as many scholarships as possible. When the announcement was made in my department clinic meeting, I was totally surprised and thought they were going to announce something about a faculty member. All the professors and my classmates were there."
The Singular award recognizes excellence by doctoral students in developing innovative technology, not simply the application of innovative technology developed previously. The award is based upon the quality of research completed.
"My adviser, Dawn Nelson, wanted someone to take difficult concepts and animate and mediate them," said Fuller. "She got the idea from a CMU Champion's program and from ideaReserve consultants working on technology in the new Health Professions Building."
Fuller's project was to design a method of instruction for audiology students using three-dimensional animation, virtual reality techniques, traditional animation, moving computer graphic models, sound and other techniques to make the electrophysiology and cochlear physiology concepts easier to learn and apply to clinical practice.
"Jill Fuller is a superior academic student," said Nelson, a faculty member in CMU's communication disorders department. "Investing in her project may very well be an investment in audiology education. The potential use of these materials in classrooms across the country has yet to be explored."
"Jill has developed what promises to be a unique and innovative instructional tool, using CD ROM technology to assist in the learning of traditionally difficult concepts related to processing within the cochlea and beyond," said Michael Nerbonne, another CMU faculty member.
The Singular scholarship will go toward tuition and possibly to support Fuller's project in CMU's new Health Professions Building, which incorporates multidisciplinary approaches to learning and teaching.
Singular Solutions, headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., designs, implements, maintains and evaluates information technology solutions for major companies across the United States.
