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Congratulations to associate professor Ioulia Rytikova from the Department of Information Sciences and Technology for receiving the 2021 Stearns Center Digital Learning Online Teaching Excellence Award (OTEA). The OTEA is open to all instructional faculty at Mason (adjuncts, term, tenure-track, and tenured faculty) who have taught at least one fully online course during the past academic year and have at least four semesters completed of teaching fully online courses at ����AV.

This award acknowledges faculty who have displayed growth and development as online educators, demonstrated online student and learner engagement, and shown effective online teaching and impact.

The award letter says, “Dr. Rytikova designed and developed multiple interdisciplinary programs, concentrations, and courses in the emerging areas of data sciences and big data analytics, computer and information technologies, health information technologies, and statistical analysis.” During her fifteen years of teaching, she has applied all her efforts towards creating the kind of environment that encourages students’ growth both intellectually and emotionally. She successfully demonstrated her effectiveness through student and learner achievement for these efforts and contributions throughout the academic school year.

Rytikova is the first winner from the College of Engineering and Computing to receive this award. As part of OTEA’s recognition of achievement, she was honored at the 2021 Celebration of Teaching Excellence, on Friday, May 7.

The OTEA selection committee is comprised of Mason faculty who review teaching portfolios. The teaching portfolios provide each nominee an opportunity to share evidence for what is unique about their online teaching, concerning their discipline, best teaching practices, and student learning engagement

Rytikova says, “Preparing my Online Teaching Award portfolio has given me the important opportunity to look beyond daily tasks to consider larger educational issues, to assess my own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher, and to better understand the kinds of values I’d like my students to develop in class.”