Staff Spotlight: Crystal Gasell
Get to know our TIPS team!
Teaching Innovation and Program Strategy | TIPS Oct 27, 2024
The Staff Spotlight gives our campus community a chance to get to know more about our TIPS team members and what they do! Today, we are featuring our Director of Academic Technology, Dr. Crystal Gasell.
How do you bring your previous professional experiences to bear on the work you do here with TIPS? As the Director of Academic Technology and Training, I have always been interested in how technology can be used to enhance teaching and learning. Although I have been at CU Denver for over 13 years, I started my career in K12 education as a 7th grade English teacher. It was there that I discovered how technology can motivate and spark creativity. My students created podcasts about books they have read, wrote blogs as if they were characters in those books, and found joy in creating digital images that were transferred onto t-shirts. I continued my interest in teaching and learning technology by pursuing both my master’s and doctoral degrees from Boise State in Educational Technology. Through my research, I have grown a deep appreciation of data that can inform teaching practices and focused on practical applications of technology in higher education.
In addition to my work at CU Denver, I am an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, teaching in their Instructional Design and Technology program.
What’s a project you’ve worked on recently that you are proud of or excited about? I am very proud of the classroom technology audit and upgrade project. It has been a collaborative project between TIPS and OIT and requires coordination with Auraria Campus, CU Denver faculty, and IT leaders across the campus. I have enjoyed the conversations the project has sparked, and I am interested in furthering our hybrid classroom pedagogy as we continue to upgrade the technology in our classrooms. It was fun to walk the halls of the north classroom on the first day of classes and see faculty and students using the new technology.
What do you find most meaningful about your current role? The relationships, partnership, and friendships I’ve formed with colleagues across the campus are the most meaningful part of work. I enjoy collaborating with colleagues and putting our minds together to get work done. I work most closely with OIT and enjoy sharing the workload (or a laugh) with them. Recently, I partnered with the Learning Resource Center to host a faculty input session related to AI. And this year, I will be working with a colleague from my ELP cohort to implement a plan to increase employee satisfaction at CU Denver. I’ve always found relationships to be important to accomplishing shared goals and enjoying work.
Finally, tell us a little about yourself outside of work! When not at work, you will find me mountain biking, trail running, or skiing with my partner, Mike, and my pup, Sansa. We take full advantage of the Colorado seasons, but also spend quite a bit of time traveling to new places and exploring new cultures. In fact, I’ve skied on 6 of 7 continents and plan to cross off Antarctica in the next few years. I recently started baking sourdough bread which I share with my friends and neighbors and taking pottery lessons at our local arts center.