Even with technology making the world seem more connected by the second, college students and professors have come to a point where it is almost easier to connect with someone halfway across the world than with each other.

“Let’s Talk Teaching” is the first in a series of brown-bag discussions to be put on by the Faculty Development Advisory Committee as a way to help bridge the gap between students and teachers.

The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 3 in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Those interested in participating can register through the Faculty Development website.

Stephen Lucas, a member of the Faculty Development Advisory Council, came up with the idea for an event to address the evolution of student learning styles that has made teaching the new generation a challenge for more traditionally minded faculty.

Lucas is the chairman of the department of secondary education and foundations.

“Faculty have been saying our students are different than they were five or 10 years ago, and we’re feeling more challenged to be successful in helping them to do as well as possible in school,” Lucas said.

Lucas said he seeks to challenge what he has recognized as a growing belief that students are lazy and want everything handed to them.

“I was hearing some faculty using words like ‘the students feel entitled to things (and) that things should be given to them,’ and I was really kind of disturbed by that thought,” Lucas said.

The problem, according to Lucas, is that middle and high schools have created a support system that leaves students overwhelmed in the college environment where independence is expected.

The Faculty Development Advisory Council selected Melissa Ames, an assistant professor of English, to take part in the event because of her successes in connecting with students through her studies on popular culture.

“As a popular culture scholar, I feel quite comfortable integrating media literacy and technology into my instruction, both which seem to work well with the 21st century learner,” Ames said.

One of Ames’ goals is to convince students, especially freshmen, that they should be interested and invested in classes they might feel forced to take because they are still relevant to their lives and career paths.

Dianne Timm, an assistant professor of counseling and student development, said she will focus her section on the behaviors of students both inside and outside of class.

“Hearing about their academic pursuits, talking with them about challenges in their personal and academic lives and seeing what really motivates students enhances what I am able to now bring into the classroom,” Timm said.

Moe Samad, a graduate student in the college of student affairs, said he was suggested as a participant because of his experiences with freshmen as well as his role as a longtime student of Eastern.

Samad is also an associate resident director for Carman Hall.

Samad graduated from Eastern in 2010 with a degree in English.

During his undergraduate career, Samad worked as a resident assistant in Weller Hall for three years.

“I kind of understand the student side of it because I’ve been in their shoes, and this is something that has recently come up in my experience,” Samad said.

Kimberly Foster can be reached at 581-2812 or kafoster2@eiu.edu.