Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference
Teaching, Learning, & Technology
The Challenge Continues
March 30-April 1, 2003
The Best Way to Predict the Future is to Invent It
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By: Robert J. Clougherty, Lauren L. Neal |
Abstract
With the increase in demand for online courses and degrees in Tennessee and the need for more instructional technology support on the campus level TTU has established the Institute for Technological Scholarship. The Institute is a faculty training and development center where faculty can get support for extended hours throughout the week and on the weekends. The support is provided in different formats by support people and faculty mentors across campus.
Description
This is looking back at how the idea came about and how this simple idea became a reality. After opening as a temporary facility in January 2002, we will look at the first year in review, what equipment and support we provide, what has worked, what we could do differently, our strategic planning process, and a glimpse of our future.
With the increase in demand for online courses and degrees in Tennessee and the need for more instructional technology support on the campus level TTU has established the Institute for Technological Scholarship. This presentation will cover the process of creating and implementing the Institute, looking at the first year in review, what equipment and support we provide, what has worked, what we could do differently, our strategic planning process, and a glimpse of our future.
In Fall 2000, TTU found itself developing its first online courses. The initial issue was what level of support to provide and how best to deploy resources in these budget conscious times. In Spring 2001, we informally surveyed stake-holders to determine their needs and developed a formal proposal for the Institute. Our initial plan was to operate the Institute as both a function (in providing campus training and support) and as a facility where resources could be centralized. We received administrative support and were set up as a cooperative venture between the Office of the Provost, Information Technology Services, and the School for Interdisciplinary Studies and Extended Education. We opened as a temporary facility in a room that had previously been used for a student lab in February 2002. The space was renovated over the summer of 2002. The official grand opening was September 5, 2002.
Our facility currently houses a teaching lab with 12 PCs and a teaching station. This lab is connected to our campus lab network. It includes much of the software that we are supporting in the Institute. We also have 4 PCs and 1 MAC in the working area. These machines are open for use and support at all times. Each machine has a standard set of software, but each one also has different capabilities to help with other things such as video editing, graphics editing, scanning, and moving PowerPoint files to the web.
We have a full-time staff of three people, a director, an instructional technology specialist, and a multi-media support specialist. In addition to the full-time faculty we also have 20 students that help us out. This includes three graduate assistants, six project coordinators, and 12 student assistants. Our most important support people are our faculty mentors and power users from across campus.
We offer support by using the staff, students, power users, and mentors. We have learned what support is working on our campus to assist people in using the technology from those who are just beginning to those who are paving the way.