Middle Tennessee State University's Digital Media Center: Supporting the Development of Technology-Based Instruction
Gina Roberts
Abstract
Middle Tennessee State University's Digital Media Center is a faculty multimedia development center that contains hardware, software, and support to enable faculty to develop technology-based teaching materials. In the Digital Media Center users create and edit digital movies, animation, 3D models, still images, and sounds; author presentations and computer-based training applications; and record CD-ROMS. With a connection to the campus network and the Internet, users also transfer files, browse the Web and create home pages.
This paper contains information on the facilities and operation of the Digital Media Center. Readers will get an overview of the facilities that are available, the policies that govern the Center, the personnel that staff the Center, the services the staff provides, the training that takes place for users, and the plans for the future of the Digital Media Center.
Middle Tennessee State University's Digital Media Center: Supporting the Development of Technology-Based Instruction
Faculty at Middle Tennessee State University are very much involved in the development and use of technology-based instructional materials. In addition to using commercially produced materials such as videotapes, laserdiscs, and CD-ROMS; faculty develop their own multimedia presentations and computer-based training applications. They share these materials with their students when teaching in specially equipped master classrooms and labs; and when using multimedia carts and portable projection equipment in classrooms or at conferences.
Early adopters of instructional technology at MTSU have some of the hardware and software needed to develop technology-based instructional materials either in their offices or in their departmental labs. To provide some of these early adopters and most of the mainstream faculty with the hardware, software and support to enable them to develop these materials, the Office of Information Technology opened the Digital Media Center (DMC) in the Spring of 1997.
Facilities
The Digital Media Center houses six multimedia development stations. Hardware and software for creating and editing digital movies, animation, 3D models, still images, and sounds; authoring presentations and computer-based training applications; and recording CD-ROMS is available on the development stations. With a connection to the campus network and the Internet, the DMC also provides facilities for transferring files, browsing the Web and creating home pages. Hardware and software housed in the center is described below.
Hardware
The computers located at the development stations contain at least 48 to 64 MB of RAM and house 1 to 2 GB hard drives.
Software
Policies and Procedures
At the present time, the Digital Media Center is for use by faculty only. Student assistants working on projects for faculty can use the center with written permission from the faculty member.
The Center is open five days a week for eight hours a day during the fall and spring semesters. Limited hours are posted during the summer semester. Faculty may sign up for blocks of two hours at a time per development station, but may work for longer periods of time if space is available. Even though use of the facility is free; consumable media such as diskettes, zip disks, recordable CDs, and videotapes are provided by the faculty member.
The staff of the DMC assist faculty with the conversion of copyrighted materials to digital format based on the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia.
Personnel
The staff of the Digital Media Center consists of a full-time Instructional Technology Specialist along with two to three part-time student interns per semester. Interns are Junior or Senior level students from departments such as Art, Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, Radio/TV-Photography, and Recording Industry. Interns work for course credit and it is preferred that they have experience in graphic design, digital video, or computer programming.
These internships provide an excellent opportunity for students to use skills they've gained in their coursework as well as learn new skills for use in their careers. It also gives them a chance to sharpen their communication and teamwork skills. Faculty benefit not only from having assistance with the development of technology-based materials, but also from having feedback from the interns on the usefulness of their products to students.
Services
The Digital Media Center staff provide three levels of service to MTSU faculty. Faculty who are interested in developing multimedia presentations or computer-based/assisted instruction meet with the staff of the Center to receive an orientation to the equipment and then proceed to work on their own. Those who develop their own applications, but don't have the time or equipment to scan images, digitize video, or record CD-ROMs bring their materials to the DMC for conversion to a digital format or for recording to CD-ROM. Faculty who would like to have a computer-based application developed and do not have them time or have not developed the necessary skills may bring projects to the Center for design and development. At this third level, the faculty member works closely with the DMC staff as a subject matter expert.
Orientations
Orientations to the Digital Media Center are held several times throughout each semester. These orientations are not usually hands-on but instead focus on a demonstration of the capabilities of the equipment in the Center. One-on-one training sessions are held on specific pieces of equipment with individual faculty members.
Future Plans
The Office of Information Technology currently offers workshops for faculty in productivity, presentation, authoring, and communication software. During the summer and fall of 1997, the Digital Media Center staff will begin to offer specialized workshops on topics such as scanning techniques, digital video production, and developing computer-based training.
As word of the Digital Media Center spreads and more mainstream faculty become interested in using technology in their teaching, the DMC will continue to grow. Up to two more development stations will be added over the next few years. A permanent staff member may be added in a few years and new student staff members will certainly join the team.
The goal of the Digital Media Center is to offer services that enable faculty to develop instructional materials that meet their course objectives. As faculty levels of expertise grow and needs change, the services offered by the Digital Media Center will grow and change as well.