October 2001 — Features
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Faculty Development and Educational Technology
Faculty who participated re-ceived their choice of three implementation allowances: a laptop computer; one course-load reduction for course development the following year; or a $3,500 professional development fund for approved software, course materials, training and conference expenses. In return, each participant was expected to:
- Identify technology applications to best meet student learning needs;
- Design course syllabi with goals, objectives and activities that include technology to enhance student learning and course content;
- Implement these new conventions into at least one class during the following year;
- Assess student outcomes in revised course curricula; and
- Assist with data the college needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the faculty development program.
Summer Institutes Comparison
The first of three summer institutes was offered in 1998. The two-week institute included information on learning theory and software applications, as well as profiles of technology-enhanced classes. The workshop began with presentations on learning styles and classroom assessment techniques. Basic information related to graphic design principles, preparing Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, developing Web pages, searching the Internet and copyright laws were included along with more complex software applications, such as Authorware and Lotus Notes LearningSpace.
The workshop sessions included demonstrations of specific examples of technology-enhanced courses, such as paperless classes using networks, Authorware developed multimedia programs, advanced Web page design and HTML programming, and international collaborative learning via the Internet. Workshop presenters were a combination of university personnel and external consultants. University personnel presented the workshops on graphic design principles, copyright law, PowerPoint and developing Web pages. Presenters from outside the university focused on learning theory, more complex software applications and the profiles of technology-enhanced classes. Software application sessions included both demonstrations and hands-on training. Lotus Notes groupware was also highlighted as a software application with four half-day sessions related to it.
The second summer institute in 1999 incorporated several modifications based on faculty feedback. The information on learning styles and classroom assessment was maintained, while sessions related to software applications were more focused on applications supported on campus. Workshop sessions related to software applications for new users were made optional, and sessions related to active learning and spreadsheet software were added. The second summer institute was also slightly shorter in terms of contact hours and more varied in scheduling. Instead of two straight weeks as in 1998, the workshop sessions were scheduled over several interspersed Fridays and Saturdays during the spring semester and one full week of summer. This modification was provided to give faculty time to consider design issues for the course in which they were going to incorporate technology.
