Recommendation 4: Indiana University should assume a position of worldwide leadership in the use of information technology to facilitate and enhance teaching and learning.
Action 11. The Teaching and Learning Technology Lab and the Center for Teaching & Learning should be expanded, and new services developed where needed, to offer a standard level of teaching support services for all faculty at IUB, IUPUI, and the regional campuses.
Action 11 calls for a standard level of baseline support for teaching and learning technology for all IU faculty, increasing the opportunities to explore new applications of information technology. The promotion or introduction of technology in courses and disciplines, previously without access to relevant applications or support, is also an important component of the IT Strategic Plan. The overall objective of supporting faculty in their use of technology is further enhanced by second-tier, professional course development services provided through Actions 7, 13, and 20.
IU Bloomington – Teaching and Learning Technologies Lab
At IUB, a plan was developed for expanding the Teaching and Learning Technology Lab (TLTL) facility to allow for more equipment, seating, and private workspace. Two additional full-time staff members were hired and a model course, "Traditions & Cultures of IU," integrated the use of a central Web server, streaming video, and Oncourse technologies.
IUPUI – Center for Teaching and Learning
At IUPUI, two staff members were hired at the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to improve services for faculty and academic units on teaching and learning issues, multimedia, Web applications, and instructional design; the additional staff members will contribute to a comprehensive support environment for faculty at IUPUI.
IU East – Teaching and Learning Center
At IU East, the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) gained one new instructional design position to support increased integration of instructional technologies in teaching and learning activities. The TLC will increasingly become a place where faculty may experiment with new techniques and seek hardware, software, technical, and instructional support. IUE will also appoint a coordinator, who will work with other campus units to design and equip the TLC.
IU Kokomo – Center of Teaching Excellence
New funding made available to the Center of Teaching Excellence at IU Kokomo will provide additional resources to help faculty in designing and developing instructional materials and courseware, assist in preparing faculty to benefit from IUK's new technology-enhanced classrooms, and serve to deepen the commitment to distance education.
IU Northwest – Instructional Technology Support
At IU Northwest, Instructional Technology Support added a new staff member to expand instructional design support for faculty and received additional support for hourly staff.
IU Southeast – Institute for Learning and Teaching Excellence
At IU Southeast, the Institute for Learning and Teaching Excellence has gained an additional staff member to build support for faculty use of instructional technology.
IU South Bend – University Center for Excellence in Teaching
At IU South Bend, a new instructional strategies technologist within the University Center for Excellence in Teaching (UCET) will provide instructional design consulting to faculty, increasing the use of technology in the curriculum. IUSB will continue to fund a director from among its faculty to lead UCET.
Action 12. To support course tools development and initiatives in distributed education, UITS (through its Advanced Information Technology Laboratory) should evaluate Web-based and other network-based learning environments and offer faculty a comprehensive set of options to easily create, edit, revise and maintain online course material.
Action 18. UITS should ensure an available and reliable infrastructure of networks, servers, storage, and applications for the support of online courses and other new learning experiences.
Action 19. UITS should initiate changes to University information systems that improve the quality of instruction, service to students, or manageability of the distributed education program itself.
Actions 12, 18, and 19 focus primarily on the Oncourse production environment and associated support services. UITS conducted a review of such commercially available systems as Blackboard, WebCT, Alta Vista Forum, and Eduprise, reaffirming the decision to continue the development of the IU-developed Oncourse.
A five-year plan for Oncourse, completed in January 2000, established a steering committee to advise UITS on the future development of Oncourse. It recommends the development of a robust server environment to ensure redundancy and quicker response to problems. The UITS Education Program delivers two classes on Oncourse to faculty who also receive support from the CTL and the TLTL. Ubiquitous authentication services allow easy access to Oncourse by students from any IU campus and by those registered for distributed education classes.
User recommendations call for a customizable user interface, improved messaging, 24/7 access, computer-based training, electronic portfolios, and component-based architecture so other University applications and commercial products can "plug and play." Recent enhancements include an online quiz/testing module with a survey tool. The CourseMail system was tied to the University-wide e-mail system through a notification facility, so users see via their University e-mail when their CourseMail holds unread messages.
Autopopulation of student data was completed for all regional campuses. A new sign-on procedure facilitates login from the regional campuses. New privacy regulations comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Enhancements were made to chat room, forums, course development, and archiving functions.
Action 17. UITS, with the new Associate Vice President for Distributed Education, should help coordinate initiatives in distributed education, by helping departments and schools implement new programs, without duplicating existing services. UITS should continue to assist programs of distributed education, helping to identify supported and supportable technologies that can satisfy the complex requirements of those programs.
Details associated with Distributed Education can be found in the Distributed Education Strategic Plan at www.indiana.edu/~iude/.
Action 13. The University should offer, on a selective basis, intensive help in developing instructional material for delivery to IU students, for eventual offering as a marketable IU product, or both.
Action 14. The University should provide overall guidelines and direct support to help facilitate relationships with publishers for the commercial development and marketing of technology-based instructional materials.
Action 20. UITS and other units, including classroom and technology support providers, should develop plans to adapt the Leveraged Support Model to the support of instructional technology, student technology, and Web development in general.
Actions 13, 14, and 20 expand support for the development of interactive Web- and CD-based multimedia in teaching and learning. These initiatives are blended to encourage faculty innovation, provide intensive support in developing instructional materials (Action 13), and develop the Leveraged Support Model for instructional technology (Action 20).
The goal is to establish coordinated and comprehensive services to include multimedia development, Web technical services, media services, and infrastructure support, offered to faculty through referrals from campus teaching and learning centers, in support of the University's distributed education initiatives. Services will also be offered to non-academic units for a fee. The Teaching and Learning Technologies Division and the Office of Distributed Education will jointly complete a service business plan.
The Digital Media and Web Development Services initiative will heighten the University's ability to develop and deliver multimedia content in support of teaching and learning, distributed education, communications and public relations, and administrative goals. It will provide production services for digital media and Web development, systems coordination and integration, advanced consultation and media project management, digital media personnel development, vendor management support, access to other University resources (such as images, photos, standards, and procedures), and assessment.
Action 15. UITS should evaluate the opportunities to partner with faculty in the sciences to experiment with simulation-based laboratory courses, and should be alert to other possible partnerships for the enhancement of instruction through simulation and visualization.
UITS is partnering with IU researchers and faculty to support simulation-based laboratory courses and enhance teaching and learning through simulation and visualization. Some examples currently underway include:
See also activities detailed in the discussions of Actions 27 and 28.
Action 21. Beginning immediately, all planning and renovation of classrooms and other teaching spaces should evaluate and incorporate information technology needs. The costs of information technology identified in prior planning efforts as well as future efforts, should be fully base funded to provide for acquiring and installing equipment, as well as for maintenance, repair, life-cycle replacement, and support.
Action 22. UITS, in partnership with the appropriate campus offices and committees, should continue to provide leadership in campus planning for classroom technology, leadership in classroom technology design, and coordination of classroom technology use.
Actions 21 and 22 represent IU's first comprehensive, multi-classroom technology plan for general-purpose classrooms. This five-year plan, finalized in May 2000, calls for installation and support of technology in classrooms, and coordination of the design and renovation of classrooms to enable the use of that technology. The plan calls for more installed technology and less reliance on mobile equipment. Implementation is coordinated among UITS, Instructional Support Services, the University Architect's Office, and campus physical plant offices. Individual campus plans will be reviewed and updated annually.
IU Bloomington
The overall goal of the IUB campus plan is to decrease the number of Type I (Basic) classrooms among IUB's 263 general-inventory classrooms to one out of every five (20%), and increase to 30% the number of Type IV (Advanced Technology) classrooms. Ten new Type IV classrooms were completed and four existing technology classrooms were upgraded to full Type IV classrooms. Installation of eight additional Type IV classrooms is currently
in progress
IUPUI
Over the next five years, IUPUI will increase the proportion of its 149 general-inventory classrooms that feature installed technology from 30 to 65, and decrease by 30% the number of Type I and II (Basic Plus) classrooms from 119 to 84. (Classrooms at IU Columbus are also included in this plan.) Currently, six Type IV, two Type III (Mid-Range), and 30 Type II classrooms have been completed. The projection systems in three additional Type II classrooms have been modernized.
Regional Campuses
Following the models developed at IUB and IUPUI, implementation has begun on the five-year plans submitted by each regional campus CIO.
IU East
At IU East, the five-year implementation plan for the 59 general-inventory classrooms addresses the immediate need for replacement equipment and new Type III classrooms. Four new Type IV classrooms are planned over the implementation period.
IU Kokomo
At IU Kokomo, two new Type IV classrooms are now in place and four more will be available by 2002. IUK's plan for its 28 general-inventory classrooms also establishes life-cycle replacement funding for both mobile and fixed equipment, installation of telephones in all Type IV classrooms, and the renovation of classrooms as required for technology infrastructure.
IU Northwest
IU Northwest has 56 general-inventory classrooms and anticipates an additional 30 classrooms by the 2002-2003 academic year, when two new buildings are completed. The IUN five-year implementation plan provides for the purchase of additional mobile computing carts (to meet the increasing needs of faculty using digital technologies in Type I and II classrooms), the creation of 20 Type II classrooms, life-cycle replacement of mobile and fixed equipment, and the development of 10 new Type IV classrooms, bringing to 12 the number of Type IV classrooms expected by the end of the planning period.
IU South Bend
The five-year implementation plan at IU South Bend launches a transition from circulating equipment to more installed technology in its 71 general-inventory classrooms. The plan will create 42 Type II classrooms, upgrade five Type III classrooms to Type IV, and establish 14 new Type IV classrooms. As a result of this implementation, all classrooms at IUSB will be either Type II or Type IV.
IU Southeast
IU Southeast is enhancing its mobile equipment pool and creating additional Type II classrooms. Under development are seven new Type IV classrooms, each with telephones, bringing to 10 the number of Type IV classrooms. The campus has established life-cycle replacement funding for both mobile and fixed classroom equipment in its 58 general-inventory classrooms.
Action 24. The core campuses should collaborate to create an interdepartmental advisory group that will provide advice and guidance on assessment and planning for assessment.
Action 25. Faculty who participate in university-funded programs which support innovative applications of technology in teaching and learning should have access to the expertise and support resources needed to carry out an assessment of their project.
Action 26. A program of applied research in teaching and learning with technology should be considered as a means of identifying faculty and student needs and identifying opportunities for improving teaching and learning.
Work on this action has been focused in the CTL at IUPUI and the TLTL at IUB. Assessment tools have been examined and the Flashlight Instrument offered by the AAHE is being considered for a University-wide license. An advisory committee convened to develop the Distributed Education Strategic Plan is also determining assessment strategies. Once this Plan is complete, ODE and TLIT will work together to establish an assessment review committee.
Action 25. Faculty who participate in university-funded programs which support innovative applications of technology in teaching and learning should have access to the expertise and support resources needed to carry out an assessment of their project.
Actions 24, 25, and 26, are jointly administered by the Teaching and Learning Information Technologies (TLIT) Division and the Office of Distributed Education (ODE).
The Technology Assessment Group, commissioned by the TLIT Division and the ODE to implement Actions 24 and 25, is being expanded to include a greater number of faculty members and representation from the regional campuses. The Flashlight Project is an effort of the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) to help faculty assess the degree to which the use of various technologies promotes principles of good practice in teaching and learning. The AAHE, IUPUI, and five other institutions have collaboratively developed an assessment instrument, called the Current Student Inventory. It includes an item bank of more than 500 questions which faculty can use to assess the use of technology in teaching and learning. The AAHE now includes this toolkit in a suite of assessment projects. Site licenses will be purchased for the Current Student Inventory, and the inventory's item database will be made available to all IU faculty and students via iQuiz and subsequently linked to Oncourse.
In collaboration with staff and departmental faculty, indicators of quality for peer review of Web-based courses will be defined, including content, instructional design principles, graphic design, informatics, and other elements.
A new Web site providing information on assessment strategies is being designed and linked to Web sites of the Center for Teaching and Learning at IUPUI, the Teaching and Learning Technologies Lab at IUB, and the teaching with technology centers on the regional campuses.
The Ameritech Fellows Program announced a second request for proposals in November, resulting in the naming of 13 additional fellows. A Summer Leadership Forum is planned for Summer 2001 where Ameritech Fellows can showcase and demonstrate their projects, share results and findings, and sustain the integration of information technology in their departments and curricula.
Under the guidance of Associate Vice President Erv Boschmann, the Distributed Education Strategic Plan was completed through a University-wide distributed education advisory committee. (See Action 17 for details.)
III. Institutional Commitment | Table of Contents | V. Research
March 2001
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