CTL:  The Center for Technology and Learning at the University of the Virgin Islands

 

February 20, 2005

Annette N. Markham, Ph. D.

 

This document provides a progress report for the development of a centralized center for technology and learning at UVI.  In Fall, 2004, Beth Heyliger (then CIO) and Annette Markham (faculty liaison for course management system Blackboard) began discussing the structure and goals for this center.  In January, 2005, the framework for this center was presented to the new Division of Information Technology Services and Library Resources Center.  The project idea met with resounding support.  Progress toward actualizing this center continues under the leadership of Annette Markham.

 

The center makes good sense at this time in the development of UVI as a global university specializing in futures.  Although many here at UVI may use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) effectively, the relentless pace of technological development demands concomitant training and development.

 

  • As more students, faculty, and staff use the internet as a primary means of communication and information gathering, it becomes essential that they employ best practices to achieve the greatest potential from these new media. 
  • As faculty continue to use more technology in the classroom, it becomes necessary to help them minimize their time and frustration in producing materials and maximize the positive benefits of such technology use as a tool for pedagogy.
  • As the university adds more geographically dispersed populations to their market, it becomes vital that faculty use best practices in developing high quality learning environments for distance education. 

 

Issue:  Finding a good name is necessary for this center:

 

            Center for Distance and Distributed Education (CDDL)

Center for Educational Technologies and Learning Support (CETLS)

            Center for Technology and Learning (CTL)

            Center for Educational Technology Development (CETD)

            Center for Learning Technologies (CLT)

            Center for Information and Communication Technology Development (CICTD)

 

Justification within the restructuring process of the university:  The center is a model for how multiple areas can be bridged at UVI.

 

This unit represents a good example of a bridge area, where multiple units in the university system are blended together to provide programs.

  • Academic component:  The center’s philosophy and content derives from academic inquiry in the areas of instructional technologies, instructional design, communication technology, pedagogy of teaching in mediated environments, and so forth.  Associated units include but are not limited to: Communication Studies (currently Speech Communication and Journalism areas), Computer Science, and Education. Faculty members in various areas are well suited to contribute intellectual energy to the development of the center.
  • IT component:  The center’s goal to provide skills training in various software applications involves the information technology unit.  This unit provides not only the logistic and technical support for such activities, but also intellectual support.  Many members of the IT area are well suited to contribute intellectual energy to the development of the center.
  • Library and Information Sciences component:  Middle States Commission on Higher Education requires that information literacy be integrated throughout the curriculum to ensure that students at graduation have acquired appropriate knowledge, skills, and competencies. The center is designed to help faculty, staff, and students learn more about Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as these influence teaching, learning, job performance, and social behavior in technologically-mediated cultures.  Faculty and staff in the library and information science areas are crucial to this effort.  Library and Information Sciences researchers conduct inquiry into the structure, flow, and analysis of information.  At the same time, librarians are well suited to helping making such knowledge sensible to end users/clients.  The contributions of the library to this center, therefore, will be both intellectual and practical.

 

 

Services to be provided:  The center will centralize many educational services for UVI

The center is designed to bring together currently dispersed programs in order to more cohesively serve the university community in the area of technology training and development.  Over time, the following development areas will be housed within the center:

 

 

 

Faculty Development

Training in Distance Education Technologies and Pedagogy: 

§         Videoconferencing, smart classrooms, general equipment usage

§         Asynchronous computer-mediated communication (Blackboard, email, mailing lists, websites, weblogs, discussion boards (BBS)),

§         Synchronous computer-mediated communication (PC based videoconferencing, webcams, chat interfaces, streaming video/audio)

 

Training in the management and organization of information flow and in accessing information sources for research

§         Training in desktop management programs (Google desktop management, online calendars, online bookmarks, etc.)

§         Training in folder management

§         Training in use of library databases

§         Maximizing use of library services and resources

 

Advanced Training in Software Applications

§         Powerpoint for teaching and research (classroom use, conference use, publishing online)

§         Microsoft Publisher (flyers and announcements for print)

§         Microsoft Word (advanced functions that aid in pedagogy and research)

§         Adobe Photoshop (graphic image manipulation)

§         Macromedia Dreamweaver (website development)

 

Student Development

 

Stage I:  Self-Paced Tutorials on information and communication technologies (ICT)

(must be completed by all students before the end of their first semester at UVI)

§         Self-paced tutorial in basic computing and use of basic Office programs (existing)

§         Self-paced tutorial in using the Internet for research distinguishing between free web and subscription sources.

§         Self-paced tutorial in evaluating Internet sites for quality and credibility

§         Self-paced tutorial in email and mailing list use and etiquette

 

Stage II:  Workshop on Advanced ICT (new)

(must be attended by all students before the end of their second semester at UVI)

§         Managing and organizing information flow through various strategies

§         Basic use of Blackboard and Email

 

Stage III:  Information Literacy (existing)

(must be attended by all students via FDS, SCI 100, SSC 100, ENG 201, senior projects, and potentially other courses across the curriculum)

§         Analyzing assignments to formulate and communicate a research question

§         Identifying information needs to develop a search strategy

§         Conducting basic research in the libraries to locate and retrieve information in all formats (tour of libraries)

§         Conducting basic research via library databases

 

Stage IV:  Advanced Information Literacy (new)

(workshop:  A student’s selection of three advanced workshops must be attended and assignments completed by end of fourth semester at UVI)

§         Understanding the flow of information and its organization through disciplines to select appropriate research sources

§         Sorting through millions of hits:  Tips and Tricks for conducting research via internet and library databases

§         Finding credible information:  Tips and Tricks for sorting the bad from the good.

§         Intellectual ethics

§         Information access and management skills for research assistants (currently SciMath focus but could be expanded for teaching/research assistants in other disciplines)

 

 

Staff Development

 

Training in the management and organization of information flow and awareness of information sources

§         Desktop management programs (Google desktop management, online calendars, online bookmarks, etc.)

§         Folder management

§         Corporate Time or Outlook

§         Library resources and services

 

Advanced Training in Software Applications

§         Powerpoint

§         Microsoft Publisher (flyers and announcements for print)

§         Microsoft Word (advanced functions that aid in pedagogy and research)

§         Adobe Photoshop (graphic image manipulation)

§         Macromedia Dreamweaver (website development)

§         Microsoft Excel

 

Staff Development

 

Training in the management and organization of information flow

§         Desktop management programs (Google desktop management, online calendars, online bookmarks, etc.)

§         Folder management

§         Corporate Time or Outlook

 

Advanced Training in Software Applications

§         Powerpoint

§         Microsoft Publisher (flyers and announcements for print)

§         Microsoft Word (advanced functions that aid in pedagogy and research)

§         Adobe Photoshop (graphic image manipulation)

§         Macromedia Dreamweaver (website development)

§         Microsoft Excel

 

Physical Locations: 

The center will be located physically in the libraries on St. Croix and St. Thomas.  Each library will have a lab which can be used for most, if not all, training and development.

 

Virtual Locations:

The Center must have a significant online presence to provide intuitive user interface for individualized training and support.  The development of the web presence, therefore, is a high priority and must be adequately supported.  Outsourcing will be required to develop an effective and interactive web presence.

 

Timeline for getting the Center up and running:

 

January-May, 2005:        Planning the Framework and Structure for the Center

                                    Catching up with Blackboard

                                    Creating a minimal web presence (Phase I) for the Center

                                     

May-July, 2005: Planning and Scheduling

                                    Developing workshops

                                    Training the workshop facilitators

                                    Gettting self-paced tutorials online

                                    Developing greater web presence (Phase II)

                                    Integrating media services into the Center

 

August-Dec, 2005:         Providing training and development for faculty and students

                                    Building relationships with other Divisions to offer courses with and through the Center

 

January-May, 2006:        Providing helpdesk training as part of a 3-credit course in Communication Area

                                    Provide training for staff

                                    Conducting a University-wide assessment of distance education at UVI in coordination with the Academic Technologies Committee

 

Ideally, the Center would be adequately staffed in anticipation of future growth:

 

The Center will require a permanent Coordinator and eventually, staff to help manage and provide training.  Training will be outsourced to faculty as much as possible, but as the center grows, personnel will be required to build workshops, teach workshops, provide assistance to users in the labs, and maintain the web components of the Center’s training and development packages (eventually, much of the information given in workshops will be made available online for self-paced work).

 

The following identifies a possible scenario for staffing:

 

Summer, 2005:              full-time Coordinator

half-time Assistant

outsourced web designer

 

Fall-Spring, 2005:           Full-time Coordinator or two half-time coordinators

                                    half-time assistant coordinator

                                    two student workers

 

 Summer, 2005: full-time coordinator

half-time assistant

two student workers

 

Fall-Spring, 2006:           Full-time Coordinator of the Center (responsible for personnel, grant-writing, and growth of the center’s mission and activities)

                                    Full-time coordinator of faculty training and development

                                    Full-time assistant for scheduling and operations

                                    Budget for outsourcing faculty trainers

                                    Two student workers

 

 

Let’s not neglect the future development of the Center:

 

Eventually, we envision this Center as a research arm of the University of the Virgin Islands.  This Center has the potential to become a central location for advancements in the use of Information and Communication Technology in the Caribbean or in Developing Island Nation States.  Education is certainly one important use of new communication technologies, but as Internet access and use grows, research that examines how ICTs are used in our specific cultural contexts is vital to the effective integration of technology in developing countries.

 

Although the Center’s constant function will remain to help faculty, staff, and students become better skilled in the use and understanding of everyday information and communication technologies, there is much intellectual inquiry that can take place under the umbrella of such a Center.  Grants may provide seed money to support faculty research in the areas of ICT in pedagogy, ICT in developing island nation states, and ICT in the Virgin Islands.  Innovate course development might be supported if such development contributes new models for best practices at the university or regional level.  Conferences can also generate revenue even as they build excitement around research related to Information and Communication Technologies.   

 

 

This report summarizes a work-in-progress.  No formal proposals have been made to date.  No set procedures have been put in place for continued development of this Center.