Objective - Resources - Implications - Assessment - Time Frame - Conclusion
This project proposal, partially funded by the Associated Colleges of the South, concludes with a brief report on the results of the exploratory stage.
Pradip Malde, University of the South
This project will create a set of web-based resources for faculty that are interested in utilizing digital technologies in their courses. These resources will be designed to require the minimum of experience from the user, while providing a set of sophisticated tools to, for example:
The components of the 'Tool Box' can be used to create entire customized web sites or just small instructional modules to address specific class topics.
A secondary objective is to produce a set of short web-based interactive courses about web design and building, producing interactive and multimedia material and information design. These courses would function not only as stand-alone tutorials but also as supplementary material for instructional technology workshops. All of these tutorials will underscore the importance of the design of information, web structures and the human / computer interface.
The combined effect of these two sets of objectives will generate a 'holistic' approach to preparing instructional material, and could even help to enhance the more traditional instructional methods.
The nature of this project makes it difficult to accurately anticipate all the resource needs. However, the University of the South’s Instructional Technology Workshop (ITW) currently is able to provide most of the hardware and software resources. Additionally, the ITW has a cohort of summer interns with experience of Java, JavaScript, and WebObjects. It is expected that Sewanee’s Information Technology Services and the Department of Art and Art History will provide any additional resources. It should be noted that I have extensive web design experience and also initiated and continue to teach digital arts courses at Sewanee.
Effective implementation and regular maintenance of this web ‘Tool Box’ will facilitate the use of digital technologies in the classroom. While providing an easily accessible set of resources to faculty with little time for learning new presentation and web building software, it will also familiarize digiphobes with methods and approaches that would otherwise seem threatening. Learning HTML and dealing with architechtonics can be an intimidating experience. It is hoped the project will circumvent this, and via a process of familiarization and the presentation of possibilities, bring those who would otherwise be intimidated to a more active and creative utilization of digital instructional technology.
This is a large and complex project, and requires extensive planning, surveying of user needs and investigation of software resources. This proposal covers the initial stages of this project, namely to at least prepare a working prototype of the site, The prototype would then be used to survey user needs. The success of this part of the project would be based on:
Total duration for the prototype build is expected to be between 4 to 6 weeks.
The above project received partial funding, sufficient to explore the above ideas rather than implement them. Over a two-week period, a series of informal conversations were held with faculty ranging from experienced information technology users to individuals who used computers primarily for e-mail and web browsing and with faculty who are involved with administering and facilitating IT resources for teachers, such as the head of the Information Technology Workshop, the director of the Center for teaching, and the Dean of the College. Additionally, new developments in course management software and java based web applications were explored.
From these conversations it became apparent that an automated, web-based set of tools would not necessarily provide an enhanced set of teaching and learning tools. Before grappling with building web sites, it seems more important for faculty to acquire a fundamental understanding of the way in which data is placed on and transferred from web servers, different types of data formats, and information design. With this in mind, a project was spawned to formulate a short web design course for faculty. This course, Geekdom in Five Days, was offered for the first time during the Summer of 2001. Although the course digresses significantly from the way this project intended to implement a web 'tool box', its component modules essentially address the same objectives, albeit on a smaller scale.