Technology@Wooster

The second (of two) finalists for the position of Director of Instructional Technology will visit the campus on Friday, May 9. He will make a public presentation in Severance 009 at 4:00 on that date. He will speak to the role of technology in teaching and learning in the liberal arts environment. All members of the campus community are encouraged to attend the public presentation and to provide feedback on this candidate for this important position. The candidate’s vitae, the position description and an evaluation form are available online.

The first finalist for the position of Director of Instructional Technology will visit the campus on Tuesday, May 6. He will make a public presentation in Severance 009 at 4:00 on that date. He will speak to the role of technology in teaching and learning in the liberal arts environment. All members of the campus community are encouraged to attend the public presentation and to provide feedback on this candidate for this important position. The candidate’s vitae, the position description and an evaluation form are available online.

Two finalists for the position of Director of Instructional Technology will visit the campus during the week of May 5.  The first will be on-campus throughout the day on Tuesday, May 6.  He will make a public presentation in Severance 009 at 4:00 on that date.  The second will be here on Friday, May 9.  He will make a public presentation in the same location at 4:00 on that date. All members of the campus community are encouraged to attend the public presentation and to provide their feedback on the candidates.  The vitae of the first candidate will be available for download beginning on Monday, May 5. An evaluation form that can be used to submit comments to the search committee will be available at the same location. Questions about the search and the Director of Instructional Technology position should be directed to David Waldron.

The College of Wooster invites applications for the position of Director of Instructional Technology. The position announcement follows. It is also available in pdf format.

Founded in 1866, the College of Wooster is an independent residential liberal arts college offering a rigorous and comprehensive education to students with the capacity and motivation to become educated leaders in a complex society. Nationally recognized for its focus on independent learning, Wooster has for more than 50 years required every graduate to complete a two-semester capstone experience emphasizing undergraduate research and culminating in a Senior Independent Study thesis. Wooster values co-education, diversity in its many forms, a global perspective, and the heritage arising from its origin as a college founded by Presbyterians.

Department of Instructional Technology

The Department of Instructional Technology is one of four departments within the Office of Information Technology.  This department champions and supports the effective use of technology in teaching and learning.  It collaborates with faculty and others to identify, evaluate, deploy and assess relevant technologies, and to develop campus spaces that promote teaching and learning.

Position Description

The Director of Instructional Technology is responsible for the overall management of the Department of Instructional Technology, including planning, budgeting and project management consistent with the department’s mission. The director monitors changes in technology and their effect on society in order to lead timely discussions about the impact of such changes on pedagogy, curricula and the mission of the College, and to propose strategies in response.

The director’s specific duties include, but are not limited to:

• Collaborating with the faculty, the Libraries and academic support offices on the development of Instructional Technology’s goals for supporting teaching and learning
• Developing strategic and tactical plans to achieve the department’s goals and communicating those plans to the campus community
• Managing and developing the professional staff to implement departmental plans and achieve departmental goals
• Developing grant proposals individually and in collaboration with faculty and staff
• Serving as institutional liaison to NITLE and similar groups
• Exploring opportunities for collaboration with other institutions

This position reports to the Chief Information Technology Officer.

Position Requirements

A Master’s degree is required; a Ph.D. is preferred.  The position requires significant experience supporting instructional technology in higher education, preferably in a liberal arts environment. Teaching experience in higher education, as well as familiarity with instructional design and educational assessment are essential. Demonstrated excellence in oral and written communication to diverse audiences is required, as is the ability to build and sustain collaborative relationships with a wide range of constituents on campus. Evidence of strong leadership skills and the ability to work independently in a dynamic environment are highly desirable.

Application Procedure

Review of applications will begin on March 24, 2008 and will continue until the position is filled.  Applicants should submit a current resume and a letter of interest to:

The Department of Human Resources

The College of Wooster
536 E. Wayne Avenue
Wooster, OH 44691

or via email to humanresources@wooster.edu

In response to the VPAA’s solicitation of IT equipment requests, the Psychology Department reqested two personal response systems. This request was approved and the department is now in possession of two systems acquired from Turning Technologies. Each system consists of 20 wireless response keypads (”clickers”) and a small receiver that connects to the instructor’s computer via a USB port. Each system also includes software that integrates its operations with Microsoft PowerPoint.

These systems can be used to conduct anonymous polls and to assess the students’ collective understanding of particular points. Special slides are created in PowerPoint to present questions and possible answers. Students’ responses are entered via the keypads and captured by the receiver. Responses can be automatically summarized for presentation via PowerPoint. Instructors can then tailor subsequent instruction and activities based upon the results. Responses can also be retrieved for later analysis. It is also possible to use the system to track and record the responses of individual students.

The personal response system is easy to use—instructors already familiar with PowerPoint can become comfortable with the system’s essential functionality in less than five minutes. If you would like more information on personal response systems or would like to see a demonstration of this technology please contact Jon Breitenbucher or Joe Benfield. You can also learn more about personal response systems by visiting the vendor’s website.

The 2008 Horizon Report has just been released.  The report is a joint production of the New Media Consortium and the EduCause Learning Initiaitive and has been produced each year since 2004.  The purpose of the report is to “identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, or creative expression within learning-focused organizations.”

This year’s report identifies the following key emerging technologies:

• Grassroots Video
• Collaboration Webs
• Mobile Broadband
• Data Mashups
• Collective Intelligence
• Social Operating Systems

The report also identifies the following critical challenges facing learning organizations over the next five years:

• “Significant shifts in scholarship, research, creative expression, and learning have created a need for innovation and leadership at all levels of the academy.”
• “Higher education is facing a growing expectation to deliver services, content and media to mobile and personal devices.”
• “The renewed emphasis on collaborative learning is pushing the educational community to develop new forms of interaction and assessment.”
• “The academy is faced with a need to provide formal instruction in information, visual, and technological literacy as well as in how to create meaningful content with today’s tools.”

The Horizon Report identifies the following significant trends affecting the areas of teaching, learning and creative expression:

• “The growing use of Web 2.0 and social networking—combined with collective intelligence and mass amateurization—is gradually but inexorably changing the practice of scholarship.”
• “The way we work, collaborate, and communicate is evolving as boundaries become more fluid and globalization increases.”
• “Access to—and portability of—content is increasing as smaller, more powerful devices are introduced.”
• “The gap between students’ perception of technology and that of faculty continues to widen.”

Download the full report from the EduCause Learning Initiative.

In an effort to better inform members of the campus community about the various information technology resources available to them, the Office of Information Technology has launched an effort to enhance the documentation of these resources and to improve its organization and accessibility.  New documentation is being created in the College wiki and links to it can be found under the “Computing Resources” tab of the IT website. Currently, the wiki contains information about audio and video production resources, copying and printing services, classroom technology, IT help desks and networking services (including wireless).  The documentation initiative will continue throughout the Spring 2008 semester and into the summer, and many new documents will be created. The initiative is being guided by User Services Intern Catherine Grandgeorge.

The National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE) has scheduled four workshops for associates of member institutions like Wooster.  If interested in attending any of these sessions, please contact Jon Breitenbucher, the College’s NITLE liasion.

• Podcasting for the Liberal Arts Classroom
  Program Date: March 18, 2008
  Nomination Deadline: Friday, February 8, 2008
  Location: Reed College
  For More Information: www.nitle.org/index.php/nitle/content/view/full/2639
   
• Visual Literacy: Using Images for Teaching and Learning
  Program Date: March 19, 2008
  Nomination Deadline: Friday, February 8, 2008
  Location: Reed College
  For More Information: www.nitle.org/index.php/nitle/content/view/full/2638
   
• Teaching Digital Natives: Strategies for Digital Immigrants
  Program Date: May 1, 2008
  Nomination Deadline: Friday, March 21, 2008
  Location: Skidmore College
  For More Information: www.nitle.org/index.php/nitle/content/view/full/2641
   
• Social Software for Education: Collaborative Learning and Research Practices
  Program Date: May 2, 2008 Nomination Deadline: Friday, March 21, 2008.
  Location: Skidmore College
  For More Information: www.nitle.org/index.php/nitle/content/view/full/2640
   

Instructional Technology will host an introductory Moodle session at 4:00 on Thursday, January 17, in Taylor 205. Moodle is the College’s course management system.  This session will be aimed at those new to Moodle and those seeking a refresher. An intermediate session is planned for the week of January 28. Users wishing to explore more advanced features should contact Jon Breitenbucher.

SMART Sympodium interactive pen displays have been installed in Mateer G01, 203 and 305.  The Sympodiums, small flat screen devices, have been installed on the tables or work benches in front of each of these three rooms.  They are connected to the classrooms’ computers and ceiling-mounted projectors. The Sympodiums allow instructors to project images from the computer onto the classroom screen.  While facing the class, instructors can add notes to the projected images in multiple colors.  At the end of the class, the presentation–including both the projected images and the instructor’s notes–can be digitally saved and, if desired, distributed.  This distribution can take place via Moodle. 

Also added to Mateer is a mobile cart with a projector and document camera. A document camera is special video camera designed to display documents and three dimensional objects via a projector, monitor or similar device. Document cameras can also be used to project the performance of small-scale lab demonstrations onto a wall-mounted screen.

This equipment was funded by a Hewlett-Mellon grant. The proposal was developed by Sharon Lynn of Biology and Janet Russell of Instructional Technology. The grant application sites the following benefits of these technologies:

• Increased student interaction during class
• Greater flexibility for instructors during class
• Development of notes with students that can be further adapted outside of class
• Improved demonstration of laboratory techniques
• Enhanced motivation on the part of students
• Enhanced retention of material

Installation of the new equipment was overseen by Vince Di Scipio, Director of Networks, Telecommunications and Systems. This role fell to Vince when Media Services was shifted from Instructional Technology to NTS.

A Sympodium and a document camera are currently available for inspection and experimentation in the Classroom Technology Demo Room. Questions about them can be directed to Jon Breitenbucher or Joe Benfield.