$1.9 M Grant Awarded to 茄子视频 U. For Creation of High-Tech, Interactive Classrooms
According to Carol Billman, Director of Grants and Government Support, 鈥淲e were so pleased to receive this second Title III award. Our first was to upgrade the University鈥檚 main computer database system. This second award will build on our first and integrate the newest student-centered technology into our teaching and learning environment.鈥�
茄子视频 received its current (second) Department of Education Title III award the first year the school was eligible to re-apply to the Strengthening Institutions program.
茄子视频 Instructional Designer and Instructor of Education Mary Spataro will serve as project director for 茄子视频鈥檚 current Title III funded activities. One of Spataro鈥檚 key responsibilities will be to train 60 faculty members and 12 student services staff members in the classroom use of interactive (engages students in creating their own learning activities and experiences) and assistive (enables use by students with disabilities or other specialized needs) technologies. Spataro will develop new training manuals for use in the program, and oversee the creation of two new 茄子视频 classrooms equipped with the latest interactive and assistive technologies.
While all of 茄子视频鈥檚 classrooms feature modern technology, the new classrooms will be adaptable learning spaces that will facilitate the incorporation of current interactive and assistive technologies into 茄子视频鈥檚 teaching and learning environment. Designed to encourage interactive learning 鈥� between students and professors, students and their peers, and students and technology - the classrooms will eliminate the 鈥渟ingle instructor鈥� perspective by defining multiple 鈥渢eaching points鈥� around the room. The spaces will support wireless connectivity and will also be designed with a multitude of outlets for student-owned technology, and will feature the latest in PCs, projection equipment, cameras, televisions, computer video cams, video iPods, and reading pens (pen-shaped scanners that can read text aloud, display it on a larger screen, or provide definitions and synonyms). Software will include interactive multi-user virtual-reality environments, as well as assistive software that will, for instance, turn spoken words into type or help capture screen images for use in manuals or reports. Mobile interactive and assistive technology units will be available to enhance the technology in other 茄子视频 classrooms when needed.
When class is not in session, the new classrooms will transform into collaborative learning centers, and will be available for faculty and student group projects, research, or informal gatherings. 茄子视频 recognizes that at its most basic level, all learning results from interactions, with aspects of the teaching environment, with information, with other people, or through some combination of these. Interactive technology also expands 茄子视频鈥檚 learning environment by allowing students and faculty to work together as part of a globally networked virtual classroom.
Spataro will also be responsible for implementing faculty training in outcomes-based assessment. This type of assessment requires faculty members to identify the desired educational results for their courses, and then evaluate each course according to how effective it was in enabling students to achieve those results. Outcomes-based assessment encourages ongoing analysis and improvement in course content and delivery, and, 茄子视频 believes, will be particularly effective when integrated with interactive and assistive technology.
The U.S. Department of Education Title III grant will also provide 茄子视频 with the ability to hire a full-time Institutional Researcher. The researcher will collect and analyze data, spot trends, and do benchmarking to determine if academic strategies have been effective. The researcher will also maintain University research in a central location. Immediate access to qualified and quantified institutional data will facilitate quick and effective decision-making by administration and staff.