Mini-Case Study

by

Charleen Worsham

Gail Weatherly

"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail,

"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail."

-Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

The critical role of teachers in effective learning means that all must have training, preparation, and institutional support to successfully teach with technology…Few teachers have had either teacher education or field experiences that enable them to be effective distance education teachers or successfully use technology in their own classroom (Office of Technology Assessment, 1989). Faculty must also dedicate time to self-training because of the increasing gap between the preparation and expectation levels of students and faculty. Today's students are more likely to be computer literate and to expect to use technology to accomplish their academic and occupational goals (Taber, 2000). Obviously, the days of preparing for a new course by developing a hard-copy syllabus, selecting a good textbook, and writing up some lecture notes have certainly changed. These days, an instructor putting together a new course may want to incorporate a classroom web site; develop complex, full-color graphic support materials; or even make a CD-ROM. As more university faculty are using multimedia to enhance instruction, it's time to move beyond the basics and venture into some of the newer multimedia development tools (Irani and Harrington, 2000). Since the pace of technological change shows no signs of slowing, what can be done to ease this onslaught and effectively prepare higher education faculty for tomorrow's classroom? An integral piece of the faculty professional development solution is to establish a Faculty Innovation Center, providing a dedicated instructional and laboratory space equipped with state of the art resources. The need for this facility is echoed in the recent report, The Power of the Internet for Learning: which states "Creating high-tech educational tools without training teachers to use them would be as useless as creating a new generation of planes, without training pilots to fly them."

A. Justification

New University, an Internet2 member, plans to create a Faculty Innovation Center. The Center will be retrofitted in an existing building with new wiring, new computers, a new server, new telecommunications equipment, and new furniture. These resources, the training to use them, and readily available support and assistance for faculty users will mesh with the equipment requests of this project and will enable faculty to integrate leading technology resources in their classrooms, both traditional and distance, and increase the quality of courses and programs offered to students across the state. A primary objective of the University is to have the majority of the University faculty become innovative instructors who move away from faulty-centered approaches to student-centered instruction. Often such approaches incorporate the use of technology. In the FIC, faculty can find the resources and assistance they need to provide optimal instruction (Schmidt 2000).

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The hardware resources requested for the Faculty Innovation Center will have impact on not only faculty at the local University, but will be a resource that can be shared by teachers in the many schools in the East Texas area that cannot justify the expense of acquiring comparable resources. Survey data of university faculty has indicated a dire need for structured training in the use of advanced technology. The establishment of the Center will allow the university to acquire resources that can be shared and utilized by all faculty members. The use of human resources will be maximized since training, technical support, and software assistance will be centralized.

B. Connectivity

Since New University is already part of Internet2, the membership fee of approximately $300,000 will not be addressed in this proposal. However, all components purchased for the Faculty Innovation Center must meet Internet2 specifications (Lundsten, 2001). A Cisco switch will be purchased for the connectivity requirements of the Center. Wiring to the building was included in the capital infrastructure and will bring 10/100 Megabit-per-second unshared Ethernet to the desktop connection.

C. Hardware Description

Specifically, the Faculty Innovation Center will be developed as a hybrid lab to house 20 high-end Macintosh and PC desktop computers systems with video capturing and storage capabilities, each connected to the campus network for Internet connectivity and multimedia/graphics manipulation. These will be arranged in a classroom format for use during training sessions, but will also be available at other times. A resource room will be located adjacent to the model/teaching and learning center, which will allow faculty and staff to use additional resources without disrupting training sessions.

The Distance Learning Department plans to purchase a multiple-gigabyte Compaq Windows NT/Apache Web Server with RAID array. This server will be housed in the center upon its renovation (targeted for late spring, 2001). The center will have the capacity to produce multiple CDs to enhance student learning while minimizing bandwidth concerns.

High quality scanning and printing will be available, as well as the ability to convert the massive array of 35mm slides used in the arts and sciences into a digital format. Faculty will have both still and video digital cameras available to them to borrow for use in the creation of instructional materials. A small number of laptops will be available for similar purposes – both in the classroom as well as in the field.

A new network switch will be purchased and the existing web/file server will be upgraded. Desktop computers, aligned with Internet2 specs, will run at a speed of 500 Megahertz, with 256 MB of RAM, 10 gigabytes of hard disk space, and full audio/video capabilities. See budget for cost analysis.

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D. Personnel Support

The Center will be staffed by a Multimedia Specialist and Faculty Support Specialist who are specialists in streaming technologies to create video and audio content. These staff members will assist faculty members with the creation and/or conversion of instructional materials to enhance both the traditional classroom environment and distance learning courses. Stipends may be used to cover time investments for trainers that offer their course materials to other innovation centers in the project. Faculty participating in intensive training activities at the Center, whether as a trainer or trainee, will be provided with stipends.

E. Software

The software purchases requested for this grant are an integral piece of the Faculty Innovation Center. The software applications to be taught and supported by the center are used for graphic file manipulation, website construction, web-course construction, digital audio and videostreaming, text-digital conversion, and publishing preparation. It will be available on fixed terminals in the center and on the laptops that faculty and faculty trainers will use at remote sites. These dedicated resources will be available during training sessions as well as regular additional hours for adult learners. Local funds are allocated to provide quality training and reference resources to participants. This includes items such as workshop manuals, books, and duplication expenses.

BUDGET COST ANALYSIS

Specifically, the requested software includes:

Adobe Dynamic Media Collection 10 pack that includes AfterEffects, Premiere, Photoshop & Illustrator	5450
Dreamweaver 10 pack Instructor Kit	949
CourseBuilder for Dreamweaver 10 pack Instructor Kit	945
Flash 10 pack Instructor Kit	949
Director 8 Shockwave 10 station Instructor Kit	3795
Media Cleaner Pro Comp Suite	1039
Virus Software (13 @ $30)	390
OmniPage Proscan	405

Software subtotal: $13,922

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The requested hardware includes:

Cisco 1 Gigabit Switch	2900
Compaq Server (RAID array and Windows NT/Apache)	15000
10 Sony VAIO comparable digital station PC's @ $2500	25000
3 Sony VAIO comparable notebooks @ $2700	8100
10 Macintosh computers @ $2,500	25000
Server Hardware-storage/memory	3660
Multimedia projector with 2200 Lumens, True XGA, 1024x768	7500
Mounting of projector	1200
Multimedia screen	400
Elmo EV500 AF digital projector	3800
DVD burner, duplicator, labeler	9000
12-bay CD duplicator	8000
Sony Cyber Shot DSC-S70 digital camera (w/memory stick)	800
Sony Mavica digital camera (w/floppy)	700
Sony DCR UX2000 digital video camcorder	3000
DVD player	300
Epson 1640XL GA scanner	2700
Nikon Slide scanner	1200
Color Laser Printer	5000
64 MB memory stick for cameras	140
25" TV/VCR combo	320
HP Photo Smart S20 photo/slide scanner	499

Hardware subtotal: $124,219

The requested wiring includes:

Wiring for 10/100 megabit-per-second unshared Ethernet to the desktop

5000

Wiring subtotal: $5,000

The requested furniture includes:

Tables (unassembled) with trap for keyboard and cubby for CPU	400
Assembly of tables	1500
Student chairs	100
Multi-cabinet Instructor Podium	2000
Instructor chair	200

Furniture subtotal: $4,200

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Personnel Costs:

Multimedia Specialist – annual salary	30000
Faculty Support Specialist	25000
Faculty trainer stipends – annual estimate	5000

Personnel costs subtotal: $60,000

TOTAL COSTS: $207,341

Resources:

Irani, Tracy and Harrington, Michael T. (2000). "Planning for the Next Wave of Faculty Development". Syllabus, 14(3), 36.

Kerrey, Senator Robert. The Power of the Internet for Learning: Moving from Promise to Practice. Report of the Web-Based Education Commission to the President and the Congress of the United States. http://www.ed.gov/offices/AC/WBEC/FinalReport/WBECReport.pdf

Lundsten, April and Doiel, Robert, (2001). "Getting Ready for Internet2". Syllabus, 14(9), 33.

Office of Technology Assessment (1989). Linking for Learning: A New Course for Education. Congress of the U. S.. (ERIC Document Reproduction No. ED 310 765).

Schmidt, K., Connolly, T.J., Koen, B.V. Providing Inroads to Learning the Fundamentals of Pedagogy: Involving a Team in the Refinement of Web-Based PSI Course. The University of Texas/Austin, The Pennsylvania State University.

Taber, Lynn Sullivan. (2000). "Keeping Up to Speed When You're Moving Too Fast Already: Instructional Technology Staff Development Programs and User Support." In Milliron, M. D. (Ed.), Taking a Big Picture Look @ Technology, Learning & the Community College. League for Innovation in the Community College.