The next thing: Planning for future technology in UI's learning spaces

Lynn Johnson, associate professor of oral pathology, radiology, and medicine (seated right), and Sandra Phelps, Hardin Library librarian (standing), share an "a-ha" moment with dental students David Foreman and Nicole Eberle in a class using wireless networked notebook computers. Photo by Kirk Murray.

"Four or five years ago, the issue was ‘Can we get technology into the classrooms?’ " Rocklin said. "Now we’ve gotten there. We have technology in most of the teaching spaces where it’s feasible. Now we have to ask how we use it there."

Rocklin is one of eight UI faculty and staff members who are spending the spring semester asking just that. The group is called the Learning Spaces committee. They’re a subcommittee of the Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC), a charter committee of the University. The Learning Spaces committee will be putting together a set of recommendations for the future of technology and other design elements in all learning spaces.

According to Maggie Jesse, director of the Computing Services Organization in the College of Business and chair of the Learning Spaces committee, the committee’s goal is to help develop a technology plan for the future, a vision of where the University should be in regard to learning and technology in 2005.

"Things have really changed in the last 15 years," Jesse said. "We’ve gone from having a blackboard, a desk, and chalk in each classroom to having every classroom need over-heads, computers, and video. But it all just sort of evolved without a lot of planning or forethought. It happened because it had to. Now we want to be more proactive."

To do that, the committee will be seeking information from all kinds of campus users of technology. They will be conducting four focus groups. One group consists of what Jesse calls "pioneer users." These are the adventurous ones, the visionaries who embrace new technologies in their infancy. The second group consists entirely of UI students. The third will be made up of ITS staff members and coordinators of the ITCs.

The fourth group may be the most informative of all.

"These are the people who do not use technology in teaching," Jesse said. "They’re good teachers, respected in the classroom, but they’re not jumping on the technology bandwagon. We want to know why. Have they had problems? Have they hit a brick wall?"

The committee will be asking these groups questions on topics that range from the simplest to the most sophisticated uses of technology.

"The first question that stymies us every time is podium placement," Rocklin said. "Different people have different styles of teaching. Some like to sit, some stand up. Some lecture from the side, and some prefer to be front and center. It’s mundane, but it really makes a difference. Then at the other extreme, there’s the question of what technology do we provide for students in a classroom. Is it best to have laptops? Or do we leapfrog past that to palm computers?"

In addition to the focus groups, the Learning Spaces committee welcomes comments from anyone in the University (see box below).

For faculty wishing to use technology in their teaching, there are plenty of options. Coline Daugherty, program associate in Space Planning and Utilization, administers the technology in general assignment classrooms.

"We have approximately 203 general assignment classrooms," Daugherty said. "As of this fall, we have probably 84 with installed technology."

Although they’re not all set up identically, these typically have a computer, VCR, and document camera, essentially a high-tech version of the old opaque projector. Instructors who want to use one of these fully equipped classrooms for a full semester should contact their department chairs early, since these assignments typically are made nine months in advance. Daugherty recently completed the assignments for 2001, and the installed-technology classrooms are fully booked.

Of those classrooms that don’t have installed technology, almost all are classified as technologically accessible. These have data ports so instructors can plug in a mobile computer. And every teaching building on campus has audio-visual closets containing equipment that can be checked out on an as-needed basis. The closets typically contain TVs and VCRs, although some also have video projectors that allow moving images to be projected on a large screen. There are 35mm slide projectors and even 16mm movie projectors.

"And we usually have a COW," Daugherty said. "That stands for Computer On Wheels."

To use the machines in the AV closets, call Space Planning at (33)5-2571. Instructors can check out a key to the closet nearest their class for a day, a week, or a full semester.

Daugherty takes care of general assignment classrooms, meaning classrooms that are maintained by central administration and are available to anyone. In addition, many individual departments and colleges have technologically equipped classrooms for their own use.

Probably the best way to learn what’s available in specific classrooms is to visit Space Planning’s web site at http://fpu.fsg.uiowa.edu/newclass/index.htm. The site has complete listings of all general assignment classrooms, what machines are installed, and what machines are available in nearby AV closets. The listings include photos of each classroom. There are even downloadable PowerPoint presentations that give step-by-step instructions on how to use each device in each classroom.

So in this whirlwind of data ports and digital video projectors, what is the most frequently used piece of teaching technology on campus?

"The old style overhead projector," Rocklin said.

And you don’t even have to request it. It’s standard equipment in every general assignment classroom on campus.

Article by Sam Samuels