Instructional Improvement Awards to 15 faculty

Chuleeporn Changchit, management sciences, will develop a web-based intelligent system that detects internal control weaknesses in accounting systems. By using the interactive system, students will learn to evaluate internal control systems rather than memorize potential weaknesses. It will prompt students to enter data gathered from a specific case and will then report each weakness. The new technique will free up class time and allow students to work at their convenience.

Filippo Menczer, management sciences, will purchase a new instructional server to be used by students in the Management of Information Systems program. It will support hands-on learning of skills related to server configuration and system development for intelligent agents, distributed information systems, web and Internet client-server systems, databases, and electronic commerce projects in the program. Students will learn to install packages, configure server options, control their processes, and administer the system without endangering other college computational resources.

Ali Fakhry and Nancy Slach, periodontics, will purchase a digital camera to provide a visual record of patient care, complementing the traditional clinical record. The digital images will enhance the ability to teach the key elements of diagnosis, treatment, and management of periodontic diseases and soft tissue lesions by illustrating the nature of gingival inflammation including minute changes in tissue color, tone, and contour. This will allow students to more critically assess the impact of their therapeutic approaches, as active periodontal therapy extends over several months, so while one student may initiate treatment, another continues therapy and still others follow through with maintenance care.

John Wadsworth, counseling, rehabilitation, and student development, will preserve and make accessible existing video instructional material that features UI faculty and alumni who are recognized leaders in the field of counseling. The project will use the services of the UI Video Production Center to digitize material that does not lend itself to use in distance and web-based education, such as 16mm film and 1-inch video, and will purchase CD technology to duplicate the material for graduate classroom instruction. The material includes demonstrations of assessment and intervention techniques, recorded presentations on counseling theory and multicultural issues, and simulated client interviews.

Marian Muste and Connie Mutel, Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research (IIHR), will document and preserve selected research instrumentation and equipment at the Hydraulics Laboratory. The funds will help create historic displays in the fluids engineering classroom and the new entrance hall as well as videos to be used as part of a teaching module. The displays and module will be accessed each year by more than 200 students and 500 visitors, deepening appreciation for the history and evolution of fluids research at IIHR. Preservation of the equipment also will allow for the possibility of offering a class in the history of fluid mechanics.

Mark Janis, College of Law, will create a Digital Archive on Image Misappropriation (DAIM) to use in intellectual property courses. The archive will contain photographs, video clips, web pages, and audio clips that are useful in explaining trademark, copyright, and right-of-publicity cases involving the unauthorized uses of protected images. DAIM will be the first of its kind, and instructors will be able to create customized compilations of images for support of in-class instruction, for use on a web page, or for distribution with course materials.

Benjamin Kaplan, history, will convert into digital form the collection of slides he uses in various courses on European history. The digitization will allow him to integrate visual and classroom materials into seamless PowerPoint presentations, rather than switching between slides and overhead transparencies. The images will be available to anyone teaching Western Civilization, the largest general education course in the department.

Tadeu Coelho, School of Music, will make text and test material for the Flute Studio available through the web and WebCT. Students will have direct and immediate access to articles and tests as well as sound files of performances, recitals, and classes. Students will benefit from exposure to a variety of performers, endless replay possibilities, analyses of their own performances as well as those of their colleagues, and the use of sound manipulation software. Images of students’ embouchures, finger positions, and other relevant aspects can be reviewed and downloaded.

Vincent Rodgers, physics and astronomy, will acquire visual aids for use in the new course, Physics of the Body: Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology. The equipment, including anatomical models and a video-ready microscope, will help students interested in the physical and mathematical aspects of the medical profession understand cellular functions and learn about the balance of forces and torques that act on the human body.

Yukiko Hatasa, Asian languages and literature, will create a series of instructional modules for intermediate-level Japanese language courses. The materials, which will be written in PDF format and located on the department web site, will demonstrate good and poor strategy use during script-learning, conversation, grammar-learning, reading, and writing. The project will help teachers identify how students learn a language, find out what has or has not worked in learning Japanese, and teach effective methods of learning Japanese.

Jose Assouline, anatomy and cell biology, will complete the development of a web-based neuroscience laboratory curriculum for professional and graduate students. Students will have unlimited, interactive access to images (linked to a database) of human brain specimens, radiographs, and microscopic sections. This will allow students to review material outside of class, take laboratory tests on-line, and post questions on a bulletin board. The web-based lab also will provide links to lecture and clinical case material and be beneficial to other state institutions.

Marcia Cordts and Lunching Sun, microbiology, will create a web-based laboratory that will present 10 to 20 "virtual exam stations." Each station will require students to analyze data from small cases and experiments, draw conclusions, and answer questions within a designated time period. Students will be able to assess what they’ve learned in the lab and how well they’ve learned it prior to taking the actual lab practical exam. Initially designed for students in Principles of Infectious Disease, the web-based lab ultimately will be available for other microbiology lab courses.

Compiled by Sara Epstein