An important element of our technology vision is that we integrate technology into the learning process. How successfully have we done this?

Attention to pedagogy has been at the forefront of our technology planning efforts in recent years. In 1997, a campus task force planning an electronic classroom emphasized that professional development, up-to-date equipment, sustained technical support, and integration of technology across the curriculum are essential ingredients for success in distance education. The task force called for "immediate and sustained commitment to technology planning, technology investment and technology support for faculty, staff and students at Millersville University." The technology vision drafted in 1998 called for similar action.

Millersville has committed a variety of resources to help faculty integrate teaching, learning, and technology. We are already seeing the results of our efforts. In a Spring 1998 survey of college students conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute, 90% of our sophomores reported that they have used the Web for coursework, and over 80% have used e-mail in a course.

Although many faculty are receptive to integrating these new forms of pedagogy, adoption has been gradual, largely because of the sizable amount of time required to learn these new technologies and redesign curricula to take advantage of them. Our experience has taught us that faculty innovation in teaching and technology requires expertise in instructional design, technical support, and time to re-conceptualize teaching strategies. We have also learned that we need to develop ways to reward faculty risk-taking in innovative teaching through the tenure and promotion process.

Faculty Development

The Technology Vision Task Force recommended that we create a professional development center to help the faculty integrate information technology into teaching and learning. In 1998 we established the Center for Academic Excellence to provide technical assistance in this regard (see Chapter 4).

Millersville has undertaken a number of other initiatives to give our faculty the skills to integrate technology into the teaching/learning process. Information Technology uses both outsourced professionals and campus-developed classes to provide training in basic applications. One-on-one training on specific technology-related techniques is also available. A Teaching, Learning and Technology Roundtable fosters dialog. The Deans' Council allocated $68,000 in 1998-1999 to support pilot faculty development projects. We have offered workshops on software and multimedia tools, collaborative learning, portfolio assessment, and the Flashlight Toolkit for assessing student learning, to name just a few. During Spring 1999 alone, 54 faculty members participated in activities using new media to enhance pedagogy.

We have also offered discipline-based faculty development opportunities. Through the National Endowment for the Humanities' New Media Classroom project, faculty collaborate with K-12 teachers and local agencies to integrate technology into social studies teaching. A recent pilot program teaming faculty, K-12 teachers and student teachers focused on integrating technology into the teaching of mathematics.

Resources

Millersville offers a strong, up-to-date infrastructure of networking, hardware, software, and other resources to support the learning process, including central computing systems, local area network servers, video conferencing and satellite downlinks, our Web site, and a Help Desk. The new Science & Technology Building and McCollough Communication Complex (see Chapter 11) integrate technology resources into classrooms, laboratories, and studios. Many programs, such as Industry and Technology, Art, English, and those in teacher education and the natural sciences, have specialized technology resources to support their curricula. Several academic buildings are equipped with portable media carts with computers and data projectors that can be shared. A policy and budget established in 1994 provides every new faculty member with a modern desktop workstation.

Through our robust voice, video, and data network, all faculty and administrators, most staff members, and all students in residence halls have desktop access to most Internet features, including the World Wide Web, library databases and resources, e-mail, and appropriate administrative information systems. Our network has practically no downtime and sufficient bandwidth to handle current and projected network traffic.

Sixteen computer laboratories support student learning and meet their needs for Internet access and software applications. The laboratories are all networked and have been upgraded at least once since they were established. They are open at least 15 hours per weekday as well as on weekends and are staffed by student consultants. In the Spring 1998 survey of Millersville sophomores noted earlier in this chapter, 75% said they were satisfied with our computer facilities, far above the 55% satisfied nationally.

The University faces continuous demands to maintain the currency of this infrastructure, especially for desktop computing and multimedia equipment. A life-cycle equipment replacement plan is under development to address this issue.

Technical Staffing

A cadre of professional staff supports our technology initiatives. Twenty staff members provide academic, consulting, and technical services, including the Help Desk and support for classrooms, laboratories, desktop computing, and local area networks. Eight staff members provide communication and network services, including support for network infrastructure, videoconferencing, satellite connections, and student telephones. Three staff members provide Web and multimedia services, including support for Web-based instruction and services, campus kiosks, and multimedia production. Eight staff members support our administrative software systems. Several other staff members provide specialized assistance to some technology-dependent academic programs such as Computer Science and Earth Science.

The need for technical support staff continues to grow as more faculty integrate technology into their pedagogies. There is significant need for more support for training and multimedia production. Increased use of videoconferencing and Web-based media for course delivery requires technical support for the systems and user support for students. As multimedia becomes an integral component of the learning process, the need for immediate repairs requires more staff to respond quickly. Unfortunately, we are unable to add staff because of the complement cap (see Chapter 11), so we search for creative solutions. Student technology assistants, who are trained on applications and techniques and deployed across campus, augment technical support for many projects.