Discipline Focused Support at Carleton College: Let the Pedagogy Find the Tool

CAUSE ‘98

Discipline Focused Support at Carleton College:

Let the Pedagogy Find the Tool

Andrea Nixon and Paula Lackie

Carleton College

December 1998

CAUSE ‘98

Old Tools And Methods: Technology-Centered “Support”

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• Supported Suite of Software

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• Class Based Training

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• Centralized Help Desk

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• Centralized Help Desk

Where does curricular innovation fit in?

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A New Structure: Laying the Groundwork

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A close knit partnership between faculty members and members of the academic computer staff must be nurtured and encouraged. Effective lines of communication must be developed between everyone interested in academic computing. All parties must learn how to utilize the specific strengths that each brings to their joint ventures.

Final Report of the 1992 Task Force on Academic Computing.

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• Cathy Smith - New Director

• Smith engaged the existing staff in the Computer Center

• Developed an ambitious five year plan

• Hired additional staff members necessary

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A c a de m ic C o m puting a nd N e tw o rk ing S e rvic e s

S o c ia l S c ie nc e s

A c a de m ic C o m puting C o o rd .

F a c u lty A dvis o r

N a tu ra l S c ie nc e s



H um a n itie s a nd L a ngua ge s



S tude n t C o m puting C o o rd . N e tw o rk ing S e rvic e s

S e n io r S ys te m s /N e tw o rk M a na ge r

S ys te m s /N e tw o rk M a na ge r

I n fo rm a tio n C o o rd ina to r

C a thy S m ith

D ire c to r

A dvis o ry C o m m itte e fo r A c a de m ic C o m puting


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• Upgrading the campus network

• Upgrading student computing environs and documentation

• Upgrading faculty desktop computers

• Assessing interests of faculty

• Training, training, and more training

• Establishing a Curricular Computing Grant program

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Distancing ACNS from the old model and

first impressions:

• Eliminated all paper forms

• Coordinators met with faculty one on one

• Coordinators tailored research

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Follow-up

• Referring relevant journal articles and other resources

• Clear communication - as free of techno-babble as appropriate

• Bring in outside speakers

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ACNS Developments: The First Five Years

Educational Outcomes Yet?

Faculty Computer Skill LevelsFaculty Computer Skill Levels1995 vs. 19931995 vs. 1993

NoneLimited

ModerateHigh

1995

19930%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%19951993

In 1993 35% of faculty had moderate to high skill levels; that percentage increased to 92% in 1995.

Faculty Computer Usage LevelsFaculty Computer Usage Levels1995 vs. 19931995 vs. 1993

NoneLimited

ModerateHigh

1995

19930%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%19951993

In 1993 52% of faculty had moderate to high usage levels; that percentage increased to 94% in 1995.

Faculty Word Processing Skill Faculty Word Processing Skill Levels 1995 vs. 1993Levels 1995 vs. 1993

NoneLimited

ModerateHigh

1995

19930%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%19951993

In 1993 51% of faculty had moderate to high skill levels; that percentage increased to 93% in 1995.

Faculty Word Processing Usage Faculty Word Processing Usage Levels 1995 vs. 1993Levels 1995 vs. 1993

NoneLimited

ModerateHigh

1995

19930%5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50% 19951993

In 1993 51% of faculty had moderate to word processing usage levels; that percentage increased to 93% in 1995.

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Educational Outcomes Yet?

• More one on one training

• Faculty Advisors attended conferences with ACNS staff

• Faculty Advisors and Director worked with faculty for the Curricular Computing Grant program

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From 1993 to 1995 curricular uses of computers in the Humanities, Languages and

Social Sciences increased from 6% to 24%.

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• Staff members interdependent therefore we have a tremendous need for communication

• Re-tuned professional instincts so that they were in keeping with the mission of ACNS

• Completed five year plan in three years

A c a de m ic C o m puting a nd N e tw o rk in g S e rvic e s

S o c ia l S c ie nc e s



N a tu ra l S c ie nc e s



L a ngua ge s



F a c u lty S uppo rt I n te rn

H um a n it ie s



S tude n t C o m puting C o o rd .

S tude n t C o m puting I n te rn

I n fo rm a tio n C o o rd ina to r

N e tw o rk ing S e rvic e s

S e n io r S ys te m s /N e tw o rk M a na ge r

S ys te m s /N e tw o rk M a na ge r

De s k to p N e tw o rk ing A dm in is tra to r

R e s ide n tia l N e tw o rk C o o rd in a to r

C la s s ro o m T e c h no lo g ie s C o o rd ina to r

C a thy S m ith

D ire c to r

A dvis o ry C o m m itte e fo r A c a de m ic C o m puting

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• QuickLine • Created ResNet Position• Split the Languages and Humanities division• Integrated support for analog classroom

technologies• Created Desktop Networking Admin. Position• Joined the Consortium of New Media Centers

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Grants

• Mellon Foundation supported our Curricular Computing Grant program

• Mellon Foundation - consortial grant program with Macalester College - specific to faculty in languages

• Mellon Foundation - Innovations in the Classroom

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Combined, all of these resources serve to support faculty in exploring and implementing curricular innovation.

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Academic Computing and Pedagogy:

The Diffusion of Innovation

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Academic Computing and Pedagogy: The Diffusion of Innovation

The fundamental task of the academic computing organization is to understand what it is that faculty would like to accomplish and then to work with the faculty to select and implement the appropriate information technologies that will increase their effectiveness.

Smith & Bierman - Academic Computing Services:MORE Than A Utility, CAUSE ‘95

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~ Smith & Bierman - CAUSE paper ‘95

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Where Appropriate means:

The pedagogical needs must dominate decisions surround the adoption of IT innovation into teaching and research at Carleton College.

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Initially, the Coordinators had to overcome some general assumptions / misperceptions:

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• That conversations between ACNS & faculty about IT would largely be technical in nature

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• That the role of ACNS was to parade the latest technologies in a dog & pony show

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• That the role of ACNS was to parade the latest technologies in a dog & pony show

• That real curricular use of IT must be complicated

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To overcome this obstacle of misperception required lots of “face-time” with the faculty

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Technical infrastructure

Coordinated Personalized Support

Curricular Innovations

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Building Trust & Teamwork with:

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• Visiting faculty in their offices & faculty meetings

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• Visiting faculty in their offices & faculty meetings• The Curricular Computing Grant program

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• Visiting faculty in their offices & faculty meetings• The Curricular Computing Grant program• Sending notices of items related to faculty research

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• Visiting faculty in their offices & faculty meetings• The Curricular Computing Grant program• Sending notices of items related to faculty research• Helping faculty to trust their pedagogical intuition

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• Visiting faculty in their offices & faculty meetings• The Curricular Computing Grant program• Sending notices of appropriate IT tools• Helping faculty to trust their pedagogical intuition• Engaging in conversation on many levels...

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The basis for any new curricular innovation shouldalways address the following questions:

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• What are the primary goals of the course?• What is the goal of the exercise or innovative step and how does it fit into the rest of the course?• What alternate fall-back position is there if the innovation appears to be failing?• What type of support is necessary?• Who is responsible for the various types of assistance for the duration of the exercise?• How will you know if the exercise achieved its goals?• How will you know if the exercise or innovative step had ancillary consequences? - were they positive?

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~ Smith & Bierman - CAUSE paper ‘95

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Whoopie - do for Carleton… Now what?

How do faculty learn of information technologies?

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• Through Coordinators• Through other faculty• Through Curricular Computing Grants• Through outside visitors or other resources

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• Through Coordinators• Through other faculty• Through Curricular Computing Grants• Through outside visitors or other resources

Recognizing this helps us to encourage the diffusion of curricular innovations

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Everett Rogers’ five stages of adopting innovation

Knowledge – Exposure to the existence of an innovation and

the general idea of the innovation’s functionPersuasion – A formulation of a favorable or unfavorable

attitude toward the innovationDecision – The pursuit of activity that leads to acceptance or

rejection of the innovationImplementation – Putting the innovation to useConfirmation – A reinforcement for decision to use innovation or testing its applicability in other contexts

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Pulling It All Together

• Revamped the installed base of desktop computers and established a replacement cycle

• Provided faculty members with an effective source of personalized computer training and other workshop resources

• Established a ubiquitous and stable network -Carleton is among Yahoo’s top 100 Wired Colleges in 1998

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Pulling It All Together

• Initiated and maintained an effective and supportive structure

• Established a high degree of collaborative efforts for developing and sharing curricular innovations

• Enhanced faculty role as a team member in the process of evaluating curricular software..

CAUSE ‘98

Documents

Discipline Focused Support at Carleton College: Let the Pedagogy Find the Tool