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The Changing Face of Classroom Technology Support at UC Davis
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The Changing Face of Classroom Technology Support at UC Davis
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"Every quarter, we see more and more faculty using technology tools such as PowerPoint in their classes," Peter Blando, manager of Lab Management, recently pointed out. "They often look to both their colleagues and to IET for help when they start using the classroom technology." This increasing use of technology inside UC Davis classrooms has fostered the creation of the Classroom Support Unit within Information and Educational Technology (IET). Janette Dickens, a media and library specialist who most recently served as Director of Instructional Media Services at UC Santa Cruz, was hired in October to head the new unit. Since then, she has been focusing on restructuring several existing units to provide a single point of entry into the services. "We have combined the two customer service desks for Computer and Printer Repair and Audio-Visual into one. This should make it much easier for the campus community to get help, and it adds depth to the unit by giving employees the opportunity to learn from each other," says Dickens. She has also hired two managers to round out her team. Dickens knows the complete restructuring will take some time, but she believes they are headed in the right direction. "We are taking time to make sure the changes make sense, are well-received by the campus, and offer opportunities for the Classroom Support Unit team," says Dickens. The unit includes Media Services, Audio-Visual Equipment Loan and Repair, Lab Management, and Computer and Printer Repair. Rick Sprunger, manager of Media Services, which includes the technical team in Computer and Printer Repair, the technical night crew, and Distance Learning and Videoconferencing, joined IET in December and is bringing focus to his unit. "We are looking at ways to simplify access to our equipment and services by standardizing media equipment in all general assignment classrooms. We want to make it possible for faculty to use the equipment easily no matter which classroom they are instructing in. To do this, we need to modernize our equipment for compatibility and reliability," says Sprunger. One current project that focuses on simplifying media use in the classroom is the Classroom Upgrade Project, sponsored by the Office of the Registrar. Part of the project involves outfitting all 120 general assignment classrooms with media cabinets that give professors easy access to audio-visual media and the network. To date, 40 classrooms have been upgraded. Last fall, IET started training faculty on the new equipment, even meeting them before each class. The Classroom Support Unit carried this training tradition into the winter quarter with a "meet and greet" program. Six training sessions were held in early January, attended by approximately 50 faculty. Classroom Support representatives also met faculty at the start of nearly 100 classes over the first three days of the quarter. If you are teaching in one of the general assignment classrooms this quarter or would like to be introduced to the new media equipment, contact the Classroom Support training team. They'll orient you to the equipment in the classroom, or contact the Arbor at 754-2115. Information about the Classroom Upgrade Project is on the web at http://registrar.ucdavis.edu/upgrade/. |
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