Summer Institute Focuses on Technology in Teaching

Five full days are dedicated to lecture, discussion, and hands-on lab sessions facilitated by faculty members, teaching assistants, Teaching Resources Center, and Information Technology staff. Participants are grouped according to their level of expertise in each area, so a session may serve as an introduction or as a chance to work on a particular project.

Many participants come to fill gaps in their knowledge and experience. Some serve as tutors for others. When it comes to the "cutting edge" of technology, an expert, whether a faculty member or an Information Technology staff member, will lead a presentation or discussion.

"Because people come with the understanding that they might be both students and facilitators at various times, it's very much a cooperative learning experience," says Frank Samaniego, statistics professor and director of the Teaching Resources Center. "Participants help each other."

Aside from the tools and applications themselves, SITT addresses how technology affects both students and the learning process.

"One of the wonderful things about the SITT program is that it focuses on an awareness of where technology fits in and whether it's the best choice in teaching. It gives the idea that there are options. As we use technology on campus, we're more able to assess its effects," says Ellen Lange, a lecturer in Linguistics and the ESL (English as a Second Language) Program who attended SITT in 1995 and 1996.

Now in its fourth year, SITT first developed as the result of e-mail communications among several faculty members with a shared interest in instructional technologies. Those faculty members were Art Huntley of Dermatology, Geoffrey Wandesforde-Smith of Political Science, Dick Walters of Computer Science, Kevin Roddy of Medieval Studies, and Frank Samaniego.

"Implicit in these early discussions was the clear need for a vehicle that would facilitate understanding and use of instructional technology for a large cross-section of Davis faculty," says Samaniego. "I saw the development and underwriting of SITT as wholly consistent with the Teaching Resources Center's mission of fostering teaching innovations and improvement." Along with the Teaching Resources Center, sponsors include the Office of the Provost and the Division of Information Technology, which allocates a number of staff members to the program.

The program has evolved over its lifetime. The first program emphasized communications technologies, including an introduction to the uses of e-mail, bulletin boards, newsgroups, and the World-Wide Web, an innovation that was not yet widely used. Subsequent programs have largely centered on the Web as a place to house and access academic materials, facilitate communication, encourage innovative student work, and incorporate multimedia functions, such as animation and interactivity. Planners this year hope to include an introduction to Java script, a programming language for interactive Web pages. Technological advances that make tools and capabilities more accessible to the average user are especially valued, Samaniego says.

The week is rigorous, but the atmosphere is personal. Participants receive a customized "textbook," a binder that includes materials such as a glossary, presentation supplements, lab exercises, and relevant articles. It also lists facilitators with their areas of expertise and participants with their areas of interest. This allows people to seek one another out, as well as to continue their interactions and collaborations well after the week is over.

Planners this year are working to further customize the program to individual participants by use of a questionnaire and personal interviews. Small groups will then be formed so that people can work together and help each other over the course of the week.

SITT has consistently received about 50 applications each year for 40 places. With summer school in session, there is limited access to computer labs, but the program tries to accommodate as many people as possible, says Samaniego. Priority is given to faculty members who are directly involved in teaching and developing tools for teaching. Others are admitted on a space-available basis.

Some participants, like Lange, do return. "The first time, I was behind as far as technology is concerned. I could only focus on what was new. The second time, I could focus on what I wanted to do. I was able to develop the Web site for our program." Lange was introduced to HTML during the first SITT she attended in 1995. The next summer's program was particularly helpful with Web site design issues, she says.

Before SITT, one of the few choices available to faculty members like Lange were expensive seminars that required travel and hotel stays.

"We decided to do it ourselves, on a very manageable budget, dedicating instructional improvement funds and contributions from several other offices. We think our institute is as good as any out there. And it's easier for faculty to participate because it's right here on campus. That also makes the program directly relevant to this campus' technological environment," Samaniego says.

The deadline for applications is in early spring of each year. For more information about SITT, contact Professor Samaniego or Wini Anderson at the Teaching Resources Center (752-6050) or view the TRC Web site at http://trc.ucdavis.edu.