Inside Iowa State
April 14, 2000
Info technology not as easy as it seems
by Anne Krapfl
A group of 80 faculty members took a
long look at the merits and challenges of information
technology, especially as it relates to higher education,
during the spring faculty conference earlier this month in
Newton. While some are very enthused about what new
technologies can do, both for teaching and student learning,
others expressed concern about limited access to technology
because of money, demands on their time and a lack of
"incentives" to look into it.
A faculty task force will follow up on recommendations emerging from the conference, said David Hopper, president- elect of the Faculty Senate and a member of the planning group.
"The provost is committed to taking action. If you don't see any action on this next year, come see me," he said.
Keynote speaker Diana Oblinger, an Iowa State alumna and vice president for information resources for the University of North Carolina system, said information technology is the most important contributor to growth right now. She said 65 percent of universities have at least started to offer distance education, which creates all kinds of questions for them, such as who to partner with to provide the best product, how to fund distance education, how to measure success -- and a big one -- who provides the instructional support for faculty.
Several faculty said they were frustrated that information technology gets a lot of hype at Iowa State, but faculty members don't get the time or funds to experiment with it.
Martha Selby, materials science and engineering, noted that Iowa State has ongoing plans for upgrading labs and training students, but there is no such "refresher" plan for faculty.
"We have to take new computer hardware and software out of our external funding," she said.
Peter Siegel, Computation Center director and conference panelist, agreed that Iowa State needs to provide incentives to faculty to investigate new methods for teaching and organizing classes. Panel member Olivia Madison, dean of library services, added that collaboration is the key to getting more faculty involved.
Most agreed, though, that the goal is not mastering the technology, but improving student learning.
"Information technology isn't the solution to every question," said Corly Brooke, panel member and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. "It's important to evaluate its effectiveness before we all jump on the bandwagon."
More information about the faculty conference is available at the Faculty Senate Web site.
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