Iowa State University


Inside Iowa State
October 20, 2000

eLAB offers help for electronic course work

by Debra Gibson
At last: a place to drop in when you need to float out.

Ideas, that is. Launching your course work into cyberspace became much less daunting Oct. 17, when the university's Instructional Technology Center (ITC) opened its eLAB for faculty and staff in 1230 Communications Building.

The eLAB's purpose is to provide support for developing online learning or electronic course work, according to Allan Schmidt, ITC's instructional development coordinator. Currently, two fully equipped multimedia computers are available for faculty and instructional support staff, Schmidt said, and more may become accessible if demand warrants it.

"We expect our main customers to be those who attend our workshops, as any topic or technology we teach will be supported in eLAB," Schmidt said. "Those who participate can come back to the eLAB and receive further instruction or just gain experience in using what they've learned."

According to Schmidt, many faculty members have expressed interest in incorporating electronic or online learning in their curriculums, "but they don't know where to start."

Participants can receive consultation for planning online courses, observe examples of electronic and online learning modules, learn to convert MSOffice documents to Web pages, and create a simple online syllabus or instructional Web page. Specifically, the lab will support WebCT, an online learning software that Schmidt anticipates will be among the most requested.

In addition, participants may use flatbed or slide scanners, and both software and hardware to digitize and edit video and prepare it for streaming. All eLAB services are free, and available either on a first-come, first-serve basis, or by phoning for reservations at 4-8022.

ITC staffers also make "housecalls" for faculty members who need assistance or instruction on their own office computers. Support can be arranged either on-site or via telephone, and also is free.

According to Schmidt, "We're trying out some new ways to reach out to faculty and support their projects."

These services are a cooperative effort among ITC, the Center for Teaching Excellence, Academic Information Technologies and Extended and Continuing Education.




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