The Information Technology Study Group (ITSG) requests the active support of all constituencies of Saint Mary's College for the establishment of a Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable (TLTR) following the guidelines of the American Association of Higher Education. We also recommend that the Computer Utilization Committee, which has not met since 1990, be dissolved.
The Computer Utilization Committee (CUC) was set up during the revision of the college governance structure in the mid ‘70s. It was an advisory group for the Vice President and Dean of Faculty, who served as chair. Other members were three faculty, the VP for Finance, the Director of Information Technology, and one other administrator (most often a representative from the Development Office). This committee met infrequently, usually when the college needed to replace its main computer system.
The Information Technology Study Group (ITSG) was formed in 1989 as an ad hoc adjunct to the CUC. The specific charge to the ITSG was to make recommendations for long-range planning regarding the role and implementation of information technology at the college. The original membership of the ITSG included the Director of Information Technology, the Academic Specialist, and the three faculty members. Since the last meeting of the CUC in 1990, faculty members elected to the Computer Utilization Committee by the Faculty Assembly have served on the ITSG.
The ITSG prepared and successfully argued for the adoption of a three-year plan for academic computing whose implementation improved resources and support for faculty and students. This plan formed a major part of the successful Knight Foundation “Excellence in Undergraduate Education” grant in 1991, which supported (1) competitive IT grant applications from faculty and departments, (2) faculty, staff and administrator attendance at technology-oriented conferences, and (3) bringing to campus a nationally-recognized leader in information technology. More recently, the ITSG has successfully promoted networking the campus and creating a number of technology classrooms. To carry out this important work, the ITSG expanded its membership to include a librarian, a student, some key faculty who stayed on after their elected term expired, and, most recently, the Associate Dean of Faculty and the Registrar.
This fluidity of membership, while not appropriate for a committee, was very useful for a study group responding to the needs of many constituencies in the college. The creation of a Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable would formalize this diversity of membership to help the college decide how to best use the infrastructure we have put into place over the last five years in order to prepare our students for the increasingly technological world we live in. The establishment of a TLTR is also a necessary response to the changes taking place in teaching and learning as well as the need for greater integration between the College’s curricular and technological directions
The overall purpose of the TLTR will be to foster a culture of reflective practice about teaching and learning technology by
1) articulating an on-going vision of the role of teaching and learning technology at Saint Mary’s College
2) conducting on-going assessment of the implementation of said vision and the efficacy of our efforts to realize it, and
3) creating an advisory forum that links teaching and learning technology with curricular, budgetary, and facilities planning.
The TLTR will be best suited to fulfill this purpose because it will be integrated into the College’s strategic planning, will be part of a national dialogue, and will allow for appropriate representation of various college constituencies.
Mission / Charge Statement
The TLTR will work with students, faculty, and staff to
1) Articulate an on-going vision to continually improve teaching and learning through better integration of technology by
a) exploring issues and resources related to teaching and learning technology
b) providing continuous review of the role of teaching and learning technology in the
Saint Mary’s curriculum
2) Improve their information technology fluency by
c) empowering them to be effective, creative users of teaching and learning technology
d) ensuring the achievement of this goal through on-going assessment
3) Nurture an integrated educational community by
e) improving communication, collaboration and building consensus with regard to teaching and learning technology
f) focusing institutional resources on teaching and learning by providing input in the planning process for technology, curriculum, facilities, and budgeting
Short and Long-Range goals
The goals below have been linked to the Mission / Charge of the TLTR. Long-range goals are defined as goals to be realized within a 2-5 year time frame; short-range goals represent the initial tasks of the TLTR. Short-range goals also serve as a progress marker, i.e., in six months time they should be completed or near-completion.
1) In order to articulate the on-going vision:
a)
Exploring issues
and resources
|
Short-range: |
define Saint Mary’s vision of student, faculty, and staff
IT fluency in the context of the national dialogue and the College’s mission |
|
Long-range: |
continue participation in the national dialogue on teaching and learning technology and IT fluency |
b)
Providing
continuous review
|
Short-range: |
be able to describe and assess the current culture at Saint Mary’s with regard to the role of teaching and learning technology; this would include identifying courses that presently provide development in IT fluency |
|
Long-range: |
define the process or mechanism for continuous review and establish a process for short and long-range planning |
2) In order to improve IT fluency:
a)
Empowering students
|
Short-range: |
assess the effectiveness of CPSC 101 |
|
Long-range: |
design and implement a program that enables Saint Mary’s students to achieve our definition of IT fluency |
b)
Empowering faculty
and staff
|
Short-range: |
in cooperation with the Center for Academic Innovation, describe and assess our present level of support and development programs, and develop a directory of services, resources, and successful IT applications at Saint Mary’s College |
|
Long-range: |
improve development programs and support |
c)
Assessment
|
- |
- |
|
Long-range: |
design instruments in order to assess our students’ level of IT fluency |
3)
In order to nurture an
integrated educational community:
a)
Improving
communication
|
Short-range: |
establish a TLTR that is connected to all constituencies on campus |
|
Long-range: |
continue to articulate our vision by seeking input and establishing meaningful dialogue about teaching, learning, and technology |
b)
Focusing
institutional resources on teaching and learning
|
Short-range: |
advise on the planning of present projects on curriculum, technology, and facilities that could possibly involve teaching and learning technology |
|
Long-range: |
develop an improved planning process for teaching and learning technology expenditures |
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TLTR Fluency Task Force ~ Links to other TLTR resources ~ Archived Documents