Technology classrooms at Penn State

The success of the technology classroom at Penn State is largely due to a tradition of faculty-staff strategic planning. The 1991-94 Strategic Plan for Academic Computing—the work of the University-Wide Faculty Advisory Committee on Academic Computing—identified the support of faculty in the use of instructional technology in the classroom as one of its top priorities. The Technology Classroom Initiative of 1991-92 was soon launched. The goal of that initiative was to make computer-enhanced instructional technology capabilities a stable and predictable part of the classroom environment. Achieving that goal required and continues to require a coordinated effort across many different organizational units. It must be noted that the focus on technology in the classroom occurred in the context of a larger institutional infrastructure. That existing infrastructure included a nearly system-wide telecommunications and electronic mail system, a thriving system of public microcomputer labs for students, a faculty support center for the integration of technology into instruction, and support from the higher administration of the university. By almost any measure, the Penn State Technology Classroom Initiative has been very successful. By the fall of 1994, at least 23 technology classrooms and 20 mobile technology units will be available to faculty in general purpose classrooms across tbe Penn State system. Additional permanent and mobile units are also supporting various instructional programs as individual departments and colleges find ways to meet the needs of faculty. This presentation summarizes the first three years of the Technology Classroom Initiative at Penn State. We describe the technology models in the classrooms, the design and implementation process, and support issues. We conclude with a brief look at continuing long-term design and support issues. TECHNOLOGY CLASSROOM MODELS The Technology Classroom Initiative at Penn State evolved from the perceived needs of a number of key faculty. Many of these same key faculty participated in the design of the classroom technology—the selection of the hardware, software, and peripherals, the design of the podium, and the establishment of security and operational procedures. This type of faculty involvement helped to ensure that the technology classrooms meet faculty needs. The overriding goal was to design technology classrooms that provide a stable and predictable instructional environment for faculty. To help achieve that goal, we defined a set of standards for permanent technology classrooms. (Over time, due to demand, we also defined standards for mobile technology carts.) We soon learned that this was not an area amenable to a “cookie cutter” or “one type fits all” solution. With numerous faculty from diverse disciplines using general purpose classrooms, technology classrooms had to be designed to accommodate a wide variety of needs in terms of multimedia functionality and platform (computer) environments. We initially defined three basic Technology Classroom models—a Multimedia ffiDDk Macintosh model; a Multimedia MS-DOS/Windows m’;del, and a UNIX workstation model. Figure 1 illustrates the models for the systems that were installed during the period of 1991-94. Examples of technology-equipped classrooms are shown in Figure 2. Faculty use of the classrooms is shown in Figure 3. Each of these facilities has a permanently installed technology podium or portable technology cart and either a ceilingPermission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyn”ght notice and the title of the publication and its data appea~ and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery, to copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee an~or specific permission. 01994 ACM 0-89791-656-5/94/459940 $3.50 Meet the Shadowy Future 213 Macintosh Configurations D Macintosh Models Other Hardware Macintosh Quadra 700 RGB Monitor Macintosh Centris 650 230 MB Hard Disk d Macintosh PowerMac 8100 Ethernet Connection CD-ROM Drive Videodisc Player Video / Data Projection A.\ I I IBM Models Other Hardware 7 IBM PS/257 SLC XGA Color Monitor IBM PS/2 486 DX2 540 MB Hard Disk IBM ValuePoint 486 MM Ethernet Connection 3 CD-ROM Drive Videodisc Player \ “J’QA \; Video I Data Projection 1’ IBM Configurations ‘Penn State Resource; Faculty Offices Libraries File Sharing X-Terminal Access UNIX Workstation Configurations