MEMORANDUM
To: SUNY Office of Educational Technology
From: Peter Brouwer, Associate Provost and Acting Associate
Vice President for Information Services
Re: Plan for 1994-95 Educational Technology Initiative Funds
Date: August 30, 1994
SUNY Potsdam is pleased to participate in the SUNY Educational Technology Initiative. We feel that this initiative is crucial for SUNY Potsdam as we continue to position our institution for the changes in teaching and learning that are on the horizon due to advances in educational technology.
SUNY Potsdam has had a long-standing commitment to developing its educational technology and network infrastructure and to providing its faculty, staff and students with access to computers. In fact, our campus computer network was cited in the 1993 CAUSE report, Best Practices in Campus Networking. Over 85% of our faculty have computers on their desktops. However, this development has not been without its costs; we have accomplished it primarily by "taking it out of our own hide" -- diverting monies that were not originally targeted for computer services from other worthwhile and needy campus programs. We greatly welcome any new monies targeted specifically for educational technology.
There is still much to be accomplished at SUNY Potsdam. We have developed seven high-technology classrooms, with a variety of capabilities, over the last six years. However, two of these function more as computer laboratories and are in need of upgraded equipment. Others have presentation facilities, but no student computer workstations. We need significant investment in high-technology, "smart" classrooms that combine state-of-the art presentation facilities with multimedia computer workstations and flexible student seating arrangements to fully integrate new technologies into student learning. We are currently designing a classroom which will serve as a technology "showcase" and which we expect will excite faculty and students alike about the potential that exists with such classrooms. Given the amount of SUNY ETI funds identified for 1994-95, we plan to use our allocation for the development of this classroom.
To date, we have wired the academic quad (most classrooms and offices) to the campus Ethernet local area network. We have yet to wire the student residence facilities fully, and doing so will be a huge and costly undertaking. A number of student computer laboratories in the residence facilities are wired, but our goal is to connect each and every student room to the network as well. SUNY Potsdam is primarily a residential college and has the second highest ratio of student beds to total students in the SUNY system. Thus, improving the quality of student access by completely wiring the residence facilities is crucial. In addition, student computer laboratories in the residence facilities are in dire need of new and upgraded equipment.
We are in the process of developing a campus-wide information system, which is currently accessible through the campus network. We plan to extend this accessibility to kiosks, which we hope to install at convenient locations across campus.
We have also taken preliminary steps toward reaching the goal of supplying off-campus students with remote access to all of our campus network resources. To fully reach this goal will require a larger modem pool and upgraded network access software.
Universal student access to information resources is an important goal for SUNY Potsdam. We have considered requiring students to purchase a computer, but would prefer to see a well-planned, well-funded SUNY-wide approach to addressing this issue. Complying with ADA guidelines for access to information resources is also an important priority.
While most of our faculty have computers on their desktops, most of these computers are in need of upgrades to be able to utilize completely computer-networked information resources such as full Internet access (Gopher and World Wide Web), the College library on-line catalog and the BANNER administrative database system. It is particularly important for faculty to gain access to the BANNER administrative database system for student advising purposes and for the potential of on-line registration, which we've already begun to experiment with. We must also continue to provide new faculty hires with the level of equipment they expect, and in fact, demand.
Our faculty need ongoing development and training to integrate educational technology into their classes effectively. Additionally, we are looking for ways to institutionalize the use of educational technology in our academic offerings. When our current General Education program was developed in 1986, we decided to include familiarity with computer technology through instruction in the disciplines. For instance, students in English composition are introduced to word processing and the computer network (through the sharing of electronic information resources). Currently, a new generation of proposals are being developed and discussed for further incorporating computing experiences into the program. For example, one proposal would require an additional introductory course on computers and communications. Another proposal describes a "computing-intensive" course in which computer experiences, such as programming, simulation or other computer tool usage, would be embedded in high-level discipline-specific activities.
Another objective is to become more involved in distance learning initiatives. Distance learning provides opportunities for working collaboratively with area two-year colleges and high schools. We see distance learning as a possible mechanism for implementing a 3-1-3 program as well as other school-to-university transition programs. We also plan to use this technology to expand our public service outreach mission, such as working with the local Akwesasne Native American reservation. We currently have PictureTel equipment to receive as well as originate broadcasts, but would need to equip receiving sites with similar equipment to be able to provide ongoing programming.
Finally, we hope that we will be able to develop regional training alliances with other SUNY institutions which capitalize on our shared expertise in these areas. We plan to develop these alliances by drawing upon our partnership experiences with SUNY Plattsburgh.
In summary, our educational technology goals are:
1. Expand existing and develop new high-technology, "smart" classrooms
2. Improve faculty access to and utilization of educational technology:
- upgraded equipment
- training and support
3. Improve student access to and utilization of educational technology:
- complete the wiring (to the campus Ethernet) of the residence facilities (to include all student rooms)
- consider expanded and innovative student computer purchase plans and possibly lease plans
- develop a campus-wide information system accessible to students via computers in the residence facilities as well as kiosks placed conveniently across campus
4. Develop and maintain distance learning capabilities and offerings
5. Allow library information resources in addition to the on-line catalog (e.g., CD-ROM indexes, government document databases, etc.) to be accessible via the computer network (from faculty/student desktops) as much as possible
6. Offer as close to universal access as is feasible, including complying with ADA guidelines for access to information technologies
7. Develop technology-based regional training alliances with other area SUNY institutions
Our plan for using the 1994-95 Educational Technology Initiative monies follows:
High-technology "showcase" classroom $55,910
- presentation technologies
- multimedia computer stations
- interactive distance learning capability
(Note: We hope to utilize these funds as the basis of a matching grant from the New Media Centers, a consortium of Apple, Sony and other vendors who are establishing technology showcase centers around the country.)
Our future plans (with expected costs) are as follows:
Wire the residence facilities $500,000
(all student rooms)
Distance learning projects $100,000/site
College-wide information system $100,000
(Kiosk project)
ADA compliance $50,000
High-technology classrooms $100,000/each
(classroom renovation)
Computers for new faculty $25,000/year
Faculty development/training $60,000/year
Upgrade student computer labs $100,000/year
Faculty computer upgrades $200,000/year
(3-4 year cycle)
Technology classroom in the Crumb $50,000
Library for bibliographic instruction
Again, SUNY Potsdam is pleased to participate in the SUNY Educational Technology Initiative. If I can provide further information, please let me know.