Strategies to Advance Academic Technology in Teaching and Learning

Academic Technology Formal Community of Practice (AT FCop)
Office of the Provost/Office of Information Technology

Multiple strategies are moving forward to strengthen the use of academic technology in the University’s teaching and learning mission. The strategies were recommended by the Academic Technology Formal Community of Practice based on broad consultation with faculty and staff in 2015–16. The recommendations, conveyed in three detailed reports, were approved in May 2016 by Executive Vice President and Provost Karen Hanson and Interim Vice President CIO Bernard Gulachek.

Provost Office-OIT Collaboration

The AT FCoP was jointly convened by the Provost’s Office and the Office of Information Technology in September 2015 to advance academic technology planning closely engaged with the University’s teaching and learning mission.

The aims were twofold: 1) To develop a collaborative process to select, manage, pilot, and assess academic technologies, and 2) To improve support for existing technologies.

Three subgroups of faculty and staff were assembled to collectively move the effort forward. Through participation or through surveys and interviews, over 1,000 members of the University community contributed to the final recommendations, including 570 faculty, 278 staff members, and 182 students. Colleagues from 20 peer institutions also provided useful input.

Recommendations

The University is well-positioned to advance and improve the use of Academic Technology, with the following steps recommended as priorities:

  • Create a central point of contact that can solve issues or connect to other support resources as needed.
  • Develop and execute a communication plan that effectively identifies types of support available to the University community and make that support more discoverable.
  • Recognize and reward learner-centered teaching practices and effective and creative use of academic technology.
  • Create an academic technology decision-making committee consisting of faculty from each college and campus along with non-faculty representatives from academic and IT units.

For more about the FCoP’s recommendations, review the Executive Summary. To learn more about each subgroup’s research and recommendations, review the reports for Exemplary Use, Continuum of Support, and Decision-Making Framework.