Cover Story
Instructional Governance Committee Begins Work
"I am thrilled about this committee since I was interested in having a similar university-wide faculty group to help guide future programs in instructional technology offered by the CFDE." - Steve Everett
With the multiple governance groups that look at IT issues across Emory, a natural question arises, what about our teaching and learning mission? How do IT initiatives that relate to that mission get vetted? Given the institutional precedent, the appropriate way would be through a faculty subcommittee and thus the Instructional Governance committee was born.
The Instructional Governance committee is a freshly-convened group of faculty organized to examine current technology use in Emory's classrooms. This highly-engaged committee is comprised of exceptional teachers, representing every school and discipline, who are interested in how technology is transforming teaching and learning. They have held three meetings, with the most recent occurring on November 30.
In regards to committee selection, the composition is not only comprised of Emory's early technology adopters. On the contrary, it became important to have a real range of abilities and perspectives on instructional initiatives as the committee's aspiration is to educate its members so that they can make informed decisions.
Gordon Churchward (Professor, Microbiology/Immunology, SOM) is the committee chair. "It has been an interesting experience and an exciting opportunity," said Churchward, "largely because the group is drawn from such a broad range across the institution, focusing on increased exposure to varied technologies and future technology growth. It's a very fertile group and I am looking forward to having interesting conversations."
"This committee ensures that reactions from the primary users are heard before particular instructional technologies are adopted and put into use," says Steve Everett, who heads the Center for Faculty Development & Excellence (CFDE - http://cfde.emory.edu/). A strategic partner in engaging these technology questions, the CFDE has co-sponsored presentations, programs and lectures with the Emory Center for Interactive Teaching (ECIT).
Allen Tullos, a professor in the Institute of Liberal Arts (ILA), has used ECIT for years and done a lot of work with digital texts. He is the founder and senior editor of Southern Spaces (http://southernspaces.org/), an interdisciplinary journal about regions, places, and cultures of the U.S. South and their global connections, and a new member of the group. Says Tullos, "I've enjoyed being on the committee and knowing it exists. For those of us who are in the humanities, we work closely with the library, but it is nice to work with other groups on campus. Common experiences are interesting."
The committee also has three non-voting members: Jose Rodriguez and Alan Cattier, from OIT (Academic Technology Services), as well as Frances Maloy, who is director of the Services Division of the Woodruff Library, to help give the group a window into what technologies are coming down the road. The group's mission statement and full list of members can be found at http://it.emory.edu/help/governance_request/instructional_tech_members.html.
One main task of the group is to review and approve business cases for new IT Services before they go to the Steering Body. As with other committees, any work effort that is over 80 hours or $20,000 is subject to review. Down the road, the committee will seek to build a consensus on how Emory should align itself with future technological issues, as well as investigate the day-to-day technologies that can make a difference in the classroom.
For example, the committee will examine questions like what personal response systems (PRS) should the University be investigating? Also, the group will address concerns like can upgrades to Blackboard (Bb) be made without disrupting the instructional life of the university?
When considering the technologies that have been mainstays of the Emory experience, this Committee represents an ideal venue to review our current repertoire. Doing so is like peeling the layers on an onion…as you peer past the outer layers of the older technology, you can see the potential for new and more innovative approaches. More then ever before, the creation of this subcommittee is the opportunity for a fresh examination of our systems and practices.
Whether you are talking about touch technologies, the speed and reach of wireless, intelligent assistants, massive mining of reference materials, or new models for interpreting and analyzing data, all of these are large and moving questions regarding teaching and learning. It is our great fortune to have this committee poised to explore these areas as they emerge and to act as a representative forum for exploring them with the instructional focus of the institution.
- Alan Cattier, Director, Academic Technology Services