UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 3, Page 1
September 19, 1991
U.D. pioneering technology nets $700,000 in grants
In the last several months, the University has received more
than $700,000 in grants for its pioneering efforts in instructional
technology and the emerging field of multimedia, according to Fred
Hofstetter, associate provost for instructional technology.
The grants will be received by University researchers over a
three-year period, he said. The funding was solicited by the
Instructional Technology Center (ITC), which President David P.
Roselle created in February, said Hofstetter, who also serves as
ITC director.
He said ITC supports "faculty initiatives to improve teaching
and enhance learning through the effective use of instructional
technologies, like software, videodiscs, videotapes, television
broadcasts and multimedia materials."
In a 10-year period prior to the creation of the ITC, the
University received more than $4 million in grants for
instructional technology, Hofstetter said.
Delaware began research into instructional technology in 1974,
when University researchers commenced work with PLATO, a mainframe
computer system designed by the University of Illinois and Control
Data Corporation to deliver instructional software and courseware
in a number of disciplines, Hofstetter said.
University faculty worked extensively with PLATO until the
1980s, when the microcomputing explosion started, Hofstetter said.
Delaware's current research programs, which are designed for
microcomputers, continue to be on the cutting edge of instructional
technology, he said.
Hofstetter said the University's leadership position in
instructional technology has led to the recent grants and programs,
which are described more fully below.
University of Delaware/IBM Multimedia Partnership
The University/IBM Multimedia Partnership began July 1. Under
the agreement, IBM will provide the University with $150,000
annually and the ITC will provide seminars, training and consulting
on multimedia services to the employees of IBM's Regional
Multimedia Center in Washington, D.C. IBM's reliance on the
University for multimedia training is a tribute to Delaware's
leadership position in the field, James Wilson, ITC associate
director, said.
As part of the agreement with IBM, the University will
establish a multimedia seminar room in the Willard Hall Education
Building, Hofstetter said.
The multimedia seminar room, which will open early next month,
will be equipped with eight personal computers, which will allow
faculty to create multimedia presentations for classroom use, and
a ninth computer that will have equipment to digitize photographs.
The room will be staffed by ITC employees, Hofstetter said.
Hardware attached to each personal computer in the multimedia
station includes an M-Motion video adapter, which provides
full-motion and still video capabilities from videodiscs, video
cameras, closed circuit television and VCRs, as well as audio
digitizing capability. The adapter can accept sound from any audio
source, including a tape recorder, CD player or microphone.
The multimedia system also is equipped with an M-Control
program, which allows users to control video inputs, color, hue,
contrast, picture fading, and volume, tone and balance.
According to Wilson, the multimedia seminar room will serve
primarily as a resource for faculty. He said the University is
developing the capability to offer multimedia training, which will
be given to both Delaware faculty and IBM customers, many of which
are educational institutions.
Last year, about 15 University professors used multimedia to
deliver classroom presentations, Hofstetter said. This year, he
said he expects a lot more professors will do the same. "Multimedia
is the wave of the future."
The University/IBM partnership is subject to an annual review
by both organizations.
U.S. Department of Education
Over the summer, the U.S. Department of Education funded two
University music software development projects through its Fund for
the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).
"Computer Sight-Singing Lessons with Intelligent Feedback" is
a project designed to develop software that will assist in the
ability of music students to vocally reproduce a musical fragment
given only the staff notes or symbols that represent it. The
three-year undertaking received $134,996 from FIPSE.
Hofstetter, who also is a professor of music at the University
and the project's director, said, "The most important skill a
musician can have is the ability to look at a piece of music and
know how it's going to sound."
Hofstetter's effort is to create an "intelligent" software
package that will assess student learning, determine levels of
comprehension, pinpoint faulty student approaches and provide
exact, immediate feedback, he said. The software also will include
data collection for instructors, so they can monitor their
students' progress.
"Computer Lessons for Written Harmony" is a project designed
to develop software that will help music students learn about
creating and analyzing four-part harmony. The three-year
undertaking received $156,592 from FIPSE.
Michael Arenson, associate professor of music, is developing
the project, which also will assess student learning, determine
mastery levels, locate faulty approaches and provide immediate
feedback. Arenson said the software will help students, in part, to
improve their abilities to harmonize and recognize and label
chords.
"Learning the fundamentals of music and harmony requires a
good deal of practice, with in-depth feedback from the teacher,"
Arenson said. And while teachers usually do not have enough time to
provide such intense assistance, he said, computers are ideally
suited to repetitive processes.
Instructional Television Grants
A number of grants were obtained in recent months to support
ITC's instructional television component. The largest of the awards
was approximately $122,000 from the U.S. Agency for International
Development. The funding supports the production of videotapes for
use in the University's management training and economics education
program in Bulgaria, which began June 1. Lawrence P. Donnelley,
director of international programs and special sessions, is the
project's chief investigator.
Additional grants given to support instructional television in
recent months include
* $25,722 from the U.S. Department of Education for the
College of Education's "Special Education Videotape Series,"
* $15,000 from McGraw-Hill to support the publication of the
University's "Ag Videodisc,"
* $5,000 from McMillan Publishing for "ITV ELI Lecture
video,"
* $7,000 from the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, to
support the University's production of pilot courses in English,
math and science, for use in federal prisons under a grant from the
Department of Education, and
* $7,182 from the International Reading Association for
educational development Prof. John Pikulski's videotape
demonstrating techniques for encouraging reading among young
children.
Unidel Supports Multimedia
In February, a Unidel Foundation grant provided $67,000 to
support the University's multimedia computing initiative. The money
was used to enhance portable classroom presentation systems and
helped to create a Graphics Editing Station in East Hall and a
Faculty Development Station in the Willard Hall Education Building.
IBM Laboratory Builder
The IBM Lab Builder program granted the University $10,471 in
June to support the creation of five multimedia classroom
presentation stations across campus. By the end of the fall
semester, the stations will be located in Wolf, Newark and Purnell
halls, as well as in Spencer and Sharp laboratories.
- Stephen M. Steenkamer