UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 14
December 12, 1996
Where can a faculty member go for help?

     Dick Wilkins, mechanical engineering, said many faculty who
wish to incorporate Web technology or multimedia into instruction
often feel like pioneers. "Since much of what we are doing is
new, technical support can sometimes be difficult to find," he
said.
     There are, however, many different sources of formal support
(see accompanying box) and an active users' group.
     According to Leila Lyons, information technologies (IT),
Wilkins is one of about 135 UD faculty now using either
multimedia technology or the Web in their teaching. "These
individuals are the trail blazers," she said.
     "IT plans to open a new facility to make technology in the
classroom more accessible to mainstream faculty," Lyons said.
     The new facility, scheduled to open in Smith Hall during the
spring semester, will emphasize technology as a tool for an
individual faculty member's instructional goals.
     Lyons added that most faculty are using e-mail and the Web
in their own research, and many more are turning to such
presentation tools as PowerPoint or the Web when they prepare
graphics for a conference presentation.
     "We want to help faculty explore how to incorporate the
technology they are already using elsewhere-specifically, in the
classroom," she said.
     "More and more of the technology tools no longer require the
tremendous time investment they required a short time ago. We
want faculty to see that there is a range of options open to
them," she said.
     If a faculty member wants to use animation to help explain a
difficult process or concept, he or she might, as Joe Daniel,
economics, has done, develop new software.
     "But, in many disciplines, faculty find there is a less time-
consuming path," Lyons said.
     "For example, we know that Bob Hodson in biology is using
two off-the-shelf CDs of images and animations to help his
students better understand complex processes," she said.
     In the new facility, faculty also will be able to convert
existing material into electronic format.
     Many of the technology trail blazers and other faculty with
an interest in learning to use new technologies have joined the
campus MultiMedia Users' Group (MUG).
     "Over 400 people have subscribed to the MUG e-mail list,"
Fred Hofstetter, Instructional Technology Center and chair of
MUG, said.  Hofstetter said members of the main MUG list
receive four to five announcements each month. "But, about 50
people have chosen to participate more intensively by subscribing
to our 'HOT-MUG' discussion list," he said.
     Faculty and staff who subscribe to this list often engage in
detailed discussions about the Web and multimedia techniques,
harnessing the growing base of expertise on campus and making it
available to other faculty.
      "Faculty have found that the MUG meetings and the HOT-MUG e-
mail list are informal, collegial places to talk to others who
are trying to do new things with instructional technology," he
said.
     Faculty interested in joining the MUG or HOT-MUG mailing
lists should send Hofstetter an e-mail message at fth@udel.edu.
     Another source of help is the Center for Teaching
Effectiveness.
     "Each year, we issue grants of up to $5,000 to support the
innovative use of technology in the classroom," Judy Greene,
director, said.  George Watson, physics, used a
center grant to help fund his development of a Web site to
expedite a "more interactive, problem-based classroom. Thanks in
large part to my grant, I was able to explore how the Web could
help me make changes in how an entire course was organized and
delivered," he said.