Staff Development Potpourri –
University of Delaware Perspective
Christine Murphy, Systems Planner, IT-User Services
University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware
Christine Murphy, Systems Planner, IT-User Services
University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware
In its support of information technology (IT), University of Delaware strategies include targeted IT training programs to address audience-specific needs. In addition, we use a variety of general training opportunities and media that are designed to appeal to different learning styles. These strategies provide resources and support for staff to use self-directed learning to keep current with central IT information and to develop and maintain technical skills. They range from in-person workshops to television shows to complete on-line training and documentation. IT training is generally voluntary and amazingly successful.
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The University of Delaware does not mandate specific IT training as a condition
of employment. The one university-wide IT requirement is acceptance of the University
Responsible Computing Policy—one for faculty and staff and one for students.
IT training can be categorized by audience, by source and by delivery method.
Training by audience is vast. Anyone can take almost any course. However, we
do have training for specific audiences for such things as the University PeopleSoft
financial system. Training by source material is vendor supplied, developed
in-house or a customized hybrid of the two. Training by delivery method comes
in a number of ways:
• hands-on, instructor-led
• live presentation (e.g. using PowerPoint) in the classroom
• self-paced using interactive CDs
• online tutorials with practice files and exercises
• closed-circuit television.
A blueprint of what users need to know regarding IT at the University of Delaware and where to find it can be found on the IT Help Center website. How this all comes together at the University of Delaware is described below.
Today staff training is designed to provide incentives so that employees will use these resources to become more effective on the job. We’ve found that we no longer need to create many training materials, and we don’t need to use as much staff-intensive classroom time on how to use software features, such as formatting text in MS Word or cells in Excel. Software development companies, like Microsoft, are giving content to training development companies, such as LearnKey, to develop manuals, tutorials, videos, interactive multi-media, and web-based training. Much of it is quite good. We’ve capitalized on these vendor-supplied resources to contain costs and to promote self-directed continuous learning. As a result, we maximize instructor time on higher level learning activities, such as SQL.
Faculty IT development is very much a partnership to promote student-centered, active, problem-based learning and to achieve learning goals particularly as they apply to the General Education Initiative, an institution-wide reform of undergraduate education. IT staff members collaborate with the Center for Teaching Effectiveness and Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education to help faculty members connect their learning goals and the actual technology-enhanced lessons.
Special collaborative Faculty Technology Institutes are offered the first weeks of summer and winter sessions. This winter, the theme is instructional design. A three-day institute will kickoff with a guest speaker, Dee Fink, who is a prominent expert in instructional design. His session, “Designing courses for more significant student learning,” will focus on the use of technology to enhance student learning within the framework of course design. Related sessions include a faculty showcase and workshops designed to help faculty find ways to enrich their students’ college experience.
IT-User Services provides a full complement of instructor-led, hands-on training classes for faculty in the use of WebCT, the University’s learning management system. Faculty members attend WebCT introductory sessions which include creating a sample course. For example, a professor in English might set exercises to identify weaknesses in a thesis statement. Other classes include how to effectively use WebCT discussion groups, organize course content, set up quizzes & surveys and set up grading modules to achieve learning goals.
Practical Resources for Educators Seeking Effective Technologies (PRESENT) is UD’s teaching, learning and technology center staffed by IT-User Services consultants. Faculty members make appointments to work with consultants on instructional design or they drop by to use the center’s workstations and equipment for exploring uses of technology in teaching.
More than 50 Faculty-IT projects, many initiated with the help of technology
grants, are incorporated in courses and provide templates for other faculty
to use. Three are listed below,
1. John Deiner http://www.udel.edu/present/profiles/deiner
uses student presentations to create newsletter.
2. Mark Stanton http://www.udel.edu/present/profiles/stanton
makes online testing feasible.
3. Bill Saylor http://www.udel.edu/present/profiles/saylor
reduces teacher time while maintaining student quality/time on task.
The University of Delaware is in its second year of implementing PeopleSoft Financial System. The PS Communications and Training Team—representatives of Processing Offices, Colleges, the Provost’s Office and Information Technologies—develop training using train-the-trainer models. Employees needing more information about any of these classes contact the team member from their unit or an allied one. Typically, a segment is introduced to interested users with a PowerPoint presentation. There are usually lots of questions from the audience, mostly about how the switch will affect a unit’s ability to conduct business. These sessions are useful because they bring concerns and ideas to the developers who can then act on them in the conversion. Of course, input had been sought in all preliminary phases, but there’s nothing like going live to bring reality to the process.
Approximately 150 students work as site assistants in the nine public computing facilities operated by IT-User Services. The main site, Smith Hall, is the home of Input/Output (I/O) Services Desk, a classroom, and a public computing site. In 2003, we developed a training program specifically for the Smith Hall student site assistants. We use the WebCT learning management system to disseminate consistent information that is available for review at any time. Thus, students can use it as a resource on an ongoing basis. We want a smooth operation in the Smith Hall site where student employees can access the information they need when they need it. Like all training, it is a work in progress.
URL: http://www.udel.edu/webct
username: smithIO-guest, password: guest
Campus Information Technology Associates (CITAs) are department IT support staff. They are IT professionals with a combination of discipline expertise and computer experience. However, they are employed by University departments and colleges, not by the central Information Technologies group. There are currently 62 CITAs.
CITAs are welcome at IT staff meetings, and staff interaction is encouraged. For example, in August 2004, just before the students arrived, IT-User Services, other ITers, and CITAs went over ten items, including 1) Back to school preparations supporting students, 2) What's new for fall UserED, 3) Campus web mapping project. Staff from both groups participate in System Administration User Group meetings.
In Spring 2002, we developed a program to help CITAs become as self-sufficient and informed about information technology at UD as possible, so that they could assist their home department. We have found CITA knowledge of University IT standards is especially valuable in system administration and for the interoperability of departmental and central computing services.
Since participation in the CITA training program is voluntary, we had to come up with a way to entice CITA participation. That “hook” or “carrot” involves free training and training materials. The first thing we did was to survey CITAs to find out what and how they wanted to learn. Based on the results, IT now arranges and funds a variety of technical skills training, including on-line, on-campus, instructor-led, and off-campus classes as well as the purchase of books and manuals.
We created the WebCT CITA Training Course to deliver orientation and standards information (what central IT wants all IT support people to know), through a series of six links (sections). CITAs who review the orientation pages and take self-tests after each section are eligible for a prize: IT-funded technical skills training and materials (what CITAs want to know).
To date, 47 of the 62 CITAs (76%) successfully completed the course. Each won
a $200 allotment to purchase technical manuals and books of their choice in
fiscal 2002-2003 and again this year—they love this! They also have access
to 200+ Virtual Training Company (VTC) online training courses. VTC is unique
in that we paid for just one sign on for CITAs and it is shared. Beginning this
month, our new multi-user VTC account has 10 simultaneous logons that will be
shared by all IT support people and may be expanded from there, depending on
usage. CITAs can also get Oracle University Online subscriptions, which are
per individual. Eleven took advantage of this option the first year. After doing
a needs assessment, only 3 found that they used it enough to continue the second
year.
We brought professional instructors to campus for custom training on specific
topics, e.g. “Windows 2000” (4 days) and “SANS Security”
(2 days). In addition, we purchased a site license for several online security
manuals from the SANS Institute. CITAs have the option to register for training
off campus, with IT sharing the cost of the training with the CITA’s department.
The CITA’s department is responsible for all costs associated with travel
for the training. So far, this option has rarely been used. CITA participants
enjoy these opportunities to learn. One unexpected result of this training program
is that working relationships have improved because of a sense of camaraderie.
Information Technologies Learning Resources:
http://www.udel.edu/learn/usered
Especially for Faculty: http://www.udel.edu/present/
Graphics Technology Cookbook: http://www.udel.edu/cookbook/
PeopleSoft Training: http://www.udel.edu/UDFS/info/
click on Training tab
Department IT Support Staff: http://www.udel.edu/cita
IT Help Center: http://www.udel.edu/help/
Each of the programs discussed here puts the focus on the learner, by providing
resources, incentives and a venue for building a community of life-long learners
who can use technology to “work smarter, not harder.” We provide
a consistent body of up-to-date information that faculty, staff, administrators,
IT support staff, and student-technology assistants can access as needed. We
then provide everyone with incentives, rewards, recognition, and a forum for
sharing new ideas and new best practices with colleagues, thus completing the
circle.
Footnote: See EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 39, no. 4 (July/August 2004): 8–9
Working Smarter, Not Harder by John H. Keiser. The article “emphasizes
a collegial approach to working smarter, not harder, through the effective use
of technology.” The challenges discussed are those the University of Delaware’s
staff development programs strive to address.
Student Technology Assistants: WebCT Course Training Modules