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A Message from Timothy O'Rourke, Vice President of Computer and Information Services

Information Technology at Temple

Published in the November 8, 2005 edition
of the Temple University Faculty Herald

When Sam Hodge, a faculty member and chairperson in the Fox School of Business, wanted to actively engage students in his class, he took a chance. He worked with Computer Services to try out a classroom participation system that places response pads or “clickers” in the hands of students so they can electronically vote or participate in class. After working out a few bugs, the classroom participation system, known as TurningPoint, turned out to be a successful venture now actively used in Professor Hodge's large lecture hall class.

When Tracy Cooper, a faculty member in Art History, was looking for a better way to catalog art images, distribute a self-study resource for students, and make her classroom come alive, she approached Computer Services with some ideas. After evaluating options, Professor Cooper now uses a digital image database, an online shared collection of images, to teach her class by displaying images with the options of side-by-side format and zoom-in capability.

These are just two examples of the ongoing partnership between faculty and Computer Services at Temple. This collaboration is vital. I have been at Temple for 22 years and just started my 3rd year as the Vice President for Computer and Information Services. One of my major priorities is to provide faculty technology options that ultimately enhance learning for students.

To support this goal, my staff is continually exploring new products in order to provide the most innovative resources available. Results of this exploration can be seen in the recognition that Temple received by being named the 4th “Most Connected Campus” by the Princeton Review in 2004 and, more recently, by CIO Magazine in August 2005 as one of three Universities in their “Bold 100.”

This is an extremely exciting time to be at Temple and I am thrilled to have been asked to write this article to let the faculty know the many technology resources currently available to them:

High Speed Data Network with Internet2 – The Computer Services' Office of Telecommunications provides high-speed wired and wireless Internet access throughout the University. Every port on Temple 's data network is connected to the high performance Internet2 network that all Temple students, faculty, and staff can use to communicate with each other and with their colleagues at other Internet2 member institutions. Internet 2 can also be used for quick access to research and educational resources.

Smart Classrooms – Gone are the days of overhead projectors and transparencies. Now, there are over 275 “smart” classrooms on our campuses featuring built-in multimedia, Internet, and computing capabilities to enhance faculty presentations. Plans are in place to expand the number of “smart” classrooms over the next two years.

TUportal – The tuportal.temple.edu Web site is a single gateway to Temple 's most popular online services. Faculty can log in to the portal using their AccessNet username and password to gain access to resources such as TUmail, Blackboard, and My Backpack. The portal is currently undergoing a major upgrade that will provide many more features. This new version is currently operating in beta mode at tuportal2.temple.edu.

Blackboard – In 1999, 11 faculty members in the Fox School of Business undertook a pilot program to test a new course management system. Today, over 2,850 Temple instructors have over 8,000 courses on the Blackboard system. With a Blackboard account, students can retrieve and submit assignments, participate in discussion groups, take tests online, and use optional features such as the calendar and address book.

Apreso – The Fox School of Business is again leading the effort to pilot test a system that enables instructors to capture an entire in-class lecture, including audio, and instantly transform it into a streaming video file that students can view through Blackboard or any Web page. Other schools participating in the project include the School of Podiatric Medicine and Tyler School of Art. After one year of testing, over 50 faculty members have used Apreso to digitally capture their classes.

Turnitin – With the availability of papers and information on the Internet, academic integrity is a growing concern. Last year, Computer Services implemented Turnitin, a third-party Blackboard module, to help instructors detect plagiarism in student papers.

E-Portfolio – One of our newest additions to our technology offerings is an electronic portfolio. Electronic portfolios offer a Web-based format for students, faculty, and staff to present their work for advising, determining growth over time, and creating resumes. E-portfolio supports text, graphics, video, and audio files.

NetOp School – This past summer, we began participating in a pilot program to test NetOp School, an interactive software application designed to connect an instructor's computer with student computers in a networked-classroom environment. The program provides a variety of tools that enable instructors to monitor or take control of student computers, broadcast to an individual or the entire class, send messages, transfer files, and more.

Gallery – Gallery, a digital image database, is an open source application that consists of a Web-based content search and lecture creation tool for instructors; an online study tool for students; and an in-class client program that enables instructors to magnify, pan through, and compare high resolution images. So far, the Art History department has organized a collection of 13,000 images. The Medical School is also preparing to add a collection in the near future.

Classroom Participation System – TurningPoint provides instructors with the opportunity to get immediate feedback from their students. By using a "clicker," students can answer questions, respond to surveys, take opinion polls, and much more. Instructors can also use this technology to take attendance.

My Backpack – My Backpack is a Computer Services developed, Web-based resource that enables students, faculty, and staff to easily store and manage files as well as publish Web pages. This resource provides an alternative to storing files on floppy disks, zip disks, or flash drives and, since it is available on the Web, files can be conveniently accessed anytime, anywhere.

TUmail – Implemented two years ago, the Mirapoint e-mail platform has proven to be a secure, reliable, high performance messaging system for Temple. Temple was a trendsetter by adopting this system which has since been implemented in many Universities throughout the country including, the Universities of Georgia, Delaware, Maryland, Cincinnati, Chicago and Case Western Reserve, to name a few.

Enhancements to Undergraduate Academic Advising - This past year, we made numerous enhancements to the academic advising experience for undergraduate students. The readability of the online DARS report was greatly improved due to better organization of data and the use of color and graphics to categorize degree requirements and progress. We also upgraded the prerequisite and/or co-requisite checking during student registration to inform students that certain course requirements are needed before registering in a course. In addition, course requirements and department offerings now appear in OWLnet so students can be fully informed to make appropriate course choices. Finally, the advising function was recently enhanced with a feature that allows students to use OWLnet to view the notes recorded by the advisor during a student advising session.

Section Information Management System (SIMS)

SIMS, the Section Information Management System, debuted in April 2005 and is being piloted by the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Science and Technology for the creation of their Spring 2006 course schedules. SIMS provides a planning platform for schedule building that is not available in ISIS, our student information system. We are planning to also provide additional features in the areas of day/time schedule matrix monitoring, room scheduling and cross-listed section processing.

Take Advantage of Support Services

Computer Services offers a number of support services to help faculty get started using Temple's resources or expand their existing technology skills:

Instructional Support Center – The Instructional Support Center (ISC) is a fully-staffed facility specializing solely in faculty-related technology tools. The ISC provides consulting services, training, and access to high-end computer equipment for incorporating technology into the teaching/learning process. Consultants in the ISC can demonstrate the latest instructional technologies, assist faculty with using these technologies, and provide advice on how to best meet instructional goals. Examples of ISC services include:

• Assistance with digital imaging software and equipment including text, graphics, slide scanning, and digital cameras.

• Assistance with creating and delivering classroom materials such as PowerPoint presentations, audio and video digital content or streaming media.

• Assistance using chat, discussion forums, and/or listserv technology.

Instructional Technologies User's Group – Faculty also support each other by volunteering to share their technology experience through the Instructional Technologies User's Group (ITUG). The group meets in an open, hour-long forum at lunchtime where various faculty members demonstrate a technology tool they are currently using. Recent ITUG topics included “ NetOp School : Manage, Engage and Monitor Students' Activities in PC Classrooms and Laboratories,” “Using a Digital Image Database to Store and Display Images,” and “E-portfolios at Temple.” All faculty members are welcome to attend to see the practical applications of Temple 's technology resources and ask their peers questions on its use.

For locations and more information on the ISC or ITUG, go to isc.temple.edu or call 215-204-0789.

Classroom Technology Support – When instructors use technology in smart classrooms, there is always backup support in case help is needed with the equipment. The Classroom Technology Support staff is responsible for opening and securing smart classrooms, delivering and setting up and testing media equipment prior to class to ensure systems are functioning. Staff members are also on-call to answer questions, provide training on the use of classroom technology, and respond to technical issues that may occur during class. For more information on Classroom Technology Support, go to www.temple.edu/cs/iss.

Technology Training – Computer Services offers a wide variety of free seminars to enhance faculty technology skills. The hands-on workshops are taught by professional training staff members who develop the instructional activities and materials used in the training sessions. Training topics vary and include the use of Microsoft Office applications, multimedia devices, using a PDA and digital camera, and Web development. In addition, faculty-only seminars are also available on using certain technology tools. For a list of current seminars and to sign up online, go to seminars.temple.edu.

Help Desk – The Help Desk support staff is available for everyday computer questions that are not necessarily related to the use of faculty resources. Help Desk services are provided on a walk-in, phone-in, e-mail, and live chat basis. The Main Campus Help Desk is currently located on the ground floor of Wachman Hall. The facility will relocate to a larger space in the TECH Center in January. Faculty can also visit the Help Desk Web site at www.temple.edu/cs/helpdesk, call at 215-204-8000, or send e-mail to help@temple.edu.

In Development – What's Next?

We currently have a number of projects in development. They include:

Blackboard Enhancements – Blackboard continues to expand the functions of its course management software. Upcoming new features include: support for foreign languages; more sophisticated content control in which instructors can require students to complete specified tasks or meet designated criteria before allowing access to specified content; expanded, drop-down menu capabilities for quicker access to tools and materials, and additional assessment question types.

Merlot – Merlot is a peer-reviewed, free Web resource of instructional materials for higher education on thousands of topics. Coming in January, Computer Services will make it possible for faculty to search and directly import materials into their Blackboard courses.

Learning Objects – We are currently testing Learning Objects, which allows for blog (journal) and wiki (team Web page) technology to be directly imported into Blackboard courses. The software also includes a tool that allows Blackboard users to search for any content available to them on the Blackboard system.

Wimba – Also currently in the testing phase, we are evaluating Horizon Wimba products, which offer a number of voice-related tools available through Blackboard. Instead of typing e-mail messages, Wimba will record your voice when you talk into a microphone and allow a five-minute message to be imported into Blackboard. A component called Voice Direct offers resources for online verbal conferences and chat room features with voice capabilities.

Expanded Streaming Media Services – As more technology resources move toward visual resources, we plan to upgrade and expand storing and streaming media files. A high-end complex dedicated to these services is under development.

Backpack – Not to be confused with Temple's My Backpack, Computer Services, in conjunction with the Fox School of Business, will begin pilot testing Backpack during the Spring semester. Using Backpack, students can synch their computers to Blackboard courses and download content for local use and storage. Students can then annotate content with their own notes. The synch tool also notifies students when instructors have updated Blackboard content.

As you can see, we offer a lot of technology for our faculty and students to enhance their teaching and educational experience. As technology continues to evolve, Computer Services is committed to the research and development of technology tools that can further benefit our faculty and students. Temple has earned the reputation for providing first-class technology resources. To continue this, we must be willing to, at times, be out on the “bleeding edge” and we must have a staff committed to evaluating the numerous and ever-changing technology products. Computer Services has many talented, dedicated and energetic employees led by Sheri Stahler, Barbara Dolhansky, Claire McNicholas, Frank Azuola, and Ken Ihrer. We also rely heavily on the ongoing help and understanding that forward-thinking faculty members give us by participating in pilot programs and then sharing their experience with others.

As faculty, your input is essential in our efforts to implement technology resources at Temple. Together we can continue to lead the way in bringing state-of-the-art technology to our students.

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