The University of Texas at El Paso

http://www.utep.edu

UTEP Service Area/Connection Map

The University of Texas at El Paso

URL : http://www.tpdl.utep.edu

Underlying Themes and Major Concerns

Technology and demography as “drivers” for educational change and transformation

On campus vs. off campus settings for learning

Changing nature of knowledge base (from content to context)

Challenges of continuing education and lifelong learning we as a society are facing

“Information technology can be the excuse and the means to move closer to educational goals that we have been unable to achieve for decades – and to some new ones…”

- Excerpt from “A New Vision Worth Working Toward -- Connected Education and Collaborative Change” February, 2000 version available at http://www.tltgroup.com

Harnessing Technological Change to Serve a Changing Student Demography

http://www.tpdl.utep.edu/conference/ Nov 01 – Apr 02

Involving the Campus with Technology

Campus IT Steering Committee

Technology Decision-Makers Round Table

Academic Affairs IT Committee

Faculty Senate Technology Committee

Involving the Campus with Technology : External Groups

UT System Strategic Leadership Council

State Department of Information Resources

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

UT TeleCampus

AN-MSI

Educause/NSF Consortium

Technology

•Asynchronous

•Digital

•Instantaneous

•Interactive

•Portable/Wireless

•User friendly

•Ubiquitous

Student Demography

•Diversity with a Capital “D”

•Technology savvy

•Bottom-line oriented

•Impatient and anxious

•Multiply challenged

Student Profile

69% Hispanic, 15% Anglo, 2% African-American, 1% Asian, 0.3% Native American

46% male, 54% female

Average age: undergraduate 24; graduate 34

82% from El Paso County

9% Mexican nationals

5% from 44 other states and 67 other countries

81% are employed

54% are 1st generation university students

UTEP Facts http://ir.utep.edu/main/pubfrm/public.htm

Faculty

•Discipline-based

•Technology doubtful

•Mainstream oriented

•Academically minded

•Culturally challenged

•Time conscious

Faculty

861 full-time and part-time faculty

More than 93% of university’s tenure-track faculty members hold doctorial degrees or the equivalent in their fields

UTEP Facts

Instructional work changes

Interdisciplinary oriented

Problem based teaching-learning approaches

Distributed learning platforms

Brokerage vs. knowledge imparter

Learning by doing vs. learning by telling

Culturally relevant vs. culturally neutral content

Faculty as learner and student as teacher

Pedagogical “savvy”

Faculty Role Changes

Advice to Others

Technology is not for wimps.

To be effective, technology requires:

Consistent, focused, integrated campus efforts

Developing a rhythm for change, as opposed to a routine for change

Moving form “stepping stones” and “islands of innovation” to Campus Profile

Defining technology as value added component and not just an “Add-on”

Four major information needs for planning

Characteristics of learners

Conditions for use

Characteristics of media and technology

Characteristics of content and messages being delivered

Evaluating the New Information Technologies

1. Media Characteristics

2. User/Audience Characteristics

3. Conditions or Environment for Use

4. Message or Instructional Content

Conditions for Use

Types of Media (Content)

Media Characteristics

User/Learner Characteristics

Concentric Circles

The Pedagogy of Electronic Instruction

http://www.tpdl.utep.edu/pedagogy

Accommodating A Changing Student Demography

Assessing what works and what does not and developing digital repository of “best practices” exemplars to guide your production.

More widespread use of the IEEE’s Internet best practices standards for web page and site layout, development, maintenance, and updating.

More systematic efforts to work with digital media approaches that integrate the attributes of the technology with characteristics of the learners.

Recruitment and involvement of individuals from diverse backgrounds in your digital media production and web-based development staff.

Accommodating A Changing Student Demography (continued)

Moving beyond personal assistive technology options to the adoption of human-centered interfaces that adapt to the user.

Greater use of multiple language & signing options that the technology now affords web site developers.

On-going discussion and analysis across your production staff and faculty about those components that make for effective and executable accessibility for “challenged” population groups.

More appropriate integration of text, audio and video elements on web sites.

Accommodating A Changing Student Demography (continued)

More conscious decision-making about the web-based production processes, coupled with pre-testing of the value-added effects of using different fonts, under-lining, bolding, italics as well as colors and hues, animation and graphics (drawing on

research base on print media layout protocols and effectiveness indicators).

Inviting structured reviews of web sites by outside resource groups, such as the TLT group, and using the feedback provided to guide updates and

revisions.

http://www.tpdl.utep.edu/demography

Important Websites for Follow-up

UTEP www.utep.edu

TPDL Office www.tpdl.utep.edu

Digital Media Center www.dmc.utep.edu

Pedagogy Electronic Instruction www.tpdl.utep.edu/pedagogy

Creative Kids www.creativekidsetc.org

Manual Acosta www.utep.edu/acousta

AN-MSI www.anmsi.org

UT TeleCampus www.telecampus.utsystem.edu

Harnessing Technological www.tpdl.utep.edu.conferenceChange