6e. Unit Resources Including Technology
6e1. What information technology resources support faculty and candidates? What evidence shows that candidates and faculty actually use these resources?
The College of Education has a full time technology coordinator with supplemental student help. The Williams Center Lab is also monitored by a faculty member in the College. Faculty and students have access to four computer labs within the college as well as those at the university level. the College is the site of the Wisconsin instructional Technology Resource Center (WITRIC) and maintains an updated collection of instructional software packages. New faculty are provided with a new computer configured to their needs and all faculty receive a new computer at least once every 3 to 4 years. The university provides a wide array of workshops and programs for faculty professional development in the use of technology through the Learning Technology Center. Faculty use of technology is documented in the review process for reappointment, tenure and promotion (see also the Annual Report of the Technology Coordinator). Technology requirements are integrated throughout the coursework in all programs. In addition, students in special education and elementary education take a required course in technology applications (Individualized Learning System in Educational Media (ILSEM)). Applications of technology into instruction appear throughout the portfolio process. For example, the rubric for Standards 4 and 6 in the Phase 3 portfolio refer specifically to the use of technology.
During 2007-08, the ICIT department provided a tremendous amount of support to the unit by creating a new window in the existing PeopleSoft student management system to record portfolio scores. They continue to support our program by creating new reports. This service has been extremely helpful and they will continue to assist us in data management in the years to come.
6e2. What resources are available for the development and implementation of
the unit’s assessment system?
The unit’s assessment system does not have a formal
budgetary line. However, the Provost’s office paid for a half time graduate
assistant to work with the Associate Dean on assessment and data correlation
starting spring, 2007 and continuing through spring 2008. The 2008-09 UW
System budget has a special provision (DIN) for all state teacher education
institutions to hire a half time data manager. We have now filled this
position and it is anticipated that this position will become a permanent
budget line in charge of assessment and data management.
6e3. What library and curricular resources exist at the institution? How
does the unit ensure they are sufficient and current? How accessible are
resources to candidates, including candidates in off-campus and distance
learning programs, through electronic means?
The University
Library provides high quality library collections and information services
in the support of the teaching, research and service functions of the
university. The Library houses over 2 million items, including over 681,633
volumes of books, serial backfiles and other paper materials including
government documents, 1,307,537 microforms, and 19,732 audiovisual items. The
current serial subscriptions amount to 6,521. It provides access to over
30,629 ebooks, 15,000 print and electronic journals (including those via
aggregators) and a wide array of internet based resources.
The library is open to all on-campus students and off-campus students may
access the majority of online library resources, such as databases and
e-reserves from anywhere in the world. The library has a full time reference
librarian assigned to the unit to assist in all library-related needs that the
College may have. In addition, each department has a library coordinator
responsible for spending a yearly library budget to support teaching in their
field.
Optional Items
1. Exemplary Practice Related to Standard 6
From governance structures and procedures within, the Unit derives a plethora of financial, technological and human resources to support learning. The Unit has state-of-the-art technology with an increasing number of classrooms now using Smart Boards as part of the instructional support for student learning. The Unit is strong within this standard, and it is directly related to the quality of the experiences that each candidate for licensure receives in their respective program.
2. Research Conducted by Unit Related to Standard 6
Please refer to the faculty research document in the support section.
