Instructional Technology Project

The Instructional Technology Project (ITP) was created to support collaborative faculty support and development throughout The George Washington University. The ITP is comprised of a group of George Washington University service organizations providing instruction, research, and technology support and services. The ITP was formed to provide a supporting mechanism for faculty development and instructional support throughout the University. The ITP will provide information about and access to an expanding number of initiatives including the Summer Intensive Workshop Institute (SIWI).

The SIWI represents the culmination of several months of research and planning designed to provide George Washington University Faculty a comprehensive and intensive development opportunity each summer. The SIWI focuses on progressive learning tracks and provides coordinated follow-up for faculty participants.

Background

The Summer Intensive Workshop Institute (SIWI), got its start as an initiative of the collaborative Instructional Technology Projects group. It provides a comprehensive plan for significantly increasing The George Washington University faculty's competency with advanced instructional technologies. Unlike other approaches that focus primarily on a technical skills 'boot camp', the ITP: Summer Intensive Workshop Institute seeks to provide faculty a progressive series of experiences that sequentially build on different skill levels and abilities and that include both pedagogical and technical experiences and training. Additionally, the Summer Intensive Workshop Institute provides direct staff support to assist faculty during design and implementation of instructional technology projects started as part of the Summer Intensive Workshop Institute. The Instructional Technology Project involves units across the University community to provide complete solutions and tap existing expertise and resources. While comprehensive in scope, the ITP: Summer Intensive Workshop Institute also builds on existing and emerging faculty support and development initiatives. The ITP: Summer Intensive Workshop Institute offers an intensive series of summer workshops and seminars providing faculty a focused opportunity to learn and explore instructional technologies with concrete and identifiable outcomes.

The ITP:Summer Intensive Workshop Institute accomplishes the goal of increased faculty proficiency and use of instructional technologies through a series of intensive three-day long workshops and seminar summer institutes. The workshops that comprise the Summer Intensive Workshop Institute are designed to provide experiences that expand and build upon basic computer skills, productivity and classroom presentation tools and skills, progressing to elaborate pedagogically sound multimedia and mediated learning projects. Where appropriate these resources should be augmented to ensure a reliable support system including mentors for faculty participants. These pedagogical, technical, and content specialists will provide yearlong follow-up support and assistance to faculty, as they implement effective instructional technologies and approaches learned through the Summer Intensive Workshop Institute.

In the beginning, several of these summer institutes were offered to faculty in the form of learning tracks. Each learning track is designed to build on the faculty members technical and pedagogical skills and knowledge. The tracks themselves were designed to provide a progressive series of experiences ranging from basic computer skills, through computer based research skills, including productivity and classroom presentation tools and skills, and progressing to elaborate pedagogically sound multimedia and mediated learning projects. The first few SIWI implementations provided grants to faculty upon completion of the learning tracks. Faculty were eligible for competitive implementation grants. Grant recipients were asked to attend future summer institutes as both presenters and learners sharing their experiences, successes, and lessons learned with their peers.

Recognizing the need for this type of support system, the Instructional Technology Project comprises units from several service areas of the University. The Summer Intensive Workshop Institute, as proposed, started out as a joint effort between the Computer Information and Resource Center / User Services, Instructional Technology Lab, Gelman Library, University Teaching Center, Center for Distance and Mediated Learning, and George Washington Television. These units all brought unique perspectives, resources and skills to the ITP: Summer Intensive Workshop Institute enabling faculty to confidently begin evaluating and implementing instructional technologies knowing they have access to assistance and resources. These units provide and support services including basic computer skills, technical support, research and data processing, and advanced technical and pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning.

In addition to the focused support services and service providers involved in the summer institute, the ITP: Summer Intensive Workshop Institute working group recognizes the other support resources available to faculty throughout the University. Many of these programs and services are offered or coordinated by the principle collaborators in the ITP: Summer Intensive Workshop Institute including; walk-in labs, free and fee based services, phone support, distributed technical assistance, student services, and mediated learning programs and tools.

The ITP: Summer Intensive Workshop Institute committee believes strongly in the need for adequate, thorough, and complete evaluation of both Summer Intensive Workshop Institute and the outcomes it generates related to faculty utilization of instructional technologies and the effects of instructional technologies on student learning. Ultimately, these evaluations will guide future faculty development initiatives related to instructional technologies and subsequent Summer Intensive Workshop Institutes.