UNL's College of Education & Human Sciences was looking for a way to lead by example in terms of promoting the use of technology in innovative and constructive ways. They wanted to benefit instructors, students, and the college - and start to promote an internal culture that recognized technology as a valid medium and encouraged its use in ways that are experimentative and fun. Seems like a tall order, right?
They started up an internal grant program that provided iPods, microphones, & TV adapter cables - in addition to instruction, guidance, and a cohort of colleagues to work with. Their podcasting initiative has been really great. Some have used the Podcast Producer product from Apple (provided by the college) others have used the OSCELOT Podcaster module inside Blackboard we've built for My.UNL. Instructors submitted proposals, and a group within the college selected a group to fund. Some were more focused on podcasting media development, and some were more for using iPod & mobile devices in the instruction process.
Right now I'm sitting in a "show and tell" kind of session (with donuts & coffee) where many of the instructors are coming back as a group and talking about their successes. It's very cool. I've seen examples that range from recruiting, in-class participation, research, & archiving and sharing interviews. This initiative is a great example of a department putting its money where its mouth is & really doing something concrete to help its faculty work with new initiatives, adapt to the changing environment, and make it as approachable as possible. Next year, they hope to run a similar program around improving instructor use of presentation software.
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