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News from Academic Media and Technology |
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ITS Academic Computing Services has changed its name to ITS Academic Media & Technology. Our new name better describes what we do now and what we aspire to do in the future. We also take the opportunity of our name change to reaffirm our commitment to service excellence in the technology support we provide to students, faculty and staff as guided by our several faculty advisory committees. Academic Media & Technology ("AM&T") is comprised of 48 full time staff and 125 students working in 12 functional units. We deliver a broad range of technology services to students and faculty in Arts and Sciences (Yale College and the Graduate School) and we work with IT staff in the professional schools. AM&T Units and Services The Instructional Technology Group provides easy access to course web and related services through the instructional web server, individual consulting and group workshops for instructors, and software development services to Yale faculty engaged in technology-enhanced teaching. The Instructional Innovation Grants Program communicates, coordinates, and administers the resources and grant programs available to Yale faculty in support of teaching innovation. Student Computing Services, with a staff of over 50 undergraduate and graduate Computing Assistants, supports Arts and Sciences student computing on personal machines in college residences and in our campus computing clusters and labs. Classroom Technology Services, using a team of professional staff and student employees, provides and supports analog and digital projection in classrooms, specialized instructor facilities, and support for instructional computer laboratories. The FAS IT Support Program, guided by planning based in each department, provides baseline information technology access and ongoing support for all faculty and instructors in FAS. Workstation and Server Support provides "tier 2" support for technical workstations (Unix and NT) within the FAS IT Support program and via contract for research systems. Media Services, Photo provides traditional photography services (shoot, print, enlarge, duplicate, etc.) as well as an increasing number of digital image services including capture, image media conversion and digital image tuning and more. Media Services, Video provides video capture via student or professional cameramen, video duplication and media conversion, analog and digital editing, including support of a set of student video editing facilities, special projects production and consulting, and administers a new broadcast-quality video studio with linkages available to the major TV and radio networks. The Social Science Statistical Laboratory provides classroom and laboratory facilities and in-depth consulting in statistical software, quantitative methods, Social Science data resources, and technical developments relevant to Social Science computing. See the URLs at the end of this article for more information on these and other AM&T services, including the Webteam, the Yale Film Study Center, and the Library Systems Group. Statlab Updates Students, TAs and faculty are meeting in droves at the Statlab (Social Science Statistical Laboratory) to use the workstations, stat software, and projection for classes in introductory statistics (economics, political science, life sciences), spatial analysis of census data, and linear modeling. The semester started off with a series of workshops on Minitab and Stata offered by Soo Yeon Kim, the Statlab Workshop Coordinator for this academic year. The Statlab staff have considerable expertise in the wide array of statistical packages managed by the lab. Consultants with extensive expertise in methodology, software applications, and statistics are on call most of the hours the Statlab is open. Integrating data resources and class www sites also is a priority for the Statlab; instructors are encouraged to contact Ann Green for help developing data applications and tools for statistical teaching and research, or if you would like us to organize training on a particular package. It isn't too early to think about next semester. The Statlab may be scheduled for sessions requiring statistical software and hands-on use of the workstations. Lectures that don't require hands-on use and non-statistical sessions are best scheduled at the numerous other locations on campus. Technology Classrooms Nearly all of Yale's classrooms have active network connections, and an increasing number are being outfitted with analog and digital multimedia services. An updated list of enhanced classrooms can be viewed at the Instructional Technology Group' s website, http://www.yale.edu/instruct/class.html. New facilities this year include built-in digital projection in A.K. Watson and HGS. The "Garage" classroom (Dunham 120) has been newly outfitted with 19 current-generation Windows NT machines. This classroom now supports Altiris Vision software, a system that allows the instructor to view individual student's workstation screens and project them to the entire class, to run demos on the individual workstations, or even to lock the desktops and keyboards. Instructors are also reminded of the Faculty laptop loaner program offered by AM&T, which can provide a laptop computer for use in classrooms with digital projection facilities. Some instructors are also using the "wireless mouse" during classroom projection, a device that allows them to control their computer without the need to stand behind the podium or desk. For help with any aspect of technology in the classroom, including help with digital projection, wireless control, and technology classroom scheduling, contact Gloria Hardman (gloria.hardman@yale.edu). Classes.yale.edu The popularity of classes.yale.edu, the course web server, continues to grow. Over 200 courses have uploaded web-based material (web pages, syllabi, course materials, etc.) for the Fall Semester of 1999. A new features for this academic year is a tool for easy archival and access to materials from past semesters and academic years. This allows instructors to create an updated web site for the current offering of their course by importing selected items from past years' versions. Also new is a "browse" feature for quick examination of available classes websites and syllabi without logging on; this can be accessed through a link from classes.yale.edu, or directly at http://classes.yale.edu/browse.html. Other improvements are designed to provide greater functionality and performance from the student and instructor interfaces. Workshops and personal consultation are available for all faculty who want to make instructional materials available on their class web site. See http://classes.yale.edu or email classes.yale.edu for more information. |
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Academic Media & Technology: http://www.yale.edu/amt
Faculty Support Program http://www.yale.edu/fsp
Film Study Center http://www.yale.edu/filmstudy
Instructional Technology Group http://www.yale.edu/instruct
Instructional Innovation Grants (IIG) http://www.yale.edu/iig
Media Services http://www.yale.edu/yaleav
Social Science Statistical Laboratory (Statlab) http://www.yale.edu/statlab
Webteam http://www.yale.edu/webmaster
Workstation and Server Support http://www.yale.edu/wss
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Instructional
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