Faculty Partnerships

The phone rings. The caller begins with the familiar, “I’ve been thinking...” and the rest of the conversation centers on how to pilot an emerging instructional technology. Faculty who are early adopters of technology are experimenters and risk-takers; they broaden the landscape of effective teaching and learning with technology. Yes, they push the envelope, but they also offer partnership for identifying what’s scalable and sustainable for broader use. Our panelists will share their campus perspectives on adopting emerging technologies from Web 2.0 to virtual worlds, their successes and challenges, and the partnerships they’ve formed.

As with most campus departments in these tight budgetary times, faculty technology centers must strive to achieve goals of enhancing the technology and instructional design skills of their customers while leveraging fewer resources. In the state of Missouri, public institutions of higher education are under continued pressure to further the development of online courses and programs. To accomplish such goals, technology center staff required additional resources and collaborative opportunities.

Presentation at the May 2006 ECAR Academy in Dedham, Massachusetts. "NERCOMP Presents: ECAR Academy" was developed jointly by NERCOMP and ECAR to develop the next generation of current and emerging leaders and further the IT profession by promoting and fostering a culture of evidence. Participants examined the most pressing issues facing higher education/IT today from a data-driven point of view; participated in a rigorous and highly interactive curriculum led by ECAR investigators (fellows); learned how to interpret and use information strategically to inform leadership decisions and processes; and joined an ongoing, supportive peer network.

This bulletin discusses how technology can serve as a catalyst for integrating faculty research into the undergraduate learning environment. It describes The Ohio State University's highly successful Research on Research: Student-Faculty ePartnerships program and includes recommendations for replicating the program on other campuses. The findings in this bulletin are based on project participants' postevaluation survey responses and testimonials collected over a two-year period.