Faculty Technology Initiative Projects Selected for Development

Three new faculty projects have been chosen for development through the 2001-2002 Faculty Technology Initiative (FTI) program. The program, a service of the Center for Education Technology Services (CETS), helps faculty use technology to address specific instructional challenges.

Each year, CETS issues a call for FTI proposals to deans, department heads, and faculty. Submissions are reviewed by a panel of faculty and administrators.

College of Engineering

• "Collaboration on American Indian Housing Among Three Institutions," Department of Architectural Engineering, David Riley, associate professor; in conjunction with Sergio Palleroni, associate professor, Department of Architecture, University of Washington; and Richard Little Bear, president, Dull Knife Memorial College.

  Students from Penn State, the University of Washington, and Dull Knife Memorial College, located on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana, are working together to improve American Indian housing using straw bale construction methods. Some students are focusing on architecture; some on the climate; others on cultural aspects of the endeavor, such as the type of housing residents are used to and local customs. CETS will help establish a collaborative online work space enabling students and faculty from the three schools to share files, critique work, and participate in threaded discussions. This will make use of Penn State's Course Management System, ANGEL. CETS will also assist with a videoconferencing session between Penn State and the University of Washington. Additional support will include constructing a Web-based database for course resources, creating multimedia and graphical elements that illustrate the straw bale building process, and creating "how-to" and promotional videos.

College of the Liberal Arts

• "Improving Course Management in Large Enrollment Race and Ethnic Relations Classes," Departments of Sociology and African and African American Studies, Samuel M. Richards, senior lecturer in Sociology, adjunct instructor in African and African American Studies.

  The Race and Ethnic Relations course had an enrollment of 250 students in the past, but has since doubled in size. Each year, 70 undergraduate teaching assistants help facilitate student team discussions and monitor student journal entries, grades, and attendance. CETS will provide tools for the faculty to keep track of the TAs, and for the TAs to keep track of student progress. A Web site will be developed to train TAs in facilitating discussions and handling various situations, with video clips to illustrate participation and body language. In addition, CETS will help develop support materials for teaching specific topics. These include an online survey about student attitudes toward race and ethnicity, and automation of an "exploring prejudice" photo exercise.

College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

• "Web-Based Simulation Module for Insulation and Energy Conservation," Department of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering, Sarma V. Pisupati, assistant professor.

  The general education course Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection creates awareness of housing insulation's effect on fuel costs, energy conservation, and air pollution among non-scientists. Currently, students experiment with insulation materials in various thicknesses using a physical model. However, it is difficult for all the students to schedule a time to conduct experiments using this model, which is heavy and cumbersome to manipulate. CETS will help develop a Web-based simulation module to model insulation materials and wall thickness and composition. This will be easily accessible to all students, although the physical model will also remain available to those interested. Each student will be able to experiment with variables and dynamically observe how changing parameters will affect fuel costs and energy efficiency. It is hoped that this module will serve as an exemplar for possible additional modules.