Penn State faculty who want to improve technology skills or learn new ones are invited to participate in a hands-on program where they will have the chance to work one-on-one with an unusual group of teachers.

The Technology Learning Assistant (TLA) program, now in its second year, pairs faculty with graduate and undergraduate students who are fluent in basic computing skills, e-mail, chat, Web design, and such instructional tools as Penn State's Course Management System.

Guided by the TLA program coordinator, the student instructors work with their faculty partners to identify needs and objectives. Over the course of the semester, student and faculty teams typically meet weekly in the faculty members' offices, for up to an hour, to work on developing skills. Students record learning objectives, the work agreement they have drawn up, and their experiences in a Web-based journal, which is reviewed periodically by the TLA coordinator.

The program has been a success for all involved. Faculty come away with skills that they can use to enhance their teaching and other professional activities; for students, the experience counts towards academic credit, is an excellent opportunity to practice consulting in a professional setting, and makes a very nice addition to a résumé. Harder to quantify but equally important are the positive relationships students and faculty have developed after working together outside of the traditional classroom setting.

Sixty faculty members and thirty students have participated in the program, which is sponsored by the Schreyer Honors College, Center for Education Technology Services, Instructional Systems Program of the College of Education, and College of Information Sciences and Technology.

To participate, faculty and students should fill out the online application forms linked from the TLA home page. The deadline for faculty to apply to the program for the spring semester is April 4, 2002. The deadline for students to apply to be considered for technology assistant positions is March 25, 2002.

For more information, please visit the TLA home page, http://cac.psu.edu/tla/.