Last year, our technicians at Academic Information Services were concerned that if we encouraged faculty to use web 2.0 applications in their teaching, they would expect AIS to provide support. Obviously, the college’s staff can’t be tech support for the whole internet! So I drafted a document that ultimately got approved by the Technology and Pedagogy Committee, then Senate Council, which kind of makes it policy.
Here are the Guidelines for Non-College Supported Technologies in its final form, and here is the Voicethread slideshow I prepared to help faculty work through it:
http://voicethread.com/book.swf?b=52485
The tricky part was to try to encourage instructors to use the wonderful variety of tools available on the web, but let them know that the traditional support systems do not apply. While it was a bit of a tightrope, I was glad to be able to do it in such a way that faculty felt encouraged to experiment, rather than discouraged.
[Thanks to Mike Bogle for getting me out of my posting funk (I have written several posts lately, but they’re all too whiney) and reminding me there are some cool things happening out there as faculty get onto the web.]
I like this! Too often, tech support feels that if they can’t, in effect, support a technology, they shouldn’t be recommending it or even advise against using it. I like that you’ve put the responsibility into faculty’s hands.
Hi Lisa–
That sounds like a good idea. I’d love to have a look at your policy (and perhaps propose something similar at my own institution), but when I click your link, I get a Moodle page asking for a password. Is there a way to read the policy without logging in to Moodle?
My apologies, Ted. It links directly to the document now. Thanks for letting me know!
I’m with Ted. I’d like to see your policy and perhaps implement something for my institution, but I go to a Moodle page and no document.
Hi Ranelle! I fixed the link.