Teachtec helps faculty members navigate the information highway

CAN WE HELP YOU? Staff at the Teachtec centre at York are, left to right (back row): Peggy Keall, academic director; Rob Finlayson, senior consultant; (front row) Bob McKenzie, consultant; and Sharon Ramoutar, secretary/receptionist.

by Mary Ann Horgan

STAFF CAN ANSWER COMPUTER QUESTIONS, TROUBLESHOOT, HELP WITH COURSE DESIGN

If you're a professor with a fear of technology -- or if your students are more computer-literate than you are -- there's a new resource at your disposal.

Teachtec, a centre for information and consultation related to teaching and technology, is now located at 113 Central Square, next to the Scott Religious Centre. Teachtec provides help and guidance on computer resources (both Macintosh and IBM), educational technology, and the use of technology in teaching.

For the first time, the centre is providing services to faculty during the academic year. It has offered summer workshops over the past four years. The services offered by Teachtec are available to every teaching member of the York community, including full-time, part-time and contractual teachers, as well as teaching assistants.

"We know there's a need for this kind of help," says Peggy Keall, academic director of Teachtec. "It's been a lot of work to get the centre up and running, but we've had so much appreciation and encouragement from people who have attended our previous workshops and used our services."

"We're aiming at the person who really doesn't have a lot of experience or knowledge of what's available, but we also deal with those fairly well along the path," said Keall. "We can help faculty members interested in finding alternate ways to present their lectures or to provide information to their students. They may also want to encourage their students to find, evaluate and use electronic resources in their research. We can offer help with anything that requires technological assistance."

If someone comes in who needs help with a particular problem, we can assemble a group of people who have knowledge of solutions," said Keall. "We can draw expertise from the Centre for the Support of Teaching, the library, Computing and Communication Services (CCS) and other faculty members."

Teachtec has received funding of $150,000 per year over two years from the Vice-President (Academic), CCS and the Faculty of Arts. Aside from the academic director, the centre employs three full-time staff members. They include: senior consultant Rob Finlayson; consultant Bob McKenzie seconded from the Instructional Technology Centre (ITC); and consultant Marion Stehouwer, also seconded from ITC. As well, the centre will be hiring 10 work-study students to assist with various projects.

The centre can help with frequently asked questions, troubleshooting, questions on incorporating technology into course design, and demonstrations on solutions to common teaching concerns. It also offers workshops for faculty members. During the academic year, faculty can't take the time to attend a two-day workshop such as those offered in the summer, but the centre can offer shorter options.

"Our service is meant to enhance teaching, not to supplant it," Finlayson said. "Many of the faculty who come to us are looking for ways to communicate with their students outside of class hours, or to encourage interaction between students in the class. Technology also offers teachers the convenience of posting assignment details, responding to multiple questions, or frequently asked questions."

"We can provide equipment that an individual faculty member normally doesn't have in the office or home," said Keall. "Things like high-end scanners, film scanners, transparencies, video-cams for conferencing, and all kinds of multimedia software."