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FDI
Background
Since its inception in 1993, the Virginia Tech Faculty Development
Institute (FDI) has been the most visible component of the four-part,
university-wide Instructional Development Initiative (IDI). IDI
provides a systematic approach to the effective integration of
current trends and technologies into teaching, learning, and research
at Virginia Tech. The FDI component centers on teaching faculty
how to effectively and efficiently integrate technology into their
teaching and research activities. This integration includes the
following approaches: rethinking faculty teaching methods and
goals, exploring the potential of specific instructional technology
and research applications, and investigating strategies to improve
the effectiveness of current teaching and research practices.
FDI
Goals
The main goal of FDI is to enable the integration of new technologies
into teaching and research by providing training, support, and
resources to faculty. Although FDI provides a great deal of skills
training for critical computer hardware and software, the FDI
program is not designed to be a mastery-based teaching model.
Rather, it is designed to be a program that provides general and
targeted information to let each faculty member decide which specific
training will meet their specific needs. Support is readily available
for faculty to move beyond the basic levels whenever appropriate.
FDI provides faculty access to the rich set of resources that
are available at Virginia Tech, so they may take full advantage
of current technologies available for teaching and research.
FDI
Four-Year Cycle
In creating the faculty development model at Virginia Tech, it
was important that all faculty be provided with direct access
to technology and the training to use it. It was also important
that the technology needed to be upgraded on an ongoing basis
so the faculty would always have up-to-date tools. The decision
was made to work on a four-year cycle where a quarter of the faculty
would receive new computers with software and special training
each summer. Currently, the FDI program consists of the following
benefits to faculty:
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A
variety of three-day workshops are available.
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Each faculty participant receives a new computer every four
years.
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Computers are sent to faculty with the current Operating System
and the latest version of several software programs incuding
the following: Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Macromedia Dreamweaver,
and several utilities.
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Ongoing support through several computing resources including
the New Media Center.
FDI
Year-Round Training
FDI is a continuously evolving program that provides a very fluid
approach to understanding technology through systematic approaches
based on instructional design. Through this approach, the Institute
assists faculty in keeping pace with emerging and evolving technologies
related to teaching and learning in their disciplines. Currently,
FDI provides a year-round (continuous) integrated approach to
addressing faculty technology needs. Throughout the academic year,
all faculty members (and staff) have the opportunity to attend
over 60 two-hour short courses that address a multitude of technology
issues at various skill levels. By taking a systematic series
of short courses tailored to fit individual needs, a faculty member
can develop basic understanding of technology issues or gain a
set of desired skills.
There
are also a series of short but intensive short courses (known
as Blitz Week) the week prior to the beginning of the spring and
fall semesters. Blitz Week is designed to provide quick and direct
assistance for faculty preparing for the upcoming semester's classes.
The chart below is a representation of the five aspects of FDI's
year-round training.
FDI Year-Round Program
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Spring Blitz Week (January - week before classes)
The Spring Blitz Week is designed to provide timely assistance
to faculty that need to get a quick start in preparing web-based
materials for their spring classes.
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Spring Short Courses (February/March - with integrated tracks)
Over
80 Short Courses are offered every spring to faculty, staff
and graduate students. These short courses cover technology
topics in teaching and learning, research, communications,
and productivity. Staff and graduate students are welcome
to participate in these courses, especially if they are
providing assistance in support of faculty teaching and
research activities.
Several
new or specialized short courses are typically offered in
the spring to support the Summer Workshop Tracks. Several
Summer Tracks are integrated into the spring short courses
to provide flexibilty to faculty that typically travel or
do intensive research in the summer and need to receive
their training to receive their FDI computer.
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| Summer
Workshop Tracks (May/August - selected faculty that
receive computers) |
| Multiple
offerings of over ten tracks (with unique content) are available
each summer. Each of the Summer Tracks provides a specific
focus on teaching and learning, research, or a discipline
specific computer application. |
Fall
Blitz Week (August - week before classes) |
| The
Fall Blitz Week is designed to provide timely assistance to
faculty that need to get a quick start in preparing web-based
materials for their spring classes. |
Fall Short Courses
Over
60 Short Courses are offered every fall to faculty, staff
and graduate students. These short courses cover technology
topics in teaching and learning, research, communications,
and productivity. Staff and graduate students are welcome
to participate in these courses, especially if they are
providing assistance in support of faculty teaching and
research activities.Several
new or specialized short courses are typically offered in
the fall to provide follow-up to activities in the Summer
Workshop Tracks.
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FDI Faculty Selection & Participation
The selection process for FDI summer participation begins at the
program level. FDI expects the level of faculty participation
to be 95%, so each college receives a seat allocation that reflects
95% of their current number of faculty (updated each year). This
allocation includes tenure-track faculty, instructors, and A/P
faculty, but excludes fully research-funded positions.
Each
November, FDI allocates a number of seats to each college for
the upcoming spring and summer's workshops. Once the college receives
their summer seat allocation, the college, in turn, allocates
seats to each department. The department heads then nominate faculty
from their department to attend the upcoming summer program. The
nominated faculty provide their track and computer selection to
their department who will pass this information to the college.
By late-December, the information comes back to FDI for processing.
Once the information is processed, FDI will send faculty confirmation
e-mails stating which summer track in which they have been enrolled.
Typically, 90% of faculty will receive their first track choice.
FDI
Spring Participation
If the nominated faculty selects to participate in a Spring Track,
a series of Spring Short Courses must be selected by early-January
(according to instructions provided). Currently, participation
in seven (7) two-hour Short Courses is required to receive a new
computer. The Short Courses will provide faculty with critical
information about their new computers, current information about
Virginia Tech technology resources, and an upgrade of necessary
technology skills.
Since
many faculty rely on staff or graduate students to provide a high-level
of support for their work, several Tracks have been designated
as "Team Workshops." These Tracks allow faculty to enroll
a graduate assistant or an academic support staff member to enhance
the research and teaching outcomes of the track. With this option,
only the faculty member will receive a computer, and the staff
or graduate assistant does not count against the department seat
allocation.
FDI
Summer Participation
If the nominated faculty selects to participate in a Summer Track,
they will attend a two or three-day Workshop to receive a new
computer. These Track Workshops will provide the faculty with
critical information about the new computers, current information
about VT technology resources, an upgrade of necessary technology
skills, and the time to focus on a project or related work.
Since
many faculty rely on staff or graduate students to provide a high-level
of support for their work, several Tracks have been designated
as "Team Workshops." These Tracks allow faculty to enroll
a graduate assistant or a academic support staff to enhance the
research and teaching outcomes of the workshop. With this option,
only the faculty member will receive a computer, and the staff
or graduate assistant does not count against the department seat
allocation.
FDI
Computers & Delivery
FDI computers are normally ordered in February and delivered to
FDI in early to mid-March. The computers need to be processed
and provided with VT and SCHEV inventory stickers. Once they are
processed, they are available to be delivered to faculty. The
delivery process typically begins in late-March and takes several
weeks to complete. Each computer will also have a set of software
provided by FDI on CD-ROM. Each department should have a technology
person that will be able to assist in the installation of the
software. If technology assistance is not available, faculty can
contact FDI (fdi@vt.edu) and assitance
will be provided. Assistance with software installation will not
be available until mid-May.
FDI Support & Follow-up
A wide range of faculty support is available on-campus. The five primary avenues for faculty support are the Peer Mentoring program, FDI Production Support, Online Course Systems, The Software Skills Gateway and the New Media Center. If you are unsure where you should go, contact fdi@vt.edu to get more information. Please note that the FDI Production Support and the New Media Center are available at any time. The Peer Mentoring program is only available during the Spring and Summer semesters.
- FDI Peer Mentoring
- The Peer Mentoring program provides a faculty mentor for one-on-one consultation sessions. If you would like to meet with a colleague to openly discuss issues and concerns relating to the use of instructional technology, simply fill out the "FDI Peer Mentor Meeting Request Form" and you will be contacted to set up a meeting time to discuss your needs.
- FDI Production Support
- The FDI production support program provides free technical assistance on a wide range of technology for teaching and research. Assistance such as digitizing instructional or research materials, editing digital video, creating streaming video/audio files, and creation and debugging of web pages are all available. If you would like to take advantage of this service, simply fill out the "FDI Production Support Request Form" and you will be contacted to discuss your needs.
- Online Course Systems
- This is the support mechanism for many of the web course development tools. Software applications such as Blackboard and E-Portfolio are supported by this group. To ask questions about either, e-mail ocs@vt.edu.
- The Software Skills Gateway
- Learning Technologies has contracted with Elementk.com to provide more than 500 online tutorials covering a wide range of software. The courses are free to Virginia Tech faculty, staff, and students, and individuals may take as many as they like at any time. These tutorials can be used to brush up old skills or gain new skills with most common software packages. Faculty can also asssign these tutorials to help students acquire skills needed for success in the classroom and their profession without devoting valuable class time to technology training. To gain access to Element K go to the The Software Skills Gateway.
- New Media Center
- The New Media Center at Virginia Tech is located in room 1140 of Torgersen Hall. Since its inception in 1994, the Center has been a primary source of faculty support for a variety of techology needs. The Center is open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday and faculty are invited to walk-in between these hours for assistance. Appointments are also welcome and can be made by calling 231-4826. All services are free; however, materials such as tapes, CDs, and DVDs need to be provided by patrons. All services above are supported through this facility.
FDI Follow-up
Every FDI session (Workshop or Short Course) has presenters who are available for consultation. The FDI web pages should have e-mail addresses for every presenter. If you don't remember or can't find the contact information for a specific presenter, contact fdi@vt.edu to get more information. If the specific presenter is not available at a convenient time, FDI will provide an alternate consultant to answer your specific questions.
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