Instructional Technology

A portion of the Title III grant includes funding for instructional and wireless technologies. Introducing state-of-the-art technologies is a key component in the Strengthening Institutions Program at Texas Wesleyan. These new technologies include:

• Wireless technologies implemented across the entire campus, allowing students access to the Internet and their Web-assisted courses 24/7, anywhere on campus. Phase I of this project was completed during the first year of the project with the installation of wireless coverage throughout the Armstrong-Mabee Business Building. Additional wireless access points were installed in the remaining academic buildings during Years 3 and 4 of the grant. The wireless Campus Initiative was completed at the end of March 2011 with the addition of all buildings on campus.

• A new faculty website server was purchased and installed during Year 1 of the project. Training and templates for faculty websites are now available through the Adobe Contribute workshop series.

• Interactive whiteboards (Smart Boards) are being installed across several campus classrooms. Under the direction of the provost, a Smart Board Certification Program was launched Spring 2011 to assist faculty with technical and pedagogical training. Additionally, a new campus-wide standard of instructional technology has been developed to include projectors, DVDs, VCRs, document cameras, and computers for every classroom.

• A new MultiMedia Center(MMC) was deployed Spring 2011 to provide state-of-the-art technology in digital and video production. Departments across the campus lent their talents in collaborating to make this project a reality. This flexible space serves the needs of the entire university.

The technology upgrades will provide our faculty with the professional tools they need to improve instruction with 21st-Century technologies. These technologies actively engage students with vastly different kinds of abilities and learning styles, an important feature in a world of tougher academic standards and expectations for all students, regardless of ability.

Smart Board Certification

The Smart Board Certification training plan ensures faculty members at Texas Wesleyan University have the technical skills and pedagogical background to successfully integrate Smart Board technologies into their teaching practices. The Smart Board initiative established by the Title III grant has been successful in incrementally expanding the availability of this technology in the classrooms.

Approximately 50% of classrooms on the historic campus have Smart Boards installed as part of the standard for classroom technology. As a result, Texas Wesleyan faculty members need the opportunity to hone their skills with this cuttingedge technology.

Faculty members are responsible for completing the following steps in order to obtain certification at Texas Wesleyan University:

1. Attend Smart Board Hands-On Training and provide feedback via the anonymous survey tool on Hands-On Training. 
2. Practice skills learned in training. 
3. Demonstrate skill mastery according to the Smart Board Assessment Rubric to an Instructional Technologist. 
4. Complete a Lesson Plan Integration Template for at least one lesson. 
5. An Instructional Technologist or the Provost’s designated appointee must then review and approve the Lesson Plan before the faculty member submits the approved Lesson Plan document to the Provost’s Office. 
6. Provide feedback via the anonymous survey tool on the effectiveness of the certification process and its impact on daily instruction.