The Office has assumed many of the functions of the former Faculty Center of Teaching and Learning and will offer programming addressing teaching and learning and other areas of faculty work, many in conjunction with other faculty development programs on campus.  The goal of the Office is to provide NC State faculty with access to a range of development opportunities and resources through collaboration with other offices and programs on campus.

Check the website for upcoming Office of Faculty Development programming (including webinars and podcasts) on topics including scholarly writing and publishing, searching for research funding, classroom assessment, and preventing plagiarism.  You can also sign up for the faculty development listserv to receive regular updates about programs and resources available through the Office of Faculty Development.

Your suggestions for the website and Office of Faculty Development programming are welcome.  Please contact Betsy Brown, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (betsy_brown@ncsu.edu; 513-7741), Nancy Fire, Assistant Director for Faculty Development (nancy_fire@ncsu.edu, 513-2421), or Virginia Howell, Special Projects Manager (virginia_howell@ncsu.edu; 513-3636).

NCDLA - Call-for-Proposals

2009 Virtual Conference:  April 20 - May 1, 2009

The North Carolina Distance Learning Association (NCDLA) 2009 Virtual Conference makes it possible to save time, money, and eliminate travel budgets through the use of web conferencing software.  You can present from the comfort of your desk! Don’t worry if  you’ve never presented online before.  We’ll provide the training! See how it works: http://tinyurl.com/NCDLA

• Friday, March 13 - Pre Conf/ Intro to the technology sessions
• Monday, March 16 - Pre Conf/ Intro to the technology sessions
• Tuesday, March 17 - Conference Sessions
• Wednesday, March 18 - Conference Sessions
• Thursday, March 19 - Conference Sessions
• Friday, March 20 - Informal time for discussion board/forum activities/wrap-up

See http://conference.unctlt.org/ for more details!

Tom Miller USDLA Award

June 6, 2008

Dr. Tom Miller, North Carolina State University Vice Provost for Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA), was recently honored by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) with its award for Outstanding Leadership by an Individual in the field of Distance Learning.

“As a premier leader for the entire distance learning profession, we are honoring Dr. Tom Miller,” said Dr. John G. Flores, CEO of USDLA. “He has raised the bar of excellence and weare truly honored by Dr. Miller’s contributions to the distance learning profession.”
The USDLA Awards are presented annually to organizations and individuals engaged in the development and delivery of distance learning programs. Dr. Miller also received an award from the North Carolina Distance Learning Association and is the first individual in North Carolina to be honored at both the state and the national level.
In his role as Vice Provost for DELTA, Dr. Miller is responsible for strategy, deployment, and implementation of the university’s learning technologies and distance education programs.
Since 1982 Dr. Miller has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University, where he holds the rank of Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He instituted and directs the NC State University Engineering Entrepreneurs Program. He is a member of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers at North
Carolina State University, and recipient of the 1995 Joseph M. Biedenbach Outstanding Engineering Educator award from the IEEE.
The USDLA Awards were created to acknowledge major accomplishments in distance learning
and to highlight those distance learning instructors, programs and professionals who have
achieved and demonstrated extraordinary results through the use of online, videoconferencing,
satellite and blended learning delivery technologies. In addition, winners will be recognized in
USDLA’s Distance Learning Today quarterly supplement during National Distance Learning
Week, November 10-14, 2008.
The United States Distance Learning Association is a non-profit organization in Boston,
Massachusetts. USDLA promotes the development and application of distance learning for
education and training and serves the needs of the distance learning community by providing
advocacy, information, networking and opportunity.

LITRE Expo 2009

Almost everyone at NC State takes Learning in a Technology-Rich Environment (LITRE) for granted now. As a flagship university for science and technology, of course we investigate ways to use the Web and other digital media to enhance our teaching and learning!

At the 2009 LITRE Expo, NC State will have the chance to glimpse how far the university has come since those days and to celebrate recent achievements in the use and assessment of teaching and learning with technology.

Beginning with the keynote speech by Dr. Chris Dede from Harvard University, the LITRE Expo will offer the opportunity to discuss emerging technologies and their impact on teaching and learning in higher education. Once again, new technologies are raising questions about pedagogical practice and institutional relevance.

For example, how well will NC State meet the challenge of educating students with “neomillenial learning styles” developed through their fluency with interactive and immersive technologies? How do students view the future of university learning when they can construct knowledge in collaboration with experts and peers around the world - and easily build a community of learners on Ning.

Tough questions. Fortunately, NC State can look to its past for insight into how to creatively respond.

A LITRE Genealogy

The LITRE program was officially launched in 2004 with the publication of “Learning in a Technology-Rich Environment: A quality enhancement plan for North Carolina State University.” The plan was developed as part of the university’s reaccreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The origins of LITRE and the competencies, campus culture and institutional resources that made it possible go back much further than that, however.

In 1997 NC State launched Project 25, an initiative to put 25 courses online in less than six months for the fall 1997 semester. With a mandate from then-Provost Phillip J. Stiles, funding from the university, and support from the NCSU Libraries and the former Computing Center, Project 25 was an institutional response to external challenges and technological change. It was also NC State’s first coordinated teaching with technology project.

The project was a success. Not only were 29 courses put online, if Project 25 were a parent, it now has many offspring. LITRE is a direct descendant.

Project 25 required intense effort, especially on the part of the faculty participants and support staff. Twenty-nine faculty from a broad range of disciplines received seed grants to redesign their courses for the Web. Last April the Teaching and Learning with Technology Roundtable (TLTR), now celebrating is 10th year on campus, held a reunion, “Project 25: 10 Years Later”.

As participants reminisced about their experiences, the significance of Project 25 as a catalyst for change became clear. Before Project 25 there was growing interest in emerging learning technologies and online distance education (DE); “maverick” faculty across campus were experimenting with the Web to enhance their teaching; technical staff and faculty were developing new online teaching tools; and several colleges and departments supported efforts to use new technologies for lecture-based and student-centered pedagogies.

But before Project 25 there was no coordinated institutional support for online teaching. In fact, instead of working to foster pedagogical innovation, campus policies restricted the number of hours faculty could teach DE courses, and DE courses were administered under continuing education, not campus academic curricula. There were few central IT staff dedicated to supporting faculty efforts to teach with technology, and there was no campus-wide group to foster dialogue and collaboration among faculty, staff and administrators interested in these efforts.

As a result of Project 25, Vice Provost Frank Abrams, Project 25 co-chair Prof. Lavon Page and others worked to change outmoded university policies to favor the development of online and DE courses. Provost Stiles created the Learning Technology Service (LTS), led by two former Project 25 leaders Carolyn Argentati and Harry Nicholos, to support faculty use of technology for teaching. The LTS became the Distance Education and Learning Applications (DELTA) organization in 2000, led by Vice Provost Tom Miller. Following the success of Project 25, Dr. Sarah Stein formed the TLTR in 1998, a group that still welcomes all faculty, staff and students interested in education and technology. In addition to these institutional changes, there was also a culture change. Project 25 marked the acceptance of teaching and learning with online technologies as part of mainstream educational practice.

The link between Project 25 and the LITRE program is apparent in the number of people who participated in both. For example, Dr. Hugh Devine, one of the Project 25 faculty, was co-chair of the of the original LITRE planning committee; Carolyn Argentati and Sarah Stein served on its steering committee and Lavon Page led the initial LITRE implementation efforts. Other Project 25 faculty have participated in LITRE-sponsored research projects.

The campus organizations that sponsored Project 25 – the Office of the Provost, NCSU Libraries, the Computing Center (now the Office of Information Technology) – were also heavily involved in the initial LITRE planning and implementation.

Those attending the TLTR event in April reflected on the lessons learned from Project 25. “Both Project 25 and LITRE were faculty-driven,” stressed Lavon Page. Project 25 also taught the importance of administrative vision, university investment, staff engagement, and support for faculty innovation.

As visitors to the LITRE Expo discuss the present and future of learning in a technology-rich environment, there is an even more valuable inheritance from Project 25 to remember – it’s the overarching commitment to improving student learning.

Gathering at Open House

DELTA hosted faculty, staff and administrators from around campus and beyond at an Open House on Dec. 18, 2008. Guests were invited to tour DELTA’s new office in Venture II and talk to staff about DELTA’s programs and services.