Barbara Weaver
CRLT-OTEI Laptop Faculty Development Program
Fall Semester 1998 – Spring Semester 2002
The Laptop Program Pilot Phase
Prior to fall 1998, the College of Engineering and Science worked diligently to bring about Clemson University’s laptop program pilot Led by Associate Dean Stephen Melsheimer and mathematics Professor William Moss, a committee of administrators and faculty planned and implemented the pilot that began fall semester 1998.
Preparations included renovations to classrooms, selection of a course management system, selection of a laptop students in the pilot would purchase, and selection and training of faculty members who would teach the pilot laptop courses. An Innovation in Teaching Grant awarded by then Provost Stephan Rogers made possible the renovations, laptop purchases for faculty, training, support structure, and other necessary components. (For more information on the planning phase, contact Prof. Moss. For more information on laptop support, contact Laurie Sherrod or see her section of Extending Classrooms Over Electronic Bridges.
About 100 engineering and science students self-selected to participate in 1998. In 1999, about 125 first-year students joined the College of Engineering and Science pilot. These students enrolled in laptop sections of courses in English, history, math, computer science, chemistry, physics, and engineering. For information on those early English and math laptop sections, read Professor Moss’s and Barbara Weaver’s sections in Extending Classrooms Over Electronic Bridges. To read reflections of two students, see Jacob Cartner’s and Ryan Keitzer’s sections of Extending Classrooms Over Electronic Bridges.
Fall 2000, the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities joined the laptop program pilot and a laptop section of Spanish was added to the offerings. A total of about 175 first-year students joined the pilot.
The pilot continued for one more year during which Clemson University Board of Trustees approved a phased plan for students to arrive on campus with laptop computers beginning fall 2002.
June 2002 – February 2005
The Phased Laptop Mandate
In June 2002 Carla Rathbone, director of Educational Technology Services (CRLT), in partnership with Linda Nilson, director of the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation (OTEI), hired Barbara Weaver to manage the newly formed Laptop Faculty Development Program (LFDP). Also available to help faculty through LFDP were five graduate research assistants enrolled in computer technology majors. Phil Lyles, director of Computing, hired Laurie Sherrod to manage the expanded Laptop Support Center. Graduate student employees assisted with the hardware and software needs of primarily students.
The requirement for students to purchase a laptop was implemented as follows:
- Fall 2002, all first-year students in the College of Business and Behavioral Science and the Master of Business Administration program; all first-year students and sophomores in the College of Engineering and Science.
- Fall 2003, all first-year students in the College of Architecture, Art and Humanities; all first-year students in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.
- Fall 2004, all first-year students in the College of Health, Education and Human Development.
Through limited funding provided by Provost Dori Helms, LFDP awarded about 100 faculty IBM laptops during academic years 2002-03 and 2003-04. In exchange for their laptops, faculty participated in 40 hours of laptop pedagogy and technology training and “giving back” to the program by writing articles and giving presentations about their experiences teaching laptop sections of various courses. For more information on the laptop pedagogy events, see Laptop Pedagogy Symposia. If you are interested in knowing more about the workshops and technical training, please contact Barbara Weaver. Through LFDP and their own creativity and willingness to explore, faculty learned how best to use laptops to enhance teaching and learning; some continue to meet regularly in pedagogy communities where they share their experiences, brainstorm new ideas, and collaborate on student assignments, papers, and presentations. In conjunction with other CRLT programs, their work has contributed to rapid progress in new technology-enhanced teaching methodologies at Clemson.
In September 2003, a Laptop Faculty Lab was designed to facilitate these activities:
- Collaboration within small groups of faculty who are interested in enhancing their teaching through laptops, tablet PCs and related technology.
- Exploration into laptop and tablet PC pedagogy with a focus on unconstrained visioning to achieve course objectives.
- Development of technology tools to help faculty achieve pedagogical vision.
- Training in technology, such as Web site development and Blackboard usage, as requested by faculty with laptops or tablet PCs.
Available in the Laptop Faculty Lab are the following:
- Podium computer with DVD player
- VCR
- Projector
- Smart Board and traditional screen
- Wireless microphone
- Ethernet connectivity for 12
- Electrical outlets for 12
- Wireless connectivity
The Present
Where We Are and Where We Are Going
Now that a core of excellent faculty (about 10% of Clemson’s teaching faculty) are using laptops effectively in classes, the LFDP focus has evolved technology to include all new and emerging technology that faculty want to explore in their teaching and their students' learning.
