December 2001 Innovative Instructional Technology
Faculty Grant Recipients
Project Summaries
Earl Ada (SOMED)/Gregory Szulczewski and Shane Street (Chemistry)/Mark Weaver (Engineering)
Supplemental Instruction Program on the Theory and Practice of Electron Spectroscopy for Surface Analysis. Surface analytical techniques based on electron spectroscopy are becoming indispensable tools in materials science and engineering research at The University of Alabama. Due to the expensive and sophisticated instrumentation involved, such techniques are not part of the regular laboratory curriculum in advanced instrumental analysis courses but are only discussed as part of a lecture series on various analytical methods. Because of this lack of hands-on experience, most research students taking these courses are not prepared to handle the practical aspects of acquiring and interpreting surface analysis data for their research projects. This proposal seeks to develop a supplemental instruction program that will augment the existing lectures in advanced level courses, namely, MTE 481, Analytical Methods for Materials, CH 521, Introduction to Graduate Analytical Chemistry, CH 524, Advanced Analytical Chemistry I, and CH 621, Current Trends in Analytical Chemistry, offered by the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and the Department of Chemistry, respectively. A significant number of students who register for the aforementioned courses eventually undertake materials research projects that require the use of electron spectroscopy for surface analysis. The supplemental instruction program to be developed is a supervised hands-on training course aided by a web-based tutorial on the theory and practice of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and scanning Auger microscopy (SAM). Hands-on training sessions will involve the use of surface analysis equipment (Kratos Axis 165 Multi-technique Electron Spectrometer) housed at the Central Analytical Facility in the Bevill Research Building. Collaborative learning strategies will be used throughout the hands-on training portion of the course. This will involve small group dynamics in problem-sol ving activities designed to give the students a practical operational knowledge of surface analytical techniques. The web-based tutorial component of the course will provide an in-depth discussion of the theoretical principles, the instrumental requirements and the practical applications of each technique. The tutorial will include a testing portion to gauge the students' progress in learning the material.
Lenita Davis (Management & Marketing)/John Abercrombie (C&BA Technology Group)
The Virtual Gateway to the Sales Profession will be a virtual resource for students, educators and sales professionals across the country. Universities and college departments across the country will contribute and have access to the Virtual Gateway's content. The content of the gateway will originate from the Management and Marketing Department at The University of Alabama. The Virtual Gateway will have a three-fold purpose: provide a virtual learning environment; create a forum for students to network with industry executives; and foster collaboration between sales educators and industry leaders with the purpose of developing new streams of research and course content. Specific elements of the Virtual Gateway will include digital videos of student sales presentations, speeches given by seasoned sales professionals and a virtual teacher's lounge, a protected area through which educators and industry leaders can share ideas concerning course content, research ideas, and teaching strategy.
Barbara Fischer (Modern Languages and Classics)/Gamin Bartle (Language
Resource Center)
Dr. Barbara Fischer, Assistant Professor of German in the Department of Modern Languages and Classics, and Dr. Gamin Bartle, Coordinator of the Language Resource Center, will create the first language and culture CD-ROM developed in-house for the Department of Modern Languages and Classics. This CD-ROM is intended for the Distance Education course GN 275, Germany and Contemporary Europe. Previously, students received a package containing written material for the course. The new CD-ROM will introduce students to the course topics through the use of texts, maps, pictures, film clips, and other video materials. Rather than simply reading about important events, students will be able to view graphics, hear audio, and study video clips about the Berlin Wall, German unification, the European Union, as well as watch excerpts from German films, newscasts and TV shows. This interactive study tool will encourage students to become involved with German language and culture, while at the same time motivating them to develop an interest in European and global issues.
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Yuebin Guo (Mechanical Engineering)
Design and manufacturing are usually taught separately in most engineering schools; however, design and manufacturing are always considered together to realize industry objectives of lower cost, higher efficiency, superior product quality, and fast response to a rapidly changing market. This discrepancy between education and industry creates a significant problem in achieving industry objectives. New engineers take a lot of time and practice and experience frustration to develop a systematic view on product development from design concept to product realization. The proposed course, ME 491/ME 591-Concurrent Design and Manufacturing, will bridge the gap between design and manufacturing. The objectives of this course are to: (1) achieve seamless CAD/CAM using commercial software packages; (2) optimize product design and manufacturing simultaneously; (3) apply principles of precision engineering in manufacturing; (4) enhance students' learning by doing through hands-on experience with a variety of projects in a real world environment; (5) promote e-manufacturing; and (6) better prepare our students in the job market. The objectives will be achieved by the following activities: (1) creative design concept and parametric solid modeling; (2) optimal design by finite element analysis (FEA); (3) generating Computer Numerical Control (CNC) codes; (4) data communication through the Internet; (5) rapid prototyping using CNC machining; and (6) precision engineering. The proposed course can also be offered off-campus via the Internet upon demand.
Robert Potter (Telecommunication and Film)
The funds obtained from this grant will be combined with a Phifer Fellowship I from the College of Communication & Information Sciences in order to obtain new physiological data collection equipment and software for the Media and Psychophysiology Lab. The lab is to be used in three courses that I will teach in the next three semesters: TCF 553-Theories of Emotion and Media, MC 650-Measuring Psychophysiological Responses to Media, and MC 407-Mass Communication Research Methods. The grant will allow me to replace older technology in my current lab that is not very accessible to students considering using psychophysiological methods for the first time. Most daunting from a pedagogical standpoint, the current data collection program uses a combination of DOS-based and assembly-language protocols that are not at all intuitive. This grant will allow me to purchase one of the Windows-based systems that are now commonplace in psychophysiology labs. The Windows system will eliminate the steep learning curve associated with my current lab created by a need to first understand the complicated programming language before concentrating on the specific questions that can be answered using the methods.
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Cynthia Sunal (Elementary Education)/Vivian Wright (Secondary Education)/Craig
Shwery (Elementary Education)
T4: Technology Today for Technology Tomorrow: The College of Education's programs are infusing innovative technologies throughout their curriculums to enhance teaching and learning on campus and at school clinical sites. The Teacher Education web portal funded through this grant will have four purposes. First, the web portal will create a virtual environment in which students, university faculty, and school clinical faculty can develop and assess electronic professional portfolios. Second, it will enable off-campus mentor teachers to communicate with university faculty and to participate electronically in student evaluations. Third, it will enable university faculty to communicate with faculty and administrators in school systems about student progress and about the university's educational program. Fourth, it will make university resources such as online instructional modules available and easily accessible by university students, clinical faculty, and others who work with the professional programs.
Shuhua Zhou (Telecommunication and Film)
The Innovative Instructional Technology grant gives Zhou an opportunity to develop an interim course, TCF389 Digital Video and News Online, so students can experiment with the future of journalism. With the purchase of a PowerBook, students can learn to shoot and edit video on site as well as other skills involving broadcast news online. Specifically, the class is designed to integrate available web technology to teach students the basics of designing a web site using Dreamweaver, editing digital video using Final Cut Pro and "uploading" the future of online journalism. It examines current challenges and issues pertinent to telling visual stories on the web and looks at future direction of web broadcasting based on developing technology and user trends.
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