2005 News Archive

2006 Teaching and Learning Colloquium: Ideas That Work posted December 2005

DIIA cordially invites faculty, graduate students, and staff to attend the 2006 Teaching and Learning Colloquium: Ideas That Work on January 10 and 11 in the AVAYA Auditorium of the ACES Building. The morning sessions will be followed each afternoon by hands-on technology workshops held in the DIIA multimedia lab located in GSB 2.130.

In pursuing innovations in teaching and learning, DIIA is offering this professional development opportunity to all interested faculty and staff campus-wide. We invite you to register for the Colloquium and enroll in the workshops at our online registration site, as well as view the Program-at-a-Glance. [more]

What Starts at DIIA Changes the World posted December 2005

DIIA staff made significant contributions to teaching and learning beyond the Forty Acres during the past year. Many staff were invited presenters at institutions of higher education and professional organizations around the world. [more]

New DIIA Faculty Advisory Council Convened posted December 2005

In support of its mission to enhance teaching and learning, DIIA has launched a Faculty Advisory Council to help guide division staff in where to direct efforts to best meet faculty needs. Faculty peers and DIIA team members who work with faculty made recommendations, and invitations to join the Council were issued with the intent to ensure representation across a variety of disciplines. [more]

DIIA Unveils New Podcasting Web Site posted December 2005

Curious about podcasting but not sure where to begin searching for more information? DIIA unveils a new podcasting Web with implications for innovative applications campus-wide. You can listen to DIIA-produced podcasts that exemplify best practices, learn what hardware and software we recommend, better understand legal considerations, use our helpful tutorial to download podcasts to your own Blackboard site, and much more. [more]

Collaborative for Instructional Impact Meets December 7, 2005 posted December 2005

The Collaborative for Instructional Impact (CII) offers an informal venue for instructors to stay abreast of the instructional practices of their colleagues across the UT Austin campus. The topic for December's session is Starting and Maintaining Your Teaching Portfolio (Electronic and Paper). [more]

DIIA Offers Turnitin Pilot Program for Spring Semester posted November 2005

DIIA invites UT Austin faculty to test a new software resource this spring semester. Turnitin is designed to help students avoid plagiarism and improper citation; it cross-references submitted materials with archived databases of journals, essays, newspaper articles, books, and other published work. [more]

Faculty: Need Help Preparing for End of Semester? posted November 2005

DIIA offers an array of tips and tools to guide UT faculty to a successful semester's conclusion. DIIA offers Web tutorials, workshops, and individual consultations to help instructors develop clear, consistent and fair grading standards, write effective exams and exam questions, negotiate and interpret Course Instructor Surveys (CISs), and score and analyze your exam data. [more]

Innovative Instructional Technology Awards Program Now Accepting Entries posted November 2005

IITAP celebrates faculty who create and use innovative new media instructional materials in their classes. Exemplars in two categories, Teaching with Technology and Resource Development, will receive a total of $8500. In addition, IITAP features a faculty showcase, Sharing What Works. [more]

Entry deadline: January 30, 2006
Awards ceremony: May 4, 2006

~FAST Tex Accepting Applications for Student Technology Developers posted November 2005

DIIA's Faculty and Student Teams for Technology grant and support program—~FAST Tex—is accepting applications from tech-savvy students to build instructional technologies for use in UT Austin courses. [more]

Collaborative for Instructional Impact Meets November 17, 2005 posted October 2005

The Collaborative for Instructional Impact (CII) offers an informal venue for instructors to stay abreast of the instructional practices of their colleagues across the UT Austin campus. The topic for October's session is Successful Student Learning in Large Classes. [more]

New P-16 Advisory Council Named posted October 2005

Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson has appointed members to a newly formed P-16 Advisory Council.  The group will advise on the university’s impact on public education—one of six strategic themes set for UT Austin by President Larry Faulkner upon taking office in 1998. [more]

Collaborative for Instructional Impact Meets October 19, 2005 posted October 2005

The Collaborative for Instructional Impact (CII) offers an informal venue for instructors to stay abreast of the instructional practices of their colleagues across the UT Austin campus. The topic for October's session is Building Student Success through Writing. [more]

Congratulations to Dr. Robert Duke, Recipient of Excellence in Teacher Education Award posted September 2005

Dr. Robert Duke has been honored with the prestigious Elizabeth Shatto Massey Award for Excellence in Teacher Education. The award is in recognition of his dedication to teacher education and preparing quality teachers. [more]

~FAST Tex Proposal Deadline October 14, 2005 posted September 2005

With the October 14 deadline fast approaching, DIIA encourages UT Austin faculty to submit project proposals for the Faculty and Student Teams for Technology (~FAST Tex) 2006 grant season. This innovative incentive program matches tech-savvy students with faculty to build instructional technologies into UT Austin courses. [more]

UTOPIA Grant Applications Due October 12, 2005 posted September 2005

The new UTOPIA Web grant program is now accepting proposals from UT faculty and staff. A major information gateway for the University, the UTOPIA Web gives the general public an easy way to explore the knowledge, expertise, and resources at UT Austin. [more]

~FAST Tex Proposal Deadline Extended posted September 2005, updated October 2005

Bring your course to life—take advantage of the ~FAST Tex program, which teams your teaching experience with the expertise of a technically adept student. Apply appropriate instructional technology to make your course material even more accessible to your students.

Faculty have until October 14 to submit ~FAST Tex project proposals, according to Suzanne Rhodes, project manager. [more]

Graduate Student Colloquium, Saturday, September 10, 2005 posted August 2005

The University welcomes new graduate students and invites them to register for the Graduate Student Colloquium, hosted by DIIA Saturday, September 10 at the Thompson Conference Center.

During this one-day colloquium graduate students will build instructional skills, and new teaching assistants will be introduced to expectations for teaching at the university. Attendees also receive elective credit towards an ASPECTS certificate. Registration is open to all graduate students at no charge. [more]

DIIA Introduces Deputy Director Dr. Robert Bruce posted August 2005

Dr. Robert G. Bruce is on board for the beginning of the fall semester as DIIA’s new deputy director. [more]

Instructional Assessment Resources Site (IAR) Debuts with Powerful Assessment Tools for Faculty posted August 2005

Now available is the Instructional Assessment Resources collection of tools for one-stop, do-it-yourself instructional assessment, fully integrated with other popular DIIA resources such as Ongoing Course Assessment (OCA) and Blackboard. [more]

Congratulations to New Academy of Distinguished Teachers Honorees posted August 2005

Six UT Austin faculty members have been selected as the newest members of the university's Academy of Distinguished Teachers. The academy is intended to recognize and enhance teaching, particularly at the undergraduate level. [more]

DIIA Collaborations Yield Rich Resources for Educators posted July 2005

Two sites currently featured on UT's UTOPIA Web have involved and represent the spirit of collaboration with DIIA staffers. [more]

DIIA Testing Services for Incoming Freshmen posted July 2005

Under the leadership of Dr. Connie Williams, the DIIA Testing Services staff guides new students through the advising, registration, administration, and scoring process in ten busy summer orientation sessions. [more]

UTOPIA Lesson Plans a Boon for Teachers Worldwide posted July 2005

This summer's Curriculum-Writing Summer Institute—presented by DIIA's UTOPIA K-12 program—created 420 social studies and mathematics lesson plans that are now available free of charge to all teachers. [more]

UT Austin Receives 2005 Center of Excellence Award posted June 2005

The international New Media Consortium has announced that the University of Texas at Austin is the recipient of its Center of Excellence Award, bestowed for its systemic and comprehensive approach to faculty support. [more]

Fifteen DIIA Staff Present at IOL posted June 2005

Educators, librarians, and technologists from campuses and departments across the UT System gathered for the first annual Innovations in Online Learning (IOL) Conference in June at the Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Austin. Shown at left is Sejal Patel during her presentation, "An Open Source Collaboration of Tools: Sakai, SAMigo." [more]

New Faculty Teaching/Orientation Seminar, August 23–26, 2005 posted May 2005

The University welcomes new faculty and invites them to register for the New Faculty Teaching/Orientation Seminar, hosted August 23–26, 2005. During this four-day seminar presenters and participants will share advice on successful teaching and research, and newcomers may receive help orienting to the campus.

~FAST Tex Collaboration Gains National Attention posted May 2005

What began as a typical ~FAST Tex project to capture ground breaking research, soon grew in scope to a DIIA collaboration with UT Austin’s Dr. Cynthia Franklin to create Garza Independence high school videos, now available to a world-wide audience. [more]

~FAST Tex Student Showcase May 5 posted May 2005

~FAST Tex (Faculty and Student Teams for Technology) 2005 presented a student project showcase on Thursday, May 5, spotlighting student work in this year’s program.

"The wide range of technologies represented in this year's projects includes 3-D animation, Flash, creative uses of databases, and other recent top-end IT programs," said ~FAST Tex student coordinator Michael Sweet. [more]

Service and Staff Excellence Award Recipients Honored posted May 2005

DIIA staff members Judy Ashcroft, Mark Decker, Debbie Harris, Coco Kishi, and Steve Knoll were feted at a luncheon May 3 in recognition for service to UT Austin followed by a university-wide event at the Erwin Center. Kyung Huh was honored with a Staff Excellence Award. [more]

Campus Instructional Technology Showcase Spring 2005 posted May 2005

This spring’s campus-wide IT Showcase Spring 2005 drew a record crowd of instructional technology professionals from many departments on April 28, 2005 to view presentations of the latest projects enhancing innovative teaching and learning at UT Austin. IT representatives from Austin Community College and St. Edward’s University attended the event as well.

The showcase featured projects from the School of Information, the College of Communication, the College of Fine Arts, ITS, the College of Natural Sciences, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Engineering, the College of Education, and DIIA. [more]

Judy Ashcroft Honored with International Futures Award posted April 2005

DIIA Director Dr. Judy Ashcroft received the International Futures Award for Exceptional and Innovative Leadership in Continuing Higher Education this spring from the University Continuing Education Association. [more]

Kimberly Christian to Chair Exhibits at TxDLA Conference posted March 2005

DIIA K - 12 UTOPIA coordinator Kimberly Christian was chosen for the position of Exhibits Chair for the 2006 Texas Distance Learning Association Conference. Christian was an exhibitor at the 2005 conference.

DIIA Convenes the Instructional Development Collaborative posted March 2005

A new DIIA initiative gathers experts from UT Austin's diverse academic community to discuss the campus's development of instructional technology resources. [more]

Campus Instructional Technology Showcase Spring 2005 posted March 2005, updated May 2005

DIIA invites you to view online presentations from the Spring 2005 Instructional Technology Showcase. IT Showcase is a unique opportunity for IT staff to share news, show off projects, and discuss new tools and techniques. [more]

Three DIIA Staffers Receive Coveted CISSP Credentials posted February 2005

DIIA staffers John Gallner, Steve Knoll, and Dave Campbell recently received credentials as Certified Information Systems Security Professionals, or CISSPs. [more]

Liz Alexander Elected 2005-06 SERA Representative posted February 2005

Liz Alexander, a member of DIIA’s Graduate Student Instructor Program staff, was elected as the Southwest Educational Research Association (SERA) 2005-06 graduate student representative during its recent conference in New Orleans. [more]

Thank a Teacher Campaign Kicks-off posted February 2005

The UT Senate of College Councils (SCC), in collaboration with DIIA, launched the Thank a Teacher program to students, faculty, and alumni during the annual Faculty Appreciation Week. [more]

Joanne Holladay Feted posted February 2005