DIIA Collaborations Yield Rich Resources for Educators
Two sites currently featured on UT's UTOPIA Web have involved and represent the spirit of collaboration with DIIA staffers: The Papers of Justice Tom C. Clark provide "a fascinating glimpse inside the Supreme Court's decisions on landmark cases ranging from desegregation to Miranda rights to Communism." A second site, on UTOPIA's Educators page, features Texas Math: Strength in Numbers, a collection of Texas Educational Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)-aligned K–12 modules easily accessible to students preparing for the TEKS math exam, and to all Texas educators.
Justice Tom C. Clark, UT Law School alumni, father of Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and the only Texan to serve on the US Supreme Court, donated his papers to the University of Texas Libraries after his death. The Libraries proposed a project to promote this rich resource on the UTOPIA Web to coincide with both the UTOPIA Web site first anniversary and UT Open House.
The University of Texas Libraries contracted DIIA to create a visual design appropriate to the Clark papers that they could then convert to the UTOPIA Web site. DIIA staffer Egan Jones developed a main page template and interior page templates that captured the gravity and spirit of the project.
The Texas Math: Strength in Numbers site represents a collaborative effort among DIIA, UTOPIA, and the UT Learning Center. In 2003, UTLC needed a way to help improve access, efficacy, and efficiency in preparing for the Texas Educational Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) math college entrance exam. For help, they turned to DIIA's ~FAST Tex program, which oversees partnerships with technology-savvy student developers.
The ~FAST Tex team provided the programming and structure for modules in fundamental math, algebra, and geometry to help students prepare for the TEKS. UTOPIA picked up the project and helped UTLC expand their impact. Modules are accessible online, so students aren't required to buy textbooks, come in for office visits, or sit through a class. The system is personalized so that both instructor and student can track their progress, view scores and grades, and communicate through various methods. Since the modules meet UTOPIA guidelines for State of Texas educational standards, the site is a boon for Texas K–12 educators as well.
Other recent collaborations featured on the UTOPIA Web include Child Rearing Games, Talking Over Books, and Virgil–a University Writing Center project that garnered an IITAP award.