Team Effort

~FAST Tex grant and support program helps faculty achieve ideas for teaching with technology.

When pedagogy meets technology, it’s possible to tap vast potential for transforming teaching to enhance learning. DIIA’s acclaimed Faculty and Student Teams for Technology ( ~FAST Tex) grant and support program teams tech-savvy students with UT Austin faculty members planning to develop novel instructional technologies.

For UT Austin faculty members, the first step in pursuing their great ideas is to schedule a meeting with ~FAST Tex staff to consider submitting a project proposal. Projects in six areas are eligible for consideration:

simulations and games
mobile applications
animations and multimedia
interactive learning environments, tutorials and study exercises
assessment applications
course and department resource Web sites (non-Blackboard)

The deadline for making an appointment for proposal consulting is October 31, and faculty who complete the consultation may submit a project proposal online until the deadline of December 1. Projects chosen for support will be developed in summer 2010.

Faculty members whose proposals are accepted are teamed with student technology developers from a range of academic disciplines. The students are trained through the DIIA Digital Media Internship, and they are mentored and managed by ~FAST Tex staff. Faculty will receive extensive support for project planning and content gathering before project development begins next summer. Once projects are completed, ~FAST Tex staff and student developers work with faculty to implement their projects the following fall or spring semesters, providing monitoring, consulting, and assessment assistance.

Faculty grant recipients serve as clients, subject matter experts, and content providers in collaboration with student designers and developers. ~FAST Tex staff members consult on design, development, and assessment, and they serve as management facilitators and mentors for students.

Visit the ~FAST Tex Web site for full details.