Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56540
Create a Culture of 'IT Innovators' Many business faculty attend conferences about new edu- cational technologies and return to campus excited and energized by what they've learned. They've seen the latest in state-of-the-art interactive tablets, student response systems, trading rooms, Web tools, and software that could help them expand and enhance the learning environment. But when they get back to campus, these would-be inno- vators can be frustrated to find that they have no resources available to help them examine these devices and implement them in ways that make sense. Once enthusiastic about the potential of new technology, these faculty can become unin- terested because of a lack of support. For example, before one school's tech office began its outreach efforts in earnest, even its most enthusiastic faculty struggled. One of its computer science professors attended a conference that presented robots designed to help students learn programming concepts. Excited, he purchased a small robot and brought it into the classroom. Unfortunately, he failed to integrate it into the course in a way that sparked students' interest. It ended up sitting on his desk for the rest of the semester. Had a fully active tech services office been available, this professor could have discussed what he had learned with its staff members. They could have worked with him to study the pedagogy behind utilizing robots in the class- room. Finally, they could have helped him start small, with a single class, to see what worked and what didn't. What was a failed experiment instead could have become a vital addition to this professor's teaching. Overcome the Obstacles While an active technology service office is critical to a business school, three major obstacles might prevent a school from putting one in place. However, these obstacles are not insurmountable. Finding the funding. Even schools without funds at the ready to create a technology services office can find ways to secure finances. They can apply for federal and private grants; they also can solicit gifts from corporations, alumni, or friends of the college known to be interested in techno- logical projects. In addition, they can approach publishers whose textbooks are directly linked to software and ask the publishers to provide the programs; other companies may be willing to provide computer equipment. Administrators also should be sure to let the school's development office know of the need for funding to back 42 BizEd JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009 faculty IT projects. It is amazing how often the develop- ment staff is simply not aware of a need for funding ear- marked for technological experimentation. By pursuing this avenue, for example, one school received $100,000 annu- ally from a donor who specified that the funds be used to fulfill "technology needs." With that donation, the school implemented a technology initiative program that encour- aged faculty to apply for funding to support their technol- ogy experiments. Hiring the right staff. It doesn't matter how much tech funding a school receives or how many pieces of equip- ment a company donates if a school doesn't have enough IT staff to utilize the new resources. It's important to make donors aware of the importance of funding IT staff as well as IT tools. Ideally, a technology services office will include at least one systems administrator, one help desk specialist, one application developer, one Web site devel-