New FITT Center Offers Instructional Technology Help to Faculty

By Kathy Heerema (heerema@oregon.uoregon.edu)

Need help preparing a PowerPoint presentation for your class? Would you like to put some great photos or video clips on your web site? Perhaps you need to use equipment or software you don't have in your office...or maybe you just want to learn new ways to apply technology to your course?

Whatever your teaching technology needs, the newly formed Faculty Instructional Technology Training Center (FITT Center) in the UO Library's Media Services department can help. The Center, which is subsidized by the UO's Educational Technology fund, supports and encourages faculty to understand, explore, and design ways of integrating effective technology into teaching, and provides free individual consulting and training to any UO faculty member or GTF.

Services: The new training center's initial services include assistance with multimedia, online communication and collaborative learning tools, and useful software and hardware, such as

• web publishing and communication tools (browsers, authoring, email, lists, conferencing)
• graphics (creation, design, scanning)
• digital images (slide scanning, digital cameras)
• presentations (creation, design, color transparency printing, clipart collection, coordination with classroom support, and travel presentations help)
• digital video and audio (analog conversions, editing, camera and production help)
• CD-ROM mastering
• text scanning/OCR conversion

Faculty can also use the center to experiment, to meet and exchange ideas with peers, to discover what other faculty members are doing, and to learn about relevant emerging technologies.

Facilities: The FITT Center is located in Room 18 in Media Services, on the ground floor of the Knight Library. It has two current-generation multimedia workstations (Windows and Macintosh) and a range of related software and additional hardware (including cameras, flatbed scanner, slide scanner, projector, CD-ROM recorder, and color printer). The staff gives technical support and offers one-on-one tutoring in the use and appropriate application of these instructional technologies. The Center also has small lounge and conference areas.

Hours: Plans are to be open Monday - Friday 11 am - 6 pm for drop-in visits, as well as to offer by-appointment and referral services.