Name:
Computer Lab Needs Computers
FiscalYear:
2017
Audience:
Arts & Letters, College of
Submitter:
Hinshaw, Wendy
Budget Manager:
Dimaggio, Kathleen M.
Project Manager:
Topple, Gregory L.
Narrative
This technology fee proposal seeks to bring technology in AL 240 up to current OIT standards. AL 240 serves upwards of 450 students and faculty across the College of Arts and Letters as the Advanced Media Production Lab, or “AMP Lab,” and is also one of three dedicated graduate seminar classrooms used by the English department. The purpose of this grant is to ensure that the lab is maintained at current OIT standards as well as modern technology performance standards. The iMacs at the student computer stations have aged out from their original 3-year warranty, which removes them from protection and also places them behind in terms of performance. If this grant is funded, we will replace the student stations with new iMacs that are in-warranty and up-to-date with current technology. Doing so will help faculty in our college take full advantage of the AMP Lab and also support our college’s efforts to us to forward FAU’s 2015-25 Strategic Plan and continue to succeed in our state metrics. This technology proposal is being submitted alongside a separate proposal for an instructor station for AL 240, as part of an effort to maintain the technology in this lab and keep it up-to-date in order to serve the needs of our faculty and students.
The permanent student iMac stations are the core of the AMP Lab’s technology, enabling us to serve graduate as well as undergraduate classes from across the college. Professors from English, VAAH, and SCMS currently teach in the lab, and we encourage other departments to make use of the space as well. In Spring 2018 we will teach ten classes in the lab, and offer open production time and drop-in hours when these classes are not in session. We have increased our use of the lab for IFP courses (often taught by GTAs), thus expanding the use of the lab as well as the teaching pool able to access it. This is key to the professional development of our graduate students, who will enter a job market that expects new faculty to be familiar with digital technology in their teaching and research. However, we cannot fully utilize the technology available in the AMP Lab without updated student computer stations.
This necessary maintenance helps us continue our success in our State Metrics in several key areas, most obviously in terms of the necessary job skills the lab provides to the undergraduate and graduate students that utilize the lab each year.
• Employment and Wages: Technological literacy is a key factor in helping graduates secure high-paying jobs, and thus labs like this are crucial in supporting success in our second metric (median average wages one year after graduation).
• Academic Progress: Through the frequent use of the lab for IFP courses (Categories 1 and 6), this grant supports the development of writing skills in students (primarily the critical population of first year students).
• FTIC Recruitment: The AMP Lab, so long as the technology is kept current, is an asset in recruiting students who are increasingly entering college with a high level of technological and digital literacy.
• Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded in Areas of Strategic Emphasis (includes STEM): since ENC 1101 and ENC 1102 are core requirements, teaching these courses in a digital environment provides students a foundation for writing and thinking in digital spaces as they move into various STEM majors.
This necessary maintenance also helps us continue to fulfill the goals of FAU’s 2015-25 Strategic Plan, including:
• Promote student scholarship (p8): the lab is used for the production of the undergraduate English department creative writing journal, Coastlines, the national creative writing journal Swamp Ape, and the English department courses that train students in publishing and editing and support these two publications
• Enhance technology infrastructure to promote research and education (p10): once updated, this computer classroom will contribute to FAU's overall IT infrastructure, allowing faculty to incorporate a range of digital technologies into their teaching and thereby further connecting their classrooms to the outside world.
• Elevate the levels of student success beyond graduation (p8)
• Create multi-user facilities with cutting-edge equipment (p9)
In our experience as educators, working with new media technology both enhances our quality of instruction and helps to prepare our students in the humanities for the professional workforce. This lab fosters technological literacy necessary to be successful in all majors and careers.
A shared space for interdisciplinary work within the humanities is a boon for anyone in Arts & Letters who values multi-media production and collaboration. It has been an important and timely addition to our resources. With the support of a tech fee grant, it will be able to continue to serve our students even more effectively.
Hardware Requirements
14 iMac computers: $26,586.00
AppleCare Protection Plan: $1,666.00
Total Hardware: $28,252.00
