Proposal

This technology fee proposal seeks to upgrade classroom AL 346 (room 346 in the Arts and Letters building) for instructional purposes.  AL 346 is one of three dedicated computer classrooms used by English, and is in significant need upgrade.  The computer lab consists of 22 student computer stations and one instructor station.  Currently the computers are aging, and the classroom itself is in need of updated equipment and materials.  The most significant problems in the classroom stem from its lack of a standard instructor lectern and mounted projector system.  If this grant is funded, we will update all technology in the room to bring it up to current OIT standards, including computers, instructor station and projector.

Since the last upgrade of this classroom in 2010, over 3,100 FAU students have taken classes in this one room, primarily ENC 1101 (College Writing I), ENC 1102 (College Writing II), and ENC 3213 (Professional Writing).  The College of Business has also used this room for sections of GEB 3213: Communicating Business Information, although beginning Fall 2014 they have been unable to use the room due to its technology limitations. 

The classroom lacks an instructor lectern and the standard instructional technology that would accompany it, and the projector is outdated and not mounted on the ceiling.  Currently the instructor computer is located on a table in the front of the classroom and is hooked into a projector on a cart.  The cart is unstable, vulnerable to being bumped into or knocked over as students and instructors attempt to navigate around it, and the number of cords running across the floor make it a hazardous space to move in.  Because there is no lectern, students have to hook directly into the projector to give presentations.  This has resulted in the wiring in the classroom being frequently shifted as various instructors and students plug and unplug cords in order to meet their needs.  In the past few years the Department of English has frequently replaced cables that have been damaged, and the classroom has been the source of excessive numbers of IT tickets due to these issues. 

A standard instructor lectern will significantly update the technology available in the classroom, providing a document camera, DVD/Blu-Ray player, and sympodium, and will allow instructors to utilize a range of media in their teaching.  The lectern will also allow instructors and students to easily and safely toggle between technologies without damage to the equipment.  Mounting the projector will create a safer classroom space where instructors and students can engage freely without risk to the equipment or themselves.

There are many ways this upgrade fulfills the goals of FAU’s 2012-17 Strategic Plan, including:

1.A.4: Support the development of writing skills in students -- since this room is only used for writing classes, the grant would support the development of writing skills in students (primarily the critical population of first year students).

1.A.5: Increase use of social learning technologies -- having a working computer classroom will enable our teachers to use a variety of social technologies as part of their writing pedagogy.

1.A.6: Expand the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) initiatives -- 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.

1.D.8: Implement Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to promote undergraduate student scholarship, research, and creative activities -- with its focus on research, ENC 1102 is a pre-condition to many of the goals of our QEP.  Because so much basic research is conducted digitally, it's crucial that students learn basic information literacy skills within a functioning digital environment.

4.D: Build and sustain a state-of-the–art Information Technology Infrastructure -- this computer classroom would contribute to FAU's overall IT infrastructure.

It is therefore critical to the educational goals of the English department and the College of Business to have this classroom upgraded so that the last educational technology can be utilized to both facilitate and enhance instruction.

23 Dell OptiPlex 9020 Minitower computers: $28, 917.90 (quotation from Dell)

Overhead projector and teacher podium: $18, 277.47 (quotation from OIT)

Total: $47,195.37

Standard FAU desktop configuration

No additional personnel costs, as College personnel will install the new computers.

The room will be updated over Summer 2015 in order to be ready for classes in Fall 2015.

The English department will continue to use dedicated funds generated by the textbook used in College Writing to help maintain the classroom.

English will fund locks and power strips needed for the computers from our established royalties account, estimated at $100 per unit (or $2300.