Standard VI. Physical Resources and Facilities
VI.3 Instructional and research facilities and services for meeting the needs of students and faculty include access to library and multimedia resources and services, computer and other information technologies, accommodations for independent study, and media production facilities.
Computing Resources
As mentioned previously (see Standard VI.1), faculty and students have access to advanced high-end computing facilities provided by the University of Pittsburgh’s CSSD group. In addition, research faculty and doctoral students can utilize PittGrid, an ongoing effort to offer supercomputing capabilities by aggregating unused computing resources across campus.
The University provides opportunities for students to purchase/acquire software packages at low, or no cost (http://www.technology.pitt.edu/software/for-students-software.html). In addition, the iSchool provides licenses for software specific to their research and/or program of study. For example, web creation software, mapping packages, and statistical calculation software have been provided to students by the School. And, as discussed in Standard VI.4, there are several research laboratory spaces within the iSchool facility, many of which provide space and resources to students undertaking independent study or research opportunities.
Multimedia Resources
The Center for Instructional Development & Distance Education at Pitt supports faculty, instructors and students in the utilization of numerous audio and video recording software environments. Among these are the Articulate family of products which facilitate the conversion and encapsulation of materials created using traditional e-learning packages such as PowerPoint into a Flash-based web deliverable presentation format. To expand the scope of remote access beyond systems capable of employing Flash as a support mechanism, podcasts may be captured using a variety of A/V tools and then integrated into classes by employing the Kaltura distribution environment.
Increasingly, course content may be distributed directly from a desktop environment and iSchool instructors are employing conferencing tools to conduct both in and out of the classroom discussion sessions intended to enrich the learning experience for students. Conferencing tools including Cisco WebEx, Skype, and Google Hangout are often utilized in order to effectively interact with students beyond the boundaries of a traditional classroom setting.
The iSchool also employs a rich capture audiovisual recording system to synchronize recording video, voice, and PowerPoint content of class sessions for later viewing. The VoiceThread product may be employed to create collaborative spaces with video, voice, and text content which can be integrated to facilitate conversations in the cloud, there by assisting in the formation of an intimate learning environment independent of geography.
Library Services and Resources
The University Library System provides references services through a variety of mechanisms including IM, text, phone, e-mail, and in-person. Users can take advantage of tutorials and library guides to obtain advice on search and retrieval from the numerous library collections. If logging in from a Pitt-designated IP address, students and faculty can seamlessly access the ULS’s collections including 87,000 academic journals available online. The ULS recently implemented a new system for accessing electronic materials from off-campus, known as EZProxy. This interface permits online resources to recognize Pitt-authorized users and to allow access, even though the user may be logging on through a non-Pitt IP address. This enables the ULS to provide services to on-campus and online students. The ULS has assigned library professionals to each academic unit: the School of information Sciences has a primary library liaison, Susan Neuman, and a secondary library liaison, Clare Withers. These two library experts, graduates of the iSchool’s PhD and MLIS programs, provide advice, in-class instruction, and one-to-one reference support to iSchool faculty and students. They also host office hours in the iSchool twice each week during the academic term, facilitating face-to-face interaction with faculty and students.
To supplement these library services, the iSchool introduced the Embedded Librarian Initiative (ELI) in Fall 2012. ELI provides face-to-face and online subject-specific reference and research services to students and faculty, through a service managed by Elizabeth Mahoney (lead faculty for the reference resources and services specialization in the MLIS program), supported by MLIS and PhD students. This initiative has been provided for the LIS core courses since the Fall Term; in the Spring, coverage was expanded to include several electives as well. In the future, the ELI will be expanded to all degree and research programs at the iSchool.
The students in the MLIS program, particularly the APRM specialization, can utilize the Visual Media Workshop in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture, which is under development at this time. The mission of the Visual Media Workshop is to develop and encourage the creation of innovative methods for producing, disseminating, and preserving the multimedia presentation of academic work. To meet this goal, the Workshop will not only maintain a world-class collection of visual materials that supports the expansive teaching and research needs of the Pitt community, but will also promote the investigation and invention of new tools and new ways of thinking about the place of images—in any medium, still or moving—in the work of the University. At this time, this resource is used by MLIS students in Independent Research Projects and Field Experience courses. Several students have had Partners’ placements at the Visual Media Workshop.
Instructors in the iSchool can take advantage of the instructional design expertise of the Center for Instructional Develop and Distance Education (CIDDE). For the MLIS: Pitt Online program, the iSchool has partnered with CIDDE in the design and production of courses to be presented on this learning platform. Designers can assist faculty in the efficient and effective use of CourseWeb, the BlackBoard course management system utilized at the University of Pittsburgh. This unit provides instructional development, educational technology, and support services for teaching, (both on-campus and online). CIDDE provides support for developing learning environments, expertise in instructional design and development, education in application of current and emerging instructional technologies, and creative services to support teaching and research. Faculty can seek professional course design advice and evaluation from the instructional designers at CIDDE, who will also help to address the particular challenges of designing courses for the online environment. CIDDE also provides rich media, event, and educational technology support services.
Students in the online MLIS program have access to the Pitt Portal (my.pitt.edu), the CourseWeb and Blackboard, and a variety of tools (i.e., WebEx and discussion board technologies) to support peer interactions, communicating with instructors, and successfully completing the online course experience.