The University of Akron College of Nursing Technology Plan

Transcription

1 The University of Akron College of Nursing Technology Plan Vision: The vision for information technology (IT) in the College of Nursing is that all students, faculty, and staff learn, teach, and conduct college and professional business independently and efficiently without regard to time or place. Specifically, we: are competent, comfortable users of information technology; use appropriate technological and educational support; appreciate, understand, and use informatics and information technology in all aspects of nursing practice, education, research, and service; are leaders in the innovative use of informatics and information technology in nursing practice, education, research, and service; are committed to advancing the role of informatics and information technology in nursing and health care. Mission Statement: The University of Akron, College of Nursing enables students, faculty, and staff to fully engage the use of technology for communication, collaboration, and information management. Objectives 1. Technological Accessibility: All users will have routine, broad, and consistent access to technology resources. Access will be independent of location. 2. Technological Literacy: The university/college will develop innovative methods to instruct all stakeholders in the effective use of technology resources. 3. Technology-Enhanced Education: The university/college will provide technology resources to enrich teaching, learning, research, and service capabilities. 4. Technological Support: Consistent funding for technology and computer support services will be maintained.

2 Objective #1 Technological Accessibility All users will have routine, broad, and consistent access to technology resources. Access will be independent of location, whether classroom, office, lab, or home. Technological accessibility requires a strong technology infrastructure. It is realistic for users to have an expectation of a stable and reliable network, and to expect services to be transparent, responsive, and routine. Users need access to sufficient information resources, including productivity software. UA s campus will offer "anytime, anywhere" access to computing, networking, and information resources. This promotes the free flow of information and communications, is accessible to disabled students, and improves efficiency of administrative functions and student services. The college must continually take steps to expand its technology infrastructure in order to facilitate instruction, enhance the curriculum, attract and retain quality faculty, and broaden access. a. Every full-time faculty and staff member shall be provided a networked computer at least capable of the university standard or above. b. The college will maintain a computer laboratory to ensure student access to computing technology. c. Sufficient software licenses will be provided to satisfy college needs. Computer support will maintain university standard software, including operating systems, productivity software, software, web browsing software, and others as need arises. d. The ability of the college community to access the campus network resources from remote sites will be available. e. High-speed networked and wireless computer access will be provided on campus. f. The university shall provide sufficient bandwidth to support the needs of the college community. g. A listing of available technologies and methods of access will be maintained on the college website. h. Faculty or staff must have the ability to borrow replacement computers that fully comply with the university standard in the event of a hardware or software failure. University help desk services will provide the replacement while repair is being done. i. Learning and physically-challenged faculty, students, and staff will have on-campus access to computers with adaptive technology. Objective #2 Technological Literacy The International Technology Education Association (ITEA) proposes this definition: technological literacy is the ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technology. It involves knowledge, abilities, and the application of both knowledge and abilities to real-world situations.

3 The University of Akron, College of Nursing will develop innovative methods to provide faculty, staff, and students with the knowledge to effectively use, manage, and understand technological resources. Technology has become a basic tool for providing and managing healthcare, and also in educating students. Through technological literacy, faculty, staff, and students will benefit and be better prepared to make informed decisions on matters that affect, or are affected by, technology. a. Faculty, staff, and students will possess a basic set of skills in informatics, information technology, and computer use. b. Develop training in use of technological resources, including multimedia and the Internet. Training may take place in small group settings, online tutorials, and be software-based. c. Utilize the university s electronic resources bank of materials to facilitate the acquisition of technological skills and/or develop college-appropriate resources in-house. d. Develop templates to facilitate the integration of technological literacy into curricular programs. e. In cooperation with the Learning Resources Center (LRC), prepare training materials to demonstrate clinical nursing simulations for faculty and staff, including those not directly involved with clinical training. f. Implement a broad-scale assessment of computer access and usage patterns, selfreports on computer skills, and broader technological competencies including attitudes, learning preferences, and patterns. Objective #3 Technology-Enhanced Education The University of Akron, College of Nursing shall provide technology resources to enrich teaching, learning, and research capabilities. The college will support curricular activities by providing technology resources that can be used to enrich the teaching and research components of the instructional program. Technology-enhanced education is an enabling process which fosters the potential for excellence in teaching while maximizing opportunities for student learning. Technology and informatics are important components of an effective, contemporary classroom, as well as modern research endeavors. a. Faculty, staff, and students will be challenged to incorporate nursing informatics concepts and new technology into their professional and scholarly activities. b. Nursing informatics and information technology content will be integrated into the curriculum. c. Technology standards for all college classrooms will be established.

4 d. A sufficient number of classrooms capable of the complete range of instructional technologies will be available within the college. e. A pool of portable technology (i.e. mobile lab) to support classroom instruction shall be available. f. Multimedia curriculum development grants as well as other avenues for professional development will be pursued and made available to faculty for the development of multimedia materials and web-based courses. g. The results of innovative teaching efforts will be shared with the college and university communities and other public relations outlets. This can be accomplished through annual reports, new releases, and other appropriate methods. h. Support for curricular web services, multimedia production, and media-based instructional resources will be maintained or increased for both students and faculty as needed to meet the requirements of the academic program. i. The college will investigate and develop distance education offerings. j. The college will use instructional technology to strengthen ties to satellite campuses and community colleges in Northeast Ohio. k. Instructional technology will be intentionally planned to foster a sense of identity and community among the college community. The college will encourage technologysupported faculty-student interaction, student study groups, and other relationship building mechanisms. Objective #4 Technological Support Consistent financial support for technology as well as for computer support services is mandatory if the college is to implement its mission in regard to technology. User and curriculum needs must drive technology within the college; available technology shall not determine what is taught or how it is taught. The technology needs are continually changing; because of this, technology support services must be dynamic and flexible. Enhanced financial support of computer services is mandatory to support the initiatives listed below. a. Establish a Technology Committee to advise, support, and formulate technology policy in cooperation with the Director of Technology, who will serve as chair. This committee will determine the direction and means by which information technology can best serve the college. b. On-going studies of user needs will be conducted and their results shall influence changes in policy and standards. c. Update the college technology plan on an annual basis. d. The number of support staff in the college computer support services shall reflect a level adequate to meet college needs.

5 e. Computer support services will provide full support for university-established standard technology (i.e. Windows). However, other standards (i.e. Mac) will receive at least partial support due to evolving needs. f. Accurate, timely technical assistance and/or consultation will be available to students, faculty, and staff. Establish a protocol for staff to report technology issues and receive support. Responding staff shall have a technical background and the ability to troubleshoot. g. An adequate annual budget for maintenance, repair, and replacement of technology will be established, with replacement of outmoded hardware occurring at least every three years. h. Office and storage space shall be maintained for computer support services. i. Develop and evaluation process for technology systems to obtain input all user groups. j. Adoption of new technologies (including major projects involving technology) will evaluated by this committee for guidance and formal recommendation.