Who I am and What I'm Doing: My intro to the Instructional Technology World

Created by Jeff VanDrimmelen (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) on August 10, 2006

Hello world. I have decided to start (yet another) blog here to catalog my efforts to encorporate instructional technology into the groups I am supporting here on the UNC campus. I am very new as this, so perhaps as I write some will find some of what I do interesting... so may not see any point to what I do. None the less, I am hoping to create a space where others can come and either learn from my mistakes, or more importantly give me suggestions for what I might do better. So please feel free to contribute at any time. Contact me... anything to help us move forward in our instructional technology efforts.

Background:

I currently support several departments on campus. Institute of African American Studies, Germanic Languages, Slavic Languages, Linguistics, ROTC, and Academic Advising. As you can imagine, each of these departments have their own struggles and technological needs, but I basically split it up into three different groups: Languages (Slavic, German, Linguistics), Military (Navy, Air Force, and Army), and Administrative (Academic Computing and Institute of African American Studies).

Goals:

My overarching goal is to come up with something for each of these different categories to increase the effectivness of their work, whether it be instructional or administrative in nature. That may mean more training for something that already exists or possibly some new emerging technology.

What I am doing now:

I love movies and often make comparisons from movies. One of my recent favorites is the movie "Robots." In the movie there is a character that changes the world through his technology inventions and encouraging that in others... BigWeld is his name. He says something that I have taken to heart when doing instructional technology... "See a need... fill a need." He says the first thing you need to do is find a need so I figure that is where I am now.

I have started meeting with as many faculty and staff members as possible before school starts just to sit down and chat with them and needs they might have. That may be tech support, or it may be instructional technology. I think that this serves two purposes. First, it lets them know who I am and let's them know I care. If nothing else, they will think of me next time they have a need that I might be able to fill. Second it allows me to understand the needs of each department and come up with possible ways to fill that need.

That's enough for now. I'll post again with some findings soon.

Jeff's blog
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4019 reads

Welcome, Jeff - that's a

Submitted by Catherine Howell (La Trobe University) on August 11, 2006 - 6:16am.

Welcome, Jeff - that's a pretty diverse portfolio you've got there. I regularly work with our Modern Languages and Academic Staff Development divisions in Cambridge, so will be interested to hear more about your experiences at UNC.

		Who I am and What I'm Doing: My intro to the Instructional Technology World Created by Jeff VanDrimmelen (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) on August 10, 2006 Hello world. I have decided to start (yet another) blog here to catalog my efforts to encorporate instructional technology into the groups I am supporting here on the UNC campus. I am very new as this, so perhaps as I write some will find some of what I do interesting... so may not see any point to what I do. None the less, I am hoping to create a space where others can come and either learn from my mistakes, or more importantly give me suggestions for what I might do better. So please feel free to contribute at any time. Contact me... anything to help us move forward in our instructional technology efforts. Background: I currently support several departments on campus. Institute of African American Studies, Germanic Languages, Slavic Languages, Linguistics, ROTC, and Academic Advising. As you can imagine, each of these departments have their own struggles and technological needs, but I basically split it up into three different groups: Languages (Slavic, German, Linguistics), Military (Navy, Air Force, and Army), and Administrative (Academic Computing and Institute of African American Studies). Goals: My overarching goal is to come up with something for each of these different categories to increase the effectivness of their work, whether it be instructional or administrative in nature. That may mean more training for something that already exists or possibly some new emerging technology. What I am doing now: I love movies and often make comparisons from movies. One of my recent favorites is the movie "Robots." In the movie there is a character that changes the world through his technology inventions and encouraging that in others... BigWeld is his name. He says something that I have taken to heart when doing instructional technology... "See a need... fill a need." He says the first thing you need to do is find a need so I figure that is where I am now. I have started meeting with as many faculty and staff members as possible before school starts just to sit down and chat with them and needs they might have. That may be tech support, or it may be instructional technology. I think that this serves two purposes. First, it lets them know who I am and let's them know I care. If nothing else, they will think of me next time they have a need that I might be able to fill. Second it allows me to understand the needs of each department and come up with possible ways to fill that need. That's enough for now. I'll post again with some findings soon. Jeff's blog Login or register to post comments 4019 reads Welcome, Jeff - that's a Submitted by Catherine Howell (La Trobe University) on August 11, 2006 - 6:16am. Welcome, Jeff - that's a pretty diverse portfolio you've got there. I regularly work with our Modern Languages and Academic Staff Development divisions in Cambridge, so will be interested to hear more about your experiences at UNC. Login or register to post comments
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