Health Sciences Information Technology
University At Buffalo, The State University of New York

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General
Interest:

VPHS
HUBNET
UBIT
DCC
UB
UB Wings
UBEDirectory
UBWired (software)

What we do ...

The HSIT multimedia group is developing a software tool that will permit them to maintain the software end of a partnership with faculty while the faculty member focuses solely on content development and management.

The tool, an "integrated manager of learning environments" which the multimedia group has named IMOLE, is designed to meet the following criteria:

	Effective computer assisted instruction (as opposed to computer based re-distribution of lecture materials) targeted at addressing either specifically identified pedagogical problems in current educational strategies or at exploiting "pedagogical opportunities" made possible by the capabilities of modern information systems.
	Minimize the development/deployment burden on the faculty.
	Deliver a significant development/deployment time and cost savings relative to more traditional approaches where faculty are solely responsible for both content development and technology implementation.

What does IMOLE look like to a faculty member when deployed on a computer (Win95/98/NT/2000/XP/VISTA,MAC OS X,UNIX/LINUX)? It looks like whatever the faculty member and our instructional designer determine is needed to address a specifically identified set of educational objectives.

Click here for more information on IMOLE.

Who is the HSIT multimedia group?

Current:

	Tim Bleiler, Ph.D. - Instructional designer, multimedia software developer
	Brian Schroeder, B.F.A. Computer Art and Animation / Multimedia Design - Graphic artist, multimedia software developer
	Mark Schneggenburger, B.A. Computer Science / MIS - multimedia software developer

Background

In addition to the general charges to the node (on the main "services" page), the mandate to provide for the design of course and instructional materials is further outlined in the memo from the Office of the Provost - 8/6/97:

It is the consensus view of the academic community that instructional design teams be located in each of the nodes to assist in course and program innovations utilizing educational technologies. The teams should consist of the following:; a) Content expert – the faculty member, b) Content retrieval specialist – the librarian, c) Instructional design/multimedia specialist, d) Core support technicians. The Provost will seek to stimulate this activity by establishing a teaching/learning roundtable and faculty development grants program in each node during Year 2. In addition, the Provost will provide staffing in Year 2 for course and program development as a seed investment assuming that these investments will generate considerable course and program innovation in return. The Provost will evaluate this return and determine longer-term status of these funding investments at the end of Year 2.

Transformations in the student experience

	Teaching and learning transformations
	Student centered learning
	Emphasis on faculty development –faculty as guide
	Modular programming
	Web based
	Information based
	Potential for time/place independence
	Emphasis on learning productivity
	Emphasis on learning outcomes where appropriate
	Transformations in student information systems and services
	Best strategies for student access to University computing and information resources (on/off campus)

What does the multimedia group do?

To meet this charge HSIT has added an instructional designer, a software developer and a multimedia software developer/artist to its staff. This group will assist faculty in the development of instructional support materials designed for computer based delivery via the IMole product.

Note: The HSIT deans have discussed the benefits of shared case-based simulations, knowledge bases, imagebases, glossaries, and reusable code which could all contribute to a collaborative approach to software development across the five schools. They have also noted that the 'one person, one course, one program' approach is not in the best interests of HSIT. It is their current belief that the products should support the academic program of each school as well as contribute to cross-discipline collaboration and faculty development. The products should be accessible from a lab in any health professions school, from consortium hospitals, or from home. Projects undertaken by the multimedia group will reflect this focus.

What doesn't the multimedia group do?

As an instructional development entity, the HSIT multimedia group doesn't offer photography, graphic art, illustration, or imaging services to the end-user such as those provided by CIT's Art and Photographic Services group, and it doesn't provide end-user equipment resources as can be found in the Medical School's Confocal Microscopy and 3-Dimensional Imaging Laboratory. Instead, the multimedia group will incorporate the services these facilities offer into their overall instructional materials development design plan.

Content last reviewed: 12/18/2000