Academic Experience
Coursework--In and Out of Class
1.1 How does the campus use technology to enhance teaching, learning, and access to information in your areas of
interest?
Many campus courses use electronic information to enhance classes and improve communication between professors and
students. In the classroom, a student response system (clickers) may be used by an instructor in an interactive
presentation to poll students and get instant responses.
Faculty can access electronic course lists for all classes, which enable easy communication to students via email
lists. Additionally, many instructors use websites to post course information and assignments and administer
quizzes. Some professors host chat groups to discuss course materials with students outside regular classroom
hours. Most professors encourage email interaction with their students. Also, an increasing number of classes are
web-based.
Many Iowa State University online courses are built and delivered in WebCT (Web Course Tools), a web application
with course tools for the convenience and unique learning needs of individual students. The course software
includes communication tools, assessments, and course materials. The communication tools include chat rooms,
whiteboards, discussion threads, and internal course email. Assessments can be by self-tests, surveys, and quizzes.
Course materials may include presentations, syllabi, and links to other sites.
The eDoc system is a university-wide electronic portfolio system at Iowa State University. Designed and developed
at Iowa State, eDoc allows students to collect and present evidence demonstrating academic and professional
competencies to faculty advisors, departments, and potential employers. It also allows students to interact and
collaborate with their peers in a professional and scholarly manner.
eDoc is integrated with the iState portal, which is based on uPortal, an open-source university portal. iState is a
campus-wide service to aggregate information from a variety of campus sources into a simple, web-based tool for use
by students, faculty, and staff.
1.2 Is there technology in the classrooms?
All of the university's 200+ general classrooms are equipped with an overhead projector and a projection
screen; more than 130 of them also have varying degrees of advanced instructional technology. Classrooms may
include data projectors/monitors, video playback (DVD and videotape), document cameras, audio systems, as well as
access to the campus network. Many classrooms include wireless network access.
Iowa State supports student response systems, or clickers, which have become standard equipment in many classrooms
across the nation. Clicker technology allows instantaneous interactions between instructors and students,
regardless of class size. The use of clickers in the classroom allows instructors to poll students during class,
check students' understanding of the topic, administer quizzes, and take attendance.
1.3 Will you use technology to collaborate with other students in both your introductory and advanced
courses?
Collaborative learning--students working together in teams on course projects of varying sizes and durations--is used extensively at Iowa State. Specific technologies in use include specialized equipment, personal webspace, electronic portfolios, and presentation tools. Collaborative learning spaces on campus are specifically equipped to meet the needs of student project teams.
1.4 Does the school give credit for courses taken online from other institutions and sources of instruction?
If the online courses were taken from an accredited institution, course credit at Iowa State can be given for the courses taken from other sources. Each of Iowa State's colleges determines which transfer credits meet requirements for its degrees.
Support Services
1.5 Does the school have multimedia labs you can use to work on projects?
The campus has several multimedia labs, many of which have specialized equipment for use in a particular department or major. A general-access lab is located in the library, and gives students access to media equipment for creating VHS tapes, DVDs, animation, online movies, and more.
1.6 Are library collections and resources--such as catalogs, research databases, special collections, course
reserves, full-text electronic journals, books, and streaming media--available online and accessible
off-campus?
Through the online resources of Iowa State's library, students have web access to more than 5,000 online
indexes, abstracts, full-text journals, e-books, reference resources, digital collections, newspapers, proceedings,
and catalogs of other libraries. Among high-profile electronic resources available to Iowa State students at no
charge are Lexis-Nexis Academic, Expanded Academic ASAP, Business and Company ASAP, and the IEEE XPlore-all of
which offer students access to massive collections of news, business, legal, and academic resources. The
library's licensed electronic reference tools include Biography Resource Center, Britannica Online, and Web of
Knowledge, all of which are available to authorized users outside the library. Some of the licensed resources
require logging in with an Iowa State Net-ID and password when accessing from off-campus.
An electronic reserve site give Iowa State students web access to a few hundred reserved reading lists each
semester that have been placed on reserve by Iowa State instructors. See the e-Library for more information.
1.7 What technology resources and help are available to students with special needs?
The Disability Resources Office (DR) coordinates an array of services
to provide qualified students with access to Iowa State courses, services, programs, activities, or facilities. DR
staff assists in coordinating or providing reasonable accommodations and support for qualified students with
various disabilities.
The Assistive Technology Laboratory on campus is a partnership between
Iowa State University and Iowa Vocation Rehabilitation Service. One goal is improved assistive technology services
to the Iowa State University community.
The university library offers a variety of services
for patrons with either temporary or permanent disabilities.
1.8 Can the library deliver documents to you electronically, either via email, file transfer, or through web
posting? Is there a cost associated with that service?
All articles requested through Interlibrary Loan are delivered electronically. The patron is given a link and a PIN number to access the requested article. There is no cost for this service.
1.9 What kind of help does the library provide for research assistance, and when is the help available?
The Reference Desk provides immediate help in the library with general information sources, citations, and brief
questions. The hours vary throughout the year, with extended hours during the semester and shorter hours over
breaks. Research assistance is also available by appointment with a subject specialist. This individualized service
provides library users with more extensive reference assistance.
Research assistance for online users is available via the "Ask a Librarian" service, available 24 hours a
day through the 24/7 Academic Cooperative and Greater Western Libraries Alliance (GWLA). You can also email or call
the reference staff for research assistance; email is answered within 1-2 business days.
Iowa State librarians are teaming with classroom instructors in the Instruction Commons project to help students learn to evaluate
Internet information and increase their information-seeking and research skills. Class instructors and
subject-specialist librarians collaborate to compile library research tools and other information sources that are
relevant to specific class assignments and learning objectives, and to make these resources easily accessible to
students through the Commons website.
Looking Toward Graduation and a Career
1.10 Does the campus offer general or profession-specific training programs that will ensure you are fluent in
current information technologies when you graduate?
Computers are an important tool in many Iowa State classes. Several majors require a computer class that teaches
students how to use a variety of desktop tools. The ISU Comm program has
been implemented by the university curriculums to ensure that students graduate with strong communication skills,
including electronic skills appropriate for today's information technology.
Library 160, a mandatory library skills class for undergraduates, provides self-paced, computer-assisted
instruction on a variety of topics, including the use of electronic indexes and other web-based information
resources. Some of the required core classes incorporate computer use into their curriculum, taking advantage of
the computer labs especially equipped for this purpose.
