Instructional Support Committee

Attending: Mark Schneider, Anatoly Vishevsky, Justin Abramson, Kara Lycke, Christopher McKee, John Kalkbrenner, Bill Francis, Cecilia Knight, Jon Chenette, Megan Goering, Terri Phipps

Minutes of last meeting approved.

Fast-Track Approvals: Chinese field trip in Grinnell ($180); Computer Science - attend Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes in Chicago ($790-EKI-related)

Update on Burling Planning: Planning has been tabled at this time. Minor renovations may still occur on Burling 1st Floor.

Forum Computer lab and Gallery space: Holabird and Root met with various members of the campus community, including representatives of ISC, to discuss wants and needs for these spaces. Megan articulated concerns and ideas polled from students, many of which coincided with those voiced by ISC and other faculty members, specifically in the area of technology. Technology should grow out of need, rather than purchasing equipment and then deciding how best to use it. Students also suggested keeping the booths from the Grill space and supported the use of vending machines for snacks and drinks. There needs to be a good balance of technological and social space. Accessibility is a major issue in the Forum, especially when considering areas such as the Coffeehouse or the restrooms, and will need to be taken into account when deciding uses of current spaces in the Forum.

Summer Workshops: Given the large number of workshops being offered this summer, funding will depend on numbers of interested faculty. The Associate Deans' Office will compile responses and determine which workshops to fund, in consultation with Mark Schneider. ISC agreed that if workshops had two or fewer participants, they would not be funded; three participants may be funded, pending committee discussion; and 4 or more participants would be funded to the extent that the budget can support them. These participant numbers do not include leader(s).

PioneerWeb: Bill distributed a course template for PioneerWeb, and asked for general feedback. SACC had surveyed students. In general, students like the simplicity of the course module, and disliked the lack of simplicity in other areas. Students and faculty overall seem to like PioneerWeb, though there are areas, such as Calendar and Tasks, that are not used much. The administrative side of managing areas on PWeb can seem disorganized. Is it possible to make certain parts of a course available to the public, such as having a syllabus available to those not in the class, but who may be interested in the class in the future? Bill will check into this.

There was also a question on having a shared PioneerWeb space for Grinnell-in-London and Oberlin-in-London participants, since Oberlin students and faculty do not have Grinnell email addresses. This is not a problem. PioneerWeb accepts non-Grinnell email addresses.

Update on ISC Handbook draft: Comparing the draft handbook to the Faculty Handbook's description of the committee, the ISC handbook needs to be revised to include ISC's advisory role for Audio-Visual needs and Computer Policy issues. When approved, the handbook will be made available on the web so that future committee are clear on their charge and so that there is continuity in procedures from year to year.

It should also be clear that ISC does not set priority of initiatives. These are set elsewhere. ISC supports priorities set by the Executive Council, the faculty, and other planning groups of the College.

Classroom sub-committee: Jon, Anatoly, Bill and Justin. This subcommittee of ISC will focus on issues with specific classrooms. The group met with Steiner faculty to discuss the future configuration of the Religious Activities Room once events currently held in the space move to the Rosenfield Center. The committee will also address seating capacity of ARH 120 and 131 as compared to enrollments of classes currently held in those rooms.

Continuing agenda items:
Classroom AV facilities: making interfaces as consistent as possible
Wireless coverage: Bill distributed a list of access points available. Additional access points will be placed in the dorms, academic buildings, and open spaces, in that order of priority. It can be difficult and time consuming to add wiring to existing buildings.

It was suggested that the Associate Dean's office survey department chairs concerning wireless access priorities in spaces that their departments use, and how wireless access could facilitate or detract from teaching and learning in these spaces.

Respectfully submitted,
Terri Phipps