NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 23 number 3 - Spring 2003

LRCDA: Information Technologies Teaching Center

By Megan Oakleaf, Research and Information Services

The Information Technologies Teaching Center (ITTC) offers three teaching labs within the Learning and Research Center for the Digital Age (LRCDA) at the D. H. Hill Library. A total of forty-eight student computer stations and three instructor workstations with LCD projectors are used to provide hands-on instruction to NC State's students, faculty, and staff in some of the most advanced applications critical to research and education at the university.

In the ITTC, instructors from the Libraries, the Information Technology Division (ITD), and Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA) teach classes and conduct workshops using the latest software, hardware, and communication technologies. Subject specialist librarians teach students and faculty how to investigate topics related to their coursework and perform research using library resources. For example, chemistry students receive instruction in advanced research tools such as SciFinder Scholar, the online version of Chemical Abstracts, and Beilstein, a database that enables students to retrieve and display organic and inorganic chemical structures. In other classes, faculty and graduate students learn EndNote, citation management software that provides powerful tools to manage references and sources in a variety of publication formats. Additionally, technology training is offered by instructors from all three units.

The Learning Technology Service (LTS), a division of DELTA and a key LRCDA partner, offers many workshops about information and communication technologies in the ITTC. The training provided by LTS staff enables faculty members to design and develop Web pages using Macromedia Dreamweaver; use course management systems such as WebCT and WolfWare; create graphics and animations using Macromedia Fireworks, Flash, and Viewlet Builder; and use online quizzing and testing tools such as WebAssign and Hot Potatoes to support their courses. Seminars are also available on issues and challenges faced by instructors as they move part or all of their courses to the Web. In addition to providing training opportunities in the ITTC, consultants from the LTS assist faculty members in creating Web-enhanced and online courses, in applying instructional design principles to Web-based instruction, and in developing Internet-based distributed and distance-learning programs.

The Information Technologies Teaching Center provides a convenient, centralized location for NCSU students, faculty, and staff to combine the benefits of current technological innovations, staff expertise, and information resources in all formats to achieve excellence in teaching and learning.