The Technology Committee of the Creighton College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate supports and
encourages an integrated, collaborative, mission-oriented, and planned vision of academic technology
in the Creighton College of Arts and Sciences.
INTEGRATED
In his 2004 convocation address, Creighton President Rev. John P. Schlegel, S.J., noted: “… the
integration of learning information technologies into quality programs, curricula and administrative
processes is guided by our vision of a Creighton “learning network…The goal is to seamlessly integrate
technology into our learning communities.” (emphasis added)
An integrated vision of academic technology1 looks at technology as it serves the entire academic
enterprise—teaching, learning, service, and scholarship.
It is important to be clear about what we mean about an integrated view of academic technology. An
integrated view of technology is not simply a view in which technology is present everywhere in the
university--we have such a system already. Nor is an integrated system one in which faculty use
technology consistently in teaching; many faculty do. We can have technology omnipresent, but yet not
integrated. We can have technology used in every class, but it won’t necessarily be integrated.
An integrated vision of academic technology is one which sees academic technology as part and
parcel of the enterprise of a University, as part of the “cost of doing business,” rather than as an
adjunct, or additional, “extra.”
Such an integrating view of technology needs to be a critical view, however. A technology, as a
complex element of a complex system, cannot become “transparent” in that it is either always
assumed to “be there,” always assumed to be “someone else’s job,” or always assumed to be “only
assistive.”
As President Schlegel noted in his 2004 convocation address, “An understanding and effective use of
technology is essential for students and faculty alike.” Following the President’s lead, we believe that
faculty, staff, and students should develop and possess critical technological literacies:
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the ability to learn a technology (which presupposes the opportunity to learn that technology)
the ability to discern the appropriateness of a technology
the ability to understand the possibilities and limitations of a technology, and
the ability to incorporate that technology, if and when appropriate, into their individual
teaching, scholarly, learning, or work efforts.
Electronic technology may be used in two general ways—in an assistive or an integrative manner.
Assistive technology facilitates (and possibly expands) what teachers normally do in a face-to-face
environment, but more efficiently. Examples of such assistive models are lecture notes and outlines
posted verbatim to the web; .pdf files (or other file formats) of class readings or reserves; or online
syllabi. The technology facilitates the learning, but it is not integral to it. Less common is the
integrated use of technology. Here, the technology facilitates new ways of learning which might
enhance, or improve on, or simply open up, existing pedagogical models. A case in point is the ENG
150 Cyberclass. Taught mostly online, students work within a “total writing environment” wherein the
immersion of almost every activity in a written context via a Web-based space provides students with
multiple opportunities for improving their writing, collaborating, sharing, and developing. Face-to-face
contact is not eliminated; it’s enhanced by the many more writing opportunities that the online
component provides.
We use this term to indicate any technology that enables, transforms, or assists teaching, learning,
and scholarship.
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An integrated vision resists a purely assistive model of academic technology; it assumes that faculty
and staff are important partners in the integration of technologies. Technology in such a system is
not a “helper”; it is not an “additive” used to make the same old things “better” or “faster.”
Technologies of learning can change the way humans view the world. Teaching with Blackboard, for
example, is an entirely different thing than teaching with a blackboard. An integrated view of
academic technology demands understanding of the technology and its implications; it requires
involvement in the shifting paradigm
Some features of an integrated view of academic technology are:
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Ubiquity—wireless access across campus, and a consistent level of technology in all
classrooms
User-friendliness (as exemplified with the “Bat phones” in many high-tech classrooms)
Consistent availability-- available to all students, faculty, and staff; always-on, rather than only
in some areas of campus
Flexibility and malleability—allowing faculty, staff, and students to experiment fully with the
appropriate technologies (and, in learning environments, with that appropriateness
determined by the academic faculty) and explore the concepts and practices germane to that
course
Equal access—available to all students, faculty, and staff, on-campus and off-campus
COLLABORATIVE
A collaborative vision of academic technology looks at academic technology as an element involving
shared communication, analysis, decision, and implementation by multiple stakeholders: faculty, staff,
IT professionals, and students.
Technologies run throughout every facet of a university education. From application, registration,
course design, payroll, advising, to graduation, no one who works or studies at the university—student,
staff, or faculty member—is untouched by modern computer technologies.
It is neither enough, nor efficient, nor effective for the technology to simply “be there.” Neither is it
effective or sufficient for faculty to be simply users of technology. Cynthia Selfe argues, in her 1999
book Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century: the Importance of Paying Attention, that
faculty [for example] must be critical consumers of the technologies they use, the services they
employ, and the resources they access. Faculty must become, to some degree, academic technology
managers.2
This is equally important in the two most primary faculty roles of teaching and scholarship. The
University Mission Statement tells us that
Creighton faculty members conduct research to enhance teaching, to contribute to
the betterment of society, and to discover new knowledge. Faculty and staff stimulate
critical and creative thinking and provide ethical perspectives for dealing with an
increasingly complex world.
It’s important to not restrict “technology” only to digital computing technology. Faculty have been
technology managers for hundreds of years as they have used pens, typewriters, drafting tools,
laboratory equipment, and other technologies of the pre-digital learning environment. The call here is
for them to step up to this role, again, with computer technology.
2
More specifically, the College of Arts and Sciences Mission statement reads,
The College demands from its faculty excellent teaching, sustained and enhanced by
on-going scholarship, and research significant in its own rights.
From these excerpts, it is clear that scholarship is one of the primary tasks of every full time, tenuretrack faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences. However, since it is also true that,
“Creighton exists for students and learning,” the faculty member must work diligently to balance
teaching commitments with the obligation to pursue significant research. While faculty members are
authorities in their own field of expertise, they are often not experts in the management of information
technology. As a result, faculty members must rely on a smooth, transparent, and effective
relationship with the Division of Information Technology (DoIT).
All researchers require reliable network access to the Internet and other professional databases in
order to identify and gather the relevant literature in their field. Dependable network access is also
crucial for email and other electronic communications. In addition, nearly all researchers require easy
access to the resources they, in their professional opinions, need for their research and teaching.
DoIT is an invaluable partner in providing these resources, tailored to the specific needs of the
researcher, so that the faculty members can remain the primary instruments of carrying out the
University’s mission.
The technological needs of the faculty are quite diverse: an informal visit to all the departmental
webpages in the College of Arts and Sciences shows that of the 211 full time faculty members listed,
133 have a departmental webpage, 90 have their own personal webpage, 35 describe their
scholarship in some detail, and of these, 15 make explicit mention of some form of technology. A few
representative notes will give a flavor for the kind of high-performance technology-based teaching and
research being carried out by faculty at Creighton:
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Dr. Jon Schrage in the Department of Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences writes UNIX
and Linux based programs to mine datasets from meteorological field experiments and
satellites. He also has experience in numerical modeling to evaluate and make predictions
from the vast amounts of input data.
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Dr. David Reed in the Department of Computer Science conducts research in computer
science education and maintains an NSF-sponsored repository of teaching resources that
integrate experimentation skills in computer science curricula. In addition to online resources
and computer labs, the CS department provides (in partnership with DoIT) shared file space
that students can access from across campus.
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Dr. Gintaras Duda in the Department of Physics also makes use of the Linux operating system
running on Intel microchips. His research involves writing programs to calculate observable
detection rates of dark matter in the universe. His results will help researchers to interpret
the data from the Far Ultraviolet Spectrographic Explorer satellite.
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Dr. Mark Freitag in the Department of Chemistry has recently contributed to the General
Atomic and Molecular Electronic Structure System quantum chemistry program developed at
the Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory. This program allows a single quantum
chemical calculation to be spread over a number of processors on many different platforms.
He is currently using a dual processor IBM Power5 architecture, as well as a cluster of eight
Macintosh G4 computers to model the effect of solvation on reaction mechanisms. He uses
both the AIX and Darwin versions of UNIX to accomplish these tasks.
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Dr. Brent Spencer of the Department of English maintains the Nebraska Center for Writers, a
compendium of information about writers in Nebraska and literature produced in Nebraska;
this resource is nationally and internationally-known to authors and scholars alike. Dr. Bob
Whipple, also in English, creates independent course management structures using weblogs
and wikis to support ENG 150: The Cyberclass, the University’s first and longest-running
online course.
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Drs. John O’Keefe, Ron Simkins, and Nikolai Roddy in the Department of Theology, are
custodians of the Virtual World Project, a renowned and award-winning project providing
panoramic, virtual-reality photography of Biblical archeological sites.
Other examples of current technology-based research in the College include:
 ecological remote sensing;
 online publishing;
 technology and literacy,
 computer-assisted writing;
 graphic design;
 digital video;
 artificial intelligence;
 programming languages;
 image processing;
 computer graphics;
 CD-ROM computer modules for assessing socio-cultural competence in German;
 control systems for relativistic heavy ion collisions;
 X-ray production;
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high-energy cosmic ray showers and massive neutrinos;
 optics;
 photon correlation spectroscopy;
 and cognitive sex differences developed through computer games.
Given these needs, it is clear that a collaborative, mutually supporting, feedback-oriented partnership
between CCAS faculty and DoIT is essential if the University is to carry out its mission in the area of
scholarship.
By way of comparison, peer institutions have policies aimed at accomplishing the goal of a
feedback-oriented partnership. At St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, “[p]olicy, priorities, and longrange plans for academic and general computing are set by the Academic Computing Policy Board
(ACPB), which consists of the Director of Information and Instructional Technologies (IIT) and three
faculty members from different Facilities appointed by the Dean of the College. The Board works with
the Director to develop goals for academic computing and to plan budgets and policies that support
these goals.”3 They specifically have an eye towards research: “IIT staff will assist faculty who are
planning to write grant proposals involving information technology and will provide technical support
service to install and maintain grant-funded hardware and software that are on IIT’s list of supported
systems.”
The mission statement of the information technology department at the University of
Nebraska–Omaha states that it “…facilitates the innovative use of technology for instruction,
research, and outreach via user-centered services and by stimulating a culture of academic discovery
that contributes to the world-wide academic community.”4 (Emphasis added.)
The vision statement of the Office of Information Technology (OIT) at Drake University states
that, “OIT’s vision is that of an IT environment which empowers faculty, students and staff to use
technology creatively and effectively to achieve their goals. […] OIT will be focused on anticipating and
meeting the needs of the community in an efficient and effective manner, and will have the resources
Introduction To Information and Instructional Technologies for Faculty and Staff, St. Olaf College
(http://www.stolaf.edu/services/iit/documentation/intro_facstaff/).
4 Mission Statement, Information Technology Services at the University of Nebraska–Omaha.
(http://its.unomaha.edu/common/aboutits/aboutits.shtml).
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appropriate to its mission.”5 In particular, they note that the values of OIT staff include a “customer
focus.”
At Xavier University, “The mission of information systems and services is to provide the
students, faculty, and staff of Xavier University with computing, information technology, and
telecommunications support and services necessary to achieve the institution's instructional and
administrative goals and objectives.”6
In order to keep pace with the research needs of the faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences,
and the initiatives at peer institutions, therefore, CCAS and DoIT must develop a collaborative,
responsibility-sharing partnership between the Division of Information Technology and the faculty,
staff, and students of the College in order to effectively carry out the mission of the College and the
University.
Some features of a collaborative view of academic computing are:
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Policy- and decision-making groups with significant representation (including chairing
opportunities and voting rights) from all CCAS divisions, and frequent and regular
communication from representatives on these groups to their constituencies.
Frequent, regular communication between DoIT and academic divisions, colleges, and
departments.
Policies that allow faculty members to configure their individual computers and web spaces—
or have them configured--in ways that they, in their professional judgment, determine
appropriate (e.g., administrative rights, ability to load and uninstall software, individual
hardware configurations, etc.)
Consistent multiplatform support (e.g., for Linux, Microsoft, Macintosh)
A paradigm that acknowledges that students, faculty, and staff are more than users, and are
the entities that the technology is meant to serve and support
Provision of wireless access in all campus buildings and all major outdoor spaces on the East
campus
Shared development of innovative digital spaces and communications venues that can be
used for academic purposes (current and welcome examples are the People.creighton.edu
server, as well as planned blogging and podcasting initiatives)
Significant involvement of all of the following entities: IT professionals, students, faculty, and
staff in the planning and process for:
o major system changes, including the removal or decommissioning of significant
assets
o vendor contracts for PCs, notebooks, providers, software vendors
o Major policy changes
Regular communication to Deans and divisional VPs of upcoming initiatives and changes
MISSION-ORIENTED
III. A mission-driven view of academic technology seeks to help examine the ways in which such
technologies can:
a) further the University’s focus on students and learning;
b) expand and extend the search for truth in all its possible forms, and
c) does so within an integrating vision of the world.
Vision Statement, Drake University Office of Information Technology.
(http://www.drake.edu/it/cio/mission.html).
6 Information Systems and Services Home Page, Xavier University. (http://www.xu.edu/iss/)
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Such a vision takes technology in, perhaps, a uniquely “Creighton” light. It assumes that academic
technology implementation is driven at least as much by pedagogical, experimental, and scholarly
requirements as by any other agenda. It empowers students to explore the worlds around them with
the guidance of faculty.
In his 2004 Convocation address, Fr Schlegel also noted:
For Creighton the exciting results of integrating the high tech knowledge age into our quality
academic programs has two distinct but related goals. First, the growth and endorsement of
“E”-learning (electronic learning) will encourage and sustain learning communities that
enhance the educational, personal and career development of our students. (emphasis
added).
In the early 21st century, digital technology is the mode in which many if not most students gain a large
amount of the information they process, and forms a primary mode through which they create and
communicate their knowledge and work. The University reinforces an acceptance of digital technology
as a teaching/learning conduit by the fact that it sells computers to incoming students; DoIT makes it
clear, through technology offerings and training opportunities, that technology is a preferred learning
conduit.
Some features of a mission-driven approach to academic computing would be:
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Provision of resources that would allow students and teachers to innovate with multimedia,
digital design, and other systems to accommodate all students’ learning styles and enhance
innovative, as well as traditional, approaches to learning.
Structured opportunities for reflection and discussion on the ethical and social implications of
digital technology in the world
An attitude on the part of the University and its units of responsible use, experimentation and
creativity toward academic technology.
Promotion of the use of technology, when appropriate, in research, teaching, and learning.
Rewards and recognition of particularly outstanding, innovative and effective uses of
technology in research, teaching, and learning.
PLANNED
A planned vision of academic technology operates in the knowledge that technology planning is an
inseparable and integral part of the College’s strategic planning process. It takes into account future
trends as well as past experiences of all of the stakeholders noted above. It involves by its definition
regular assessment of the effectiveness of the technologies used, both in terms of assessing the
effectiveness of the technologies in general, administrative use, as well as the effectiveness of the
technologies for teaching and learning,
In a planned academic technology environment, the technology grows as students learning needs
grow, as faculty members’ needs grow, and as the university grows. Such planning is not simply a
matter of scheduling acquisition and replacement of systems, but of careful analysis of faculty,
student, staff, and University needs.
Some elements of a planned approach to academic technology would include:
 A College-wide Strategic Technology Plan
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A College-wide Technology Committee/Technology Board with permanent representation from
DoIT
Departmental technology plans
An awareness on the part of faculty members that technology use and integration into
research and teaching is a long-term planning issue, rather than a “new desktop every four
years” issue
A comprehensive structure for assessing the effectiveness of large-scale technology systems
and programs
A comprehensive, yet easily-implemented, system for assessing the effectiveness of
technology in teaching and learning
CONCLUSION
As a part of our efforts to be an emerging leader in Catholic, Jesuit education in the United States,
Creighton University should recognize that technological studies and integrated technology use must
be a brick in the foundation for the future. By ‘integrated,’ we acknowledge the shifting paradigm that
technology has initiated in traditional educational models: namely, that technology will not merely be
used as a passive educational aid. To make an integrated technology approach possible at Creighton,
an atmosphere of feedback-oriented collaboration must be developed between faculty, students, staff,
and IT professionals. Currently, Creighton boasts many experts in diverse fields of advanced
technology and communication systems. A spirit of collaboration across the University will help these
experts to pass along their expertise to students in the classroom, the laboratory, and the library.
The Decree of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Inter Mirifica, tells us, “Man’s genius has with
God’s help produced marvelous technical inventions from creation, especially in our times. The
Church, our mother, is particularly interested in those which directly touch man’s spirit and which have
opened up new avenues of easy communication of all kinds of news, of ideas and orientations.” In his
Apostolic Letter The Rapid Development (to those responsible for communications) John Paul II
reminded us of those prescient words, and added his own: “Do not be afraid of new technologies!
These rank “among the marvelous things” – inter mirifica – which God has placed at our disposal to
discover, to use and to make known the truth, also the truth about our dignity and about our destiny
as his children, heirs of his eternal Kingdom.” Therefore, it must be part of Creighton’s Catholic, Jesuit
mission to teach its students about modern uses of technology in the light of the late Pope’s words.
To that end, integrated technology should be part of the strategic planning process for the University.
This combined vision of academic technology as integrated, collaborative, mission-oriented, and
planned will help Creighton University lead its students confidently into the future.
Works Cited
Schlegel, John P., S.J. 2004 Convocation Address.
Selfe, Cynthia L. Technology and Literacy in the Twenty-First Century: The Importance of Paying
Attention. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1999.
Primary Authors:
Bob Whipple, Mark Freitag
Secondary Authors: Dave Reed, Scott Chadwick, Gregory S. Bucher, Brian Kokensparger.
Additional feedback gratefully accepted from the members of the December 2005 white paper focus
group.