2006 Learning Spaces and Technology Workshop

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Letter of Invitation

As we begin to understand the implications of new information technologies for instruction, learning, and facilities, college and university leaders across the country are renewing their efforts to integrate planning processes for technology with the planning processes for new facilities. The question asked most persistently is: What kinds of spaces - science buildings, libraries, and classroom buildings - will be most useful for teaching and scholarship in light of the enormous potential of the new technologies?

To help colleges and universities plan effective academic facilities, we are pleased to invite you and a team from your institution to apply to participate in a Learning Spaces and Technology Workshop being held February 17-19, 2006, at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee. The workshop is being organized by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE) in collaboration with Project Kaleidoscope. Financial support is provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. There is no registration fee; and institutional teams that are accepted as participants will receive a stipend to offset travel costs up to $1,600.

The Learning Spaces Workshop on technology-enhanced learning spaces is designed to serve both those institutions that are planning to construct new facilities and those that are intending to renovate existing buildings seeking in both instances to enable faculty members and students to use technology more effectively and creatively in the service of learning. A learning space could be a library, computing center, classroom, or a computing or multi-media lab usually associated with libraries and computing centers. Because the workshop will outline an approach to careful planning, institutions just beginning the process are especially encouraged to apply to participate. Teams at institutions farther along in the planning process are also welcome. A draft workshop program is attached to this e-mail.

An institutional team may have from two to five members and must include a vice president who has budget authority. Institutions are asked to assemble a team representing the particular areas of responsibility and expertise that are (or will be) engaged in planning and using the new learning space. For example, if the focus is on the library, the library director should be a part of the team. Faculty members with expertise or interest in incorporating technologies into the learning environment should be included, as well as a senior officer of the institution with information technology responsibilities. The other participants may be chosen from roles such as chief academic officer, instructional technologist, facilities director, budget officer, physical plant representative, or development officer. Each institution knows best which institutional members can be most effective in advancing a plan for a new or renovated learning space.

All independent colleges and universities are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to applications from institutions that have not sent teams to prior NITLE Learning Spaces Workshops and are currently members of the Council of Independent Colleges and/or participants in the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education.

Applications will be evaluated on the basis of the evidence of the ability of your institutional team to effect change upon returning home, your institution's present engagement with technology to foster student learning, your readiness to take appropriate next steps in improving learning spaces on campus, and the likelihood that the experience of your institution will be valuable to others attending the workshop. Twenty-one institutions will be invited to participate in the workshop.

Each institutional team that is accepted to attend the workshop will receive substantial subsidies from CIC and NITLE. Most meals will be provided to all conference participants, as will up to $1,600 per team to offset travel and lodging expenses. There is no registration or tuition fee. Reimbursement checks will be distributed following the workshop and will be paid to the institution. Please complete the attached application form and e-mail it by September 30, 2005, to Stephen Gibson, Projects Manager, LearningSpaces@cic.nche.edu. Participants will be notified of acceptance by October 21.

We look forward to hearing from you.