Photos by Kevin Fitzsimons Buckeye football players, from left, Jay Richardson, R.J. Coleman, Adam Olds and Brandon Maupin prepare food at the St. Vincent de Paul Society in downtown Phoenix Dec. 31. The charity serves 3,400 meals daily at three locations.

Commitment to service extends to Fiesta Bowl

By SHANNON WINGARD, Media Relations

Instead of planning for typical New Year's Eve celebrations, members of the Ohio State community teamed up with their bowl-game rivals on Dec. 31 in Phoenix, to make a difference off the football field.

Before the universities faced off in the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl -- won by OSU 35-28 -- approximately 70 Ohio State faculty, staff, students and members of the Buckeye football team joined people from Kansas State University to volunteer at a homeless shelter and a food bank. Together, the volunteers served lunch to approximately 800 people at the St. Vincent de Paul Society and prepared emergency food kits for about 900 families at St. Mary's Food Bank.

President Karen Holbrook said bowl games give Ohio State the chance to show what it means to be a Buckeye on and off the field.

"Bowl games provide an excellent opportunity for us to partner with another university in a meaningful expression of gratitude to the host community,"she said. "This year's service initiative was an inspiring event."

Tracy Stuck, director of the Ohio Union and Student Activities, and her staff organized the initiative, which marks the fifth time Ohio State has taken part in service projects that coincide with bowl games.

Stuck said the university's tradition of bowl-game service began when Florida State University invited Ohio State to serve the Louisiana community prior to the 1998 Sugar Bowl. To date, approximately 700 Buckeyes have volunteered at 54 community service projects at the Sugar, Outback and Fiesta bowl games. Texas A&M University, the University of South Carolina and Miami University also have partnered with Ohio State in the past.

"During the week of bowl games, service allows us to show appreciation to the hosting community,"Stuck said. "We were delighted to continue the tradition this year with members of Kansas State."

Stuck said serving the community is an important Ohio State tradition. For the past six years, approximately 150 Ohio State students have traveled to one away football game to serve the local community as a part of Make a Difference Day. In addition, through programs offered by the Ohio Union, students spent about 5,500 hours during Autumn Quarter 2003 volunteering at various initiatives, including Community Commitment Day and Beat Michigan Week. Students also spent approximately 26,000 hours volunteering during the 2002-03 academic year.

Stuck says people receive as much as they give by volunteering to help. "As a land-grant institution, Ohio State was founded to give back to the community,"she said. "I think volunteering in the Columbus community and at sites near football games reminds us that there are people in need from the area. I think service humanizes the whole experience."

TELR realignment improves faculty, staff support

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

In support of the university's advancement of the use of innovative technology in teaching and learning, the Office of the Chief Information Officer has realigned its Technology Enhanced Learning and Research (TELR) division to better serve faculty and staff.

The primary improvements are increased support staff reallocated from other units within the CIO's office, including an ADA support person; more proactive support for information technology professionals across Columbus and the regional campuses, including new professional development grants; and a stronger focus on research in information technologies.

The changes support initiatives outlined recently in Ohio State's Information Technology Strategic Plan 2004 (a final draft is available on the Web at http://cio.osu.edu/planit/finalreport.html), and are important steps toward achieving the university's vision outlined in the Academic Plan, said Chief Information Officer Ilee Rhimes.

"Throughout the Academic Plan are references to the critical role that information technology will play in the fulfillment of making Ohio State a world-class university,"Rhimes said. "Our intent is to improve the university's technology environment and to take better advantage of the depth of technology expertise throughout the campus."

The TELR realignment will help the university provide more sophisticated and diverse technology solutions, improve the quality of support, and provide more individual attention, said Susan Metros, deputy chief information officer and executive director for e-learning.

E-learning applies to a wide scope of processes including Web-based learning, computer-based instruction, virtual classrooms and digital collaboration. It can be supplemental, using educational technologies to complement traditional learning experiences; blended or hybrid, combining face-to-face instruction with virtual instruction; or distance learning, which exists predominantly or fully online. She said most faculty are currently using technology as a supplement, but many are moving toward blended and fully online usage.

"We would like to move more faculty into the area of electronic learning to keep up with the student demand,"Metros said. "Technology used appropriately can result in engaging learning experiences for both faculty and students. The problem is that it takes time to properly incorporate technology into courses. We have to either make it easier for our faculty by providing easier to use software solutions or offering more technology support skilled to develop it for them."

Metros said constituents across campus have taken part in a yearlong evaluation of enterprise level course management applications to identify ways to extend and diversify its use, adding that scalability is a leading factor in upgrading to an enterprise level solution.

The percentage of instructors using WebCT course management software on the central server increased 71 percent -- from 854 to 1,464 instructors -- from fiscal year 2002-03.

"Right now faculty tend to take what they are doing in a traditional course and transfer it to an online environment,"Metros said. "While that is good, the next step is to think about technology for its inherent capabilities and potential for enhancing their course."

Increased technology usage in courses will benefit the university by encouraging interaction and active learning, and helping to meet the different learning styles of students, she said.

History professor Timothy Gregory, who has been involved in teaching Internet-based courses (e-learning) at Ohio State for more than three years, credits the TELR design team for providing the technical expertise to make his online courses successful. He currently is teaching a major portion of an introductory course in classical archaeology directly from the OSU Excavations at Isthmia, in Greece.

"In the past I have used slides and similar resources, but now I am able to provide students with a rich array of visual material, including animated maps, video and audio recordings,"Gregory said. "Students in this introductory course are ‘transported' to the dig site in Greece where they are able to ‘participate' in the excavation along with members of the OSU project. Such possibilities, I think, enhance the quality of the educational experience at the university in significant ways and even allow us to reach beyond our own student population and reach the broader population of the state of Ohio."

Enhanced services

At the heart of TELR is the TELR Design Team, comprised of instructional technologists, visual and Web designers, Web programmers, accessibility specialists and researchers. Metros said TELR has evolved into a full-service support unit with the realignment of these additional staff members. Additionally, the recruitment of a new associate director of e-learning is currently underway.

The TELR internship program has been revised and upgraded to provide more targeted support. The program matches faculty and their technology enhanced course project needs with undergraduate students who are learning Web-based project design. For more information about the free program, visit http://telr.osu.edu/eLearning/interns.html.

IT professional support

Professional development grants of up to $1,000 per individual in matching funds will be made to facilitate professional development of instructional technology staff and faculty who are seeking experiences to enhance teaching and learning using technology. Faculty and staff can apply for funding through May 31. The application form is available on the Web at http://telr.osu.edu/elearning/pdg/pdg_application.doc.

TELR also is forming communities of practice, or groups of people with a shared interest in promoting a specific technology component, ranging from distance education and wireless instructional strategies to knowledge management and learning objects. TELR has surveyed its TELR Coordinating Council and other IT support staff to determine specific areas of interest.

Research support

TELR's increase in support for information technologies will be most evident with the early 2004 opening of the Digital Union, located on the third floor of the Science and Engineering Building. A partnership between the Office of the CIO and University Libraries, the union offers a wireless laptop collaboratory, flexible work areas, a high-end multimedia editing studio, Internet-based video-conferencing, and stations for evaluating beta and just-released software and hardware, according to Steve Acker, TELR director.

Additionally, new grants to be announced early winter quarter will offer support to extend faculty research into the undergraduate learning environment, using technology as the catalyst. For additional information about TELR, visit the Web at http://telr.osu.edu, or send an e-mail to telr@osu.edu.

K-9 officer joins force

By SHANNON WINGARD, Media Relations

A new member of University Police works to make campus a safer environment. He stands approximately three feet tall, weighs about 70 pounds and gets paid with a tennis ball. The new addition is K-9 police officer Catto.

After six months of 16-hour-a-day training with his handler, the 17-month-old German Shepherd is now a full-time member of University Police and will help to ensure safety on Ohio State's campus, said Vernon Baisden, director of public safety at the university.

Patrol officer and handler Bryan Thompson with Catto.   By Rick Amweg

"This new addition to our public safety resources will enhance our efforts to keep campus a safe environment,"Baisden said. "The terrorist attack of 9/11 dictated that we reassess our public safety resources and acquire additional resources as they become available."

Among other things, Baisden said Catto is trained to search a building for suspects, to track a suspect or the scent of explosives, and to warn other officers of potential danger.

Acting Chief of University Police John Petry said it is important that Ohio State has the resources necessary to handle any security issue that may arise.

"As one of the largest universities in the nation, we have a lot of programs that could be targets of a terrorist threat,"Petry said. "The addition of Catto to University Police gives us an advantage to take care of a threat."

Patrol Officer Bryan Thompson, the K-9 handler and a second-generation member of University Police, continues to train with Catto on a regular basis. He says Catto is trained with Columbus and state law enforcement agencies and can get involved in various aspects of police work.

"It has been an ongoing process,"Thompson said. "We are constantly training and retraining what the dog does."

Thompson said the training includes everything from learning commands to working comfortably in any type of environment. In fact, Thompson recently spent time at Port Columbus International Airport to get Catto used to riding escalators.

He also said Catto is available to be used by other police jurisdictions, including Upper Arlington and other Columbus suburbs.

"Part of the protocol for the dog is that he will be available to help other agencies,"Thompson said. "He is here and he is available to other agencies whenever possible."

Petry said events with controversial speakers and high attendance, such as football games, can attract threats. For example, a briefcase was left unattended in front of Ohio Stadium before one of last season's football games. University Police had to wait about an hour until a dog from another jurisdiction arrived. Now, he said the police dog can be at the scene in about half the time. Although the briefcase turned out to be harmless, Petry said University Police didn't want to take any chances until a police dog had inspected it.

"The dog may catch something that we don't,"Petry said. "There are numerous occasions on campus when the dog will help with security."