BROWN NAMED SENIOR CONSULTANT FOR LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT - Judy Brown, emerging technology analyst for the Wisconsin Technical College System, has been named senior consultant for learning technologies research and development, a position shared by UW System and UW-Extension. The position is effective March 27. Brown will work on partnership development, research, assessment, planning and procurement, and coordination and communication for learning technology. Among her specific duties will be working with industry, government and educational information technology leaders to identify emerging technologies and select technologies for research development pilots and projects.

WEB-BASED RESEARCH TUTORIAL COMPLETED - Librarians from the UW campuses have completed a web-based Research Tutorial. Check it out at: http://www.wils.wisc.edu/tutorial/.

This tutorial is intended for new users of university-level libraries who will be taking one or more courses at a distance. It will provide library research assistance to students who do not have easy and immediate access to traditional bibliographic instruction.

Two main objectives for the development of the tutorial were: 1) that it would run easily and quickly on a low-end computer and 2) that it would not be specific to any one library or library automated system. The University of Wisconsin Collaborative Nursing Program students are being used as field testers. As evaluations are received from the students and comments analyzed, changes will be made to the Research Tutorial.
Debbie Cardinal, Wisconsin Library Services (WILS)
cardinal@wils.wisc.edu
http://www.wils.wisc.edu

RESEARCH HELP NEEDED - Nancy Diekelmann and a group of researchers at the UW-Madison School of Nursing outline a DE research study they are conducting and are soliciting help in contacting appropriate people. A preliminary report of the study was called: Exploring the Experiences of Distance Education: The Common Experiences of Teachers, Students and Technology Specialists. Nancy will now expand this study. She uses a qualitative approach - Heideggerian Hermeneutics that results in conclusions grounded in the stories of the participants. If you would like to participate or recommend someone, please contact her at: nldiekel@facstaff.wisc.edu

UTLG GRANTS - The UW System Office of Academic Affairs is pleased to announce the merger of two System-wide grant programs into a new program: the Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Grant Program (UTLG). This new grant program represents the merger of UTIG, UTIC's Undergraduate Teaching Improvement Grant Program, and the Undergraduate Initiative Grant Program. Feedback from UW System institutions had long alerted UTIC to the similarities in criteria and objectives for these two programs. The new Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Grant Program, or UTLG, is designed to consolidate UW System resources and better meet the needs of the institutions as they apply for System funds.

The program is currently requesting proposals for projects to be carried out in 2001-2002. It will distribute up to $370,000 annually and will consider both large and small projects for funding. The guidelines have been sent out to Provosts' offices, but you may download them at: http://www.uwsa.edu/acadaff/utlg.

UTLG proposals are due at the UW System Office of Academic Affairs by December 1, 2000. (Rebecca Karoff)

NEW PROGRAM - The new Program for Collaborative Research on Technology Uses in PK-12 Schools encourages scholarship development and collaboration among PK-12 educators and UW faculty/staff, expands the ongoing PK-16 Initiative which focuses on professional development and supports the UW System priority for working with schools on technology issues. The program will fund collaborative research projects that examine the impact of technology infusion on learning and teaching in PK-12 schools. In the 2000/01 fiscal year, $44,000 will be available on a competitive basis for joint research projects involving UW institutions and PK-12 schools. This request for proposals is also available online at the VIT2AL Web site: http://vital.wisconsin.edu.

TTT SPECIAL ISSUE: TECHNOLOGY AND ACCESSIBILITY includes the following articles:

• "Captioning and Visual Description for Video: Considerations for Accessibility" by Bob Christiaansen, Prof. of Occupational Therapy, Dept. of Kinesiology, UW-Madison
  
• "Project IMPACT and Introductory Design Tips for Increasing the Accessibility of Web-based Courses" by Todd Schwanke, Bhagwant Sindhu, and Roger Smith, UW-Milwaukee
  
• "UW-Madison Joins Nationwide DoIT Prof Project, Pursues other Avenues for Accessibility and Accommodation" by Alice Anderson, Div. of Information Technology, UW-Madison
  
• "Access for Everyone, Everywhere: The Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium" by Lisa Jansen, Learning Support Services, UW-Madison
  
• "Managing Graduate School with a Learning Disability: A Profile of Judy Risch, UW-Madison," by Jennifer Smith

(TTT is a monthly, online publication of the Office of Learning and Information Technology, UW System. See the Web site at: http://www.uwsa.edu/olit/ttt/.