Implementing ICT in education faculty-wide

Abstract

At the end of 1999 the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management (TPM) of Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands decided to implement ICT in education throughout the faculty. Since September 2000, all courses have been taught using an electronic learning environment. The implementation process is described in this article. The starting point for the implementation lies within university-wide activities. In September 1999 Blackboard CourseInfo was made available for all teachers and faculties of Delft University of Technology. The faculty of TPM decided to use this platform as a basis for a faculty-wide implementation of ICT in education. The TPM implementation plan consists of three lines of activities. The first line of activities is technology oriented. The aim of this first line is to create smooth connections between the different computer systems and data that are used in the educational processes. The second line of activities is aimed at creating and using a web site in Blackboard for each course taught. These web sites contain at least detailed descriptions of the course and course materials. Furthermore, an introductory course for teachers on how to use the Blackboard system and providing technical support is included in this line of activities. The third line of activities is geared towards developing new learning environments for courses. One of the projects within this line of activities is to support a number of teachers in developing and using new teaching methods, based upon possibilities offered by these new technologies. As of June 2000 five teachers have redesigned their courses, have taught their course in the new format and have evaluated this.