Implementing technical innovations in the curriculum - Guidelines for faculty and technical support staff

This is the second in a pair of articles originally written for the Computi ng in the Social Sciences conferences in 1997 and 1998. The first, "The Par adox of Paperless Classes'' examined our sometimes surprising experience in implementing a paperless class format (with a focus on courses that use a campuswide network to facilitate the electronic "handing in" and return of student work). The present article specifically addresses the utility of a dialogue between technical support staff and faculty interested in using co mputer technologies in their classes. The introduction of computing technol ogies into the classroom, often apparently simple on the surface, can actua lly increase the variables in the teaching environment an order of magnitud e beyond what any otherwise prepared professor might expect. Maintaining cl ear lines of communication between faculty and technical support staff befo re and during a course is essential for the mitigation of problems as they arise in the process of a course. Debriefing after the course will help wit h all subsequent courses.