Faculty Multimedia Lab
Working With the FML
What We Do
The FML provides a number of services and facilities for faculty and academic support staff. Our facilities include a fully equipped lab/teaching/production space as well as office space and work stations for student workers. We also have a small video editing suite and storage for hardware and materials.
The services we provide can be roughly divided into two categories: education and production.
Education: A big part of the FML's mission is to help faculty become comfortable using technology in their teaching and research. To that end, we offer faculty lots of ways to learn about computers and software. Several times a year (usually Paideaia, Spring break and during the summer) we offer formal seminars. Past topics have included courses on Dreamweaver, web-construction, Photoshop, converting Word to the web, digital multi-media, and creating graphics. In addition to seminars, faculty can schedule one-on-one tutoring sessions either in the lab or in their office. We also can help with "just-in-time" support over the phone or email. Lastly, for those who like to go it alone, the FML maintains an extensive library of instructional books and videos.
Production: The FML maintains a team of student workers who can help with all aspects of bringing a project to fruition. FML students can be used to create a project from the ground up, over the course of a semester or year, or students may be utilized to assist with scanning, coding, data-entry or another specific aspect of a project.
How to Start a Project
So you've decided to start a new technology project... Cool. With the help of the FML it's easier than you might think. Perhaps you're interested in putting your syllabus on-line, or creating Quicktime video demos to augment your lectures and replace your tired old over-heads. No matter how modest or ambitious your envisioned project may be, the FML is here to help.
Whether you have an entire project outlined, or you just want to know what's possible, the first step is to contact me, Jason Parker. You can come by the lab, call (x7671) or email me. From there, I'll work with you to figure what technology is appropriate and how best to implement it. If needed, I'll assign a student assistant to help with the actual production of your project.
Your level of involvement can range from simply providing the content on a cocktail napkin to getting in the trenches and coding HTML yourself. Most folk find a happy medium. My staff and I are happy to train you to use new software (or old). We can also point you to various learning resources; the FML also has a large library of "how-to" books. Ideally, you'll learn enough to help you manage, maintain and participate in the assurance of the project's ongoing useful life. If you're not interested in learning the technology, that's fine too. You must provide no more (or less!) than the content and the feedback needed for us to get the job done. The only exception is, of course, software or hardware that you want to use in your office or on another personal machine. That will have to be purchased. Which brings us to...
Funding FML Projects
The FML has funding for student workers to do most projects. For special hardware or software needs, or staffing above and beyond our resources, there are generally two main sources for money: you or us (namely CIS). Through CIS, funding is available through various existing grants and funds (Murdock, NSF, Technology Innovation Fund). I'll work with you to generate a budget which we'll then submit to Marianne Colgrove and/or Marty Ringle. Through you, there are several options, including the Faculty Development Fund (a.k.a. Stillman-Drake Fund), various other grants, or departmental monies. In either case, you should talk to me, Marianne or your department head to get details.
If you want to see first hand some of the things you can do with the FML , visit our project gallery.
