News about iPhone research program kicks off SITT 2007

Got an idea for how iPhones might contribute to teaching on campus? A new venture at UC Davis will let you try your idea in a short research project and keep the phone once you're done.

The UC Davis iPhone Research Program was announced Monday morning by Mediaworks/Classroom Technology Services Director Liz Gibson at the start of this year's Summer Institute on Teaching and Technology, a week of sessions and seminars designed to give UC Davis instructors fresh ideas on great teaching. The iPhone project was just a small part of the opening program, but is typical of SITT's general emphasis on exploring and inspiring more creative and thoughtful instruction at UC Davis.

Participation in the iPhone project is limited to any faculty member who attends SITT or is a member of the Faculty Mentoring Faculty Program, or any staff member who works for Mediaworks/Classroom Technology Services, part of Information and Educational Technology. Proposals are due by Aug. 15 to Mediaworks or the Teaching Resources Center. A review panel will choose six projects--three from faculty, three from staff.

IET is paying for the phones, which sell for $499 and $599. It will also pay project-related iPhone account costs through December. UC Davis is one of several universities working with Apple Inc.'s University Education Forum to research potential uses for iPhones in post-secondary education.

Apple's popular new cell phone will be just one of dozens of subjects discussed at this week's institute.

About 120 people have registered for SITT this year, said coordinator Andy Jones, up from slightly more than 100 last summer. Monday morning in 26 Wellman they heard welcoming comments from TRC Director Jon Wagner and IET Vice Provost Pete Siegel as well as from Gibson and Jones, and looked ahead to a week of programs on subjects ranging from wikis and SmartSite to copyright issues and interactive online mapping.

At lunch in the Memorial Union Monday, Siegel spoke on "Cyber-infrastructure, Education and the Future." Tuesday's scheduled lunch speaker is Carolyn de la Pe?a, an associate professor in American Studies, on "What the Humanities Can Teach Us All About Teaching at UC Davis."

It's still possible to sign up for the rest of SITT. Material from the sessions, including podcasts of the morning presentations, will also be available through the SITT 2007 site.

Networking during lunch and breakfast is also a big part of the week, offering people a chance to talk shop and make connections in disciplines from throughout the campus.