Academic Experience
	Active learning with technology: bringing students, faculty, and information together University students join a community of people devoted to creating and sharing information—activities that can be enhanced by information technology. Find out how technology is used to support learning and collaboration in individual areas of interest.
	Coursework—in and out of class
		How does the campus use technology to enhance teaching and learning?
		Technology is an integral part of teaching and learning at Miami. More than half of the courses at Miami use technology in the classroom at some level. For example, clicker technology, supplementary podcasts, and web-enhanced courses are designed to increase active learning in the classroom; communication spaces such as wikis and blogs are used to facilitate project-based, collaborative learning; and computer-based animations and simulations help develop critical thinking skills. Some courses are beginning to incorporate Second Life, a virtual world, into their projects. Approximately 70 percent of courses use Blackboard, a web-based course management system, to extend the academic experience outside the classroom. Using Blackboard, faculty can post announcements, course outlines, syllabi, handouts, assignments, and grades; conduct online-mediated discussions through discussion boards, chat, and email; and allow online submission of assignments.
		Is there technology in the classrooms?
		Miami University provides a "standard classroom technology" configuration to meet the needs of faculty and students. This equipment includes a ceiling mounted data projector, and an instructor's station with a resident computer, guest computer interface, iPod connector, DVD/VCR, and stereo audio. Currently 204 of the 217 (94 percent) general Registrar classrooms are technology equipped. The standardized control system and integrated data network allow instructors to move easily between classrooms on the four campuses. In addition, many classrooms are equipped with additional technology to address specific course requirements. There are also several large auditorium and theater venues for guest performances. Miami supports a variety of video conferencing, digital media labs, computer instruction classrooms, and a student Learning Technology Center. All academic and residential buildings have wireless network capability.
		Is technology used for collaboration with other students in both introductory and advanced courses?
		Technology is accessible to all students, regardless of their major. Students can use technology in the following ways to collaborate on projects: Blackboard—Students can use our web-based course management system, Blackboard, to participate in online discussion among project teams. netDisk—Students can assign access to individual files or folders on their network space to others via a web interface in order to facilitate collaborative writing and project work. Email—Students have access to email through a web accessible interface or through a number of popular POP3/IMAP clients. Listserv lists are also available; listservs can be course- or organization-based. Instant messaging—Students have access to many commonly used instant messaging applications. Second Life—Students can immerse themselves in this 3-D virtual world to interact with others from all over the world.
		Does the school give credit for courses taken electronically (online/at a distance) from other institutions and sources of instruction?
		Miami University will accept transfer credit for courses taken electronically if all requirements pertaining to transfer credit are satisfied. However, Miami does not accept transfer credit for foreign language, laboratory, or speaking courses.
	Support services
		How does the campus provide access for students to work with multimedia (audio and video)?
		The Libraries' Center for Information Management (CIM) provides a variety of hardware and software for working with digital image, audio, animation, and video files. Assistance is available on an individual basis or through workshops taught in the CIM during the academic year. Faculty may request tours or demonstrations for their classes as well. Students who want to edit videos can also use equipment in the 24-hour Learning Technologies Center (LTC) in 200 Gaskill Hall. Several Macintosh G5 and Dell GC270 computers equipped with video editing software are available; students can store edited videos to their own storage media, such as video tapes, miniDV tapes, or DVDs.
		Are library collections and resources—such as catalogs, research databases, special collections, course reserves, full-text electronic journals, books, and streaming media—available online and accessible off campus?
		The Miami Libraries have numerous licensed electronic reference materials, including many searchable research databases, electronic books and electronic journals, and magazines. The Libraries provide access through a proxy server to make all licensed electronic reference material available to anyone with an Internet connection and a Miami UniqueID (username) and password, whether on campus or off. (For those accessing the materials off campus using an outside Internet Service Provider, see Proxy Configuration.) The majority of course reserve materials are available online through the Miami University Libraries. Online course reserves (aka "ereserves") can be searched by department, professor, or course. Through the Libraries' website, faculty, staff, and students can complete the following tasks: Electronically request books from the 80+ Ohio colleges and universities that belong to the Ohio consortia of research libraries, OhioLINK Complete an online Interlibrary Loan request to obtain hard-to-find research materials Read more than 30,000 electronic journals, 172,000 electronic books, 2,200 electronic plays, and 200,000 poems View collections of more than 700,000 images of artwork, architecture, and historical photographs, and view nearly 1,000 online videos Explore special, digital collections from and about Miami University Obtain and use materials placed on electronic reserves by professors Seek real-time research help from librarians using an Internet messenger-based system Find out about Technology and Information Management Workshops and classes offered by the Miami University Libraries Use the Online Reference Shelf, which includes links for everything from almanacs and encyclopedias to telephone directories and weather information
		Can the library deliver documents electronically, either via email or through web posting? Does the library charge a fee when information resources that you need are not available in its collections?
		Sometimes, the Libraries provide access to a digital copy of articles requested through Interlibrary Loan or from their remote storage facility. Currently, there is no charge for use of Interlibrary Loan services at Miami. However, there are costs associated with the process of receiving materials from other institutions, such as labor, photo duplication, copyright compliance, and postage and handling. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to use this resource judiciously. In addition to Interlibrary Loan, the Libraries use digital delivery for several services, including digital copies of library items and the following special collections and archives: Electronic Theses and Dissertations—Electronic submission has been required at Miami for several years. Repositories—In partnership with the Miami University Art Museum, the Libraries are housing artifacts and records from the Myaamia tribe, after which the University is named. Some of these may be made available electronically. Images, Audio, and Video—OhioLINK's Digital Media Center provides access to an extensive collection of images, audio recordings, and videos from commercial distributors, such as Films for the Humanities & Social Sciences.
		Does the library provide research assistance? When is this assistance available?
		The Miami Libraries provide individualized assistance in person, by phone, by email, and through an online reference service. The online reference service enables those seeking assistance to communicate with librarians through chat. Librarians can electronically push web pages to the individual seeking assistance. Those who seek assistance can have a copy of their transaction emailed to themselves for future reference.