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Enhancing the Curriculum with IT

Faculty, staff, and students are continually exploring innovative uses of technology in the curriculum together, guided by various evaluative groups. An ever-growing number of University courses are enriched by the use of technology and electronic content, from syllabi to discussions to multimedia broadcasts. These tools enable the exchange of information and ideas to continue well beyond classroom walls, broadening courses throughout the curriculum.

Penn employs numerous technology-enhanced learning platforms and portals, each tailored to augment and broaden the traditional learning experience.

• The David B. Weigle Information Commons, which opened in April 2006, supports collaborative and group work by providing group study rooms, study booths, and consulting services on research skills, time/project management, writing, and communication skills. Also housed in Information Commons is the Vitale Digital Media Lab, which offers training and equipment for working with digital media, including video, audio, imaging, and web publishing.

• Wharton's webCafe collaborative environment provides students in Wharton courses with an online meeting place for teamwork and group projects.

• The Wharton School's SPIKE student intranet, the first online student portal at a major business school, was jointly developed by Wharton School students. Each year Wharton works with current student to develop the next generation of this award-winning suite of communications tools. More than just a web site, many of SPIKE's services and content are available on students' cell phones and PDAs, by email subscription, or via large-screen displays in campus buildings.

• Penn professors use Blackboard CourseInfo tools to create custom web sites to accompany and support hundreds of courses. The Blackboard interface allows professors without prior web authoring experience to incorporate sophisticated features such as threaded discussions, automatically graded online quizzes, grade-reporting, and digital drop-boxes for file-sharing into their course web sites, giving them time to focus on making the most of time shared with students in the classroom.

Dual Degree Programs. Penn students can elect to pursue one of several innovative dual-degree programs that combine rigorous technical study with an equally strong focus on a complementary academic field. Upon completion of any of these programs, which currently include Management and Technology, Liberal Studies & Technology, and Computer & Cognitive Science, students are granted two undergraduate degrees. In the unique Digital Media Design program, students undertake computational, artistic, and cultural studies towards a challenging single degree.

Meeting Requirements, Exploring Possibilities. With four distinct undergraduate Schools and a wealth of courses and fields of study to choose from, our students require ready access to personalized information that helps meet their curriculum planning needs. Three innovative online tools work together to effectively address those needs: Penn InTouch, a web-based clearinghouse that allows students to review their own academic records and requirements; Advisor InTouch, a web-based application that provides authorized academic advisors and faculty at Penn with instant online access to key information about each individual student they guide and support; and Courses InTouch, a system that allows instructors to access their Class Lists, generate email notices to any student having difficulty with a course, and enter grades online.

The web accessibility of these systems provides greater flexibility for both students and their advisors during the curriculum planning process (e.g.,for routine administrative tasks such as course registration and the lifting of advising holds) and for the duration of the course. Students can easily gather valuable, up-to-the-minute information about course selection and curriculum requirements, while their advisors can provide clearer, more customized guidance regarding a student's broader academic concerns and career goals.

Penn faculty also use Internet2 and global high-speed research and education networks to connect their classes with other classes or experts from around the world, using interactive high-quality video. To learn more about how Penn's campus network of online and electronic services, see "During Your Enrollment: Academic, Auxiliary, and Other Services" in the Administrative section of this site.