REPORT

2004-2005 Student Computer and Technology Fee Innovative Project Grant

Department of Sociology Computing Instructional Laboratory Project

Bob Edwards

Associate Professor & Graduate Director

Department of Sociology

Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

September 2005

Project Summary

The goal of this project is to establish a laboratory classroom for instruction in social science computing for undergraduate and graduate students in sociology. The project had two distinct phases. One, funded by the Computer and Technology Fee Grant was to secure the necessary computing equipment. Second, to raise external monies needed to complete necessary renovations to BD-302. Both phases are now completed and the Sociology Computing Lab is now up and running.

Students Benefitting from the Project

Students began to benefit directly from this project during the second session of summer school in 2005. During this time the Computing Lab was used by students in SOCI 2110 (Introduction to Sociology) as a way to pilot test the Lab and work out bugs.

Now that the Computing Lab is up and running students will utilize it in three ways. First, certain courses will be taught entirely in the Computing Lab. Second, instructors of other courses will utilize the Computing Lab on a day-by-day basis for selected instructional units. Third, undergraduate and graduate students in sociology (and students from other departments who are currently enrolled in specific SOCI courses) have access to the Computing Lab during regularly established hours of supervised operation.

First, beginning with the Fall 2005 semester the following courses will be routinely taught in the Computing Lab: SOCI 3213, SOCI 3216; SOCI 4201; SOCI 6212; SOCI 6213; SOCI 6312; SOCI 6313 and SOCI 6488. These are our undergraduate courses in Research Methods, Social Statistics, Advanced Techniques in Applied Social Research as well as graduate level courses in Social Statistics (and Lab), Multivariate Data Analysis (and Lab) and Seminar in Research Methods. SOCI 3213 and 3216 are required courses for both BA and BS students in sociology. Thus, all sociology majors (n=130) and many minors will take at least two courses in the Computing Lab. The graduate courses taught in this room are also required courses. Thus, all M.A. students in sociology (n=25), plus 2-4 graduate students per year from programs in Anthropology and Coastal Resources Management will receive instruction in the Computing Lab as well.

Second, the Computing Lab is also available for sociology faculty to schedule on a day-by-day basis for special instructional units requiring student usage of the Internet or other computing activities. Instructors of SOCI 2110 (Introduction to Sociology), SOCI 2111 (Social Problems) as well as those teaching certain 3000 and 4000-level courses are expected to use the Lab on an occasional basis.

Third, the Computing Lab is open to eligible students for a total of 16 hours per week during the afternoons on M-Th and Wednesday mornings.

Installation and Resources

Prior to the installation of program equipment necessary renovations to room BD-302 had to be completed. In summary, the department raised approximately $20,000 in private donations to fund needed room renovations. Renovations included the partitioning of the original space into two rooms, installation of necessary electrical service to power the program computers, installation of carpet, installation of data wiring to connect program computers to the ECU network; painting; carpentry; and the acquisition of suitable furniture. This was done by coordinating efforts with Facilities Services, ITCS, and private contractors between April 2004 and June 2005. The department devoted 10 hours of GA time to this task and a one-course release during the Fall 2004 semester.

The Department of Sociology is highly committed to the utilization of this facility and its integration into our core and elective curriculum. The department has dedicated the following resources. A standing faculty committee with student representation was established in the spring of 2004. The committee is currently chaired by Dr. Ken Wilson. The committee is responsible for establishing policies and procedures governing access to and usage of the Computing Lab as well as subsequent evaluation and reporting. Second, the M.A. program has committed one full-time GA (20 hours per week) to staff the Computing Lab and work with the faculty committee and ITCS on maintenance issues.

Unanticipated Technical or Logistical Problems

The two phases of this project posed an unanticipated “Catch 22.” Private funds for needed facility renovations only came after we had received the grant to purchase the computing equipment. Yet, the computing equipment was unusable until after private funds had been raised and the facility had been renovated.

In a perfect world, we could have either raised funds and renovated the facility before applying for funds to purchase equipment, or delayed purchase of the computers into the July04-June05 fiscal year instead of purchasing them prior to June 30, 2004. As it worked out, the program computers were completely unused in storage for about a year after their purchase.

The renovation work required the coordination of efforts between several units on campus including Sociology, ITCS, Facilities Services, Space Allocation, Carpentry, Painting, Moving Services, Central Stores, the ECU Foundation, Harriot College and Accounting not to mention private donors. What was unanticipated on our end was that each office more or less assumed that we were already familiar with their internal operating procedures and that each office was accountable only for their one part of the larger project. In other words, our Chair and I had to figure out how this kind of thing is done at ECU (without benefit of anyone who seemed to be able to tell us how all the pieces fit together), and I had to play a role like a “general contractor” or “land developer” coordinating the discrete contributions of the other units and insuring that everything got done.

In sum, this process took over a year and consumed quite a few staff hours by the faculty coordinator (Bob Edwards), a G.A., the departmental administrator and the department Chair.

If someone from another unit were going to do something similar, I would recommend that they take a longer look than we did before leaping. 1) Find someone on campus who has done this and pick their brain about it so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. 2) Identify who all the players are going to be and get familiar with their spheres of responsibility so you know how they do and don’t overlap. 3) Get funding for both streams of such a project nailed down ahead of time though I suspect this sounds easier than it is.

Assessment

As stated above, the Computing Lab just began regular operations last month. It is, at this time, too soon to assess its usage or impact on students in a meaningful way. However, its potential impact seems quite substantial given the number of required courses that will be taught exclusively in this Lab, its usage by other courses on a day-by-day basis, and it’s regular hours of operation as a computer lab for undergraduate and graduate students in sociology. The newly formed standing departmental standing committee will be responsible for developing assessment and evaluation procedures and reporting as needed. These may include some indicators of benefit to student learning and skill development as well as simply keeping track of the number of students utilizing the Computing Lab.

Future Plans

The department plans to integrate this facility into our core and elective curriculum to enhance the research and computing skills of both undergraduate and graduate students. We anticipate continuing current levels of faculty and GA resources dedicated to the Computing Lab.