A number of projects are in the works for collaborative efforts in multimedia instruction between Houston Community College, Houston Independent School District (HISD), University of Houston, Clear Lake, and University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
The Houston Community College System is interested in making Houston a front-runner, both statewide and nationwide, in multimedia instruction. To do this, the college wants to share resources with other Houston educational institutions. This fall, Houston Community College installed a Quadra lab. No one else in the area had this kind of capability, and it caught the attention of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
The college is in the process of demonstrating its multimedia “teaching bunkers” to a variety of institutions, including HISD and the University of Houston, Clear Lake. Teaching bunkers are all-in-one hardware and software stations that allow an instructor to access computers and a variety of media, such as video and sound.
Instructors at HISD are interested in learning more about how to work with videodiscs and CD-ROMs. What’s more, the Houston Community College System is interested in placing teaching bunkers in every senior high school classroom and in the elementary schools, but no final decisions have been made. The University of Houston, Clear Lake, has already begun using some multimedia for instruction and is interested in doing more. If plans materialize, the system would place teaching bunkers in classrooms under the condition that someone from the community college would teach faculty how to use the equipment.
The HCC System is also interested in making graduate classes available to its faculty. The college hopes to use the arrangement between St. Petersburg Junior College and the University of South Florida as a model for its collaboration with the University of Houston, Clear Lake. In St. Petersburg’s case, the junior college scripted four classes for faculty of the University of Florida using on-screen video, videodisc players, and CD-ROMs, as well as authoring tools like MacroMind Director.
The Houston Community College System is discussing forming a similar agreement with the University of Houston, Clear Lake. They also hope to provide MacroMind Director classes for the University of Texas Health Science Center in exchange for the center’s instructional design classes.
The college has a firm belief in the benefits of combining resources of all educational institutions.
At present, the first collaborative efforts are scheduled to begin this spring. The Houston Community College System is also considering a variety of other joint projects which will be firmed up in the near future.
Contact John Busby, Houston Community College, P.O. Box 7849, Houston, TX 77270; (713) 866-8118.
