DevLab Committee

Mission: The mission of the DevLab Committee is to establish and develop the Writing and Communication Program’s Research and Development Lab facility. This facility, which was established in the Fall of 2009, consists of three high-end Macintosh Pro workstations and associated video editing, scanning, printing, and DVD production software as well as two Dell PC workstations devoted to electronic publishing. This technological resource exists to enhance the teaching and research activities of Brittain Fellows by helping them to build and deploy advanced technological tools. The DevLab committee is working to assist in this process by helping Fellows develop their technological skills, acquiring hardware and software resources for the lab, maintaining and managing these lab resources,and assisting in the transition to a more progressive facility in the Hall building.

Membership: The chair of the committee is invited by the Director in consultation with the Assistant Director of Writing and Communication. Members on the Assessment Committee are invited by the chair of the committee, in consultation with the Director and Assistant Director of Writing and Communication.

2011-2012 Committee
Chair: Diane Jakacki
Committee Members: Katy Crowther, John Harkey, Thomas Lolis, Christopher Ritter, Robin Wharton.

Goals:

  1. Design and install the new DevLab space (two adjoining rooms in DM Smith).
  2. Conduct a series of Bootcamps (peer-led training sessions focused on specific technological software and usage. Two are planned for Fall 2011: Electronic publishing (October 1) and Teaching with Wikis (November 12).
  3. Encourage use of DevLab space for small-group instructor/student collaboration.
  4. Assist other committees and individual Brittain Fellows with technology needs.
  5. Participate in Writing and Communication Program initiatives to introduce new hardware and software approaches for pedagogy.

Prior Committee History
2010-11 Chair: Andy Famiglietti
2009-10 Chair: Dan Vollaro
2010-11 Committee Members: Diane Jakacki, Thomas Lolis, Regina Martin, Jennifer Parrott, Christopher Ritter, Nirmal Trivedi, Robin Wharton, Roger Whitson
Accomplishments: The committee changed the name from the Writing and Communication Program’s R&D Lab to DevLab and created the DevLab logo. The 2009-10 committee successfully established the Lab and developed basic policies for using the lab. The 2010-11 committee acquired and installed additional software for lab use, created a lab website for the development and distribution of lab documentation, and developed a lab scheduling system. In addition, the DevLab Committee increased the use of lab facilities by Brittain Fellows by advertising lab capabilities and established the DevLab as a site for developing software and scholarship in the digital humanities. In the Spring of 2011, the DevLab committee designed and conducted the first two bootcamps, one on using web-publication tools and one on using visual design software.

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