{"id":2225,"date":"2003-01-28T13:03:00","date_gmt":"2003-01-28T13:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=2225"},"modified":"2026-10-28T11:25:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T11:25:35","slug":"the-student-technology-assistants-sta-program-a-progress-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnhub.aucegypt.edu\/cltnewsletter\/?p=2225","title":{"rendered":"The Student Technology Assistants (STA) Program: A Progress Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Originally published on:<\/strong> January 28, 2003<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a study conducted last year entitled \u201cComputer use by Faculty and Students at the\u00a0 American University in Cairo: An ethnographic approach\u201d (September 2002), the authors,\u00a0 Dr. M. Peterson (Anthropology) and Dr. E. Coker (Psychology), concluded that:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026 most [AUC] faculty express an interest in wanting to learn ICT [Information <\/em>and Communication Technology], but they are concerned about the time it takes. Every non-user mentioned a lack of time to learn the technologies, and a lack of time to perform the implementation. Rather than attending workshops or<\/em> classes, faculty say they want to learn ICT strategies <\/em>on their own schedules, at their own pace,\u00a0 and with minimal staff contact time <\/strong>(our emphasis). But when they need the staff, they want them\u00a0 there with the answers or resources immediately.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to these concerns, and recognizing that there is an untapped pool of student talent and skill on our campus, the Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) embarked on a pilot \u201cStudent Technology Assistants\u201d (STA) program <\/strong>last fall (2002).\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The center has hired graduate students and has trained them (with the collaboration of\u00a0 Academic Computing Services) to assist interested faculty members in preparing instructional materials and\/or using WebCT (the course management system adopted by\u00a0 AUC). This has involved assisting faculty members, on a one-on-one basis, \u201cat their own pace<\/em> and on their own schedules\u201d, <\/em>on how to use and develop these tools in and out of the classroom.\u00a0 In other words, our STAs have made the equivalent of \u201chouse calls\u201d to our faculty.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The services offered are in the following areas:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

a) WebCT: one-on-one training and uploading of course material (text, images, PPT slides,\u00a0 grades, etc.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b) One-on-one training and preparation of PowerPoint presentations  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

c) Scanning of slides and instructional materials  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-seven faculty members participated in the program and were assisted by seven graduate students. The number of participating faculty members and their corresponding\u00a0 departments are shown in Table I, where:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HUSS <\/strong>= School of Humanities and Social Sciences <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BEC <\/strong>= School of Business, Economics and Communication <\/p>\n\n\n\n

S & E <\/strong>= School of Sciences and Engineering<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SCHOOL<\/strong><\/td>HUSS<\/strong><\/td>#<\/strong><\/td>BEC<\/strong><\/td>#<\/strong><\/td>S & E<\/strong><\/td>#<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Department<\/td>Philosophy<\/td>1<\/td>Economics<\/td>4<\/td>Biology<\/td>5<\/td><\/tr>
Political Science<\/td>1<\/td>Journalism and Mass Comm.<\/td>2<\/td>Chemistry<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
SAPE<\/td>3<\/td>Management<\/td>1<\/td>Engineering: Construction<\/td>2<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td>Engineering: Electronics<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td>Engineering: Mechanical<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td>Mathematics<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/td>Physics<\/td>4<\/td><\/tr>
# Represents the number of participating Faculty Members<\/em><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Table I.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published on: January 28, 2003 In a study conducted last year entitled \u201cComputer use by Faculty and Students at the\u00a0 American University in Cairo: … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":3398,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[91,175],"tags":[156],"class_list":["post-2225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-report","category-volume-1","tag-issue-9"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t