Virginia Tech spearheads HBCU computer consortium - Virginia Polytechnic Institute; historically black colleges and universities

Black Issues in Higher Education, Nov 13, 1997 by Ronald Roach

Dr. Joyce Williams-Green knows from direct experience that using computers in the classroom can be daunting for both students and faculty.

When she first taught "Introduction to Black Studies" at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (also known as Virginia Tech) in 1994, most of her students were - like her - African American. But the next time she taught the class, she required students to use the Internet and electronic mail to complete class assignments. Thirteen of fifteen Black students left the course, and although six of them eventually returned, Williams-Green found the experience troubling.

Nevertheless, "Introduction to Black Studies" has retained its computer elements - including a requirement that students design and publish pages on the World Wide Web.

"Black student enrollment in intro Black studies is increasing, but it hasn't gotten back to where it was," Williams-Green says.

That experience helped spur her and like-minded colleagues to spearhead an initiative to help twelve historically Black colleges and universities learn how to use computers and the Internet in teaching. The initiative, entitled VITAE (Virtual Institute for Technology Advancement in Education), is inspired partly by Virginia Tech's intensive adoption of computers in the classroom, and partly by Williams-Green's teaching experiences with African American students at that institution.

Williams-Green, who is director of Black Studies at Virginia Tech, says the regional consortium is necessary because it helps to bring more information technology resources and expertise into the African American community. She attributes diminished Black student enrollment in her Black Studies class to a discomfort with computers that she has found among a number of African American students who have not had prior exposure to the technology.

While discomfort with computers is not unique to African American students, Williams-Green believes that the lack of computer access in the Black community, and in urban and poor school districts, can have a detrimental effect on students' attitudes toward technology once when they reach the college environment.

Students with little or no experience with computers and the Internet often require considerable assistance in getting acclimated to computer-based instruction, according to Williams-Green.

Over the past five years, she has been working with Dr. Glen Holmes, associate professor of Instructional Technology at Virginia Tech, on instructional technology research involving issues of computer access and instructional software that address issues of diversity. They, along with Dr. Thomas M. Sherman, professor of education at Virginia Tech, and consortium school officials, have developed a five-year plan to bring Virginia Tech faculty together with consortium faculty to offer online curricula, set up distance learning networks, and train faculty to incorporate computers in their classes. The multi-million dollar plan has been submitted for consideration by the Kellogg Foundation, according to Holmes.

"VITAE is aimed primarily at teaching professionals. Yet surely, its efforts will impact the student's and their experiences," says Holmes.

Participating schools include Delaware State University, Fayetteville State University, Hampton University, Livingstone College, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Saint Paul's College, University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Virginia State University, Virginia Union University, West Virginia State College, and Winston-Salem State University.

"I see it as a great opportunity for our institution to have access to Virginia Tech's resources. They are known for their distance learning programs," says Dr. Charles Fletcher, director of strategic planning and institutional research at Delaware State University.

Fletcher says the consortium can help Delaware State build its capacity to provide distance learning courses for students at its two satellite campuses. The expertise that Virginia Tech professionals can provide would cost Delaware State hundreds of thousands of dollars if the school had to hire outside consultants to assist in the development of distance learning networks, Fletcher says.

According to Dr. Ron Smith, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at North Carolina A&T, his institution's participation in the consortium will concentrate largely on faculty training. "The biggest push is with the faculty" because the pressure to keep up with information technology often falls hardest on them.

"Faculty sometimes don't have the time to look around and to assess whether they could be using computers in their classrooms," Smith says.

With more than ten computer labs on its campus, North Carolina A&T is considered to have a well-developed computer infrastructure. Smith says consortium participation will allow students, faculty, and administrators to leverage existing technology more effectively.

Williams-Green, like a number of her colleagues in the humanities and social sciences, regards the infusion of computer technology - particularly in nonscience subjects - as an inevitable path for higher education. She believes that students who become comfortable with using computers in nontechnical subjects will have an easier time adjusting to the growing use of computers in the workplace. Faculty can utilize computers to enhance student learning, according to Williams-Green.