A survey of instructional technology assets and support services at U.S. schools and colleges of pharmacy

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Fall 1998 by Grapes, Z Tom, Johnson, Diane, Matthews, Hewitt W

A Survey of Instructional Technology Assets and Support Services at U.S. Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy1,2

In order to assess the current state of informational technology in US Schools of Pharmacy, three surveys were sent to each of the 79 schools. These surveys addressed the resources and support services for three critical areas: computer services, educational media, and telecommunications. The overall, usable response rate was 129(54.4 percent). Analysis of the data indicated that the vast majority of schools were utilizing these important resources to fulfill their educational mission; however, great diversity was reported in both the resources and support services that were provided. Moving into the new millennium, the utilization of these resources will continue to increase in importance.

INTRODUCTION

As observed by Norris and Dolence, "Society is undergoing a fundamental transformation from the Industrial Age to the Information Age." This transformation is global. It affects all people, organizations, societies, and nations, although not at the same pace or to the same degree. Those who align their practices most effectively to Information Age standards will reap substantial benefits. Those who do not utilize these rapidly changing technologies will be replaced or diminished by more nimble competitors. In the Industrial Age, the capabilities of new technologies improved the efficiency of existing academic processes. In the Information Age, the power of the learning vision will pull forward new uses of information technology. The information infrastructure is the fundamental instrument of transformation. Pharmacy education must not wait until the vision is perfectly clear, when risks associated with adopting new technologies have vanished; the benefits to be gained from these innovations will have passed.

Universities are moving from retrenching, restructuring, reorganizing and reallocating resources to: (i) realigning higher education with the Information Age; (ii) redesigning higher education to achieve this realigned vision; (iii) redefining the roles and responsibilities within realigned, redesigned higher education; and (iv) re-engineering organizational processes to achieve dramatically higher productivity and quality(1).

Instructional technologies such as computer-based multimedia, two-way videoconferencing, and Internet information delivery systems have remarkable potential to transform pharmacy education(2). Interest in these technologies is high, as indicated by the efforts of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. In recent years over one-fourth of the funds distributed under the Grant Awards for Pharmacy Schools (GAPS) Program addressed some aspect of instructional technology.

As pharmacy schools move from exploratory efforts to widespread use of instructional technology, do they possess sufficient hardware and support? Even where hardware assets are sufficient, support may be de-focused and spread among areas traditionally referred to as "media," telecommunications, and "computing." Support units may not be focused entirely on the pharmacy schools, as many schools receive services from general campus based operations.

Although there have been several studies regarding the instructional use of computing in pharmacy education, a literature review yielded a dearth of descriptive surveys of instructional technology resources at schools of pharmacy. The Bootman, et al. 1986 study(3) of the spread of computer technology in pharmacy schools and DeMuth's 1991 survey of continuing education delivery systems(4) represent the readily identifiable published surveys. Also, in 1991, one of the co-authors of this paper surveyed pharmacy schools' media services departments(5). This survey was conducted just before the proliferation of Internet connections and widespread deployment of multimedia personal computing systems. Considering the massive changes in computer-- mediated communications, distance education, and other instructional technologies brought on by technical advances, and the declining acquisition costs, these computer and media surveys are outdated and may not adequately describe the present infrastructure.

Responding to a need for a more current comprehensive inventory, a descriptive survey of the instructional technology assets and support services was constructed and mailed to schools of pharmacy during the spring of 1997. The locus and types of instructional technology support were explored, and the degrees to which technology-intensive educational tools are being deployed were determined. Potential roadblocks such as a lack of hardware, insufficient support services, or defocused support were uncovered. This information is believed to be timely and valuable to pharmacy educators, pharmacy school administrators, technology vendors and granting agencies.

OBJECTIVES

The primary goal of this study was to inventory the information technology assets available at schools of pharmacy. The secondary objectives of the study were to: (i) determine the availability of technological assets which are necessary to support the development and deployment of computerbased multimedia; (ii) examine the infrastructure available for distance education; and (iii) enhance information access and communications within and between schools.