It's known affectionately on campus as "sizzle." If that
name conjures up visions of electricity pulsing through a network
of wires, state-of-the-art computers and high-tech equipment -- it
should. The name comes from the acronym for the Social Science Instructional
Lab (SSIL).
SSIL features cutting-edge equipment for technophiles and technophobes
alike, thanks to an anonymous gift to the College of Arts and Sciences
in 1997 that was used in part to fund SSIL's equipment upgrade.
SSIL provides
computer support and training for faculty and their students in the
social sciences, for any course that utilizes computers as part of
the curriculum.
According to Cathleen
Leuè, director of SSIL, the anonymous gift provided the
boost that SSIL required to become a state-of-the-art computing facility.
"Although SSIL was founded in the fall of 1989, with the educational
technology explosion in 1994 it became necessary for professors to
incorporate computers into their course curriculum to prepare their
students for the future," says Leuè. "Funds from
the gift enabled SSIL to upgrade and expand our computers and technical
support staff at a critical time to meet the faculty and student needs."
SSIL specializes
in supporting three curriculum core areas: statistics, Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), and Web publishing. The anonymous gift
to CAS helped SSIL hire and train one undergraduate and two graduate
technical-support consultants for the lab's intensive users -- social
science students. Each of the three student lab consultants specializes
in statistics, GIS or Web publishing.
Statistics is
a traditional speciality of social science computer labs, since most
of the social sciences use statistical methods to address research
questions. Economics, geography, international studies, political
science, psychology and sociology students and faculty members utilize
SSIL for statistics support -- an average of nine statistics classes
per term.
Geographic Information
Systems is a powerful new technology that combines large databases,
maps and statistics. The most common purposes for using GIS are resource
and ocean management, and the spatial impact of environmental phenomena,
such as earthquakes and floods. Geography and anthropology students
and faculty members utilize SSIL's GIS support.
Given SSIL's assistance,
professors are more willing to add Web-based teaching to their curriculum
-- an important feature with the burgeoning number of courses being
offered off-campus via the Internet. Professors can learn to create
and update Web pages for their courses. SSIL provides support services
and continuous assistance. Professors are encouraged to utilize the
computer as a medium in the classroom to aid presentations. SSIL helps
them plan and prepare their presentations.
Prior to the development
of SSIL, computer support for social sciences students was scarce.
Now, such assistance is provided on a day-to-day basis, preparing
graduates for a successful future.
