An NIU College of Education professor recently won the prestigious David W. Raymond Grant for Use of Technology in Teaching.

Wei-Chen Hung, an assistant professor from the Educational Technology, Research and Assessment Department, will use the funds to create an “ActionOrganizer” project, which will develop the “use of rational database and graphical user interface technologies to design a guided collaborative problem solving and action plan organizer,” Hung said.

The $2,500 grant was created in 1997 by Raymond, a member of the first NIU Board of Trustees, and is given annually to faculty members who are “working on ways to use new technologies in their teachings,” said Hung, who was awarded the grant in April 2004.

“The specific aim of this system is to develop a prototype of the system and conduct a pilot study to evaluate the system’s impact on the students’ abilities to deal with their problem-solving activities,” Hung said.

The requirement for the award was to use technology to design and develop an innovative product or system that would help in teaching and research, Hung said.

The grant is also funded by the NIU Foundation and the Office of the Provost, said Murali Krishnamurthi, director of faculty development. The grant is open to all faculty with tenure or a tenure track. Out of the 15 to 20 applications that were received, Hung was chosen by the Committee of Presidential Teaching Professors.

Barbara Fiehn, an assistant professor of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment, said the plan is fantastic and that Hung receiving the award “makes the department more noticeable.”

“I think he is going to influence a great number of things we do in the department,” Fiehn said.

With the grant money, Hung has purchased equipment to complete the system and hired Noppadol Prammanee, a doctoral student, to help with programming and data collection.

The system currently is in Alpha version (internal testing) and will be pilot-tested this semester in the classroom environment to get some preliminary data, Hung said.

Hung also said he plans to complete the project prototype, including the preliminary evaluation, in April , and will make a presentation to the public about the results of the system.

“Since the system is based on an open database, it will be compatible with Windows and Macintosh operating systems,” Hung said. “I’m hoping the next phase will be toward the Web so people can have access through the Internet. Right now I am only focused on the local-area network.”

Hung said he plans to submit a proposal to the National Science Foundation in Virginia, whose Educational Material Development Program supplies funding of up to $100,000 for the development of educational materials.

With more funding, Hung plans to make “ActionOrganizer” into an open system and implement the system through the Internet.