Interns to aid class tech projects

A pilot internship project will pair Arts & Sciences faculty with 4th-year students next year to bring innovative digital content and other technology enhancements to a variety of courses in the College.

A joint venture between the University Internship Program and the College of Arts & Sciences, the program has enrolled 18 student interns to work with faculty partners in anthropology, art, Asian and Middle Eastern languages, astronomy, classics, economics, English, history, psychology, religious studies and Slavic languages.

In the interview process, the students explained why they were interested in participating: besides improving technology skills and making a lasting contribution to a class at U.Va., they said they wanted to have this opportunity to work closely with a professor, according to Charles M. Grisham, Chief Technology Officer for Arts & Sciences.

Most of the participating faculty are relatively new to using technology in the classroom, he said. “We were hoping to get faculty who hadn’t made the plunge, and by and large, we did get them.”

Student interns will receive specialized training in Web site design, graphic arts and computer programming in the first part of the fall semester and do their field work with faculty through the rest of the academic year. They also will work closely with staff in several U.Va. units, including the Digital Media Laboratory and ITC’s Instructional Technology Group, the Arts & Sciences Center for Information Technology, the Arts & Sciences Office of Computing and Technology Support and the Teaching Resource Center.