Meet Margy Ingramm,
Instructional Graphics and Nakatani Center Lab Coordinator,
UW-Stout


This month, TTT's regular column "Meet the Experts" features Margy Ingramm, UW-Stout's representative to the Learning Technology Development Council.

TTT: Please describe your work at UW-Stout.
MI: My work home is in the Stout Solutions-Learning Technology Services (LTS) Unit. My working title is Instructional Graphics and Nakatani Center Lab Coordinator.

Endowed in the name of Arthur Nakatani, a Stout graduate, the mission of the Nakatani Center for Learning Technologies is to "create and apply technology and research to the art and science of teaching". The Center serves as professional development area for faculty and staff of the university as well as providing outreach to other educators in our area. I coordinate the activities of the lab, consult with instructors who are using the lab, provide instruction and assist others who are providing instruction/training and ensure that the facility is always ready for use. The Nakatani Center is Stout's Learning Technology Center (LTC) and as the lab coordinator, I serve as the Stout representative to the Learning Technology Development Council (LTDC) that reports to the Office of Learning and Information Technology (OLIT). Currently, I serve as chair of the LTDC and am on the UW System Course Management System Task Force. I also serve on the UW-Stout Professional Development committee.

I have seen vast changes in my role as coordinator of Instructional Graphics. Currently we provide a range of services including electronic presentations, research poster sessions, displays, as well as instructional design and visual design consulting (http://www.lts.uwstout.edu/graphic/index.htm).

I volunteered to add to my job responsibilities as a member of the Laptop Training Team. The e-Scholar program at UW-Stout became a reality this fall when we distributed laptop computers (both PC and Mac) and provided training to all of our incoming freshmen. Many different teams worked during the 2001-2002 academic year to build the infrastructure and plan all phases of the project to make to program successful. Among the tasks our team focused on were providing training and support to those teaching freshmen courses; planning the training needed and the timing necessary to make each student feel comfortable using their laptop; conducting a self-assessment of skills during summer orientation; as well as forming an e-Scholar Mentor program that involves select students hired and trained to provide software assistance to our e-Scholar freshman.

At the University level, I was an original member of the UW-Stout Academic Staff Committee, a founding member of the UW-Stout Senate of Academic Staff, served enumerable terms as a senator (thank goodness we put a limit on the consecutive terms of office one can serve when we wrote the By-laws!) and have just finished a six year stint as chair of the Academic Staff Personnel Committee - now I'm just a member of that committee.

TTT: How long have you been in your current position?
MI: This is scary. I've been in this unit for 28 years, 26 years in my present position. However, like technology, my job has also evolved! Learning Technology Services has been a viable unit for decades that supports UW-Stout faculty and staff in their use of technology. As technology changes, we try to stay on the cutting edge! In the years I've worked in this unit, we've moved from creating transparencies for faculty and staff one cell at a time to empowering them to create their own electronic presentations; from black & white studio video productions to digital video that can be steamed or synchronous video that link classes across the state or the nation; from self-instructional paper packets to interactive web courses and learning objects. Principles of designing and using media haven't changed, but the technology we use certainly has!

TTT: What do you enjoy most about your job?
MI: Meeting and working with the members of our university community! Assisting faculty and staff use technology to reach instructional goals. Exploring new ways of using technology to solve pedagogical problems. Also, working with dedicated professionals at UW-Stout and with members of the LTDC who support one another and have fun working with technology to support instruction.

TTT: What's the most memorable thing that has happened to you at this job?
MI: There have been many memorable moments along the way but I will never forget
my very first official day in my position…something about 12 sets of 92 transparencies (one line at a time; one color per cell) for a unit that needed to be completed and mailed to the various sites for a course being delivered over ETN (Educational Telephone Network)… there had been a communication error and the students had worked on the wrong unit…it was Labor Day weekend,,,no student help…WOW!! With help from some friends we got the right transparencies completed and mailed before the class started. Now, just think how much easier this job would have been with the technology we have today!!

TTT: What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Any hobbies, recent trips or hidden talents you'd care to tell our readers about?
MI: I spend a lot of time with youth through the Boy Scouts of America. My husband Terry and I are advisers to our Council's Order of the Arrow Lodge. I spend plenty of time hauling my camping gear to various national, regional, and local events. It's so rewarding to see these14 - 20 year olds grow from boys to young men.

Through scouting, our youngest son became interested in Native American culture and dance. Therefore, we all became involved!! We've learned much about culture (and have much more to learn), we've made two sets of fancy dance regalia (starting with turkey feathers and hackle and involving over 500 yards of ribbon), I've made over 20 ribbon shirts, and we've met interesting people and have had a great time.

We also spend time enjoying our family and being grandparents to three awesome boys and three beautiful girls!!



Thanks, Margy!