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Computer Diversity: Supporting both Mac and PC Equally

Posted May 7th, 2007 by rccox

By Romana Hughes and Kerrie Conover, Texas Christian University

eLearning has impacted Texas Christian University with great success for our PC users. Our workshops have focused on how to use technology to improve teaching and promote student engagement. Most of our workshops are performed in a handson environment in a PC lab.

Over a period of three years, the results from followup meetings with Mac users found that these users were not fully implementing their training. We identified a number of issues our Mac users faced. Our shared training lab was set up to only recognize the PC desktop computers in the lab, thereby not allow Mac users to plugin, forcing them to use a PC. This was intimidating to our Mac users. In addition, most of our documentation was written for PC users.

To continue to provide support for both platforms, the Koehler Center began a Mac initiative that would support both Mac and PC equally. The initiative identified six areas of improvement (shown below).

Beginning in fall 2006, the Koehler Center moved quickly on these initiatives. We provided separate workshops, have a wireless training lab that supports both platforms, hired a new full-time Mac Power User, and are in the process of updating all documentation.

We found that being diverse in our support of both PC and Mac, our workshop enrollments have increased, our Mac users are using their computers in new and unique ways, and our initiatives have been adopted in various departments to ensure all users have equal support.

Six areas of improvement

  1. Hire a full-time Mac Power User.
  2. Create a departmental policy that states all future purchases of software will offer a solution for both Mac and PC.
  3. Create separate documentation for both Mac and PC users, using screen shots in the documentation as a visual.
  4. Establish a new wireless training lab that allows both operating systems to plugin.
  5. Create OS-specific workshops.
  6. Work with Technology Resources (our IT department on campus) to report Mac issues and work toward finding proper support for our faculty Mac users.

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