The Center for Academic Technology is taking shape this year to provide “vision, planning and technical support” to activities that blend technology with academics and research, according to a department description released by CAT.

After last year’s break-up of the Computer Information Resource Center (CIRC), CAT will overlook projects including the Instructional Technology Lab, Prometheus, Media and Audiovisual Services and computer laboratories located in the Marvin Center, the Academic Center, Gelman Library and the Mount Vernon campus library, CAT Executive Director Brad Reese said.

Room B-05 in Gelman Library houses the Instructional Technology Lab, designed for teachers and assistants to learn about various computer, video, and audio resources. The ITL has a full-time staff that offers workshops, demonstrations and experimentation with multimedia technologies.

Media and Audiovisual Services delivers electronic teaching assistants, such as televisions and projectors, to classrooms and keeps a wide array of electronic media on hand.

Prometheus, a Web-based courseware development tool, provides a setting where professors can design Internet sites for courses in a secure environment.

Some of the Prometheus features include control over student access to course materials, sharing of files in all formats, threaded discussions (or bulletin boards), online chats and e-mail lists.

CAT also maintains nine computer classrooms, seven equipped with personal computers and two with Macintosh computers, adding to the growing campus data network.