DWPI Faculty Ambassador Program
Program overview
The Digital Wolf Pack Initiative (DWPI) Faculty Ambassador Program is designed to identify innovation leaders amongst the faculty who have received iPad devices - and work with those leaders to build a community of users and expertise at the University. The Program seeks Ambassadors to act as liaisons between faculty and DWPI resources across campus. Ambassadors serve as champions of the DWPI, working with their faculty colleagues to mentor and provide useful insights into how best to leverage their iPads for instruction both in and out of the classroom.
The DWPI Faculty Ambassador Program is part of the Digital Wolf Pack Initiative, a joint effort between the UNR and Apple. However, DWPI is intended to serve the entire UNR community and is not limited to iPad users. The Faculty Ambassador Program’s success relies on the volunteer Ambassadors and support from their departments to help DWPI address the digital divide on campus.
Ambassador responsibilities
DWPI strives to keep time obligations of Ambassadors to a minimum. Ambassadors will meet with the DWPI team each semester to share experiences, successes and challenges, and to identify new initiatives that can positively affect instructional innovation on campus. Additionally, as part of the aforementioned time commitment, Ambassadors will periodically be asked to lead community of user events and presentations to other faculty members/administration discussing their experiences leveraging their iPad in the teaching. There will also be opportunities for optional activities, such as serving as guest judges during student app development competitions and other DWPI events. Aside from unique retreat opportunities, we estimate the total time commitment for the Ambassador program to be approximately 6-10 hours per Spring/Fall semesters.
Benefits
While Ambassadors will bring a clear value to their local department and/or division, they will also have access to many benefits. As an innovation leader in the Initiative, Ambassadors will be closely connected with both DWPI and Apple resources. Networking and education opportunities will take the form of retreats, workshops, presentations, and other “community of user” type events. Ongoing training opportunities will be available to participants, making them better equipped for their own pursuits. Finally, active Ambassadors will receive special opportunities and memorabilia, such as DWPI Ambassador polos.
Program eligibility
All UNR academic faculty members who received an iPad as part of the DWPI are eligible for the Ambassador program.