About

The Presidential Instructional Technology Fellows (PITF) program was established in 2004 and ran through 2011 and  benefited students across Harvard and helped faculty incorporate technology into their teaching. The program created opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to collaborate directly with faculty in the creation and use of digital teaching materials with immediate uses in courses.

The program made funds available to the Schools to hire students for faculty-driven projects. It employed over 400 students working with 250 faculty members to provide services at FAS, GSE, GSD, HDS, HLS, HKS, HMS, HSPH, Harvard Library, and Harvard Art Museums. The Office of the University CIO collaborated with the Schools to manage the University-wide program.

The program consistently created high-quality digital applications and materials that transformed classes and enriched the curriculum. PITFs created a variety of reusable content including simulations, animations, interactive maps and timelines, annotated and zoomable images, audio and video collections, and library research guides.

In September of 2012, a faculty committee reviewed the program and made recommendations to the Provost and University CIO.  The Harvard Academic Computing Committee recommended to the Provost that the University should take a fresh approach to meeting faculty academic IT needs today and that efforts at supporting technology-enabled learning should be strengthened and realigned with current University initiatives.