Instructional Technology Services (ITS) User Group Meeting

Thursday, April 28, 2005

1:00pm – 2:30pm

 

Meeting Notes

 

 

·        Introduction - Eric Nathan greeted all meeting attendees.  ITS agendas and meeting notes are posted on http://www.uhd.edu/computing/its/index.html.         

 

  • ACL Updates were presented by Diane Yee, UHD’s new help desk supervisor, who comes to the ACL with extensive help desk experience. Diane reminded the meeting attendees that the deadline to submit summer e-Classroom and software installation requests is 5/13/05.

 

  • Demonstration – David Hemley, with the University Copy Center, gave a demonstration of new services offered via UCC WebConnect, which is the Copy Center’s new way of printing materials by using an internet-based job order system. The Web address is www.universitycopycenter.com .  David and Chris demonstrated the procedure for adding the copy center’s printer, which allows you to select that printer for your print job. Once you print your job, you are routed to the UCC WebConnect site, where you will fill out a print request form. The cost of the job will also appear on the request form. This internet-based job order system allows you to proof your job prior to print, and to accept or reject the job. E-mail notifications are sent at logical steps during the print and approval process so that you have complete control of the outcome of your print job. The Copy Center will also help with copyright clearance. The UCC WebConnect job order system is designed for on-campus use by faculty, staff, or students.

 

Dr. Gail Evans pointed out the importance of having a service such as this one available for UHD’s offsite campuses, which currently go through the book store to order print. This procedure is not very convenient for the offsite locations. Fifteen percent of students take online courses or are meeting in UHD courses offered offsite. Dr. Evans suggested that students could benefit from UCC WebConnect services. Much of the usability analysis for the UCC WebConnect product was conducted at the University of Houston main campus. Dr. Evans stated that the UH-Downtown campus is quite different from the UH main campus and that our campus may require some customization of their services in order to meet our unique needs.

 

Eric Nathan asked if the Copy Center needed to have software installed for every type of print job that they may receive, e.g., Adobe PageMaker. David said that they have most software already installed, but if there is a problem with the requested print job, someone will call and let you know.

 

For further inquiries, contact Adriana Quinto, Manager of the Copy Center, at (713) 221-8155. Or email her at adrianapreez@universitycopycenter.com

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  • Discussion Topic- Hossein Shahrokhi, Interim Executive Director of Information Resources, discussed the Technology Roadmap.   Every few years, this standardization process develops new initiatives in order to meet the goals of UH-Downtown. This year, the technology planning initiative will incorporate 4 key areas:

 

    • Enterprise Systems – Those systems used for everyday operations at UH-Downtown, e.g., Banner or PeopleSoft.
    • Support and Training – What we are trying to accomplish.
    • Infastructure – What we need to have in place, e.g., mobile computing or higher speed transactions.
    • Distance Education – A critical part of UH-Downtown’s strategic goal, which includes ITV programs.

 

Long-term strategies for the next 5 years will be developed with reference to these key areas. These strategies will be presented to UHD leadership to obtain their approval.  The technology goals will be developed during the summer and are expected to be complete by the fall.

 

Dr. Rebhun asked if the technology goals included having a computer and projector in every classroom. All of the Commerce Street classrooms are now complete with this equipment, but as far as UHD’s main building is concerned, the cost of such an endeavor must be considered. A classroom standards policy needs to be developed to determine what technology the basic classroom should include. These standards should also consider the kind of equipment that faculty needs on their desks, which may involve looking at the feasibility of providing laptops.  

 

Part of the technology planning should include the need that students have to collaborate. UH-Downtown needs to have an infrastructure in place to support this. Dr. Evans asked about technology requirements for graduate students. These needs will also be looked at as part of the planning initiative.  

 

Dr. Evans also noted that adjunct faculty, which makes up about 40% of UHD faculty, often do not get the training and equipment that faculty do. Expectations about the technological needs of adjunct faculty also need to be defined. When considering training for adjunct faculty, one needs to be aware that adjunct faculty login ID’s generally expire over the summer, unless they are working during the summer.     

 

                    

·        Distance Education Updates - Dr. Gail Evans informed the attendees that as of April 1st, the provost reorganized the reporting structure of Distance Education and that she is now in charge. Distance Education is taking a look at a good location for a facility. Currently, Compaq/HP (on Hwy 249 north of FM1960) is a possible location. Prairie View is another possibility but would not be as convenient as the Compaq/HP location. The plan is to have a facility setup somewhere in the January 2006 to September 2006 timeframe.

 

  • Library Updates - Steven Ring had no new information to report.

 

 

      

·         TTLC Updates  - Eric Nathan reminded attendees that Fall 2005 IT Grant Proposals are due this May.

 

o       Proposals must be submitted to department Chairs by 5/9

o       Proposals must be received in the TTLC with a signature by 5/16

o       Decisions will be made on 5/30

 

·         WebCT Updates were presented by Mark Henderson, Instructional Designer/WebCT Administrator.

 

o        WebCT Grade Exchange

·         The first pilot of Grade Exchange will be released soon. Anyone who activated a WebCT course (and/or students in the course) will get an e-mail about upcoming training for the pilot. Mark is doing some testing to see whether WebCT combined courses will be included in the pilot.

o        Contribute 3

·         Contribute is an application that facilitates easy webpage editing. Contribute can be used to edit HTML pages in WebCT. With Contribute, you can have quick turnaround in modifying and publishing your Web pages. A pilot of Contribute 3 is scheduled to be released at the end of May. 

 

 

·     Personnel Updates - Sharon Coffey has joined UHD and was in attendance. Sharon is responsible for maintaining the College of Business website.

 

 

·   ITV and Multimedia Updates presented by Lloyd Matzner, Director – Instructional Television and Multimedia Services.

o        Offsite faculty need to remember to notify the Multimedia department about their software requirements well in advance of the beginning of any semester.  This applies to specialized software in particular. It takes time to get licenses for the software. Faculty can be instrumental in making sure their course is ready for all students by giving ample advance notice.

o        Dr. Rebhun said that he would be able to follow up on the software needs of faculty in his college.

o        Classrooms are now being monitored with security equipment that can notify the UHD police department when the equipment is being tampered with. Tampering includes moving the equipment or jiggling the connecting wires or cables loose.

o        IPTV software, which is used to watch a television channel, will be replaced with live streaming technology effective 5/28.