Tech Training Tidbits

IR Training Services recently added new videos from Common Craft. These are worth watching! Using clear and concise verbiage and easy to understand steps, the creators of these videos teach you new technology combining video with paper craft. They are quite entertaining!

To view the videos, visit:

Blogs in Plain English
Online Photosharing in Plain English
Podcasting in Plain English
RSS in Plain English
Social Bookmarking in Plain English
Social Networking in Plain English
Twitter in Plain English
Wikis in Plain English

Thanks to everyone who completed the first annual assessment for IR Training Services! The results are now available at the IR Online Training Center. It is our plan to conduct this assessment each year to evaluate our services and analyze/benchmark trends for future planning. Overall, the campus responded that they are satisfied with the technology development programming and wish for more of everything (more topics, more classes, more resources)! I am delighted with the number of individuals (84%) who have an awareness of the IR Online Training Center which is further supported by the 1000 visits we average per month. The training team will continue to enhance this resource to meet your needs.

Regarding specific feedback received, the most requested technology topics for future training sessions include web design and more advanced functionality of MS Office 2007. Additional suggestions include MS Office 2008 (Mac) and Macintosh applications in general, Banner, Blackboard, iClickers and overall use of technology in the classroom, keeping up with technology trends, online course development and instruction, SPSS, report writing, Captivate, iPods, database functionality (MS Access, Oracle), getting rid of junk mail, IP phones, InDesign, Quark Express, Linux, and operating faculty operated campus servers. Wow!

In addition to topic suggestions, participants provided a variety of ideas for improvement including:

*Offering a “live tech online” to provide the ability to get answers quickly.

*Exploring technology mediums such as Moodle, Flash, campus telephones, Wikis, texting and iTunes.

*Offering a more strategic schedule of live classes to minimize time conflicts such as making use of the open period, offering more sessions of the same class with varied times, and being cognizant of the MTW and TR faculty class schedule.

*Help link technology groups and departments (EIS, NSS, IT) on campus to provide cohesive communication.

*Make more visits to departments for training.

*Linking ISBN numbers on the recommended reading page to the specific book online for speed of purchase and providing online reading/references in addition to purchased books.

*Coordinate a yearly program focused on “keeping on top of the constant change in technology” that discusses the new products and major upgrades that have occurred throughout current year.

*Help to orient new employees to Rowan’s technology services.

In the spirit of keeping costs down and “Going Green,” Information Resources Training Services’ has discontinued distributing certificates upon completion of our training sessions.

If proof of attendance is needed, please visit your class history. To view your class history:

1. Log-on to the IR Online Training Center at http://www.rowan.edu/irtraining
2. Click on “My Information” on the left
3. Login using your Rowan Network Username and Password
4. Click on the yellow “My History” tab for a full list of classes you’ve attended and their completion dates.

After review of Rowan’s draft strategic plan 2007-2017, I anticipate IR Training Services to be a key contributor to attaining the following goals:

I. Exceptional Academic and Personal Development (“Education of the Whole Person”)

B. To promote active and collaborative learning, projectbased learning, and innovative use of technology

I. To provide support for faculty/staff development for teaching, research, service, and creative activity — technology development is a key contributor to these activities

II. Attractive, High-Quality Campuses

D. To create a sustainable campus — introduce green computing concepts and how the use of technology may contribute to the reduction of the campus’ carbon footprint.

The 2008 Horizon Report, presented as part of the New Media Consortium (NMC)’s five-year Horizon Project, looks to identify emerging technologies likely to impact teaching and learning organizations.  The findings are outlined as follows.

Key emerging technologies identified:

• Grassroots video — video sharing sites provide avenue for learning content

• Collaboration web — using the web to edit documents, group meetings, and teleconferencing

• Mobile broadband — mobile devices have become the most affordable portable platform for work on the go

• Data mashups — ability for large amounts of different data to be “mashed up” into a single tool for unprecedented data analysis ability

• Collective intelligence — innovations which allow large masses of individuals to share knowledge, such as Wikipedia and community tagging, and data gathered from use of mobile devices

• Social operating systems — the next generation of social networking, such as Facebook and MySpace, that will center organizations around people rather than content for a profound paradigm shift in how we think about learning

Critical challenges facing learning organizations include:

• Paradigm shift in teaching and learning – gaps are growing between new and old concepts of scholarship

• Higher Ed faces expectation to delivery service to mobile population — demand for mobile content will grow with the use of mobile devices and technology, opportunity for higher ed to reach its students wherever and whenever 

• Increased emphasis on collaborative learning — need to develop new forms of interaction and assessment focused on collaborative experiences

• Translating traditional instruction into new delivery methods — create meaningful content with today’s web-based and mobile tools to prepare the next generation for literacy in the new work environment

Participants in the Feedback Forum MS Office ‘08 (Mac) Pilot Group spent 9-weeks upgrading their computers to the new software and kicking it around a bit. These kind participants joined Information Resources Training Services’ staff for three sessions to discuss key concerns and recommendations for the implementation later this summer. Bb-CE discussion boards were also used to post thoughts.

To review the forum’s Summary Results, visit: http://www.rowan.edu/toolbox/training/FeedbackForum/ and click on “Microsoft Office 2008 (Mac) Pilot Group.”

To view the discussions on Bb-CE, visit: http://webct.rowan.edu/ and login using your Rowan Network Username and Password. 

Technology trends at Rowan which may have an impact on the training programming include:

* Increased use of handheld devices including PDA, iPhone, Blackberry.

* Growing popularity of dual-boot (Mac and PC combo) machines.

* Use of integrated boards such as SmartBoards.

* Use of tablet PCs, student laptop initiative.

* Increased need for software management. Understanding of keyserver, network applications, and license agreements.

* Use of Apple (Macintosh) products increasing on campus. Learning curve associated with transition from PC to Mac.

As the adoption of technology at Rowan continues its rapid expansion, the gap between “technology innovators” and “technology laggards”, as defined by Everett Rogers’  Diffusion of Innovations, appears to be growing larger.  How may the training team aid the campus community in this evolution, to support the pursuit of innovation using technology, yet provide a bridge to those jogging behind?

Planned projects throughout the Information Resources division that may include a training component include:

* Implementation fall 2008 of a new help desk software, ServiceDesk Plus, that will have a self-service component for clients to submit and track the status of work orders.

* Transition to Exchange Server 2007 which will impact Outlook and Webmail will likely take place 2010-2011.

* Exploration of the use of a virtual lab to access programs licensed for campus-only use (Mac & PC) and use of remote desktop capabilities. No timeframe available at this time.

* Beginning discussions of implementing a document management system which would include imaging, organization, and storage of electronic document files.

* Further application of Banner workflow product allowing clients to automate office procedures (already some implementation in the Registrar’s office with student withdrawal and class cancellation auto-notifications).

* Possible involvement with design of universal faculty evaluation tool in collaboration with the Faculty Center.

Following is what I have learned so far regarding anticipated major software upgrades that will have campus-wide impact. Further assessment is needed regarding the significance of each upgrade to the end-user community.

*Will complete the MS Office 2007 (PC) upgrade by fall 2008.

*Anticipate the upgrade to MS Office 2008 (Mac) fall 2008 pending the results of the pilot group March 25 - May 29. Pilot group details available at Feedback Forum

*Anticipate a multi-year phased transition from the operating system Windows XP to Vista after the release of service pack 1. Perhaps in conjunction with the computer replacement cycle? This initiative may begin as early as spring 2009. Also discussion of the impact of XP service pack 3 and Vista follow-up operating system for tentative release by Microsoft end of 2009.

*Anticipate upgrade to Banner 8 academic year 2009-2010. Also anticipate use of additional Banner modules such as Prospect/Recruiting, Advancement, and further use of existing functionality (i.e. survey tool, syllabus, course catalog).

*Phased Blackboard Campus Edition upgrades tentatively planned for . . . BbCE 8–fall 2008 (minimal impact to end user), BbCE 9–spring 2009 (minimal impact to end user), BbCE 10 “next generation” fall 2010.

Up to this point, the objectives of the training unit have been determined on an annual basis. This approach has served us well throughout the start-up phase of the Information Resources Training Services unit because it allowed for the necessary flexibility to address the immediate needs of the campus community.

As IR Training Services celebrates its fourth year this May, longer-range planning is necessary to ensure we continue to meet the needs of the campus community, providing technical training programming that meets our standards of excellence with streamlined resources. What will be the technology development needs of Rowan University 2008-2011? How may we prepare the training team to best meet those needs? I invite you to follow us on this journey of designing our 3-year plan.

Annual reports from 2004 - 2007 are available at http://www.rowan.edu/toolbox/training/about/#AnnualReport