dwaldron March 28th, 2009
April has been designated Instructional Technology Month at the College of Wooster. Don’t miss these opportunities to see interesting new technologies and the exciting ways in which College faculty are using technology to enhance student learning.
- Audio Projects
Wednesday, April 1, 12:00 - 1:00
Kauke 143
Matthew Broda and Megan Wereley will present their use of podcasting in the classroom.
- Teaching Matters — Writing with Technology
Friday, April 3, 12:00 - 1:00
Kauke 238
Bill Macauley and Matt Gardzina will present on writing with technology.
- Changing Shape of Education: Roles for Technology
Tuesday, April 7, 11:00 - 12:00
Kauke 243
Steve Ehrman of the Teaching, Learning and Technology Group will present a lecture on this topic.
- Video Projects
Wednesday, April 15, 12:00 - 1:00
Lean Lecture Room
Angela Bos, Karen Taylor, and Amy Jo Stavnezer will present their use of video projects in the classroom.
- Web Mapping
Friday, April 17, 12:00 - 1:00
Lean Lecture Room
Instructional Technology will present web-based mapping tools such as Google Earth and census mapping and how they might be incorporated into the classroom.
- Sympodiums
Wednesday, April 22, 12:00 - 1:00
Mateer 001
Wooster’s OLN learning community will present its findings on the usefulness of the SMART Sympodium for classroom use.
- Horizon Report Panel Discussion
Wednesday, April 29, 12:00 - 1:00
Mateer 001
Join us for an open conversation about the annual New Media Consortium’s Horizon Report which focuses this year on mobile devices, geo-mapping and more.
dwaldron March 24th, 2009
The Office of Information Technology is conducting a survey of College faculty and staff to assess the usage and quality of our services. I very much hope that you will share your thoughts and experiences with us by completing this online survey. We estimate that it will take 10 minutes to complete. We will make the results of the survey available to members of the Wooster community and pledge to make every effort to enhance our services based upon the feedback that you provide.
Follow this link to complete the survey.
dwaldron March 23rd, 2009
OIT congratulates the class of 2009 on I.S. Monday!
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| An Absolutely Unique Academic Procession |
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dwaldron March 20th, 2009
ScotZone, Wooster’s wireless network, has now been extended throughout Wagner residence hall. Wireless network access is now available throughout the following residence halls:
- Andrews
- Armington
- Bissman
- Bornhuetter
- Compton
- Douglas
- Gault Manor
- Holden
- Holden Annex
- Kenarden
- Luce
- Miller Manor
- Stevenson
- Wagner
- Westminster Cottage
Wireless service will be available in Babcock when that residence hall reopens following its renovation. There are no plans to extend the network into small residential houses.
Students can find instructions for connecting to the College’s secure, authenticated wireless network on the OIT website. Assistance with wireless access is available at the IT help desk located behind the circulation desk in Andrews Library.
dwaldron March 19th, 2009
The successful processing of January’s salaried payroll was the last major milestone of the OSCAR project, Wooster’s implementation of Datatel’s Colleague ERP system. The College signed a contract with Datatel in December, 2004, and the implementation was launched in January, 2005. The financial module (general ledger, purchasing and accounts payable) was implemented first and went live on July 1, 2005. This was followed by Admissions (October, 2005), Financial Aid (December, 2005), Academic Records and Registration (April, 2006), Student Housing (April, 2006), Accounts Receivable (July, 2006), Budget Management (October, 2006) and Degree Audit (October, 2006). The College upgraded from Colleague Release 17 to Release 18 in February, 2007. Wooster was among the first to go live with Colleague Advancement, Datatel’s next generation development support application. The first elements of Colleague Advancement entered production in July, 2007 and remaining elements were brought online over the ensuing year. The Human Resources and Payroll modules enter production in January of this year.
The project Implementation Oversight Committee (IOC) recently met to mark the end of its four year odyssey. Chief Information Technology Officer and IOC chair David Waldron acknowledged the very real sacrifices that had been made by members of the committee and by employees in the many offices across campus impacted by the implementation. He spoke of the project’s accomplishments and thanked committee members for their dedication and perseverance.
Director of Applications Development Tabby Conwell was honored for her extraordinary hard work and dedication to OSCAR’s success. The IOC chair spoke at some length about Tabby’s many critical contributions to the project and presented her with an inscribed statuette in appreciation of her herculean efforts.
The Office of Information Technology celebrates the successful conclusion of the long, complex and challenging OSCAR project and looks forward to serving the College and its mission in new and exciting ways.
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| Tabby Conwell |
dwaldron March 19th, 2009
Members of the User Services staff will be on campus Saturday, March 21st, and Sunday, March 22nd, between noon and 6 p.m. to provide technology support for students, faculty and staff involved in IS preparation. Staff members will perform hourly printer checks, cover help desk phones and be available for students in need of last minute technology support.
The student help desk in Andrews Library will be open Saturday, March 21st between noon and 6p.m. and Sunday, March 22nd between noon and 1 a.m. for phone and walk-in support. The help desk can be reached by calling 330-287-3000 extension 4357 from off campus, or extension 4357 from on campus.
dwaldron March 17th, 2009
Instructional Technology is pleased to announce a new Faculty Fellows Program to begin this summer. Beginning with a week-long session and continuing in the fall semester, the Fellows program will provide an exciting opportunity for a group of faculty working together to infuse new instructional technologies into the curriculum with the goal of improving teaching and learning. New technologies, such as blogs, wikis, social software, social bookmarking, geographical mashups and other Web2.0-type tools offer faculty the opportunity to encourage a more active, participatory role for their students. These tools make it easier for faculty to adopt different pedagogical approaches such as student-centered and active-learning models that encourage students to solve meaningful problems and reflect on their thinking processes. The Fellows program provides an opportunity for faculty to try out new technologies and pedagogical approaches and discuss their value with trusted colleagues.
Funded with a grant from the Hewlett-Mellon Presidential Discretionary Fund for Institutional Renewal, faculty participants will be eligible for a $1500 stipend (deposited into research accounts). Any faculty member who has a continuing contract with a teaching component will be eligible to apply.
More information will be available from Instructional Technology in early April.
dwaldron March 17th, 2009
John O’Keefe, Director of Academic Technology and Network Services at Lafayette College, visited Wooster on March 16 and 17. John met with many members of the OIT staff including David Waldron (CITO), Tabby Conwell (Director of Applications Development), Vince Di Scipio (Director of Digital Infrastructure) and Mary Schantz (Director of User Services). The visit afforded John and Wooster’s OIT staff the opportunity to share information about various technologies, products and services, and to compare notes on the challenges, priorities, policies and strategies of the two institutions. OIT anticipates a visit to Lafayette in the not-too-distant future. Lafayette is located in Easton, PA and enrolls approximately 2,300 students. Like Wooster, Lafayette is a member of the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges and the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education.
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John O’Keefe
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dwaldron March 12th, 2009
Public Radio International offers a weekly podcast on global developments related to technology. Host Clark Boyd does stories on a wide array of technologies and many of the stories focus on the societal and environmental impacts of technological developments. Recent stories have discussed online voting systems, political arrests of Egyptian bloggers, NATO cyber-defense, biofuels, the impact of e-waste in Ghana, efforts to track African elephants using GSM cell phones, and twittering Korean taco trucks. The podcast is available at iTunes and at www.theworld.org/technology. You won’t want to miss it.
David Waldron
dwaldron March 5th, 2009
Chief Information Technology Officer David Waldron is the author of the latest edition of Twelve, the weekly bulletin of the Center for Academic Advising. The issue presents five things that students should know about the Office of Information Technology. Read it here.