Twitter and the Micro-blogging trend

February 23rd, 2009 by paula

I have blogged about Twitter before, and it’s beginning to have some real value for me. I now “follow” a number of news and information sources such as CNN and NPR, along with several of my favorite tv and radio broadcasts such as the Bob Edwards Show, The Diane Rehm Show, and Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.

I still rely on online newspapers to keep me up-to-date, and just today I read an interesting article in the New York Times, which included some demographics about tweeters and other micro-bloggers. This article, along with a recent Beatblogging.org post, had new information that was released in a report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. This latest Pew report studied the use of Twitter and social media services with micro-blogging features.

According to the latest Pew report, 11 percent of U.S. adults update their status online. Although there are various social networking sites with micro-blogging features, Twitter is the most popular and best known of the dedicated sites.  As for me, I  am more likely to update my status, or to micro-blog, on Facebook, which seems to have become my personal social network of choice. There my online circle of friends grows more organically and expands more rapidly than on Twitter. Facebook seems to have more connectivity features and applications than LinkedIn, where I am networked primarily with folks from my professional world.

As social networking continues to grow, I expect to follow more online news and information services and programs on Twitter.  I’m sure I will discover more social networking sites related to my personal and professional interests. These days I just can’t seem to get offline.

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Instructional Technologies and the NCATE Accreditation Process

February 20th, 2009 by paula

As CIO, I have always been involved in SUNY Cortland’s NCATE accreditation process. We are currently laying the groundwork for our reaccreditation, scheduled for April 2011 when the BOE (Board of Examiners) will be on campus. It seems like a long way off, but preparations have begun in earnest. One year prior to the campus visit, each program is required to submit a SPA (Specialized Program Association) report that details how each curriculum meets specified standards. The SPA report must include evidence that programs are of high quality and produce successful graduates.

As a member of Cortland’s NCATE Steering Committee, I have been trying to establish some consistent means of assessment that can be used by various programs, each with its own standards. Today several of us had a conference call with TaskStream, the company that has developed the e-portfolio system used in several academic departments. We learned about TaskStream’s Accountability Management System (AMS), which together with the Learning Achievement Tools (LAT) can be customized to create the data we need to support the SPA documents.  Sounds like a foreign language? Well, maybe. But we all seem to understand each other and are feeling confident that we’ve got the tools we need.

Library bibliographers, in concert with our technology trainer, will work with academic departments to deploy the Task Stream e-portfolio system to collect data that maps to the accreditation standards on which we are evaluated.  It’s all about knowing which technologies to use for which processes, and we seem to have a plan. Lots to do in the next two years!

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2009 Begins

January 22nd, 2009 by paula

We are three weeks into the new year and two days into the new semester. Folks in Information Resources have been working with others on campus to build and equip three new techhology classrooms in the new Education Building and four new classrooms in the newly renovated Moffett Hall. We updated labs and classrooms with new hardware and software, and the year is off to a good start.

During the second week of January we had our annual Staff Development Day, where two faculty spoke about how they have incorporated technology into their programs. Dan DePerno talked about the Sports Management curriculum and the innovative integration of technology into all of their courses. William Hopkins, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, talked about his efforts to develop special education programs in Belize, and how he has used technology to disseminate information to teachers throughout this small Central American country.

With the Faculty Development Center, Information Resources co-hosted a day-long program for faculty who had previously attended our Institute for Teaching Strategies. Our faculty are using a variety of Web 2.0 technologies. Their learning environments are collaborative and extend well beyond the physical classroom. It’s gratifying to know that the infrastructure we have worked hard to create and maintain is making a difference in the delivery of education.

And so the new year begins. This semester I am facilitating a campus-wide Electronic Communications Group that will explore ways to better communicate within the campus. Traditional e-mail often goes unread, and important information does not reach its intended audiences in a timely fashion. We are hoping that our campus portal can serve as an effective venue for targeted communications.  Technology is all about being more and more on target for all our communications needs!

Posted in Ramblings | 1 Comment »

Twitter Revisited

December 4th, 2008 by paula

A couple of months ago I wrote a blog post about Twitter.  I still “tweet,” but my short conversations continue to be pretty mundane.  The real value of Twitter is bringing together “tweeters” who share a common interest or cause, and are able to update others, especially when new information is of the essence. Twice this week I was able to confirm Twitter’s importance in these types of situations. A CNN article described how tweeters were able to share their information and emotions during and after the Mumbai seige. At another point along the information spectrum, my local newspaper, The Syracuse Post Standard, announced how readers could report on Black Friday shopping news through a local twitter channel.

As more people use Twitter in such instances, the use of this social networking tool is sure to grow. Just yesterday the New York Times featured an article about Twitter’s rejection of an offer to be purchased by Facebook. Evan Williams, co-founder and CEO of Twitter, has grand plans to expand Twitter, update its features, and maybe even make it profitable one day. Well, guess I’ll be off to tweet about this blog post.

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“Clicker” Technology in the Classroom

December 2nd, 2008 by paula

A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, “Classroom Clickers and the Cost of Technology”, is as much about adapting to new technologies, their costs, and their benefits to students, as it is about this audience response technology.  Having worked with faculty and IT staff to bring clicker technology to the SUNY Cortland classrooms several years ago, I was interested to learn that these audience-response systems have been around since the 1960’s when they were used in Hollywood to test unreleased movies and television shows. In the 1970’s they began to be used in business, and now they seem to be ubiquitous in educational settings.

At Cortland, we have standardized on the system offered by Turning Technologies, in part because a number of faculty in the Biology Department who were testing various systems found Turning Point to be the easiest to use, and the company representatives were willing to work with us. Our Biology faculty began using clicker technology in large lecture classes, both as an icebreaker (for example, polling students on their summer adventures) and as a means to determine the knowledge levels of the class. The anonymity and immediacy of responding via clicker technology seemed to be working, and the faculty were pleased with positive student reaction to this new technology. The downside of the technology (in addition to staff time required for training and class setup) was the cost: each student needed his/her own keypad to respond to the questions that were imbedded in PowerPoint presentations. Speaking to the general point of cost in the recent Chronicle article, Clark G. Ross, Vice president for Academic Affairs at Davidson College, said of technology in general: “If you can identify a benefit, you can justify the expense.”

We knew of the benefits but were reluctant to require students to pay for keypads, especially since they are charged a technology fee. We currently underwrite the costs of the clickers and lend them out to students. Students in classes who use the technology throughout the semester are given a keypad for a semester loan. Other faculty who are experimenting with the technology for one or two class sessions can borrow keypads from Classroom Media Services.  We have posted information about using the system on our TechInfo site.

With so many interactive technologies available, and with limited budgets, we are circumspect about what we support. Clicker technology has been popular, has pedagogical value, and has been worth our investment.

Posted in Instructional Technologies | 1 Comment »

Sustaining Our Environment

November 18th, 2008 by paula

Our sustainability consciousnesses are all being raised as we’re learning more about the precariousness of our environment. Many of our campuses have committed to reduce their carbon footprint as part of the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.

According to a study conducted by SUNY Cortland’s Physics Department, the greenhouse gases emitted by Cortland total 31,300 metric tons per year. Certainly IT contributes to this campus carbon footprint, which can be broken down into: electricity 35%; heating 33%, food (including transportation) 18%; transportation 13%; and office paper 1%. You can determine your own carbon footprint using EPA’s calculator.

Some of our sustainability measures, such as adding new server room technology and enabling power management systems that save energy from the enterprise to desktop environments, quickly translate into cost savings. However, other measures require additional financial commitments. The most energy efficient computers are more expensive, and “green” print program licenses are prohibitively expensive in these tough budget times. Other programs, such as responsible recycling programs, require staff time. As we learn more about the energy we use and the greenhouse gases we emit, we must consider environmental issues in every decision we make. We must consider the entire life cycle of the equipment we acquire. Not only must we use electronic equipment responsibly ourselves, but we need to educate our campus constituencies to do the same.

Educating campuses about environment responsibility is a key element of the Presidents Climate Commitment. Such a shared awareness and sincere commitment are absolutely necessary if we are going to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and protect this earth for our children and grandchildren.

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Budget Uncertainties

October 29th, 2008 by paula

October has gone by quickly and here in Central New York, we’ve had our first snow. Many of us in New York State public institutions have felt the chill of winter for several months as we have been dealing with consequences of the state’s budget shortfalls. The financial crisis on Wall Street impacts the entire state as tax revenues have declined significantly. The financial outlook, just like the weather, is uncertain.

I’ve been working with the budget administrators in Information Resources to decide how we can best absorb the cuts, which amount to 20 percent this year.  SUNY Cortland does not stand alone in this  unfortunate situation. An article in today’s Chronicle of Higher Education reports that “45 percent of public universities reported cuts in their central technology budgets for the current academic year” and “about 22 percent of four-year private colleges reported such cuts.”

SUNY Cortland is responding in a manner similar to many other institutions facing serious budget threats: we have identified our priorities and are continuing to offer — and in some cases expand — our technology services. We are looking at ways to fully utilize our new portal, myRedDragon, by improving the mechanisms we use to communicate with our students. Our instructional technology resources are growing, and more students and faculty than ever are using our services. 

Unfortunately, we are not able to continue our aggressive program of building new technology spaces; however, there are several new buildings being planned that will include state-of-the-art technology facilities. Ironically, in New York State, while public colleges and universities have seen their operating budgets cut this year, the capital budgets have been held harmless. This will certainly present a challenge if the resources to support the new facilities are not forthcoming, but for now, the building continues.

The current budget strain is an unpleasant reality, but we’ve seen such difficulties in the past. Our ongoing planning efforts and our strategic planning process give us a framework to move forward — and maintain the integrity of our mission and services.

Posted in Administration | 1 Comment »

Libraries and IT

October 9th, 2008 by paula

I usually find something to identify with in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s podcast, Tech Therapy, and the latest episode about Libraries and IT was particularly relevant. For the past twenty-some years I’ve been immersed in both of these cultures, first as a library director working with IT to automate systems, and for the past fifteen years as a CIO with responsibilities for librarians and technologists.  Several years ago I was doing research on this very topic and gave several presentations about the two cultures and the potential for synergistic relationships.

As CIO I acknowledge the two distinct cultures within a blended IT organization. I have come to accept and respect the inherent differences. I do believe that as instructional technologies are now so closely integrated into the entire teaching learning process there are more similarities than differences. As librarians and IT professionals work together, many of the earlier barriers between the two groups have been broken down.

The Tech Therapy podcast does a nice job of delineating the differences and similarities between the two groups. Whether true or not, there are also have been many perceptions  that each group has of the other.  And if the old adage about how others see us holds true, there’s been a lot of negativity to overcome.

Research studies of the IT and Library cultures go back to the 1980’s, when technology began to radically change the face of libraries and their necessary relationships with IT.  Research that I studied in the early 2000’s revealed that IT professionals considered librarians to be inflexible and rigid, with little or no understanding of technology and no desire to learn. Librarians were perceived as moving slowly and cautiously and engaging in too much discussion before embarking on new directions, and theirs was a tradition of standards, tradition and structure.

Librarians did not hold technologists in high esteem, considering them to be technocratic and  disorganized, with high regard for data and little regard for information, knowledge, and disciplinary research needs and valuing technology for its own sake. As librarians and technologists have developed closer working relationships, some of the stereotypic perceptions have been dispelled, and to some extent have been replaced with the acknowledgement of similarities between the two groups, and certainly the recognition of mutual goals.

Much of my work as CIO has been to bridge the cultural gap between the two groups and create an environment that fosters collaboration and respect. A blended IT organization certainly has facilitated coordination among the technology and information groups, but organizational structure is less important than an atmosphere that encourages ongoing communication and interaction. There are still schools where IT and libraries remain isolated from each other, but that is less common now. There are more partnerships and cooperation as the two groups are working together to achieve common goals. 

Web 2.0 technologies are blurring the distinctions, as are Learming Commons that offer a single service point for information — in whatever form it exists. Whether the data is physically in the library or in cyberspace becomes immaterial. Whether faculty and students are assisted by technologists or librarians is of little or no consequence. What matters is the information itself, along with the ability to access what is needed here and now. As our world of technology and information continues to change, so do the relationships between librarians and technologists.

Posted in Administration, Libraries | 1 Comment »

IT and Legal Issues

September 29th, 2008 by paula

The Chronicle of Higher Education’s latest episode of Tech Therapy, which spotlights technology and legal issues, was well-timed for me. Last Thursday and Friday I had the pleasure of hosting the attorney that SUNY Administration has assigned to SUNY Cortland. We are fortunate that two of his three areas of specialization are privacy and information sharing of electronic records such as FERPA and HIPAA, and issues related to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).  His third area of expertise involves legalities related to University Police, including First Amendment rights of students and employees.

We spent some time reflecting — and chuckling about –how IT so often takes the lead on developing policies about the sharing and protecting of institutional records, even though IT is rarely, if ever, the creator or custodian. Similarly, it is typically the IT group that shepherds through policies on security and the use of e-mail, the Web and other communications tools. Why? Because these records and communications tools, along with so many learning modes, are electronic and the need to protect institutional data has become paramount. 

In reality the focus of the policies should not be on the format, but nevertheless in this digital era that is usually the case. At Cortland, I typically coordinate the development of such policies, of course relying on the resources and expertise all of the appropriate offices such as the Registrar, Student Accounts, and Student Affairs, etc. Most recently I have been organizing efforts to develop a comprehensive College FERPA policy that protects student privacy, yet allows the campus to share information as necessary to conduct the business of the institution and adhere to Federal law requirements.

During the two days our Legal Counsel was on campus we met with a number of different campus groups including the President’s Cabinet, which ultimately approves most of the important campus policies. We spent a lot of our time discussing FERPA and the implications for the many offices who are custodians of records. We talked about illegal file sharing and proceedures for handling DMCA complaints. We also talked about HEA reauthorization, and what instituions will need to do be be in compliance.

Getting back to the Tech Therapy Webcast, it was the first of two Webcasts to examine how legal issues impact IT and vice-versa. In these days of eLearning and creation of online intellectual property, and with so  many records and communications in electronic format, IT’s integral part in the educational enterprise has many legal implications. In addition to regulars Scott Carlson and Warren Arbogast, three attorneys participated in a lively conversation about legal issues that are impacting all of us.  Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on a timely topic.

Posted in Administration | No Comments »

All ATwitter Over Twitter

September 22nd, 2008 by paula

Everyone seems to be tweeting on Twitter. Last month Talk of the Nation devoted a segment to Twitter, explaining its purpose and inviting listeners to tweet with them. EDUCAUSE describes Twitter as “part blog, part social networking site, and part IM tool.” The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative has a Twitter primer in its  “7 Things You Should Know” series.

Twitter was created in March 2006 with the purpose of answering the question “What are you doing?” “Followers”  track and communicate with those they follow. Twitter is unique in limiting each tweet (aka post) to 140 characters so “conversations” are typically frequent and short.  I follow and am followed by about a dozen folks, both friends and colleagues. I have to admit that my tweets are pretty prosaic as are most of my followers’ tweets, if they tweet at all. There are some exceptions  — mostly the faculty I follow who use Twitter with students and colleagues. As more formal groups, such as Talk of the Nation, use Twitter as a venue to engage listeners/readers in conversations I expect the general level of discourse will be elevated.

I participate in several social networking sites, and I mostly post and read posts about the ordinary. The network I find most engaging is Goodreads where participants share reviews of books they’ve read. I’ve got a couple dozen Goodread friends; I look forward to their updates and I enjoy posting my own reviews.

Social Networking is becoming prevalent and there are more sites than ever before — both general and interest-specific. There are so many new opportunities to connect with others, share interests, and participate in online communities. Their role in higher education remains to be seen, so stay connected. Meanwhile, I’m off to tweet about this latest blog posting.

Posted in Social Networking | 1 Comment »

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