Academic Computing Committee
Meeting Minutes
December 10, 2007
Members Present:
University Senate Representative: R. Wolfson
Faculty Representatives: S. Sotillo [CHSS Faculty Rep.], C. Du [CSAM Faculty Rep], E. Renfro-Michel [CEHS Faculty Rep.], R. Subramanian [proxy for SBUS Faculty Rep].
Administrative Representatives (Academic Deans): M. Mallery [Library Administrative Rep.], A.J. Kelton [CHSS Administrative Rep.], R. Salomon [SBUS Administrative Rep.], S. Poger [CEHS Administrative Rep], S. Shappell [Graduate School Administrative Rep.], P. Kahn [proxy for Associate Vice President for Information Technology]
Non-voting Members Present: E. Chapel, OIT
Guest: M. Heller, J. O’Brien.
Absent: J. Alvares [Univ. Senate Rep.], S. Shapiro [Library Faculty Rep.], A. Pemberton [CART Faculty Rep.], S. Garber [CART Administrative Rep.], J. Youn [CSAM Administrative Rep.], T. Devlin [Academic Coordinator of Education Computing Network], D. Stevens [Undergraduate Student Rep], A. Mohiuddin [Graduate Student Rep.], VACANT [Undergrad. Student Rep.]
Presiding: M. Kasner, Chair
Reporting: M. Mallery, Secretary
Distribution: ACC Web at http://frontpage.montclair.edu/acc/
Convened: 3:35 p.m. [University Hall Courtyard Lounge]
Adjourned: 4:48 p.m.
1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 3:35 p.m. when there was a quorum.
2. Minutes: Members approved the ACC Meeting Minutes of November 12th.
3. Announcements: Kelton announced that on December 13th, Dr. Joao Mattar from the Universide Anhembi Morumbi in Sao Paulo, Brasil, will be holding a course for professors from around Brasil on the use of Web 2.0 technology in higher education. Anyone at MSU can attend the event in Dickson Hall 280, where the Second Life experience will be projected from 7:00am to 8:30am.
4. Reports
• Chair's Report: No report.
• OIT Report: Chapel reported that the Bell Tower Initiative is on schedule. Oracle has 21 pages of questions for the RFP, and external evaluations are being received. There will be a presentation to the MSU Board of Trustees at its meeting on Thursday, December 14th.
Kasner asked for a timeline. Chapel answered that the evaluations and RFP are online with the projected schedule. The final recommendations and contract are scheduled for presentation to the Borad at their June meeting, and the implementation phase of the Bell Tower Initiative is scheduled for July, 2008.
In response to discussion about projector replacements and classroom technology needs, Chapel asked Kahn to set up a Community on BlackBoard to continue the discussion and facilitate making a list of classroom technology concerns. ACC members will be invited to join the Community and give feedback on MSU classroom uses and needs for technology. Kelton will be the convener and send out the announcement to join the Community to the ACC listserv.
Wolfson asked about the Rave wireless project and the current publicity in the press. A special concern was the timeliness of notification in case of emergency on campus as happened on Dec. 6th during the bomb threat at University Hall.
Chapel responded that the Rave wireless program at MSU is the only one of its kind so the press is interested in following its development. The Rave wireless wasn't marketed well this past Fall. OIT is looking at the next iteration for improvements. This is an innovative program that will change as the industry changes.
Chapel said that OIT plans to work more closely with the MSU New Student Experience staff to make sure that students are trained in using the wireless devices. Chapel also noted that an Associated Press article released later in the week was more favorable than the one printed in the Star Ledger. Kahn added that feedback from students is positive overall.
In regard to emergency notification, Chapel said that the campus emergency alert system had tested well over the last years. During last week's bomb threat, however, the alert system did not respond according to specification. OIT is looking into this question.
• Ad Hoc Committee Reports:
a) Learning Management Subcommittee (LMS):
Kahn (Chair) reported that the next LMS meeting will be December 17th. Kahn noted that BlackBoard is running all classes though the MSU server currently because when Bb upgraded their server, they did not test the snapshot process, and as a result, there are data integration issues and connectivity problems with the hosted BlackBoard server.
Wolfson asked when will MSU bring BlackBoard entirely in-house. Chapel answered that first MSU will need an Oracle database license for the campus, which may happen as early as Fall, 2008.
b) Digital Repository SubCommittee:
Mallery (Chair) asked for discussion of the digital repository report recommendations adopted by the ACC at its last meeting. Chapel said that he had not received the report, so he was not able to comment on it. Mallery will send Chapel the "Report on Digital Repositories at MSU" so that he can prepare his response to the Report's recommendations. Kasner tabled discussion until the February meeting.
4. Old Business:
a) Communication Methods:
Kasner thanked Kahn for distributing the link to the YouTube video by Common Craft on setting up RSS feeds at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0klgLsSxGsU
Kasner noted that the first level of dealing with improving communications is raising awareness of alternative methods to email, such as RSS. Kelton volunteered to draft an email on setting up RSS feeds at MSU. Kasner will forward the email to the Deans to send out to School/College listservs. Tech Coordinators could also recommend to faculty to try RSS.
Kasner said that the second level of improving communication would be trying out alternative methods, and he asked that at the February meeting the ACC consider creating a blog for posting meeting minutes and Subcommittee white papers.
5. New Business:
a) Next Meeting:
The next meeting of the ACC is scheduled for Monday, February 11th, in the Library's Special Collections Room.
6. Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 4:48 PM.