Present:

Thad Curtz, Amy Greene, Rip Hemingway, Lee Lyttle, Issac Overcast,  Jonathan Magen, Dave Metzler, Peter Randlette Convener),  Rob Rensel, Ken Tabbutt, Richard Weiss 

Also - Asenka Miller (Geoduck Student Union Representative); Laura Coghlan and Eddy Brown (from the First Year Experience DTF)

Minutes:

Executive Summary -

 

1. A wide-ranging discussion with people from the First Year Experience DTF about possible goals and issues about computing in the lives of first-year students at the college (which is summarized in detail below). They suggested the ITCH work up a position about appropriate goals for computing literacy in the first year, and consider developing and offering on-line materials and workshops through Computer Services to help students reach those goals. The plan to start requiring students’ use of email for campus business needs to be supported in several ways – we need a plan for helping shaky students get set up by establishing accounts and email forwarding. (Note that 400 of these students register in a few hours in the spring, so anything involved in registration like surveys or setting up accounts has to function well in that brief window…). We need more access to email for students when on campus (some of the savings from reduced mailings should be applied to provide kiosks and other decentralized access on campus and free dialup for students who need it); old machines might be used as Linux clients for email around campus or placed in the EF area to reduce use of lab machines at peak hours by EF students; etc…

 

1. Amy and Rip have moved one section of the IT Strategic Plan to Drupal and to a Wiki to help us decide where it should be installed. They will call a brief meeting to assess the comparison over the break. Members of the ITCH should be asked to compare the two options before then – at: http://www2.evergreen.edu/itch/assessment-of-tools-for-it-strategic-planning [1]

 

 

1. Discussion of moving toward a technology fee like the other state colleges’, since we now are legally able to do so. (The law requires a student government to ratify proposals for spending the money, once a campus-wide student vote has approved adding the fee to student bills.) The old detailed proposal might be updated, and the new student government would probably be happy to discuss possibilities.

 

1. Updates
1. The iDTF on implementing a project management system (Amy, Eric and Issac) has created questions and done six interviews with campus computing managers about how they like to manage projects. (They're available at  - http://www2.evergreen.edu/itch/pmis [1].) They have also  consulted some staff at similar colleges about their project management systems.
2. Aaron was not here to report on computer planning for the CAB update; Peter will consult Tom Mercado.
3. Six projects from the ITCH priority list have been included in the next biennium budget request -  adding someone to supervise telephone services at the Help Desk ($43K), adding a second media support person for SEM 2 ($48 K), adding a Media Maintenance person ($48K), adding half a position to the Web team; and money for funding replacement cycles for AV classrooms ($50K), servers ($66K), computer labs ($200K), and offices ($237K). We’ll table discussion of our priorities for the 75K in the current budget until the fate of these requests is clearer, and ITCH coordinators can clarify details about when the 75K needs to be spent, so we can get a plan ready – not too soon and not too late. (Rob noted that some items we might have wanted didn’t get considered in this cycle, because they had not been prioritized in the old list.)
4. Rob will forward the new design proposals for equipment in the second phase of the Library remodel to the group for consideration and comment.
5. Lee brought the timetable for preparing self-studies for the re-accreditation visit; the first draft of the section which includes computing is due this October; Lee’s consulting with Aaron about how to prepare it.

 

1. New assignments
1. Peter will organize a first meeting for work group on Mac support issues, to include himself, Rob, Thad, Rip, and Amy.
2. Rob and Amy will summarize the issues involves in assessing and perhaps rethinking our current collaborative tools software options – Moodle, WebX, etc…
3. Peter will call one meeting to discuss managing issues about different versions of software in different campus labs, particularly Illustrator.
4. We will add items to the list of topics for discussion by the ITCH (at http://www2.evergreen.edu/itch/itch-academic [1]) - Linux support and possible open source substitutes for current commercial software; developing library resources for computer science students; providing hardware and software resources for informal student experimentation; experimenting with active outreach and support to clean up minor problems and encourage learning useful ways to do current tasks more efficiently.

 

A detailed summary of the discussion with members of the First Year Experience DTF

 

Issues –

 

1. Faculty don’t agree on what students need.
2. The ITCH doesn’t yet have a vision about what they need either.
3. All-level programs scatter the first year students, so it’s hard to reach them through in-program workshops.
4. In-program workshops also make many bored students sit unhappily through material that they already know. We need a time each week that’s free in all programs’ schedules, so that the students in each program who do need a workshop could do a common one all together.
5. Physical vandalism an issue re kiosks (but they could be ruggedized in various ways.
6. Student over-confidence in their skills.

 

 

Proposals about things at least some of them do need –

 

1. File management skills
2. Backup procedures (including using Evergreen file space)
3. Plagiarism and intellectual property rights
4. What campus resources exist and where they are located
5. Internet security issues
6. Access via kiosks, wireless, free dialup for poor students
7. Maybe research skills (but the library may already be doing well with this, what you need depsnds upon the project, and the best time for such a workshop is when you actually have a project rather than when you have no felt need for it.

 

Possible solutions –

1. 30 minute workshops for every program  - cp. The ones for every program working in the CAL now(which also educate the program faculty).
2. Don’t require workshops, but offer them to every program – many would accept.
3. Early assessment.
4. Fold the basic skills into a really attractive package, like beginning You-tube video editing.
5. On-line help is better for timid, anxious, or easily embarrassed students.
6. A big technology fair, or a section at the Academic Fair or Student Groups Fair.