June, 2007

The Edutech Report - June, 2007 - Full Issue PDF
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Getting Out and About
By Thomas Warger
Data networking, more than any other single change in technology, has emptied out the physical place inhabited by IT organizations. The network first made every workspace a computer station; more recently, every place that radio waves can reach has become network-accessible. The consequence of IT being everywhere is that it is also nowhere: usage happens where it happens, and the conceived expectations range as widely as do users in their own spaces—where their own rules tend to apply.

Quotes of the Month
Academic honesty and the Internet; Workplace convergence

Newsbriefs
EDUCAUSE and Internet2 Support the Advanced Information and Communications Technology Research Act; Top Ten IT Issues in Higher Education

CIO Leadership Series: Reorganizing the IT Department
By Linda Fleit
There are as many ways today to organize higher education IT departments as there are CIOs. Should academic and administrative computing be combined? Where does the help desk belong? Should we be outsourcing some of our functional areas? What about combining with the library? Do we need cross-functional teams? Where should we decentralize the staff into user departments? Do we need a formal security function? Should institutional research be part of IT? What about instructional design? Although usually stressful, reorganizing can be a healthy thing to do. It is likely to be most productive and worthwhile, however, if everyone in the role of decision maker or contributor keeps a few important issues in mind.

Edutech Responds
ERP trends for small colleges; computer facilities renovation; personnel implications for changing role of unit manager; replacing the administrative system