In This Issue Current Issue Archives

September, 2007

The Edutech Report - September 2007 - Full Issue PDF
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Small Signs of Success
By Thomas Warger
Many indicators of health in the campus information technology (IT) scene are so small or indirect that they might go unnoticed. After a summer spent mostly on preparation of equipment, software, and facilities for the new academic year, the return of students and faculty warrants a fresh look at measures of success in IT service. Most of the work of IT support consists of interaction with people, and this is the activity worthy of a closer look.

Quotes of the Month
electronic and experiential learning; dusty library books

Newsbriefs
ECAR Publishes Study on IT Collaboration in Higher Education; Grants for Teaching in the Virtual World; Student Video Contest Improves Computer Security Awareness

Digital Assets Management: Central and Local
By Thomas Warger
There is probably no bigger gulf in campus information technology (IT) than in digital assets management (DAM)—the stewardship of the tremendous volume of digital stuff that institutions generate every day in everything from HVAC monitoring to poetry writing. Everyone has a toe in this water; very few have figured out how they will swim to the other shore.

When to Move On
By Thomas Warger
Nobody likes to think about that inevitable time when staying in one’s current job no longer makes sense. Perhaps the time to leave comes as an unpleasant surprise. Or maybe accumulating problems are readily apparent. But in many more cases, the viability of the chief information officer (CIO) job slips and degrades without obvious signs. Knowing when to move on is a painful topic, but it is also a key professional skill and potential career saver. Neither individuals nor institutions recover easily when the exit becomes a problem.

Electronic Distractions
By Thomas Warger
Is information technology leading students to read fewer books? The question was posed by a faculty member on the board of trustees of a small college. It is partly a mischievous question, probably not asked with the expectation that some shift of policy or resources would follow the answer. This might be one of those questions that points to others that are not being asked, and to assumptions that nobody stops to examine. And, of course, this is the kind of question famously called “academic.”

Edutech Responds
How can we cope with the complications that arise when one of our IT staff has close ties to one vendor among several we are considering for a new application? Does anyone have suggestions on good ways to make use of the limited amount of time the it group gets during orientation for new faculty? How much do we need to worry about the increaingly number of WiFi-capable devices people bring to campus? What are some effective ways to continue the training that we give our student workers at teh start of the new academic year?