VOIP Rolling Out Soon for SMCC

Voice over IP (VoIP) Rollout Update- currently SMCC has about ten IP Phones that are connected to the District’s CallManager (VoIP’s PBX).  The District has chosen to go with a Cisco VoIP Phone solution and the implementation process has been started.  As of now, Mesa Community College Main and the Red Mountain Campus are fully VoIP implemented. Three other colleges have been selected to start the VoIP rollout. These are SMCC, Phoenix College, and Estrella Mountain College. It looks like SMCC will be the first of the three colleges.

Sometime in the next two to three months, SMCC will be receiving the initial
starter kit from District which includes a CallManager server, an Application
server, one video for conference calls, and thirty IP phones.  If all goes
as planned, these will be installed during the Summer months.

Our VoIP phones system will be self contained within SMCC, that is, we will
not be using the District’s CallManager.  The current NEC phone system will
still be operational for most of the SMCC campus, just thirty NEC phones
will be replaced by VoIP phones. A full SMCC implementation of VoIP phone
system for replacing the current NEC system is coming soon.

WiFi is Here! What is it?

WiFi allows for a wireless Internet connection through a wireless router. Connecting to the internet is an essential part of what we do here on the SMCC campus. We need to connect to check email, assess Blackboard and even register for classes. Until now, in order to do that we had to access a computer connected to the wall via ethernet cable. But now anyone on campus can simply open up her laptop or mobile device and access our wifi network.

SMCC is pleased to announce that free wireless Internet access is now  available to students at the following South Mountain Community College locations:

• SMCC Main Campus
• SMCC Guadalupe Center
• SMCC Ahwatukee Foothills Center

Upon powering up and opening an Internet browser (such as Internet Explorer), those using a laptop computer with a wireless card will receive instructions and a password to gain access to the network which covers the whole campus, both buildings and outside areas.

For a limited time, complementary wireless Internet access will also be made available to visitors to the SMCC Main Campus and its offsite locations.  Visitors should follow the same directions in order to gain access.

Users who experience problems with SMCC’s wireless Internet network  should contact the college Help Desk, at 602.243.8324.

Kiosk MEID Login Coming to SMCC

The next time you walk into the library or the Computer Commons on the SMCC campus next semester, you’ll be asked to login to our new system. The system is called the Kiosk MEID Login, which requires all students and patrons to login with their MEID’s in order to use the resources on the SMCC campus.

We will have all counter computers in the library and Commons ready for the April 13 kiosk MEID login, but we don’t plan on rolling out the client until after finals in May. The plan is to limit student frustration when coming to the Commons while they prepare for next month’s finals. This will also give us more time to train staff and merge community patron access to the MEID login. Yes, community patrons will still have access to the Commons and library, but they’ll just have to login now.

Things are going really well with the kiosk MEID login for a few weeks now on two of the three login counter computers. It is proceeding very nicely as Robert Samia has been contacting LabTrac tech support for tweaking some minor items. It’s look and feel is close to TutorTrac so that student transition will be smooth. Bringing everyone up to speed and getting them familiar with MEID logins will also help transition student to googlemail with the MEID@maricopa.edu (per our Blackboard Admin-eLAG District meeting, March 24) when we get there.

Microsoft Vista on Our Computers?

With all the news about Microsoft’s new operating system, Vista, many of us are wondering when we will get our hands on a copy of the new OS. Mike Lewis outlines the SMC process for major upgrades below. We currently don’t have the new OS media on campus yet, so we are not presently in this process. We can anticipate seeing Vista on campus sometime next year.

Here’s a summary of the 6-to-9-month process we normally use to test and upgraded major applications and operating systems:

As soon as we get the media from district, we allow it to be installed by our SMCC pilot users (usually this includes: CIS instructors, TLC instructors, power users by special request, and a half dozen desktop techs and managers). We get feedback from these users and begin the formal evaluation process:

1. First, we determine what will be the impact if the software cannot be released to the whole campus simultaneously, which is almost always the case due to hardware requirements for OS and Office apps. We look at problems in classrooms, within departments, between departments and between colleges to make sure all major issues are identified.
2. Next, we evaluate all other issues related to: software compatibility with other critical applications, user and tech support training, service pack releases, security, computer hardware limits, and vendor-reported problems.
3. We discuss these issues at CTC meetings and get CTC input on the best release date.
4. Finally, we start planning the release to coincide with the TLC’s training schedule and the next major computer replacement cycle (usually in the late spring and early summer).

If possible, we like to install new Office apps on as many computers across the college as possible but usually hardware and user training issues limit the speed with which we can actually deploy major applications. Operating system installs usually are done only on new hardware but after about 40% of all college desktops have been upgraded, we start a push to get all desktops upgraded for simplicity.

We will automate the installation of the new Office within 60 days after it is released and stable so the installation should be very simple.

Please ask if you have any questions.

Hope this helps,

Mike

What Do You Think About Tim’s 101 Things?

101 Things I Would Change at SMC by Tim Frank

Technology:

Okay folks. Here’s your chance to discuss the changes that Tim suggested in his document. Scroll to the bottom to leave a comment and let us hear what you’ve got to say. We’ll try to respond to your comments as best we can. This is not the whole list, just the technology section.

24. Give RFP faculty members administrative privileges over the computers in their own offices. There are a number of free software packages that I could download from the internet onto my computer if I had administrative privileges. I can’t even buy a new printer, connect it to my office computer, and install drives without administrative privileges. I have been told that by not allowing administrative privileges, the IT department is able to set all computers for automatic updates. If that is actually the case, faculty members could still be given a special password to use on those rare occasions when administrative privileges are necessary, and then use their normal passwords when they are not needed.

25. Give RFP faculty members control over their own web space on the SMCC webpage, and allow them to update their schedule, office hours, photograph, etc., every semester. Much of the information about individual faculty members shown on the SMCC webpage is outdate. Faculty should be allowed and responsible for keeping their own information up-to-date. Most colleges and universities allow faculty to update their own pages. Faculty members often include additional information about their hobbies, families, etc. Why can’t we do this at SMCC?

26. Create a technology equipped classroom that is unassigned to any class. When a class scheduled in a room with less technology needs computers, the instructor can reserve the room for that class period. This classroom would be reserved like our conference rooms, by faculty members when needed for special class sessions. There are many courses that don’t need access to computers a majority of the time, and it is not cost effective to put technology into every classroom when it will only be used on a limited basis. By having a special room that can be reserved, it will no longer be necessary to put student computers in every classroom; however, every classroom still should have an instructor computer and projection system.

27. Students should be given individual logins and disk space on a server. A record of when and where students logged in from should be maintained. This would allow students to save their files and access them anywhere on campus, while also providing a deterrent for student misuse of our computer equipment.

28. Eliminate the generic “Instructor Login” from the instructor computers in all classrooms. Too often the login and password are posted on the computer, and when I enter my classroom there is a student working on the instructor computer before class. Only allow instructors to login as themselves on the instructor computers.

29. Allow full-time students to rent old laptop computers on a semester-by-semester basis. This would seem like a better use of our old laptops than just sending them off to the district to be auctioned off. If the computer works, let our students benefit from it.

30. Provide wireless internet access. This will allow students and employees to use their own laptop computers anywhere on our campus.

 

31. Eliminate the “Automatic Update” messages on the college’s computers that require the computer to be restarted immediately. This seemed to be much more of a problem last year on the laptop computers I had in my classroom, but it still happened on my office computer at least once this semester. The basic problem is that all of a sudden a popup window appears telling the user that new updates have been installed and the computer needs to be restarted. The window has a button to restart the computer, but it does not give the option of restarting later or minimizing the window. The only two options are to restart the computer or drag the window to a less obtrusive location on the screen. This is a major inconvenience when students are taking an exam on a computer or if I am in a hurry to finish something. Let the user choose to restart latter and then have the window reappear the next.

 

iTunesU at MCCCD?

I just recently heard a rumor that MCCCD is moving forward in its plans with Apple to bring iTunesU to the district. Representatives from the district met last semester with senior manager for iTunes, Eric Bailey, to discuss the logistic. Apparently we will get a similar set up to the Cal State system where each of the 10 Maricopa colleges will get their own iTunes site.

California State U. campuses officially adopts iTunes U – Anthony Leon, The Poly Post

Several California State University campuses, including California Polytechnic State University have decided to adopt iTunes U, a new innovative software that gives students the chance to download pod casts of items such as lectures, class notes, and campus news into their ipods. The new iTunes U Website, which was announced in June, has been operational throughout this quarter. The iTunes U service was developed and hosted by the Apple Computer, Inc., and enables students to download audio, graphic and video images onto their Macintosh or PC computers, then copy them to their iPods to listen or view anywhere. Students may also upload content to share with professors, or the class.

Each college will get 500GB of space to house those creative podcasts. That’s huge for us, especially the smaller colleges. It’s at least a generous place to… Read the rest of this post at the Podcasting & Blogging in Education blog.

SMCC Hires a new Instructional Specialist

On October 30th a new team member started at SMCC: Georgia Jo Appogast.  Jo will be working in the TLC as part of our Title V grant.  Jo comes to us from EFS, an international facilities management business.  She has years of experience in Instructional Design.  She is knowledgeable about developing online and hybrid course materials.  As an added bonus for Amy, Jo is a graduate of ASU’s Learning and Instructional Technology program!  J 

Jo’s work for Title V will include collaborating with faculty to create eight modules in for areas (2 each) science, math, writing and critical thinking.  The purpose of these modules will be to increase students abilities to think critically – which ostensibly will help them to better evaluate their own learning (meta-cognition) and help them to better retain what they learn and transfer it to other subjects.

The TLC is filled to the brim with Jo’s addition and we are thrilled to have her!