EMTC Minutes: October 2001
UW Educational Media Technology
Council
ITMC/EMTC/LTDC Joint Meeting
Oct. 1-2, 2001
Heidel House, Green Lake
October 1, afternoon session
EMTC members present: Marcia Baird, UW-Extension; Charles Cottle, UW-Whitewater; Nick Dvoracek, UW-Oshkosh; Gary Herlache, UW-Green Bay; Lisa Livingston, UW-Madison; John Grozik, UW-Milwaukee; Joe Hagaman, UW-Stout; Bob Jokisch, UW System; Jim Jorstad, UW-LaCrosse; John Niergarten, UW-River Falls; Peter Nordgren, UW-Superior; Rich Path, UW-Colleges; Kate Pietri, UW-Parkside; Bert Spangler, UW-Eau Claire; Ron Weseloh, UW-Stevens Point.
Absent: Colleen Garrity, UW-Platteville
Guests: Denny Gilbertson, UW-Extension; Lori Taylor, UW System; Dwayne Williams, UW System
Election of Chair Elect
Lisa Livingston was nominated for the chair elect position. A motion was
made and passed to cast a unanimous ballot for Lisa.
January Meeting
With the joint UW meetings in the fall and spring, EMTC has had limited
opportunities to visit other campuses. There was group consensus to hold
the January meeting at UW- Stout.
Treasurer's Report
No treasurer's report was available.
Media Technician Classification Status
Denny Gilbertson, ICS, UW-Extension, led the discussion. Technicians who
are needed to support today's evolving technologies are unique, drawing
from many capabilities and many disciplines. EMTC representatives and
others have tried to explain this to DER over the years. There have been
about four cycles of reviewing this classification series. We have argued
for more classification levels within this series in order to reward and
compensate staff. Also, broadcasters are beginning to see their industry
move to multimedia. Technical schools are offering fewer programs geared
to broadcasting. It is very difficult to recruit staff and retention is
an issue. Many qualified individuals go to the IT market where there are
larger salaries.
The most current Media Tech survey started with meetings with DER and a review of position descriptions last summer. DER responded with a draft document, but it did not address more classifications and a career path. DER put tech classifications in the greater electronic tech series. We saw two levels in the draft - entry and objective and the position were proposed as a subset of a broader ET series - ET Media; ET Security; etc.
A UW and ECB group drafted alternative language. We asked for another level, an advanced level position. We also wanted to eliminate the lead worker concept. A revised draft was submitted to DER including these levels: ET Multimedia, no suffix; ET Multimedia Intermediate and ET Multimedia Advanced.
We met with Judy Burke, DER, on September 20. We received notice a few days later that we needed to map the current Media Technicians into entry, developmental or objective levels by September 28. We felt that was too restrictive and could have a negative impact on some individuals.
Denny encouraged members to contact their human resource office for current status information. He has not seen latest classification spec from DER and does not know what the compensation levels will be.
Ron Weseloh: we would like to retain the objective level so we can move towards broadbanding opportunities.
Denny said that we would likely not get broadbanding this cycle. This is a disappointment. A explanation of broadbanding and DCAs (discretionary compensation authorization) followed.
It was noted that some campuses have moved Media Technician classified positions to media specialist/academic staff positions. There are 68 Media Techs statewide.
J-Series & DS-3 Networks
Discussion followed on the status of the J-series codecs and the DS-3
networks. UW System was going to put together a work group, but it was
sidelined because System and DOA are now going to have a combined study
committee. Contracts expire December 2005. Is Internet 2 going to make
a difference for us? The direction for teleconferencing is IP over some
carriage. The beauty of this is a network that doesn't care if it carries
audio, video or data. We need a transparent network and quality of service.
Internet 2 has some promise, but may not have quality of service - only
larger bandwidth. Is a single network the best way to go for the future?
Faculty Development
Where do faculty development staff and services belong in the organization
of the University?
Group Discussion: UW-LaCrosse has a faculty development position open
and they are discussing where position should reside and report. Where
can they be successful?
On some campuses, the LTDC is centrally funded and free services are provided.
On other, the LTDC is a charge-back unit or part of one. Instructional
designers are often separate from media development units. Some confine
themselves to faculty development and instructional development related
to media. What are the incentives to participate in faculty development?
Campus units need to market their services and seek greater
recognition.
WebCheckout Demonstration
Daniel Pyne, onshore Development, dan@onshore-devel.com, led a demonstration
of Webcheckout (http://www.webcheckout.net). This is a browser-based checkout
center management application originally developed for the School of the
Art Institute of Chicago. It can track resources for university checkout/reservation
centers, track pickup and delivery, and produce administrative reports.
Resources may be equipment, locations, media titles, and staff. There
are currently 13 clients, including the Art Institute, Johns Hopkins,
University of Kansas, University of Utah, Regent University, Baylor College
of Medicine, and others.
License pricing depends on university FTEs, number of resources and checkout
centers. . The range is $10,000 to $50,000, with the average licensing
fee in the $20,000 range. This is one time licensing, with optional maintenance
and support after the first year.
With a second pricing model, an ASP model, they would host and maintain
the application.
Members also discussed pros and cons of other packages -- Voyager Media
Scheduling and KnowledgeMan. More and more faculty want to schedule their
own equipment. Some have also looked at MediaNet (Canada), but it didn't
meet all needs.
October 2, morning session
John Grozik shared information about the MARGI Presenter-To-Go module that allows Handspring Visor users to connect directly to digital projectors or other VGA displays. Files can be transferred to a Visor handheld and then the handheld can be used to run a presentation. This can be highly useful for people who have to travel; may not be as useful for those classrooms that are already equipped. The module can store about 100 slides. Cost: approximately $400.
Campus Updates
UW-Oshkosh: Web pages now describe every classroom on campus. Media
Services handout distributed. Campus has a new Provost.
UW-Milwaukee: Three major lecture hall renovations are in progress. One a distance education classroom for 100 students. Ran into problems with new Crestron panels on campus. May need to simplify Level 3 classrooms. Started a digital media production service on campus. Target of $10,000 to equip small classrooms with a video/data projector, punch panel up front, network connection, VCR. Want to turn any classroom into mediated classroom with minimal funds. Started classroom technology committee that will meet three times a year.
UW-Stout: Reorganized again. New exec position did not work out. Stout Solutions name retained. Media, research and continuing ed units report to Provost at this time. Building not completely done yet; still some technical issues. Laptop program will start in Fall 2002 for 1,500-1,700 freshman. Contract with Compaq just signed. Leasing computers; approximately $500/semester. After two years, swap for a new one. After four years students will have option to purchase. Basic software package is loaded with Microsoft and a few other products. Campus is a Compaq campus. Considering same arrangement with Apple for the campus. Big issues are training of faculty/staff and classrooms. Issues: want flexible seating, but how do we provide networking in that environment? Entire campus will be wireless, but will need to hard wire some rooms to provide adequate access and coverage. Vanguard will be providing service. Continuation of General Access Labs being discussed. Equivalent of 2.5 professional staff (instructional designers) have been reassigned to spearhead training component for faculty/staff. Some training for students also.
UW-Whitewater: We have a major renovation of three large instructional classrooms in Winther Hall, College of Education building on campus. Those rooms are being upgraded to Level 3 and being converted into five classrooms. Blackboard has been a nightmare. Over 7,000 users. Problems during summer; major difficulties until last week.
UW System: We have a new senior VP for Academic Affairs, Cora Merritt. Working on online learning policy passed by Regents in July. Moving toward a more collaborative approach to online learning. Want to develop a gateway for all the online catalogs. Builds on Extension's Distance Learning catalog. Asked by the Board to develop some new distance education programs. Each major would incorporate online learning into the curriculum. Working on IT Plan; goes to BOR in November. Had an IT summit several weeks ago. Talked about funding plan for common systems.
UW-Parkside: Business is good. Discontinuing Voyager scheduling system.
UW-Extension: Extension is meeting with others to explore UW catalog of online learning and how it relates to current Distance Learning Catalog that incorporates various forms of UW distance education options. New WisLine Web webconferencing service going well. Introductory sessions offered several times each month. See http://www.uwex.edu/ics/wislineweb. ICS and several CIC institutions will be hosting a workshop in November focusing on H.323 conferencing and Internet2 Commons site coordination.
UW-Green Bay: Gary Herlache began his position at UW-Green Bay about three weeks ago. Still learning. Coffrin Hall was dedicated last week. It features an energy efficient design, 15 technology classrooms using AMX control systems and Lutron lighting controls.
UW-Stevens Point: Ron's unit will likely be realigned with IT area. Currently is aligned with Continuing Education. Working on two distance education - one in Science building where Dascom will install equipment; the other one is in the Wisconsin Learning Center (WLC) outreach center. WLC features two computer labs, DE classrooms and several small classrooms. It is 3.5 miles from campus, connected by two dedicated T1s back to campus. Also working with Wisconsin Rapids High School as a site for a collaborative degree program. Working with SBDC in using Internet2 and Polycoms within nine-county area for videoconferencing.
UW-Eau Claire: Bob Fuller retired in July. Jim Lowe appointed Interim Director of Media Development Center. Renovation of Science Building ($10M project) is moving along, a semester behind. Tried to standardize on teaching stations; using home video control system -- Niles Intellipad control system. Faculty response has been positive. Receiver, control system and infrared components run less than $500 per classroom. It is programmable. SmartPanel is another control panel choice; also intermediate in cost.
UW-Superior: Had merged with Computer and Networking a year ago. Some thought that networking belongs with administrative computing. Another reorganization coming. Due to the PeopleSoft influence, networking now to be part of administrative computing. Finally completed providing computer television and networking in dorms. Working with Access Wisconsin to get a gap contract for the 38 months between when NWECS contract ends and BadgerNet contract ends. Enrollments up in video distance education classes. Three classrooms rooms and turnkey installation are in the planning. Camera Corner, Green Bay, received the bid. The Health and Wellness Center will be the first new building on campus in 30 years and will include two classrooms.
UW-LaCrosse: Completing Wing Technology Center ($10M building).
Gutted. 15 rooms. Many rooms are AMX-controlled. DE rooms have three projectors.
Involved with lighting systems in the building. Undertook two large auditorium
projects this summer, Crestron-controlled. Faculty want to do eight more
technology classrooms with ETC systems. Also working on conference room
adjacent to Chancellor's Office. Using plasma screens in some classrooms.
Conducting training for faculty on new ways to present materials.
Submitted by: Marcia Baird, Secretary