EDUCAUSE | Information Technology Management and Leadership

Podcast: Information Technology Challenges at NASA

gbayne — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:43:59 -0500

This 56 minute podcast features the opening keynote address from the EDUCAUSE 2008 Southeast Regional Conference. The speech, "Information Technology Challenges at NASA," is by Michael J. Bolger, CIO at NASA.

This keynote presentation discusses the current IT environment at NASA and the IT challenges that the agency faces as it moves into a new era of space exploration. The CIO from the Kennedy Space Center talks about new strategic directions and supporting initiatives being implemented across the agency to enable future mission success.

Vendors and Contracts: The Sales Webinar

rowe — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:33:44 -0500

Just sat through another painful sales webinar... Why is looking at web-based software in a sales review so very, very painful? It is like an unfamiliar roller-coaster ride. Someone else is at the controls in a remote place. They know where they want to go, but you don't know the path. So the viewer is left to sit and watch as someone unknown points and clicks - and you never know when they are going to point and click and jump to something else. You get focused on something on the screen, and you suddenly startled to someplace else. All the while the vendor-speaker is coming across the speaker phone, and if they've gone to a cell phone, Skype or VOIP, the connection may echo or cut out. We strain to listen to the vendor talk about the product, trying to get important details, and the vendor is talking about the product in a casual, unscripted way that just is intended to "walk you through" something that requires your attention. At the end, I'm left with a series of disjointed perceptions about the product. Many times my functional community is left with a bad product view, when I really think it was the bad webinar. Given the costs of travel, the webinar is a better choice than in-person product presentations. What could be done to make this experience better?

Never schedule a webinar after lunch. Let's face it - this isn't the most engaging activity. Add on a tired group, and the webinar is doomed.
Get a high-quality speaker phone in the room, and make sure there's no sound interference from air-handling systems or adjoining spaces. Make sure you can hear from all chair locations.
Double-check the room temp for the crowd attending. A warm room guarantees a sleepy audience.
Send who/job title info about the audience to the vendor in advance to avoid wasting that time at the start of the webinar.

Vendors:

Start with a road-map of the product, some sort of overview of the entire menu or all the modules.
Follow a logical order through the product, maybe an order related to the workflow. Avoid getting too casual in the walk-through.
The speaker should follow basic presentation skills for the navigation: tell us where you are going first, and why, then go there, then tell us why we are there. So the presentation may go something like: "See this button? When you click on this, all your active records will display. I'm going to click on this now (then click). (After successful display) This display shows all the active records." It takes the "startle-effect" out of watching point-and-click navigation.
The speaker should stop frequently and ask for questions, and it is helpful if questions are repeated before answering.
Summarize the presentation at the end - bring this to a positive closure and provide a mechanism for follow-up questions.

2008 EDUCAUSE Midwest Regional Closing Session: Leading Ahead of the Curves by Brad Wheeler

llarsen — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:50:27 -0500

Leading Ahead of the Curves

Brad Wheeler, Vice President for IT and CIO, Dean, & Professor, Indiana University

[EDUCAUSE Midwest Regional Conference Closing General Session, March 19, 2008]

The slides for this keynote are available at http://www.educause.edu/upload/presentations/MWRC08/GS02/Leading-Ahead-of-the-Curves-Wheeler20080319_inked.ppt

A podcast of the session is available at http://connect.educause.edu/blog/gbayne/podcastleadingaheadofthec/46500

NOTES

Brad Wheeler began his talk on technology leadership with reminisces beginning in 1993 when he was an associate professor at the University of Maryland and Mosaic was the hot new tool and the Web took off.

Adapting the well-known “and then a miracle occurs” cartoon, he changed the text on the blackboard to show a sketch of “Campus Cyberinfrastructure” -> “then a miracle occurs” -> ”Cloud Computing Nirvana” and said that we can be the miracle in leading ahead of the curves but we need more explicit information in the miraculous step 2.

The Curves we must lead ahead of and balance are:

Technical possibility is where coolness is the key factor. Investors for innovations keep the frontier moving forward. However, for a CIO, technical possibility is not the question but rather technical maturity. When charted against time you end up with a set of steps up rather than a smooth curve.
Social desirability is where “Gotta have it” is the key factor. Social expectation is now a flat line at the top of the chart. Millennials want new technologies immediately. When academic organizations say that you can only upgrade and make changes every few years there are questions to answer for when you can test and when you can deploy - we can’t always wait those few years before implementing. The curve is really a set of steps again. The CIO needs to decide where and when it’s right to buy-in to the new technology.
Economic Feasibility is a matter of dollars where, over time, a product becomes less expensive so you do have a downward curve.

Wheeler has a box where he keeps prognostications and quoted an article in Campus Technology (Oct 23 2007) about five factors they said will have a synergistic effect. There are many who provide these predictions but because of the fog factor we begin to dismiss them. He described how CIOs feel as Edvard Munch’s 1893 painting The Scream.

Wheeler said the main question is:

“Can our actions substantively affect the shape of the curves or do we just adapt as they are revealed?” and asked are we only an industry that reacts to the curves or do we have the wisdom and ability to shape the curves?

His Curve bending examples were

open educational resources/scholarship
search of certitude
community source
licensing terms

Leading ahead of the curve loops us back to Scholarship 2.0 and the rise of IT, digital repositories, and electronic collaboration in achieving and improving the quality of the scholarly endeavors of research, teaching, learning, and service.

He closed by saying that we need to come together and collectively be the miracle to lead ahead of the curve.

In the Q&A, Wheeler answered questions on

supporting those who still want face-to-face
how to leverage across campuses (higher education) so everyone benefits including less wealthy institutions
outsourcing email and integration of applications
open vs commercialization of courses.

=======================

The slides are available at http://www.educause.edu/upload/presentations/MWRC08/GS02/Leading-Ahead-of-the-Curves-Wheeler20080319_inked.ppt

The podcast is available at http://connect.educause.edu/blog/gbayne/podcastleadingaheadofthec/46500

Tune In April 11 for a Free Web Seminar on Knowledge Sharing

pkurkowski — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:41:34 -0500

Today in many circles the mention of knowledge management conjures up fears of complex IT systems (often equated with failure) or a new initiative (often associated with vague requirements). How do you develop a knowledge management program that incorporates the essence of organizational learning and knowledge sharing without new tools or systems? The Johnson Space Center has embarked on such a quest to define a program that leverages the wealth of knowledge of 50 years of human space flight not only for today's workforce but also for generations to come.

In this free April 11 EDUCAUSE Live! web seminar, Knowledge Sharing: Some Myths and Ideas, and a Little IT, presenter Jean E. Engle, Chief Knowledge Officer, NASA/Johnson Space Center, will share her thoughts on the effective development of knowledge management programs.

Those unable to attend may wish to visit the archives after the event or browse related EDUCAUSE resources on Knowledge Management, Information Technology Management and Leadership, Institutional Management, and Planning.

ELI In Conversation: Innovation and The Digitally Fluent University - An Administrative Perspective

gbayne — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:32:04 -0600

In this 16 minute podcast we feature a conversation from the ELI 2008 Annual Meeting. The topic is digital fluency and innovation at the academy from an administrative perspective. Our conversation participants are Louise Thorpe, Head of Academic Innovation at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK; and Holly Morris-Kuentz, Director of Instructional and Research Technology for Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Both of the them also co-presented sessions at the ELI 2008 Annual Meeting. Holly Morris-Kuentz co-presented a session entitled, "Prioritizing Technology-Rich Classroom Space: Strategies for Success". Louise Thorpe co-presented a session entitled, "The Digitally Fluent University: A Recipe for Success?".

Latest EDUCAUSE Quarterly Now Available Online

cluckett — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:07:28 -0600

The latest EDUCAUSE Quarterly is now available, featuring articles on rethinking academic technology leadership in an era of change, the key issues involved in choosing a university Course Management System in Ghana, research describing lessons learned in implementing electronic portfolios, and an exploration of faculty-student e-mail communication at UNC Chapel Hill.

EDUCAUSE Quarterly is also available via RSS feed. Click the orange RSS icon on the EDUCAUSE Quarterly home page to access the XML required to subscribe.

E07 Podcast: An Interview with Michael Zastrocky from Gartner Inc.

gbayne — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:22:38 -0600

In this 7 minute podcast, we feature an interview with Michael Zastrocky, Vice President and Research Director of Academic Strategies for Gartner, Incorporated. He presented a session at the EDUCAUSE 2007 Annual Conference entitled, "IT Leadership and the Role of the CIO: The Annual Gartner/EDUCAUSE Update".

Dr. Zastrocky has more than 30 years of diverse experience in higher education. Before joining Gartner, he was a faculty member at several universities, assistant dean, chief information officer, and served as vice president of CAUSE, the international association for managing and using information resources in higher education from 1989-1995 (now EDUCAUSE). He has served as a consultant for a number of colleges and universities and was a vice president of the Kaludis Consulting Group. He has delivered many keynote addresses around the globe and has served as a faculty member for numerous institutes and seminars. He has been widely published on a variety of technology planning and management topics. He has served as a university trustee and a board member for both non-profit and for-profit higher education organizations. Bachelor's degree from Regis University, master's degree from the University of Denver, and a doctor of education degree from the University of Northern Colorado.

E07 Podcast: Things I’ve Screwed Up—and How! - Greg Jackson

gbayne — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:05:49 -0600

In this 35 minute podcast, we feature a speech by Greg Jackson, Vice President and CIO for the University of Chicago. This speech was recorded at the EDUCAUSE 2007 Conference in Seattle, Washington and is entitled, "Things I’ve Screwed Up—and How!".

The abstract:

Recognitions, awards, best practices, best of breed: so engaging, so uplifting, so motivating, so prominently covered. Failures, frustrations, firings, misdirection: so off-putting, so depressing, so demoralizing, so rarely covered. The literature on quality improvement and economist Paul Ormerod’s Why Most Things Fail contend that progress and quality improvement require that we not only seek success but also avoid failure, and therefore that we understand both. In this session, Jackson will offer a different perspective by reflecting on some mishaps and why they occurred.
WINNER: 2007 EDUCAUSE Leadership Award. Award sponsored by SunGard Higher Education, An EDUCAUSE Platinum Partner.

E07 Podcast: An Interview with Harley Lingerfelt

kellywalker — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:08:18 -0600

In this 10-minute podcast, we feature an interview with Harley Lingerfelt, VP for Information Management & Technology, Savannah College of Art and Design . He discusses the challenges of matching leading-edge technology to a diverse and creative campus community.

Synchronized Swimming

rowe — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:24:31 -0600

I'm swimming in synchronizing challenges - maybe better said as "the challenges of synchronization." One of our emerging IT skill sets is the "expert of synchronization." This has come at us several ways. The first was the Blackberry infiltration and the desire to synchronize a calendar on a hand-held to the master appointment calendar on a desktop. Email came into this too, but it seemed easier, often one-way. Two-way synchronization of something like a calendar is more troublesome. Of course, this synchronization requirement emerged after we had implemented a new email and calendar system, and the product we are using just hasn't made this easy. This is also complicated by the consumerization of the environment brought on by IRS tax rules, making all those cell phones personal devices and purchased to personal choice.

Which brings me to one perspective on the issue: Our clients are increasingly the student and faculty - the individuals - making personal technology choices. Michael Hites of New Mexico State University describes the "self-enabled, free-to-download, creative-minded user" and Shelton Waggener describes the "rise in technology controlled by the individual" in the Nov-Dec 2007 Educause Review. These individual choices come to campus, and we are expected to provide the synchronization solution - for a hand-held device we haven't seen before and for which we have no control. We can't train on everything, so our support model changes from trained staff provided proven and tested solutions, to resourceful staff who can figure it out. We prefer things that are web-accessed on from handhelds, which has been more successful to support, rather than synchronized.

Synchronization is pushing at us in other ways. Several of our vendors have pushed to "own" our identity management infrastructure: the email vendor, the ERP vendor, Microsoft's push of Active Directory, Oracle's push of the OID structure. Sometimes we have one solution coming at us different ways, like Oracle through our ERP and Oracle again through our portal (which is a separate product from our ERP. The end result is that we have multiple identity management structures, and we've implemented one authority (LDAP) that is not tied into any one product. We now have to integrate or synchronize or at least establish communications among the structures.

We've found that request-based integration is the most reliable to support, especially over time and through product upgrades. This is where we've designated a home-base as an authoritative core that is not connected with any product, and other systems send an authoritative request that simply requires a yes/no response from the authority. After that, a one-way synchronization can work, such as sending our authoritative LDAP entries to populate or depopulate OID. Finally, and only if we can't avoid it, we'll consider two-way synchronization (we've been able to avoid that so far).

The synchronization monster has turned out to be our ERP database. Our ideal is a primary server in the main location, and a stand-by system in a remote location, with the remote location updated real-time with data updates synchronized across both systems. We've found this to be a difficult item to manage and very costly to implement. Data increasingly seem to live in multiple environments, too, requiring more integration strategies.

Synchronization is now something we are routinely looking at when we evaluate and analyze a new service. How are login identities managed? Are data updates exchanged? Which data elements are integrated? How are data updates across systems managed? How can we manage Noah's Ark (two-by-two) for disaster recovery?

A few principles are emerging:

1) Handhelds need to be receiving devices with updates done via web-based applications, rather than later synchronization. That "synchronize later" seems dated and unreliable.

2) We always need to determine and document the home authority, for logins or data, and feed from there. This requires ongoing documentation and testing.

3) Request-based from a client to home seems to be the easiest to manage.

From an IT staff perspective, we haven't perfected our educational strategies on staff development to support this environment. We do believe that:

1) Resourceful people comfortable with playing with technology, rather than working from established road-maps, are best at supporting the environment. That means some work that used to be handled by students at the Helpdesk now needs to go to professional staff.

2) Integration needs to be fully documented, with home authority named, data elements identified, and technology defined.

3) Understanding how to test when one side of a synchronized product is updated, or a new product is introduced, is a necessary skill.