Documents Contributed by ECAR and Telecommunications

This July 2008 survey is a critical component of the EDUCAUSE Center on Applied Research (ECAR) study of messaging and communication in higher education. It seeks to understand the provision, policies, use, and emerging trends related to telephony, mobile communications, e-mail and calendaring, and emergency notification systems in colleges and universities.

Citation for this work: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research. "Messaging and Communication Survey" (Survey Instrument). Boulder, CO: ECAR, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin documents how a small university adopted Tegrity, a relatively new technological innovation designed to enhance student learning of course material through note-taking hardware and software. The bulletin describes the challenges associated with the adoption of Tegrity, as well as the social changes that resulted from the adoption process.

This research bulletin discusses the evolving architectural models for open source IP telephony. It focuses on institutional rationale, risks, and advantages associated with open source IP telephony models that range from the unsupported, downloadable software PBX to the turnkey, commercial-grade, ready-for-service supported PBX.

It has been widely assumed that next generation "phone systems" will be based on Internet Protocol private branch exchanges (IP-PBXs). The ever-increasing ubiquity of IP networks can improve upon the current environment of disparate communications systems. To plan for an integrated real-time communications environment, IT staff will need to become well-acquainted with unified communications (UC) systems, enterprise application integration, service provider IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), fixed mobile convergence, service provider application integration, public IM systems evolution, federation between systems, and the future of Skype. This Burton document analyzes the recent developments in converged communications, and recommends next steps.

This research bulletin describes the University of Cincinnati strategy for addressing a fundamental shift in communication technologies in higher education, and for meeting—or exceeding—community expectations for contemporary productivity tools on campus. It covers the decision factors and service models that UC is implementing in fall 2006 through its UC Mobile program.

In 2002–03, the State University of New York College at Cortland (SUNY Cortland) became the first institution in the 64-member SUNY system to deploy a converged IP-based network. This case study examines the motivating factors, technology choices, implementation strategies, and results of SUNY Cortland's award-winning effort. In addition to detailing the technical issues associated with this deployment, this case discusses the implementation of new call center capabilities enabled by the IP network in key SUNY Cortland functional offices.

"After the Bust: Service Provider Evolution in a New Era" is a Research Report prepared by Burton Group, an ECAR partner. It is available to ECAR subscribers through special arrangement. This substantial report describes the turmoil in which the national and international telecommunications industry finds itself today: the history, trends, taxonomy, issues, recommendations, and evolutionary future. It is designed to assist managers and network engineers in their efforts to navigate the landscape and understand the complex and confusing world of the telecommunications service providers. Burton Group (www.burtongroup.com) provides technically in-depth research and advisory services for colleges and universities, government agencies, and commercial enterprises. Burton Group's practical and unbiased research and advice helps technologists make smart IT infrastructure decisions in increasingly complex environments. Burton Group covers directories, identity management, application platforms, architecture, and network and telecom infrastructure topics.