EDUCAUSE | Documents Contributed by ECAR and Communication

Deciphering Social Networks

ckeller — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:18:37 -0500

Adoption and usage data regarding social networking trends by consumers has convinced many business and IT leadership teams that social network sites, and their technological underpinnings, can be viewed as viable usage models to satisfy the communication, information sharing, and collaboration needs of the enterprise. In addition, strategists believe that the technology that supports such sites should be considered a credible technological model to help guide internal deployments. Higher education institutions should be careful, however, that they don't blindly adopt solutions simply because they are popular at the moment. Strategists unfamiliar with the field of social networks beyond its technological aspects should pay attention to issues such as:

How culture influences awareness of, and engagement in, social networks
How social networks can be structured in different ways with, or without, technology as a mediation method
How relationship dynamics influence participation (e.g., politics)

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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. Like ECAR, Burton Group is an unbiased advocate for the user and more than 80% of Burton Group's clients are user organizations rather than suppliers. EDUCAUSE member institutions can become users of Burton Group research services through EDUCAUSE pricing. Burton Group is an ECAR partner and can be contacted by email at slesueur@burtongroup.com or by telephone (801-373-5767).

Messaging and Communication Survey

ckeller — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:06:39 -0500

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.

Changing Ideas of Campus Disaster Recovery: Designing Resiliency into Systems

ckeller — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:16:45 -0500

This ECAR research bulletin suggests a framework to provide resiliency in higher education by placing such considerations up front in the evaluation, selection, and design of information technology (IT) services and building them into the business practices of the institution. Resiliency is the product of technology, people, and processes that minimize the impact of an event and make transparent that which would otherwise adversely disrupt the normal operation of services for students, faculty, or staff.

Simple Things That Could Save Your Institution

drupal — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:09:57 -0500

In August 2006, EDUCAUSE brought together a group of thought leaders from higher education and the private sector to explore and share effective strategies and behaviors on the important topic of business continuity in higher education. One of these leaders is Catherine Lewis, the information technology administrator who led New Orleans–based Xavier University through the August 2005 disaster of Hurricane Katrina and helped restore academic continuity for the institution. Lewis shares her perspective and insights in the form of this research bulletin.

The Ten Habits of a Caring Organization: Principles-Based Leadership

drupal — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 14:05:53 -0500

This research bulletin describes guiding leadership principles for CIOs and suggests how metrics can be used to measure the impact they have on motivation, staff satisfaction, turnover rates, customer satisfaction, and the ability to execute.

Mobility and Higher Education: Not Just the Next Big Thing

drupal — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 17:07:52 -0500

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.

Assessing and Communicating the Value of IT

drupal — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 16:41:53 -0500

This research bulletin suggests methodologies for assessing, measuring, and communicating the value of information technology as a strategic asset in higher education. It covers approaches that can be adopted, or adapted, to demonstrate IT's value, including performance metrics and valuation models such as portfolio analysis, causal mapping, and multicriteria techniques.

Information Technology and Creative Practices: Computing, Communications, and the Arts

drupal — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 09:44:45 -0500

Presentation at the Fourth Annual ECAR/HP Summer Symposium for Higher Education IT Executives, July 13-15, 2005, New Castle Island, New Hampshire. At the intersection of computing and the arts (or what can be called IT and creative practice) lie challenges of interdisciplinarity and prospects for both new kinds of research and new kinds of artifacts. This talk surveys the opportunities and the issues in a dynamic and often surprising arena.

Breaking Out of the IT Silo: The Integration Maturity Model

drupal — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 08:44:01 -0600

This research bulletin extends and addresses the findings from the 2004 ECAR study, Information Technology Alignment in Higher Education. Specifically, the study found that agile and adaptive information technology organizations are best positioned to achieve alignment with institution-wide priorities. The bulletin focuses on using the Integration Maturity Model to measure and guide organizations toward becoming more agile and adaptive.