Web Seminars Contributed by EDUCAUSE and E-mail and Messaging

Today’s IT leaders face multiple challenges united by a common thread: determining when to provide custom IT services for students, when to facilitate their use of external IT services, and when to simply get out of students’ way.

 A decade ago students accessed the Internet through the school’s modem pool. Today, they make their own selection from an array of broadband services. What's the future for e-mail and services like IM and personal Web pages? Students are increasingly arriving on campus with extensive experience with existing products, and many are choosing to forward their school e-mail to outside providers. Should we attempt to stem or embrace this trend?

Two of the largest undergraduate schools at Penn decided to work with Microsoft to offer students hosted e-mail and communications services in the upcoming school year. The presenters will discuss how the schools are approaching this issue, the advantages it offers students and others, and elements critical to the initiative’s success.

Increasingly campuses are considering outsourcing commodity IT services such as e-mail, instant messaging, and calendaring, either for students or for the entire institution. One of the most widely discussed options is Google Apps for Education, and the mailing lists are abuzz with strong feelings on all sides. In this presentation, we'll welcome a speaker from Google to discuss their offering, as well as a speaker from Northwestern University, which recently selected Google’s solution after a lengthy and intense investigation of alternatives.

In the wake of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, colleges and universities across the country are reviewing their emergency preparedness plans and evaluating their ability to quickly notify constituents in crisis situations. Networked technologies (posting notices on Web sites, e-mailing information, and sending text messages to cell phones) are among the most promising solutions. As campuses explore options for their emergency communication plan, they must also consider infrastructure and policy and procedural components. This session will provide an overview of the strategies for emergency notifications of students, employees, and visitors, as well as a context and resources for campus emergency preparedness planning.

Mobile learning continues to focus on using portable computing devices such as laptops, tablet PCs, PDAs, and smart phones with wireless networks to extend learning spaces beyond the traditional classroom. Today's learning professionals, however, are finding that mobile learning initiatives need more than devices and connectivity to achieve success. This Web seminar will explore the current status of mobile learning, consider lessons learned from successful mobile learning initiatives, and suggest 10 steps learning professionals can take to prepare for the challenges and opportunities of learning anytime, anywhere.