CCFIT > Calendar & Minutes > 2006-07 Minutes > April 09, 2007 Minutes

Excused: Tor Cross, Niels Jensen, John Meyer, Kathleen Moore, Bruno Nachtergaele, Dennis Pendleton, and Leon Washington.

Absent: Mike Allred, Rick Catalano, Ravi Deepak, Michael Hogarth, Kareem Salem, John Stachowicz, and Keith Widaman.

Guests: Liz Gibson, and Peter Yellowlees

Support: Lisa Chance, Babette Schmitt

I. Welcome and Approval of Minutes – Chair Bledsoe

Chair Bledsoe invited comments on the minutes from the March meeting.  The minutes were approved as submitted. 

II. Updates & Announcements

Chair Bledsoe presented a draft outline of CCFIT activities and recommendations for 2006-2007, for discussion before a report is presented to Provost Hinshaw and Vice Provost Siegel at the June CCFIT meeting.  Chair Bledsoe asked the committee to share the draft document with their constituents and forward suggestions to her before the May meeting.

Possible recommendations:

CCFIT will develop findings and, whenever appropriate, recommendations in support for the following [comments by Council members are in brackets]:

1. The new campus policy to guide the coordination of campus IT systems – a policy which would reduce duplicate entries and the need for shadow systems, thus reducing staff and faculty workloads.  [This policy is out for review.  Contact Dave Shelby if you have suggestions or questions.]


2. The provision of email services for students through a major email provider (e.g., Google, Microsoft) – would improve email services while reducing costs to campus.  [Pete Siegel mentioned a proposal is being developed based in part on student focus groups’ feedback and a technical feasibility study.  A draft proposal will be shared with this committee at the May meeting.]


3. Efforts to convert paper-based processes into online systems.  For example, Effort Reporting, MyTravel, and GradSMAART.


4. Online teaching/course evaluations.  [The Chair of the Online Course Evaluation Work Group (Roger McDonald) was asked to prepare a document outlining an approach and specifying the requirements and resources necessary to implement such a system. (See Online Course Evaluation Work Group preliminary report on the CCFIT Web site, ccfit.ucdavis.edu).]


5. Wireless expansion on campus, including development of priorities. (See Wireless Work Group report on the CCFIT Web site).


6. Continued implementation and enhancement of security measures.  [Bob Ono discussed some key security measures currently in progress, such as VPN access to online library resources and encryption services.]


7. Development of a “Teaching Portal” for one-stop shopping by faculty and TAs for teaching-related resources.  [The Ed Tech Sub-Committee is developing a plan.]


8. Continued spam reduction measures.  [Dave Shelby asked whether committee members have a sense of the effectiveness of the spam reduction measures within their constituent groups.  Several committee members noted the impressive reductions in spam they now receive in their campus mailbox. Many members said they heard few complaints and thought that spam was no longer a major issue.]

Comments on reports expected from several CCFIT workgroups:

• Chair Bledsoe noted that the GradSMAART workgroup membership is almost complete.  This group will focus on the project to enable online tracking for graduate students. The project is divided into 4 areas: (a) application and review, (b) admission, (c) tracking during their study at UC Davis, and finally (d) post-graduation.  The workgroup will have staff support from Graduate Studies and is expected to begin meeting in May.

• Pete Siegel said that the Course Approval System Workgroup is guided by a new steering committee.  The steering committee is co-chaired by Linda Bisson and Pete Siegel.  The Workgroup is chaired by Gina Anderson (Academic Senate staff) and Frank Wada (University Registrar). The Workgroup is compiling the results obtained from a faculty survey they conducted several weeks ago.  Roger McDonald said he was concerned about the poor utility of the current online course approval system.  Wes Wallender agreed, noting end-user difficulties.  Pete Siegel said that through the faculty survey, Gina Anderson and Frank Wada have identified problem areas. They will develop a plan, in coordination with the steering committee, to address these problems.

• Liz Gibson reported on last November’s decision to join Mediaworks and Classroom Technology Services, two IET departments, into a single organizational unit. The unit offers instructional technology support to the campus.  In the coming weeks, Liz Gibson will work with the Educational Technology Subcommittee to define the purpose and mission for the new unit. The Ed Tech Sub-Committee’s draft recommendations will be presented to CCFIT in May.  Bob Sams asked how this new unit will support instructional technology associated with outreach provided by campus units like University Extension.  Liz Gibson said she would ask the Ed Tech Sub-Committee to discuss broader outreach efforts. Bill Lacy suggested talking with Linda Behrens at University Extension.

• Pete Siegel mentioned that a draft response to the Graduate Student Association and AUSCD (undergraduate student organization) reports is being developed.  The response will be shared with Council members before the May meeting.  A formal response will be sent to the GSA and ASUCD.

• Pete Siegel announced the recent formation of the UC Davis Administrative IT Services Roadmap Work Group. The purpose of this group is to develop a general roadmap for administrative IT services that are centrally funded and supported.  This includes how they integrate (“talk to one another”).  The workgroup will identify gaps between systems and recommend how the campus can move forward with an IT services roadmap.  The workgroup will meet this spring and over the summer and will prepare a proposal for CCFIT for the October 2007 meeting.

• Topics scheduled for upcoming meetings:
1. SmartSite (May) – a demonstration of the new campus online learning management and collaboration system; will replace the course management tools in MyUCDavis in Fall 2008.
2. MyInfoVault (May) –update on development of the online faculty merit and promotion system.
3. Electronic Research Administration (June) – update on changes in development of the eRA system.

• Several Council members asked whether the departure of Provost Hinshaw and the formation of the Academic Senate’s new IT committee will affect the CCFIT.  Pete Siegel stated that CCFIT is strategically important to the Chancellor and to the Senate. It will be important to coordinate carefully with the Senate’s IT committee.

III. MyInfoVault Faculty Merit & Promotion Project Presentation

This presentation was deferred to the May meeting.

IV.  Tech innovation: Educational Potential of Second Life – Dr. Peter Yellowlees

Peter Yellowlees, Director of UCDHS: Academic Information Systems, presented an intriguing demonstration of research environments he has created within the Second Life games platform. 

Second Life is a visual 3D world game environment where human objects (avatars) can interact with each other via instant messaging capabilities.  Second Life costs $10 per avatar, for the life of the avatar.  Once you have created an avatar, you can lease space to create your own world to which you could invite other avatars, and you can visit existing worlds already created.  In this environment you can visit other worlds, interact with other creations made by world-wide members of the Second Life community, and participate in the fully-integrated economy within the platform itself.

While the use of Second Life has been in an entertainment environment, Yellowlees has developed environments within Second Life, through the use of research funds, to further enhance the educational and research experience.
 
Yellowlees demonstrated the use of Second Life in creating a virtual environment for disaster recovery purposes through collaboration with the Department of Health.  In this environment, a 3D image was created to represent a field station where patients would receive inoculations and health assistance after being exposed to a bio-terrorism outbreak.  This type of research allows administrators and public health officials to mimic the workflow of a patient moving from section to section within the 3D building.

With regards to Yellowlees’ more immediate area of work, he demonstrated a four-minute playback representing virtual hallucinations based on detailed research of patients who have experienced and reported hallucinations.  The use of this tool has assisted physicians and students to better understand the actual torment psychotic patients have endured while undergoing hallucinations. 

To date, Yellowlees is the only educator/researcher who has published an educational paper regarding the use of Second Life; however, some Universities are beginning to explore the idea of teaching courses on this type of technology.  If anyone is interested in experimenting with Second Life, there is a 30-day free trial membership available on the website (http://secondlife.com/), and Yellowlees can invite you to the “Davis Island” he has already created once he knows your avatar’s name.

Meeting adjourned at 4:30pm