CCFIT > Calendar & Minutes > 2007-08 Minutes > March 17, 2008 Minutes

Attendees: Francois Gygi (Chair), Mike Allred, John Berg, Paul Drobny (on behalf of Lora Jo Bossio), Greg Loge (on behalf of Rick Catalano), Tor Cross, John Berg, Caroline Bledsoe, Joe Chatham, Gary Ford, Jeff Gibeling, Bernd Hamann, Niels Jensen, Rob Kerner, Karen Latora, Bob Ono, Dennis Pendleton, Anna Pruitt, Kelly Ratliff, Brenda Ruth, Bob Sams, Julie Saylor, Marilyn Sharrow, Dave Shelby, Pete Siegel, Katie Stevens, Jon Wagner

Excused: Paul Gepts, Jan Ilkiw, Tom Kaiser, Dave Klem (ex officio), Bill Lacy

Absent: Bella Corbin, Matt Bishop, Michael Hogarth

Special Guests: Professor Paul Singh, Biological and Agricultural Engineering and Leslie Madsen Brooks, Teaching Resource Center

I.  Welcome and approval of minutes – Chair Francois Gygi
Chair Francois Gygi welcomed committee members and called for an approval of the February minutes.  Minutes were approved as submitted. 

II. Report from Graduate Students –Anna Pruitt and Adam Costanzo, Graduate Student Association Representatives
Anna Pruitt, GSA’s representative on the CCFIT committee, presented a Report from Graduate Students.  Outlined in Pruitt’s report included:

• SmartSite – enhancements for more user-friendly functionality, accessibility to posted comments, and additional marketing campaign.  [Liz Gibson, ATS, and Pruitt will discuss off-line the comments and suggestions regarding SmartSite.]
• Gmail – the service roll-out has been received well by students but there are questions regarding increased functionality between Gmail and SmartSite, privacy concerns and questions regarding doing business with a corporation such as Google.
• Geckomail - Increase user functionality of Geckomail which some students are still using.
• Wireless – increase wireless access across campus including office spaces and public areas.  Update wireless coverage maps with information regarding signal strength at each location.

III. Report from AdMAN – Brenda Ruth, AdMAN Representative
Brenda Ruth, AdMAN’s representative on the CCFIT committee, presented a Report from AdMAN.  Outline in Ruth’s report included:

• Human Resource On-line employment, staff recruitment system - Interested in viewing other applications as a comparison if possible, to the PeopleAdmin selection.
• On-Line Course Evaluations – Continues to be a high priority for AdMAN and is interested in learning next steps for a possible pilot or project.
• eRA: Interested in hearing the status of this project. [Bernd Hamman stated a proposal will be forthcoming to CCFIT in an upcoming meeting.]
• Online Faculty Merit and Promotion Process – Interested in hearing project status and roll-out dates.
• Communication to campus – Would like to see additional communication strategies employed to ensure campus users learn of the development and implementation of new campus systems.

III. Gmail Pilot Update – Morna Mellor, IET Data Center & Client Services/Gaston De Ferrari, IET Project Manager
The campus began exploring alternatives to the current Web email program with the goal being to find an email option for students that would provide a rich set of features. After reviewing a number of possible email alternatives, the decision was made to take a closer look at Google's Gmail by way of a student pilot.

The UC Davis Gmail pilot was officially launched on January 16, 2008. It involved 306 undergraduate and graduate students who volunteered to use a "UC Davis-branded" version of Google's Gmail service to send, receive, and manage their email.  Two main goals of the pilot were to explore the possibility of offering a fast, feature-rich, cost-effective, and scalable email option for students; and address the limitations of the current campus Web email service.

In addition to holding a focus group early on in the project, the pilot team invited participants to complete two Web-based surveys. The first survey focused on preliminary impressions of the Gmail service and the ease of transition and degree of support. The second survey gauged satisfaction after several months of Gmail use, including students’ use of the “UC Davis branded” start page and access by mobile devices. Both surveys benefitted from very high return rates (~73% and 82% respectively) and reflected overall positive experiences.

Next steps for the project are to develop a draft report to be shared with campus community groups including CCFIT, submit the PPM 200-45 proposal for Gmail, finalize a long-term contract with Google and Office of the President, and explore ways Gmail could be used for groups beyond students.

Mellor discussed that the campus’ has secured the ability to gain proof of email delivery information for the Gmail clients.  This had been a previous concern expressed to the pilot team.  Mellor will research and bring back to the committee information on proof of delivery for bounced messages (such as when a recipient’s email inbox is full).  Additionally questions raised that will be researched focused on the practice of storing UC Davis data off-campus and the ability to develop a future integration between SmartSite and Gmail. 

For additional questions or information, contact Morna Mellor (mwmellor@ucdavis.edu) and Gaston De Ferrari (gdeferraari@ucdavis.edu).

IV. Follow-up to Undergraduate Report – Francois Gygi
There were no additional questions or feedback regarding the follow-up to the ASUCD Report presented to CCFIT last month.

V. IET Priorities for 2007-08 – Pete Siegel, IET
Vice Provost Pete Siegel shared the IET Priorities for 2007-08 that would be discussed at the next CODVC meeting. Of particular interest, Siegel wanted to encourage members to participate in the upcoming Emergency Messaging Symposium to be held on Thursday, March 27th at UC Davis.  This symposium is a collaborative effort between OOA and IET of which invitations have been extended to all UC campuses, local community colleges and local government officials. 

VI. Technology Innovation: Using 3D Animation in Support of Teaching – Robert Burnett and Liz Gibson, IET Academic Technology Services with Special Guests Professor Paul Singh, Biological and Agricultural Engineering; and Leslie Madsen Brooks, Teaching Resource Center
Liz Gibson and Robert Burnett (3D animator) demonstrated and discussed the various uses of 3D animation in the support of teaching.  Some of the benefits of using this technology in the classrooms includes:

• a realistic visual aid
• ability to play educational games
• creating a critical thinking environment and challenge
• development of hands/eye coordination skills
• development of interactive question and answer discussions
• opportunity to use technology in a classroom environment

Academic Technology Services provides 3D animation services for those interested and works closely with the faculty member to ensure the product meets the needs of the professor and the classroom.  For additional information on 3D animation, contact Liz Gibson (emgibson@ucdavis.edu).  Additional information can be found at the Teaching Resource Center.

Meeting adjourned at 4:35pm