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SPECIALIZING IN FUTURES HISTORICALLY AMERICAN. UNIQUELY CARIBBEAN. GLOBALLY INTERACTIVE. Information & Technology Services PROVIDING THE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AND THE INFORMATION RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE VISION 2012 U V I niversity of the irgin slands Tina M. Koopmans Chief Information Offi cer Tina.Koopmans@uvi.edu November 2009 ITS Newsletter Vol. 5, Issue 1 IN THIS ISSUE: CampusEAI, Page 1 WiFi Update Page 1 Literacy Awareness, Page 1 Wireless Update, Page 1 Faculty/Student Survey Results, Page 2 Librarian conference, Page 3 STX Renovations, Page 3 Dr. Boyer, Page 3 ACURIL Webinar, Page 3 Blackboard Statistics, Page 4 Clickers, Page 4 MS Software, Page 5 New Staff Members, Page 5 Copyright Violation, Page 5 ITS Help Desk, Page 5 UVI on the Pacifi c, Page 6 Network Monitoring Software, Page 6 This issue of the ITS newsletter is full of the work that has happened and the work that will happen in the coming months. As CIO, I want to bring to your attention some of the accomplishments that have made the biggest impact. We are very pleased with the opening of the 24/7 lab in the St. Thomas Library. We have had many positive comments from students about the availability of the facility. It is great to see our students engaged in their work – especially after 10pm. Ms. Rachelle Shells is working hard with the SGA on both campuses to move the Student Tech Fee Committee into action and get their wishes for how best to use the technology fee revenues to continue to impact student life in a positive way. We have also received much good feedback from students about the ITS service desks on both campuses which now provides one-stop service for all component resources. We are pleased to meet the needs of our students but the staff has noticed the “one-stop” is VERY BUSY. Work will continue this year with the service desk staff and students to continue to improve service and manage their growing needs. A Working Group of the staff has been convened to more effi ciently handle the workload. Their recommendations will be implemented during this semester. ITS is also hard at work on the FY2009 Annual Report. We expect publication around the 15th of November. It will highlight the accomplishment s and challenges for the previous fi scal year and for the fi rst time publish the plans and budgets for FY2010. This document will be available electronically on the ITS website. Again I would like to recognize the ITS staff for their continued hard work and dedication to providing the services of the component. It is indeed their contributions that make all things possible! Letter from the CIO ITS has received a grant from the CampusEAI (Enterprise Applica- tions Integration) Consortium for the implementation of a portal. The myCampus portal will provide users with a central location for access to Blackboard, email, message boards, polling and voting. The service would be one spot through which users would ac- cess all these services and would allow them full control of their own online community. Stay tuned for further information on this project. CampusEAI Portal Grant Surfi ng the web has been made easier for the UVI community. Since January ITS has embarked on a project to provide wire- less service to key areas such as the Library, Student Recreation and common areas in the Residence Halls. These services have been extended to just about every area on both campuses. On the St.Croix Campus Access Points have been installed in the Evans Center 300, 500,CATS center(700 level) and the 800 level. In addition, Nursing(Buildings P,T,R), AES, REC, Student Ac- tivities , Modular Building, NWW102, Great House, and Building C on the West campus have all been equipped with access points to accom¬modate students, faculty and staff in those areas. The Residence Halls can see additional coverage through the installation of multiple access points per dorm suite. On STT, WIFI hotspots are now available in the Business (Chase Auditorium), Education, Nursing, and Science and Math. Ad- ditionally access points were installed in Financial Aid/Roup- pe House, Music Center, Reichold Center for the Arts, and the Middle Annex Dorm. On Lower Campus, individuals may fi nd WIFI hotspots in the CA building, CELL, ECC, Physical Plant, and the UVI Sports and Fitness Center. Remember that the UVI WIFI network is secure and individuals must use their UVI domain cre- dentials to log in. Please feel free to contact the UVI helpdesk at 693-1466 or helpdesk@uvi.edu with any problems or concerns WiFi Update October, “National Information Literacy Awareness Month” President Obama has declared October, “National Information Literacy Awareness Month”. President Barack Obama is our fi rst technology-savy president and this proclamation proves it. Did you know that the White House is also on Facebook? Stay in- formed, become a fan!: www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse November 2009 Results of Faculty and Student Surveys Student Questions – (143 survey responses): a. For each of the formats below that you have enrolled in, how satisfi ed have you been with your courses? Very Satisfi ed Satisfi ed Neutral Dissatisfi ed Very Dissatisfi ed Never been enrolled Videoconferenced course 7.48% (11) 26.53% (39) 17.69% (26) 9.52% (14) 2.04% (3) 30.61% (45) Web enhanced with Blackboard 19.05% (28) 42.86% (63) 17.01% (25) 4.08% (6) 2.04% (3) 11.56% (17) Other Web technologies, such as wikis, blogs, podcasts 2.72% (4) 12.93% (19) 17.69% (26) 1.36% (2) 0% (0) 53.06% (78) Face to face course 36.73% (54) 43.54% (64) 7.48% (11) 2.72% (4) 0% (0) 3.4% (5) b. Considering the Interaction you have with other students and course instructors, how do you think courses that use the web have affected the quality of interaction that you have? Increased Somewhat Increased No Difference Somewhat Decreased Decreased With other students? 8.16% (12) 7.48% (11) 38.78% (57) 28.57% (42) 11.56% (17) With the instructor? 10.2% (15) 14.29% (21) 34.01% (50) 23.81% (35) 10.2% (15) Faculty Questions – (53 survey responses) a. For each of the formats below that you have taught, consider, on average, how satisfi ed you have been with your courses. Very satisfi ed Satisfi ed Unsatisfi ed Very unsatisfi ed Videoconference 9.43% (5) 24.53% (13) 5.66% (3) 1.89% (1) Web enhanced using Blackboard 22.64% (12) 33.96% (18) 5.66% (3) 3.77% (2) Other web technologies, i.e. wikis, blogs, podcasts 9.43% (5) 18.87% (10) 0% (0) 0% (0) Face-to-face 33.96% (18) 30.19% (16) 0% (0) 3.77% (2) b. For each of the formats below that you have taught, consider the quality of interaction in your class. How would you say it compared with the quality of interaction in a face-to-face course with no web or technology components? Much Better Better About the same Worse Much Worse Videoconference 5.66% (3) 5.66% (3) 15.09% (8) 11.32% (6) 1.89% (1) Web enhanced using Black- board 5.66% (3) 18.87% (10) 26.42% (14) 7.55% (4) 0% (0) Other web technologies, i.e. wikis, blogs, podcasts 5.66% (3) 7.55% (4) 16.98% (9) 1.89% (1) 0% (0) During the Spring 2009 semester, ITS surveyed faculty and students to assess satisfaction and perceptions of interactions in courses using video conference, Black- board LMS and web 2.0 tools compared to face-to- face courses. Faculty were asked to report on course preparation time and assessment strategies for each type of delivery method. Results show no signifi cant difference in levels of student satisfaction between courses that are web-enhanced compared to courses delivered face-to-face. Further the number of faculty satisfi ed with web-enhanced courses is at the same level as the number of faculty very satisfi ed with face- to-face courses. Although both students and faculty are satisfi ed or very satisfi ed with the web-enhanced courses, comments about VC challenges in the courses were prevalent in the results. Suggestions for addressing VC challenges include increased faculty training and ITS support. Feedback is valuable and will be used in the ongoing assessment of strategies for effective fac- ulty training and deployment of ITS support resources. Results of the survey will be available on the ITS Black- board course with selected responses highlighted in this and future issues of the ITS Newsletter. For further information, contact jrogers@uvi.edu, x4132. November 2009 ITS congratulates Tanisha Mills (STT) and Elroy Richard (STX) on a successful online presentation for Caribbean librarians. On Wednesday, August 5, 2009, Tanisha and Elroy presented a webinar on UVI’s use of Blackboard as an information literacy hub, for colleagues of the Association of Caribbean University Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL). The session was presented in English, French, and Spanish through the translation assistance of colleagues in Haiti and Puerto Rico. Sixteen participants connected to the online presentation using Go-To-Webinar software from their homes or offi ces in Trinidad, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The presentation was sponsored by the Information & Technology Special Interest Group of ACURIL which is chaired by Judith Rogers. It was the fi rst offering of ACURIL’s newly formed continuing education program. The participants were enthusiastic about the opportunity to connect with colleagues within the region and were eager to learn about new uses of technology for promoting information literacy. Librarian Conference Hosted at UVI William Boyer spent two weeks on campus in June con- ducting research to update his book America’s Virgin Islands-A History of Human Rights and Wrongs (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1983) as a second edi- tion. Dr. Boyer is emeritus professor at the University of Delaware; he was a visiting professor at UVI in 1982 and his book was used as a textbook by long-time UVI his- tory professor, Dr. Marilyn Krigger. Boyer’s book provides a comprehensive analysis of the United States territorial relations and offers an insight- ful perspective on US Virgin Islands history from a non Virgin Islander. On June 25, 2009 ITS hosted a meet and greet in Dr. Boyer’s honor where a small group of com- munity members discussed the proposed V.I. constitu- tion and other territory issues. At 85, Dr. Boyer is still in good health and an active scholar. He indicated in a note after his visit to both campuses that “. . . I have made much progress in writing my update since I re- turned last month to the University of Delaware. We will keep you posted and make an announcement when the second edition of America’s Virgin Islands-A History of Human Rights and Wrongs is available.’ UVI Library Staff Present Webinar for ACURIL members William Boyer Back to Update Book William Boyer,far left, discusses the proposed V.I. constitution at a meet and greet in his honor On September 11 & 12, 2009, librarians and IT profession- als from across the territory at- tended a two day conference called ‘Mak- ing Technol- ogy Connec- tions: Strength T h r o u g h through Col- laboration’ at the University of the Virgin Islands. Partici- pants represented members of the St. Thomas/ St. John Library Association, the St. Croix Library Association, Friends of St. Thomas Public Libraries, the Computer Us- ers in Education Association and the University of the Virgin Islands ITS staff. In 2005, UVI in partnership with the University of Pitts- burgh (Pitt) received a grant from the Institute of Muse- um and Library Services (IMLS) to offer a FastTrack Mas- ters of Library and Information Science online program to 24 Virgin Islands residents. This year, the last of the selected students received the MLIS degree. The 2009 conference celebrated this milestone.. Over the two days, seventy-fi ve librarians and IT pro- fessionals engaged in a variety of workshops that pro- vided resources for improving instruction and presenta- tions through the use of technology. Opening remarks were provided by ITS-CIO Tina Koopmans, President David Hall welcomed conference participants and Cherie Wheatley, ITS Customer Service manager was mistress of ceremonies. The keynote address, ‘Strength through Collaboration’ was delivered by Dr. Claudia Gollop, a library science professor from the University of North Carolina. Conference presenters included professors Christinger Tomer and Susan Alman from the University of Pitts- burgh, Elaina Norlin, KIP Communications, Carla How- ard, Instructor UVI Cell/Teacher VIDOE, Christine Davis, Teacher VIDOE, and ITS’ own supervisors Erik Pattison and Suzanne Darrow. Governor John de Jongh, Jr. provided the following comment on the conference: “Continued professional development in any fi eld is vitally important, but man- datory in the areas of education and technology. The merging of these two endeavors strengthens the pos- sibilities for out-standing learning critical thinking, and advancements.” We applaud him for understanding the vision! November 2009 Benefi ts of Blackboard Statistics Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) By Erik Heikkila “Plan your work and work your plan” was the slogan of this week’s lecture and topic for class discussion. The class was Freshman Development Seminar, and we were reviewing management tools like UVI Black- board. The Blackboard course management systems can be very benefi cial by improving communications, increasing availability of course material, giving quick feedback, skill building and tracking. “Just a sec- ond……did you say Tracking?” (as quoted from one of my students) Tracking is a feature that records user activity in Black- board and posts these results in the course statistic area. Date and time stamps are included with all us- age of the website, and professors may obtain statis- tics on one individual or all students within a course. Professors may access the data at anytime to review the number of times a user accesses Blackboard to check on course announcements, reviewed course materials or assignments. However, if professors wish to track activity of a single assignment, they will need to activate the system by checking option #3 (“Track Number of Views”) when submitting your assignments or documents. “Choose Date and Time Restrictions” is another option you will want to address. So, what does this mean? For starters, I have found this system to be benefi cial by creating an opportunity to view time management skill in my FDS classes. When students review course material and assignments in a conscientious and responsible manner, it can only lead to increased productivity and student success. Statistics Tracking can provide detailed reports on who is accessing your course materials, when they access and how often. It has proven to be a great technique for early detection of students with diffi cul- ties (skill based, motivational or otherwise). When it comes to statistics tracking, I let my students know what it is and how it works. Also, it seems to be human nature to do better when you believe someone is watching……...or could be. . FDS Instructors, Professor Heikkila and Dr. McGhee Clickers Enhance Learning Environment in STX SCI 100 Lectures By Michelle Peterson and Stuart Ketcham Since the fi rst week of Fall 2009 classes, Michelle Peterson and Stuart Ketcham have been using TurningPoint Classroom Response Systems, aka “clickers”, in SCI 100 lectures on the St. Croix Campus. For several years, Peterson and Ketcham have been modifying lectures to encourage active stu- dent participation, sections usu- ally serve 40-60 students. TurningPoint software makes it easy for instructors to modify pre-existing PowerPoint presentations by add- ing multiple-choice and other types of question slides. Instructors borrow a set of 50 clickers from the Library before each lecture and distribute pre-assigned click- ers to students. Clickers send signals to a portable USB receiver (the size of a large fl ash drive) that is connect- ed to a computer. Instructors can collect data anony- mously or students can be identifi ed. During lectures, Peterson or Ketcham pose 3-5 ‘clicker’ questions designed to stimulate critical thinking about concepts discussed in class. This process allows stu- dents to earn class participation points toward their course grade. On September 28, after nine lectures using the click- ers, Peterson and Ketcham conducted an anonymous clicker poll of one SCI 100 section to survey student reactions to statements about clicker experiences. Eighty-one percent of the students agreed or strongly agreed with a statement that using the clickers helped to increase learning in the lecture; none strongly dis- agreed. Ninety-seven percent recommended that in- structors continue to use clickers in the course next se- mester. Ketcham said, “We are defi nitely pleased with the way the students have become more engaged in the classes, and a bit surprised at how easy it has been for us instructors to use the technology.” Sample of clicker graph/question results. The Help Desk strives to provide exception- al customer service to university students, faculty, and staff via e-mail and telephone consulting. The Help Desk provides fi rst level support for data, telephone, wireless, E-mail, password, and confi guration issues. Help Desk hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 8:00 am – 10:00 pm, Fridays, 8:00 am – 8:00 pm, Saturday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and Sunday 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm, During Intersession the helpdesk is open 8:00 am - 4:30 pm closed on All University Holidays. You may contact the Help Desk via e-mail at HelpDesk@uvi.edu, or by phone at 340-693-1466. November 2009 Edward “Ted” Fort is original- ly from Pennsylvania where he joined the US Air Force in 1993 working as a Secu- rity Policeman. He travelled to all areas of the world in- cluding Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Ted ended his Air Force tour in San Antonio, TX in 1997, where he lived for 12 years. Ted worked for the University of Texas at San An- tonio for seven years. There, he started on the Helpdesk and ended on the Enterprise Systems with the UNIX group. He is a huge fan of the Cleve- land Browns and the San An- tonio Spurs. He says, “No-one will pry my fi ngers from those two teams and you can poke all the fun you want for I believe my teams are perfect.” Ted governs his work- ing attitude around the “Team” concept, he explains, “The University of the Virgin Islands is my new home and team, you are my family. My mindset is here, to give you all, the best customer service that I can provide. I look forward to working with all of you side-by-side to achieve higher standards that I know a University can bring.” ITS Welcomes New Staff Members Edward "Ted" Fort Christa Richardson came to the University of the Virgin Is- lands as a Programmer Ana- lyst II in July 2009 after two years of service to Premier Wines & Spirits, Ltd. At PWS she served as Payroll/Human Resource Coordinator where she successfully managed all aspects of payroll and human resource administra- tion. Christa holds both a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Technology and a Master of Information Systems Management De- gree from DeVry University. She enjoys traveling, reading, movies, and spending time with friends and family. Christa Richardson UVI faculty and staff now have a new method for ac- cessing Microsoft Offi ce software. Instead of checking out from and returning discs to the library, staff will receive an email from service@microsoft.com in- viting them to have the software mailed at the cost of shipping and handling, approximately $25.00. Microsoft Software for Faculty and Staff Relocation of the library’s computer lab from EVC 902 to NWW 133 is still a work in progress. NWW 133 has been transformed from multiple cubicles to an open classroom space. Network and electrical installations have been completed. The fi tting of new desks for the most effi cient use of the space is the fi nal necessary phase of the preparation. When this is completed, the lab will be re- located during a semester re- cess when the process can be least disruptive to classes. Update - St. Croix Library Renovations ITS Takes Copyright Violations Seriously The ITS department wants to raise your awareness about copyright violations. Shar- ing copyrighted material, including mu- sic, movies, software and some intellectual property, without authorization is illegal. It is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 and other state and federal laws. We hope to prevent copyright violations at UVI. For more information, see www.copyright.gov . The Information Technology Services Help Desk is Here to Help You St. Thomas Campus #2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802-9990 Admissions - (340) 693-1150 St. Croix Campus RR 1, Box 10000 Kingshill St. Croix, Virgin Islands 00850-9781 Admissions - (340) 692-4158 The University of the Virgin Islands is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 Phone: 215-662-5606. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation. November 2009 UVI Telepresence on the Pacifi c Network Monitoring Software On September 19th, 2009 Dr. Nasseer Idrissi was aboard the sci- entifi c research ves- sel JOIDES Resolution somewhere in the Pa- cifi c ocean but he was still able to be present in Dr. Donald Drost’s Science 100 class to discuss the Texas A&M University’s Ocean Drilling Program. In or- der to make this hap- pen, UVI Information & Technology Services worked with Dr. Idrissi, Dr. Drost and the tech- nicians at Texas A&M University to provide a special videoconfer- ence connection to the ship via satellite. Dr. Idrissi, along with other scien- tists aboard the ship, talked about the Ocean Drilling Program and even took a brief video tour of some of the ships facilities for analyzing core samples that were taken from the ocean fl oor. Afterwards, they answered a variety of questions from students about how the drill- ing process worked, what the scientists were studying and what life was like on the ship. Dr. Donald Drost had this to say about this unique op- portunity, “There were 55 science 100 students in the fi rst, with a number of others representing faculty, staff and students from other classes, some from the general public. The turnout was over 40 from Science 100 on the second video conference with a sprinkling of oth- ers. The attendees were enthusiastic about the video conference and their ability to interact directly with world class scientists. Several of my freshmen in Science 100 commented that this was their fi rst realization that this wasn’t high school and that this was a “big deal” and they had access to information, people, research that was truly world class. After the fi rst video conference, students conveyed to me questions and topics that they would like to see covered in the second video conference. Nasseer and the other scientists were very responsive to these requests. The students were impressed by this and benefi tted from it. In class, we have now launched di- rectly into subjects involving plate tectonics, volcanism, earthquakes, etc. so the students also see this as very relevant to what they are doing.” We in ITS are very excited that we can help to provide such opportunities for UVI students. For more informa- tion about the Texas A&M University Ocean Drilling Pro- gram and the JOIDES Resolution research vessel visit http://iodp.tamu.edu/ Audience view of the lecture Podium view of the lecture ITS is pleased to announce that the UVI community will now have access to monitoring the bandwidth at UVI. This tool allows users to view data on bandwidth us- age for Internet access at UVI as well as the usage of bandwidth over the microwave between campuses. A graph of the bandwidth currently being used can be obtained through the following options: 1. Connect to the tool directly at: http://orionweb.uvi. edu 2. Find the link on the UVI website, Information & Tech- nology Services, FAQs If you have any questions regarding bandwidth usage graph please contact us through the Helpdesk at x1466 or helpdesk@uvi.edu.