TAG’s second Spring 2013 meeting was this morning – and we actually finished up 5 minutes early! Here’s what’s going on:
1. My.Scranton/Luminis upgrade
We spent most of the meeting talking about the upcoming upgrade to Luminis 5 (Luminis is the software platform behind the my.scranton portal), which will happen during spring break. Thanks to IR, TAG has had the opportunity to weigh in with faculty feedback on what the new portal page should look like – especially the Faculty Tab. IT staff member Joe Casabona was kind enough to stop by our meeting to answer questions and listen to comments and suggestions about what’s most important to faculty and where it should go.
More details about the Faculty Tab in a following post, but the short version is that TAG and IR will be continuing to work on it both before and after the upgrade goes live. The new version of Luminis is thankfully a lot easier to update than the current version, so we’ll have an easier time making changes.
IR will be sending out a University-wide email later today about the upgrade. The TAG members in attendance agreed to remind their departments about the upgrade at their next department meetings, and Dave Dzurec (History) will give a brief announcement about the upgrade at the next Faculty Senate meeting.
TAG asks that all faculty members 1) report any problems you have with the new portal to the Technology Support Center (tsc@scranton.edu or 570-941-HELP) and 2) send any broader questions or comments to TAG so that we can share them with Joe and the rest of the IR staff members working on the project.
2. TAG Leadership for 2013-2014
- Having 2 co-chairs is beneficial due to the time commitment and workload.
- Having (at least) 1 co-chair be a Faculty Senator would be ideal, since TAG needs a Faculty Senator to serve as a liaison between TAG and the Senate’s Academic Support Committee.
- A rotating chair model (each co-chair serves for two years but with staggered terms, so each year there’s one outgoing co-chair and one incoming co-chair) would be helpful so that there’s continuity. This would also make the commitment of chairing more manageable, since it would only be a two-year commitment.
- Rotating membership in general might be beneficial in order to sustain the group and prevent burnout.
Kristen Yarmey (Library) is willing to continue as co-chair in 2013-2014 to smooth the transition for the incoming co-chair. Jeremy will look into existing Faculty Senate committee models for selecting leadership. Kristen will follow up with the Faculty Senate executive committee for an update on TAG’s Senate status.
3. Technology and Learning Discussion Group and Communicating about Technology on Campus
This semester Kristen and Bryan Burnham (Psychology) are hosting an informal Technology and Learning Discussion Group as an extension of a Clavius-like faculty seminar on Technology in the Mind they hosted during Fall 2012. The group’s purpose is to discuss readings and issues relating to technology and learning in a broad sense. All University community members are welcome to attend – meetings are biweekly on Monday nights at 6pm. Kristen is posting topics and meeting announcements to Bboard and here on the TAG site.
We had a brief discussion about how various technology groups on campus (like the Discussion Group and the newly formed Social Media group) can share what they’re doing and talking about with IR, CTLE, TAG, etc. Jim Franceschelli (IT Services) noted that communication about what technologies are being discussed would help IR staff members prepare for and respond to emerging needs. Communication between IR and TAG has been helpful to both groups – can we establish that kind of channel with the Discussion Group and other similar efforts? (IR staff members are welcome to participate in the group, but evening meeting times are difficult for most staff members’ schedules.)
Sandy Pesavento (Education) agreed that more communication about what technology is being tested or implemented around the campus (especially within different colleges/departments) would be useful. She suggested that TAG members share brief updates about technology initiatives in their departments/colleges at the beginning of TAG meetings (or possibly on the TAG WordPress site, since meeting time is short).
Kristen floated the idea of a collaborative blog or website for technology on campus, that could aggregate feeds of posts/events/news from IR, TAG, CTLE, the Library, and any other technology-related groups (formal or informal) on campus.
Kristen will discuss the idea of a shared technology site with CTLE, Library, and IR staff members to see if it might be of interest. She will also work with Jim and Bryan to look for ways in which IT staff can connect with the discussion group, possibly via daytime scheduling in future semesters and/or by integrating discussions into existing events like the Library/CTLE Technology on Your Own Terms workshops or IR’s IT Forums.
4. Ongoing Projects
TAG input is still needed for discussions about faculty course data and FERPA considerations for cloud computing. Faculty members should let Kristen know if they are interested in leading or participating in these discussions.
5. Code of Responsible Computing / Acceptable Use Policy
Dave has posted the latest draft of the revised Code of Responsible Computing, now the Acceptable Use Policy. Faculty should send feedback to either Dave or Jim so that their committee can incorporate comments before the draft goes through the formal policy process next semester.
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