On May 17, 2011, MCCCD held its premier, annual learning technology event, the 2011 Teaching and Learning with Technology Conference Sponsored by the Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction, this year’s program featured presentations, posters, conversations and workshops that showcased topics aligned with the conference theme of “Change”. The theme encouraged attendees to think critically about the current state of higher education and how technology plays a positive role in addressing the challenges both students and educators continue to face.

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In coordination with the Teaching and Learning with Technology conference, preconference sessions were held on May 16, 2011 specifically with MCCCD IT and faculty professionals each focusing on their respective areas. Faculty preconference activities included the following:

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The 2nd Datacenter (also known as “Airpark”) is an exciting step toward improved services for DSSC ITS customers that we have enjoyed sharing with the college community.

This past summer, Rod Marten visited all 10 college sites describing the capabilities of the new facility which includes increased DSSC ITS service reliability, improved network reliability and performance, and access to resources that the college sites can leverage to improve their systems.  Each site also had the opportunity to share some of their ideas about how they would be able to take advantage of these resources.

In December 2010, awareness of the facility was raised when the the IT Leadership Committee (ITLC) meeting was hosted at Airpark.  Partnering with MIS/CS departments, three classes at PVCC were given a unique opportunity to see the inside of a state-of-the-art computing facility.  In January 2011, additional detailed meetings were held with MCCCD colleges about some of the innovative ideas they had come up with to improve their operations through use of the facility.

The next steps for outreach of the Airpark project is to continue to partner with the colleges to enable their vision for technology at their respective sites.

Special thanks to Rod Marten of  DSSC ITS , for contributing this answer

Click here to see an Index of common ITS acronyms

About a decade ago, while working at a community college, I had the opportunity to visit several of the Maricopa Community Colleges.  I was very impressed and often talked about the wonderful visit.  The impression that this community left on me was a real factor in my decision to join Maricopa.  Ten years later, as the new Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, I visited each of the colleges and had the opportunity to spend time with all ten Presidents and IT leaders.  I am delighted to say, the Maricopa colleges are exciting and wonderful places.

While visiting the colleges I observed many outstanding professionals with full commitment to their important role and the communities they serve.  Notwithstanding that IT folks, along with other peers, are now serving over 140,000 students this semester, IT departments are also addressing the needs of their colleges.  I would like to take this opportunity to share highlights from my visits.

 CGCC’s collaborative and dedicated technical team that leverages limited staff resources to deliver innovative IT services.  They proudly accomplish their work while aligning IT priorities with college strategic goals.

EMCC’s endeavor to provide readily accessible technology to its students for spontaneous use.  One way this is done is to tether laptop computers to student tables in many of their Learning Studios.  That means the technology is always available without the necessity of pre-planning by the instructor.  As EMCC grows, the advanced use of technology will expand as well.

GWCC’s commitment to provide consistent, reliable, user-friendly and diverse technology products to support faculty in teaching and learning in face-to-face and distance courses in their very unique programs.  As a department, they work toward providing an exceptional education and learning environment for students.

GCC’s focus on student success has inspired the IT department to redirect customer service efforts towards creating out-of-class learning spaces.  Working with academic departments on campus, they identified opportunities to personalize student learning.  Revitalizing a lesser used computer lab, they created a collaborative student environment linking students, computing technology and faculty members together.

MCC’s IT relationship with their internal and external customers.  One prime example of this is their relationship with their Library.  Technology is paramount in the library, from the Information Commons, to pay for print partnerships, and even to the use of the facility during peak registration where the library is transformed into a huge student services complex.  IT plays a critical role in all of those ventures.  They are a frequent guests at the Library staff meetings, where discussions are held on teaching and learning using technology, and often showcase new product announcements.  Recently the IPAD was featured and how this kind of transformational technology will change the landscape of libraries.

PVCC’s focus on student success and the applications they presented.  One such example is the Paradise Athletic Web-based System (PAWS).  This system is designed for athletes, and prospective athletes, at PVCC.  PAWS assists athletes in managing their academic and personal goals, academic eligibility and progress towards their degree.  Faculty regularly enter academic information about each athlete and the coaches review progress of their players - recommending action when appropriate.

PC’s integration of media and traditional IT areas.  PC has merged the Media Services Department and the Technology Support Group to what is known as the Information Technology Department.  With this merger, a unified helpdesk was created for instructional, desktop, and network issues in order to provide “real time” service support to both instructional and desktop areas.  PC recently piloted a Proof of Concept virtualization environment in partnership with SCC and looks to move in this direction in 2011-2012.

Rio’s energized IT team and their focus on business processes and integration of IT with business needs.

SCC’s convergence of technology - virtualization and cloud technology.  SCC has leveraged end-to-end virtualization strategies to transform the way IT services are delivered to faculty, staff, and students while increasing access and significantly reducing total cost of ownership.  They have also introduced new era of thinking aligned with college goals by transforming IT staff meetings from operations focus to strategic through unique Transform and Innovate Meetings for Excellent Results (TIMER) approach.

SMCC’s sense of openness and creativity.  The Library is an example about what is good about the South Mountain Village: Sharing and community cooperation.  When it opens next fall, this one-of-a-kind joint-venture will attract a lot of attention, not only for its beautiful glass top exterior, but more importantly for what’s inside: Not just books and electronic media, but an amazing spirit of cooperation between the Phoenix Public Library and SMCC. 

Special thanks to George Kahkedjian, VC of ITS, for contributing this article

Click here to see an Index of common ITS acronyms 

DSSC ITS is working with EMCC to help Mike Poplin and PC through a reorganization of their IT services.  EMCC is focusing on longer term strategic efforts, while DSSC ITS is matching PC requirements to DSSC ITS and college resources that PC can reach out to should they need assistance addressing short-term issues.

Special thanks to Rod Marten of  DSSC ITS for contributing this article

Click here to see an Index of common ITS acronyms

DSSC ITS has been visiting the colleges to discuss the Airpark Datacenter and Disaster Recovery facility.  The purpose of these visits is to discuss the new capabilities that will be made available through this site and to solicit input on how the colleges may be able to leverage the new facility.  With construction pending, the Airpark center was open for colleges to tour from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM Friday, February 4, prior to the start of construction.  Assuming all goes according to schedule, the new facility will be opened again for tours at the end of October 2010.

Special thanks to Rod Marten of  DSSC ITS for contributing this article

Click here to see an Index of common ITS acronyms

DSSC ITS has begun to share a notebook of Technology Planning documents with our MCCCD stakeholders.  The notebook is a collection of Strategic and Technology Planning documents, including the current version of the Plan, portfolios of completed projects and current projects, and more.  The Planning notebook also contains a progress report concerning the DSSC ITS external assessment originally published in early 2009.  The first audience for this collection of information was the IT Leaders group, and then closely followed by the Information Technology Council (ITC).  Feedback received from these groups will form the beginnings of the second version of the DSSC ITS Plan, currently targeted for March 2010.  Once the A&M external review is completed, DSSC ITS leadership plans to visit the leadership of each of the colleges to discuss and gather additional suggestions for updates to the ITS Plan. 

Please Click here to view the current version of the notebook in PDF format.

Special thanks to Darrel Huish, Vice Chancellor of ITS, for contributing this article

Click here to see an Index of common ITS acronyms

In April, I had the opportunity to meet with the VP Council for Academic Affairs as well as the VP Council for Student Affairs.  At each of these meetings we talked about the upcoming implementation of Google Apps for Students.  For those colleges that have not been providing any student email this is seen as a solid step forward.  For Rio Salado and Mesa Community College, who have already been providing student email, the situation is about wanting to understand so they can adapt to the new opportunities.  DSSC ITS appreciates that the VP’s could take the time to listen and advise on this exciting initiative.

Two other events were noteworthy:  DSSC ITS had a strong presence at the May 19 Teaching and Learning with Technology Conference held at GCC.  It was a great day to connect with colleagues from across the district and listen to the dynamic informative sessions.  DSSC ITS had at least six employees in attendance.  That same week, on May 21, we enjoyed the MAT conference held at MCC.  Of particular interest was a presentation by Adrian Sannier, the University Technology Officer for ASU.  His conversation about the dilemmas faced by central service providers — “is this service core to our mission? or part of the context?” gave many of us reason to stop and think.  For those of you who missed Dr. Sannier’s presentation, consider searching for him on YouTube to view previous presentations on the same topic.

Special thanks to Darrel Huish, Vice Chancellor of ITS, for contributing this article

In early spring 2009 I was invited to interact with various leadership groups at: Paradise Valley, Estrella Mountain, Glendale and Gateway Community Colleges. It was a pleasure to interact and discuss multiple technology issues of interest to MCCCDs’ colleges.

One theme of the discussions was maintaining momentum during times of uncertainty. We all are learning to adapt to changes in funding that will come from the Arizona Legislature, the Federal Stimulus program, or internal Maricopa reallocations. This led to productive conversation about planning and prioritization. It seems clear to me that 2009 will be a time of sharpened focus. One of the tools that we will use is to take the recommendations of the recently completed ITS Audit and use that to help form our Information Technology Plan. An early draft is in circulation among the Information Technology Council. The Governing Board and Chancellor’s Executive Council are eager to review the plan and provide feedback.

Another theme that came up frequently is that of seeking balance. Each college has high aspirations to provide exemplary service to their students and their communities. ITS has a charge to create efficiency through the secure use of centralized applications for Teaching and Learning, HR, SIS, Finance, Budgets, Authentication and Email. All of Maricopa is engaged in finding creative ways to make our efficient centralized services flexible enough to serve the wants and needs of the Maricopa Colleges. It can be challenging work, but it is also very rewarding to discover solutions and make progress.

If you have a group that would like to devote some part of a future agenda to having similar discussions, please contact Shelly Laug for scheduling.

Special thanks to Darrel Huish, Vice Chancellor of ITS, for contributing this article

Click here to see an Index of common ITS acronyms

The Registration period is always one of the busiest times of the year, for both the colleges and for the Student Information System (SIS) team. This has been particularly true since the implementation of the SIS last February. This spring was the 2nd full registration period in SIS.  Several members of ITS, including myself, Gary Nusbaum and Miguel Corzo visited each of the colleges to get a first-hand look at how college users and students interacted with SIS.  It was very encouraging to see the strides that have been made in understanding and using SIS more effectively.  While there are still improvements to be made, it was informative and worthwhile to see SIS in action from the users’ point of view.

Special thanks to Steve Creswell of DSSC ITS for contributing this article

Click here to see an Index of common ITS acronyms