Technology@Wooster

IT Administrative Assistant Linda McNeil will be on leave for several weeks beginning Monday, July 27.

During Linda’s absence:

• Questions related to mailing list creation and management using List Serv should be directed to the help desk at 330 287-3000 x1111.

• Requests for toner should continue to be made via the IT website.

• Questions related to Pharos print management accounts should be directed to the help desk at 330 287-3000 x1111 or to Mary Schantz, Manager of User Services, at mschantz@wooster.edu.

• Requests for loaner laptops and projectors should be made by sending an email message to IT_Loaner_Equipment@wooster.edu. These devices are available for check out for classes, presentations and related academic purposes. Devices must be picked up at the IT Help Desk on the main level of Andrews Library (behind the circulation desk) between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

We’ll miss you, Linda.

Linda McNeil

User Support Specialist Leslie Worcester has announced that she will leave the College of Wooster as of August 3, 2007. She has accepted an IT support position at her alma mater. We will miss Leslie a great deal, and wish her the very best as she assumes her new position and the associated responsibilities.  Good luck, Leslie!

User Services welcomes David Edwards and Catherine Grandgeorge to the team. On July 1, Dave replaced Michael Naylor as User Support Specialist. (As previously announced Michael assumed a new position in Networks, Telecommunications and Systems.) Last year, Dave served as intern for the Computer Science department and managed the CS computer lab. Prior to joining the College, Dave was employed as an information technology solutions consultant by Tack Wholesale. Dave graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in Computer Science in 2004.

In June, Catherine Grandgeorge joined the staff as User Services Intern. This internship is a 12-month appointment available to recent college graduates. Catherine graduated from the College of Wooster in 2007. As a student, Catherine worked as a technology consultant for the help desk and, in this role, made significant contributions to our efforts to improve the quality of service provided to the student community. Catherine replaces Becca Scina who completed her term and recently accepted employment elsewhere.

The Office of Information Technology is very pleased to welcome these new faces and we look forward to working with them!

Catherine Grandgeorge and David Edwards

Effective July 1, User Support Specialist Michael Naylor will assume a new position. He will join Networks, Telecommunications and Systems as Systems Administrator. Mike will specialize in the administration of Windows servers and he will provide support for the digital imaging system. Mike made significant contributions to User Services during his tenure there, and we are confident that he will make real contributions to NTS as well. The Office of Information Technology is grateful to Mike for his willingness to take on this new position and the associated responsibilities.

Michael Naylor

On April 10, David Waldron (CITO), Tabby Conwell (Director of Applications Development), Vince Di Scipio (Director of Networks, Telecommunications and Systems) and Janet Russell (Director of Instructional Technology) visited the campus of Ohio Wesleyan. The visit was hosted by the staff of OWU’s Library and Information Services staff. The visit afforded the groups the opportunity to share information about technologies and technology products and to compare notes related to their respective policies and strategies. The two groups also discussed possible areas of collaboration with an eye toward lowering costs and improving services on both campuses. The visit included a tour of IT resources; the OWU library and information commons; and the Sagan Academic Resource Center which contains the Academic Skills Center, the Learning Disabilities Assistance Center, the Quantitative Skills Center and the Writing Resource Center. IT and the libraries have been merged at OWU, and the visit provided the Wooster IT managers the opportunity to discuss this organizational arrangement with their counterparts. We’re grateful to Theresa Byrd and her staff for their hospitality and look forward to returning the favor. On March 7, an IT group paid a similar visit to Oberlin. We also thank John Bucher and his staff for hosting us.

John McCreight has recently completed the required class work and testing to become a Cisco Certified Network Administrator. John, in his capacity as Unix System Administrator, has taken an interest in improving electronic communications on campus. To that end, he has begun classroom training and self study courses to achieve the Certified Cisco Network Professional certification.

The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), the National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education (NITLE) and Project Kaleidoscope recently conducted a workshop on Learning Spaces & Technology on the campus of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA. Iain Crawford (VPAA), Simon Gray (Associate Professor of Computer Science), Damon Hickey (Director of the Libraries), Janet Russell (Director of Instructional Technology) and David Waldron (CITO) comprised the Wooster team attending the event. The workshop was designed to help colleges and universities plan effective technology-enhanced learning spaces. These spaces include libraries, classrooms, and computing or multi-media labs.

The Wooster participants discussed how students might best be prepared for life, work, citizenship and leadership in our digital age and the knowledge democracy that is emerging, and how the College libraries, learning support services and the learning spaces across campus might be reimagined to enhance student outcomes. All the Wooster attendees are members of the Wooster’s taskforce on the future of the libraries. The group took advantage of the workshop to further the ongoing converstation about the development of a knowledge commons within Andrews Library. Janet Russell and David Waldron also updated the group on the creation of the instructional technology demo classroom in Taylor Hall and the renovation of Wishart 102 as a prototype technology-enhanced classroom. The group discussed the importance of collaboration and coordination between Information Technology, Instructional Technology and academic offices to ensure that technological operations, facilities and initiatives are aligned with learning goals and outcomes. The workshop attendees have scheduled a follow-up meeting to review the workshop and plan future activities.

David Waldron, Simon Gray, Iain Crawford, Janet Russell and Damon Hickey
during a break at the Learning Spaces workshop.

User Support Specialists Michael Naylor and Robert Rybicki are now certified through the Dell^™ Warranty Parts Direct Program. To utilize the services of the Dell^™ Warranty Parts Direct Program, technicians are required to pass a Dell certification proficiency examination for each of the product families they intend to service and support. Michael and Robert have been certified to repair Dell servers, notebooks, and Optiplex, and Dimension desktops. The Office of Information Technology would like to congratulate Michael and Robert and thank them for their continued efforts in improving the support provided through the helpdesk.

Janet Russell has announced that she will leave her position as Director of Instructional Technology on May 31, 2007. Janet has accepted a position as Assistant Director of the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University. Her new duties will include teaching science pedagogy to graduate and undergraduate students; developing and leading workshops for faculty and graduate students; assisting in organizing and facilitating the Teaching, Learning, and Innovation Summer Institute and other major events; and participating in University strategic planning in areas related to the sciences.

Janet assumed her current position in the summer of 2005. Instructional Technology made significant advances under Janet’s leadership, including the implementation of Moodle and MDID. Janet also brought podcasting to campus, and began the exploration of channel 2 as a pedagogical tool. She played a pivotal role in the implementation of the classroom technology in the renovated Kauke Hall.

We will miss Janet’s energy and excitement, but wish her the very best as she prepares to assume her exciting new responsibilities.

IT is very pleased to announce that Mary Schantz has been appointed Manager of User Services. Mary has served as Interim Manager of the department since May of this year. In her short time as Interim Manager, Mary oversaw the installation of over 300 computers on campus, the installation of four new computer labs, and the replacement of six others. She also launched an initiative to improve the effectiveness of the IT help desk. While ongoing, this initiative has already resulted in significant improvements in the quality of service. Also during her short time as Interim Manager, Mary hired three new User Support Specialists- -this represents three quarters of the department’s professional staff. Prior to being named Interim Manager, Mary served as User Support Specialist and as User Services Intern. Mary majored in Political Science at the College of Wooster and graduated in 2004.

Throughout her tenure in User Services Mary has provided excellent service to the Wooster community and, as Interim Manager, she has demonstrated that she is very well-equipped to lead that department. The Office of Information Technology is very grateful to Mary for accepting the responsibilities of this position on a permanent basis.