Chabot College Technology Plan

Spring 2008

Prepared by the

Institutional Technology Committee

Final draft: May 29, 2008

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Mission 4

Technical Support 5

Computer Replacement, Upgrade and Maintenance 6

Procurement Procedures 7

Media Services 8

Distance Education 12

Online Student Services 16

Telecommunications Network 18

Remote Access for Faculty and Staff 20

Electronic Mail 21

Backup Procedures and Disaster Recovery 22

Website Access and Development 23

Software Replacement, Upgrade, and Maintenance 25

Library and Learning Resources 27

Training 29

Assistive Technology 33

Open Labs 35

Review Process 37

Conclusion 38

Appendix A: Acceptable Use Policy 39

Appendix B: Three-page Condensed Interact Communications Plan 49

Introduction

The purpose of this Technology Plan is to establish technology guidelines that will help direct Chabot College as we move into the 21st century. This plan contains procedures, visions and recommendations for technological enhancement within Chabot College that will occur over the next five years. Of course, this plan should be viewed with a degree of flexibility since it is impossible to account for rapidly evolving technology and funding issues.

This plan examines the current status of technology on the Chabot campus, focusing on three major elements that are crucial for the success of any technology master plan: organization, processes, and technology. It contains administrative procedural recommendations that should be implemented and supported if the College intends to continue to maintain the high standard of education it currently provides. It outlines budgeting requirements that facilitate currency in technology and infrastructure, and future staffing needs that require consideration to support the College's growth in technology. In effect, this Plan should become a “living document” that serves as the strategic guide for current and future technology at Chabot.

A review of this plan should be conducted every other year and a report submitted by the Institutional Technology Committee to the College Council on the progress of the plan’s implementation and success.

Members of the Technology Committee who contributed to this plan include Kathleen Allen, Norman Buchwald, Tom Clark, Arlene DeLeon, Steven Piatetsky, Catherine Powell, Mark Schaeffer, Mike Seaton, Katherine Tollefesen, Rachel Ugale, Lisa Ulibarri, Gordon Watt, Minta Winsor, and Abdullah Yahya. We also received valuable input from Scott Hildreth, Jeannine Methe, and Kip Waldo.

Mission

According to the Chabot College mission statement, the College pledges to “prepare students to succeed in their education, progress in the workplace, and engage in the civic and cultural life of the global community.” As education, the workplace, and civic life become more dependent on digital technology, the College must keep its own technology up to date in order to fulfill that pledge.

This Technology Plan details the expansion of technology within Chabot College and describes the current environment and future plans to be implemented. The Institutional Technology Committee, which prepared the plan, is a representative group of staff, faculty, and administrators who not only contributed their own technology-related expertise and insights, but also strove to incorporate input from their constituencies in all sectors of the College. With an eye toward making the Technology Plan mesh with the Facilities Master Plan, the Educational Master Plan, and other documents created by the College, the committee established the following goals:

• Provide direct, universal and comfortable access to information and instructional technologies by students, faculty and staff to facilitate improved teaching and learning.
• Promote students’ success in their educational and career goals.
• Improve communication, collaboration, and coordination among those who enable students, faculty, and staff to make the most effective use of technology resources.
• Sustain and improve instructional, student, and administrative support services.
• Promote alternative methods of education that integrate technology into instruction.
• Invest in staff development to provide training in effective use of technology resources.
• Provide for innovative and cutting-edge opportunities while keeping in mind that proven technologies are usually better investments.

The successful implementation and completion of this plan will give the faculty and staff the necessary tools and resources to incorporate technology into instruction and day-to-day operations. It is imperative that Chabot College remain committed to the advancement of technology in order to provide a productive workplace and an exemplary educational environment where our students receive an education that is current both in content and in technology.

Technical Support

Current Environment

Chabot College’s Computer Support consists of three Computer Network Support Specialists II and one Computer Network Support Specialist I, under the supervision of a Senior Instructional Network Systems Specialist (a position not currently filled), led by the Vice President of Business Services. The College's technology infrastructure now includes over 1700 networked computer systems, 26 administrative and instructional servers, one aggregate T-3 line, and two T-1 lines for voice, providing a comprehensive network that includes most of the buildings, offices and classrooms on campus.

Future Plan

Chabot’s technology infrastructure appears to be well-positioned for the next five years, but the same cannot be said for the technology support staff. As the Measure B Bond increases the number of buildings, Technology-Equipped Classrooms, and computer labs, the College will require increased staff to support the new technology in these facilities. We therefore recommend that the following positions be established:

• Permanent Administrator (i.e. Supervisor of Chabot Computer Support), 100%-12 months
• Computer Network Support Specialist II, 100%-12 months

There is an immediate need to create and fill the above positions in order not to compromise the level of technology support as the student population and the faculty’s and staff’s needs grow.

We also recommend that the College train a small number of faculty or staff members around the campus to have administrative authority to install software. This would provide faculty and staff with a more immediate response to software installation requests and minor maintenance, which would allow IT to focus on more important needs. IT would have final authority to decide who is given administrative rights and under what conditions.

Computer Replacement, Upgrade and Maintenance

Current Environment

Technology Services provides all faculty and staff members with a computer for their work area. The current standard of the College provides for a minimum configuration of a Pentium IV, 3000 MHz computer system with most faculty, staff and student labs possessing systems with a Pentium IV, 3000 MHz processor or better. Faculty also have the option of using Apple Macintosh computers, and some student labs in the Arts and Humanities Division are stocked with Macs as well.

The College has been able to maintain currency in student computer labs by purchasing newer technology for these labs and taking the older machines, which in most cases are newer than those used by the College's employees, and passing them on to the offices of College employees based on need. Part-time employees and adjunct faculty have access to campus computers in the faculty/staff training room and computer lab (known informally as The Hub), which offers eight PCs, three G5 Macs, and a networked printer for use by both full-time and part-time employees. Full-time and part-time employees also have access to computers in most of the open labs within the College.

Networked printers are placed in student computer labs and in other areas where they can serve multiple users. Individual printers are limited to those employee offices in which a larger workgroup printer would not be cost effective.

Chabot IT has been certified to repair Gateway computers that are under warranty and to receive payment from the vendor for doing so.

Future Plan

Over the last ten years, it has become apparent that computers and their peripherals maintain a functional life of three to four years. Equipment must be replaced on a regular four-year cycle to maintain an adequate level of service to users. A preventative maintenance program is needed to ensure that current equipment meets the four-year functional life set forth by this plan. The College must establish a replacement cycle for older machines, funding replacements through the capital outlay budget instead of relying on passing a bond issue every five years.

Procurement Procedures

Current Environment

The College requires review from Computer Support Services for all technological purchases made with College funds. This requirement allows the College to maintain compatibility and standardization with existing technology.

Student-use computers are purchased as needed depending on available funding. The College supports 1100 student-use computers, most of which are in computer labs around the campus. Approximately 200 of these computers are regularly available in open labs; the remaining computers are available when not being used for classroom instruction.

Currently, procurement of repair or supplemental parts requires a Purchase Order process that does not lend itself to “just-in-time” repair or parts procurement. This purchasing process is also costly in labor due to the number of persons needed to process these orders.

Future Plan

The College should continue to provide all employees with technology they require. We recommend developing a credit card system that can provide parts and software as needed. This will minimize over-ordering of parts to keep on hand (cost savings), cut the lead time on systems awaiting parts, and allow Chabot to leverage its funds in a more efficient manner.

Media Services

Media Services supports the diverse media-related needs and requirements of the Chabot campus and the District by providing the following services:

• Audiovisual equipment to support classroom instruction, class projects and campus events
• Videoconferencing and teleconferencing to support Distance Education, conferences and meetings
• Graphic design and desktop publishing to support faculty, staff and administrators with instructional and promotional materials
• Digital reproduction & offset printing (including finishing/binding options) to transform duplication requests into finished documents
• Custom course readers to support faculty and students with affordable supplemental teaching materials
• Media duplication of VHS tapes, audio cassettes, CD’s, and DVD’s

Current Environment

Media Systems

Multimedia has become an essential, integrated component to the delivery of course content for many classes. Chabot College provides two options to support the campus with products and services.

• Permanent or semester-long installations, depending on the needs and requirements of faculty and staff. Overhead transparency projectors are installed in approximately 55% of our general classrooms. Technology Equipped Classrooms (aka “smart classrooms”) account for approximately 18% of general assignment classrooms. Televisions, VCR/DVD players, carousel projectors, and other media equipment are deployed as required.
• Circulating equipment is dispensed for short-term use as requested. We support a “lending library” of audiovisual equipment including computer carts (containing a Windows or Macintosh computer, a projector, a closed-captioning-capable DVD or VHS player, and speakers), data projectors, laptop computers, VCR/DVD players, cameras (both still and motion), public address systems, and more.

Teleconferencing

Teleconferencing technology provides an opportunity for faculty and staff to communicate face-to-face with people anywhere in the world. It allows parties to interact via motion-video and high-fidelity audio as if both parties were in the same room. In addition, PowerPoint presentations, computer images, movies, and other devices can be added to the multimedia experience.

Chabot College currently has three systems for this purpose. Two of these facilities are located in the Nursing department, and are dedicated to supporting Distance Education for their curriculum. The third system, in building 100, is used for meetings, demonstrations, and classes.

Digital Reproduction & Offset Printing

Our campus supports the diverse and demanding needs of faculty, staff, administration, and students. We currently support a campus-wide convenience copier program, the centralized print/copy center, and a pay-for-print program for student use in the Library, WRAC Center, and the computer lab in 3906.

Future Plan

Media Systems

In the short term, Media Services will continue to maintain and replace overhead projectors, 35mm slide projectors, and screens, and gradually convert from VHS video to DVD capabilities. All newly purchased media equipment will be capable of showing closed-captioned media. Current digital computer projectors do not have the capability to show captioned material, so in the interim, we recommend that decoders be purchased to allow the use of captioned material with these projectors.

Our long-term goal is to have all general assignment classrooms be Technology Equipped Classrooms. The presentation systems in these classrooms will include a ceiling mounted data projector, motorized projection screen, networked resident computer, VCR/DVD player, closed captioning, a document camera, inputs for guest laptops, and a user friendly control system, all incorporated into an ADA-compatible instructor station desk. As the Bond-initiated renovations and construction of new buildings progresses, Technology Equipped Classrooms will be phased in as budgeting allows.

As more equipment becomes permanently installed, the process surrounding the circulating lending library will be revised. Delivery and pickup of equipment will shift to the requestor. Media Services technical staff will be more focused on providing support services rather than pickup/delivery services.

Equipment must be replaced every five years to remain up to date. The College must fund and implement a regular five-year replacement cycle for all media systems.

Digital Reproduction & Offset Printing

We recommend doing the following in the next two years:

• Design third-party contracts with the flexibility to accommodate both current technology and technology of the future. For example, features and functions of copiers increasingly depend on computer support as the need for software applications and networking become standard processes.

• Implement an on-line system for requesting and managing print jobs done by Media Services. This system would replace the manual, analog submission of print/copy request forms utilizing hard-copy originals with a robust, electronic, web-enabled interface.
• Replace the offset printing press with a networked, digital duplicator. Advantages of this migration include:
• eliminating the photographic chemistry involved in the plate-making process, thereby making us more “green”
• providing a common digital front-end for receiving document masters and providing a higher quality finished product
• gaining productivity by streamlining and simplifying the printing process

Training

The College must provide funding for us to create and produce instructional videos to train faculty and staff on the operation, use, and applications of multimedia equipment. Videos would be available in multiple formats, including hard-copy, DVD, and online at the Media Services website. Training modules might include:

• how to operate and use a computer cart
• how to operate and use a Technology-Equipped Classroom
• how to operate and use the Boardroom presentation system
• how to set up and operate a laptop
• how to set up and operate a document camera

Website Upgrade

In conjunction with a general redesign of the College website, Media Services should establish a central, always-accessible, online location that will allow users to be informed and knowledgeable about all the support services and processes Media Services offers. Employees should be able to submit printing and copying requests, download training videos, and access room-view software via the website.

File submission of print/copy requests, training videos, room-view software, interactive forms, and other information naturally lends itself to having a dynamic, interesting, and informative web portal.

Distance Education

According to California Community Colleges Distance Education Regulations and Guidelines, distance education is defined as “instruction in which the instructor and student are separated by distance and interact through the assistance of communication technology” (www.cccco.edu/SystemOffice/Divisions/AcademicAffairs/DistanceEducation/RegulationsandGuidelines/tabid/767/Default.aspx). Chabot now offers numerous distance education courses to meet rising demand from students.

Current Environment

To jump-start a significant increase in online course development, the DE curriculum committee streamlined the course review and approval process and implemented a faculty incentive for teaching online. The distance education program is continuing its first program review, which began in 2007. The Distance Education Committee created ambitious goals in terms of learning about our current and potential online students and their needs, improving student success and retention, motivating and providing support to faculty to teach online, and tackling the question of student learning outcomes in online vs. on-campus courses. Through the continuous growth in courses using Blackboard, online learning is becoming more prevalent.

In the effort to assist current and prospective DE students, a website was created to provide more information about DE courses.. The site (www.chabotcollege.edu/DistanceEd/) includes information regarding the differences between online classes and hybrid classes, any on-campus class meetings of online courses, technology requirements for online students, and an information page where instructors can provide customized information about their online courses.

During the first few weeks of Spring 08 semester, DE faculty and the Instructional Technology Center (ITC) staff offered an orientation to online learning for all Chabot online students. The nine orientation sessions provided Blackboard log-in instructions and help, an overview of the Blackboard course management system, and tips on netiquette, time management, and study skills for the online student. Students who struggle with logging in or with using required Blackboard tools are far more likely to drop or to fail, and these meetings were intended to improve both student retention and success rates.

With the support of a Basic Skills grant, an interactive online tutorial has been created to provide instruction in library research for our online students. To quote from the grant proposal: “The tutorial covers techniques in selecting a topic, searching the library catalog, finding articles in databases, searching and evaluating the Distance Education Committee sites, and properly citing sources. In addition, there will be an assessment tool—a test implemented in Blackboard on basic information skills that would refer back to the skills mentioned in Searchpath—that instructors can use to determine if students have online research know how for their courses. Students would then have the basic skills necessary to perform a research assignment, effectively using library resources in an online format.”.” This tutorial was piloted in the Fall 07 semester prior to full implementation in Spring 08.

A new film about our online students entitled “Going the Distance” was completed in early fall of 2007. It explores why students take online courses, how they view the workload and participation as compared to traditional campus courses, how they interact with instructors, and what they believe it takes to succeed in an online course. The Distance Education Committee has offered several forums to share this video, which was developed by our “Reading Between the Lines” student filmmakers.

In addition to these student-focused efforts, the Distance Education Committee also develops programs for those considering teaching online, such as an online tutorial—introduced in December 2007—that guides faculty through the process of developing an effective DE course. It’s the first of a projected series of courses for faculty that will enable them to develop a proposal, learn online teaching pedagogy, and build a course in Blackboard. The Distance Education Committee is also exploring potential Blackboard upgrades and other new technologies for online teaching.

Future Plan

The major focus of the DE Committee so far has been to help online students succeed. The committee’s longer-term goal is to improve the quality and scope of distance education offerings to meet student demand.. Online courses enhance accessibility to education for many students and helps students attain their educational goals in a more flexible learning modality. The Distance Education Committee also plans to develop a series of mini-modules that DE faculty can insert into their online courses as they see fit, including library research skills, online study skills, Blackboard tutorials, and more.

The following focal points were adopted as the goals of Chabot College’s Distance Education Committee to help promote and support a future Distance Education Program.

· Provide online developmental opportunities and resources for Chabot College staff

· Develop programs for equitable compensation and support for those interested in development of Distance Education technologies

In support of these goals, the Distance Education Committee plans to:

1. Work with faculty to develop, approve, and offer at least 25 new, high-quality online courses (or new sections of existing online courses) each year. This will require:
1. An ongoing incentive plan to motivate faculty to make the significant upfront investment of time to develop new online courses.
2. Availability of the hardware and software necessary for faculty to teach online.
3. Availability of training for new online faculty to develop online teaching skills, and for current online faculty to continue to build their skills.
4. Training for all faculty in Blackboard, as the Distance Education Committee believe this is an “on-ramp” to stimulating interest in teaching online.
5. Recognition of the significant role that adjunct faculty are playing in the development of our online offerings, via stipends for adjuncts to complete Blackboard training, and to join the DE Committee.
2. Develop a series of mini-modules that DE faculty can insert into their online courses as they see fit, covering library research skills, online study skills, Blackboard tutorials, and similar topics.
3. Develop an online orientation course for students and provide extended Blackboard support hours to enhance student retention and success.
4. Complete an analysis of the gaps the Distance Education Committee has to close in order to offer our most popular degrees and certificates fully online. Students can already earn a “transfer oriented” AA degree online at Foothill, and Las Positas has this as a stated near-term goal.
5. Develop an overall distance education strategic plan including key initiatives to make the college fully accessible to online students (tutoring, counseling, financial aid, bookstore, library, etc.).
6. Work with faculty and staff to ensure smooth transitions to upgraded versions of Blackboard.

With upcoming changes and additions in Distance Education, we are focused on the expansion of student support. While students have additional options for online courses, they may be lacking in the foundation needed for success in a distance education course. This need sparked the expansion of Blackboard student support services for the initial weeks of the term. However, the growing number of distance education courses demands additional permanent support. We hope to address this need with the addition of full-time student support personnel who can better address the on-campus and resource needs for the growing population of distance education students.

Online Student Services

Online Student Services is part of the Admission and Records Department. Student Services personnel maintain student records and advise students online, and provide online self-service tools for registration and enrollment.

Current Environment

The College uses a web-based common application developed for the California Community College system and a District-maintained web-based registration system for registration and retrieval of academic records. Financial aid information is also available through the registration system.

Student Services employs a document imaging system to maintain any paper documents that are relevant to a student’s enrollment at Chabot College.

Departments that do academic advising use an appointment system from which state matriculation data is gathered, stored and eventually uploaded to our student information system. Students can schedule appointments during off-hours by means of a self-service appointment system. A system will soon be implemented that will automatically notify the students by phone and/or e-mail of upcoming appointments and can also be used to broadcast important messages about deadline dates and upcoming events.

English and mathematics assessments are web-based, and their results are obtainable online via the registration system.

An attendance tracking system, which interfaces with the District student information system, is used in all instructional labs.

The District is currently implementing an advising and program evaluation tool to be used by counseling faculty that will also include a self-service component for students.

Future Plan

An increasing number of online systems will include a self-service component, giving students 24/7 online access to their academic records.

As offsite and online course offerings increase, there will be new student services online, mainly relating to new student enrollment. In addition, we are exploring online counseling methods in conjunction with the implementation of the advising and program evaluation tool, so students can make informed decisions when registering for classes.

Telecommunications Network

Current Environment

The College's telecommunications network is a combination of physical connections, hardware, and software that handles voice and data. Voice and data currently operate as separate, autonomous units with the capability of future integration.

The data network consists of Cisco BFR 6509 routers and Cisco Catalyst 3950 series switches, which provide the backbone for a Fast Ethernet network. Internet access is supplied to Chabot College by a dedicated DS3 connection to CENIC. Connection between the buildings is established through Single and Multimode fiber, and category 5 cabling is used within the buildings to provide connectivity to end-user locations. Data lines and Internet access are provided to most student labs, faculty, staff work locations and classrooms. A Cisco PIX firewall is in place at Chabot to protect the systems from outside intrusion and virtual LANs are used within the campus to segment the student access machines from those used by employees. To ensure reliability of the data network, battery backups are installed in key locations to re