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Instructional Computing (IC) continues to serve the campus in many areas, from lab management to IT training, from advanced electronic communications to campuswide software licensing. This year we have further refined our core competencies, and we have developed new opportunities for growth in the areas of training, lab operations, and course management systems. We have delved into new technologies and deployment strategies, and our oversight purview has spread further, now including facilities in the new Student Resources Building, in addition to our other satellite sites in the UCen, Athletics and the new Life Sciences Computing Facilities.
IC remains the home of the “Software Depot,” which has now changed its name to the “Campus Office of Software Licensing” (COSL). Under the management of Sherene Strobach, the service still provides tremendous savings for faculty and staff on the purchase of computer software applications. In addition to its procurement responsibilities, COSL staff also continues its coordination role with the UC Systemwide “Technology, Acquisition and Support” group, which provide all of the campuses with technology price breaks and product information. COSL has recently unveiled a new informational website for its offerings and later in 2007 a new online ordering system will replace the old Software Depot system in use since 2000.
The IC Training & Development area thrives under the creative management of Alx Sanchez. While offering his varied quarterly menu of short courses on the more popular software titles, Alx has also provided special one-on-one consultation to many university personnel on more specific topics such as adapting software for instruction, troubleshooting programming problems and adapting technology to the classroom. He is also fully engaged in various new technologies, notably podcasting, where he has provided key assistance to the campus in the advancement of this exciting medium.
The uMail system offers electronic mail, web and storage functionality to over 20,000 students. In the past year, manager Matthew Dunham has undertaken the installation of many new enhancements to these systems, including the “virtualization” of various machines, providing a more secure and efficient operation.
Under the management of Steve Miley, the Academic Systems Group expanded their core campus computer lab management services to include Course Management System (CMS) development. Over the past year, Steve and his assistant, Ratana Lim, have made measurable progress in offering CMS services to the campus community. As part of a multi-year pilot, this team has encouraged members of the campus to try two different systems (Moodle and Sakai) simultaneously. Even though this approach has doubled the amount of work, the staff has begun to manage the provision of these services to the campus community, providing a wide variety of options for future consideration.
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