Conference on Higher Education Computing in Kansas
Presentation Abstracts
(Keynote) IT and Higher Education
Kirk Schulz, President, Kansas State University
Introduction to Kuali
Loren Wilson Interim Director, Information Systems Office, Kansas State UniversityMany of us have a like/hate relationship with our administrative systems vendors. We like the security of having that vendor there to support our systems. We hate the fact that their maintenance/support costs keep increasing, the level of support keeps dropping, and forced upgrades are expensive. Is there an alternative? A number of higher education institutions have collaborated to form the Kuali Foundation and are working on open source alternatives to vendor-based administrative systems. Join the presenter for a review of:
- Kuali, including its origins, identification of some key players, and costs associated with implementation.
- Systems that Kuali currently has in place and what they are working on.
- K-State’s interest in Kuali.
- Next steps for institutions interested in Kuali.
The New Normal: Engaging in Disaster Recovery Efforts Becomes Very Real When Over 1/3 of a Neighboring City is Lost to One of the Deadliest Tornados Ever
Angela Neria Chief Information Officer, Pittsburg State UniversityTim Pearson Assistant Director, Infrastructure and Security, Pittsburg State University
Prezi Presentation
Scientists have said the extreme weather patterns we see on our planet are 'the new normal'. If this is the case, disaster recovery planning could not be more important than right now. Learn how Pittsburg State University created a new disaster recovery plan after their sister city, Joplin, MO, was devastated by one of the deadliest tornados ever recorded. Hear about the unique lessons and tips that PSU gained from the Joplin recovery.
Selecting the Next Learning Management System
Brenda Frieden Director of the Center for Teaching, Pittsburg State UniversityAcrobat Presentation
Pittsburg State University developed a successful strategy to facilitate the process of selecting a new LMS. Data collection and the inclusion of key users of our current LMS were vital in getting this process done in less than a year. This session will be beneneficial for anyone considering adopting a new LMS or those curious to learn about the system PSU selected - Canvas from Instructure. A product assessment rubric will be shared.
Bringing it Together. Collaborating Across University IT Groups
Don Crawford Information Services Manager, Architecture Planning and Design, Kansas State UniversityDennis Devenney Director of Technology, College of Education, Kansas State University
Eric Dover Manager, Client Services, Information Technology Services, Kansas State University
Marin Dowlin Computer Information Specialist, Human Ecology, Kansas State University
Seth Galitzer Systems Coordinator, Computer and Information Sciences, Kansas State University
Anne Longmuir Associate Professor, English, Kansas State University
How do you bring together decentralized and centralized technical support staff to begin to work towards the common good? This session will explore the creation of the University System Administrators Committee at K-State. We will discuss organization, topics covered, issues addressed, challenges, and benefits realized to date. Tools used to communicate across the enterprise will be shared. A brief look towards the future also will be presented.
RAID is Dead
The Future of Storage - ZFS and BTRFS
Kevin Halgren Assistant Director, System and Network Services, Washburn UniversityRAID-based storage systems have served IT well for many years, but they will not be able to cope with the explosive growth in demands for data storage. This is a highly technical review of two truly 21st century file systems which are available today and seeing continued development. Whether by these names or another, the baseline feature sets of these systems will be standard by the end of the decade, this will be of interest to anyone who deals with large-scale storage, SANs, and the like.
Demystifying Free and Open Source Software;or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace F/OSS in the Enterprise
Seth Galitzer Systems Coordinator, Computing and Information Sciences, Kansas State UniversityDavid White Web/Database Developer, College of Architecture Planning & Design, Kansas State University
PowerPoint Presentation
Presenters will give a brief overview of what it means for software to be “free” and/or “open source” and discuss the pros and cons of using F/OSS in the enterprise. We will then show several F/OSS applications available now that are mature and stable and can be used on the desktop or centrally (web-based) instead of commercial software. You may even already be using some of them right now. A few applications will be demonstrated live. We hope to alleviate common misconceptions about F/OSS applications.
Getting Ahead of an Incident Through Risk Assessment
Cheryl O'Dell Information Security Officer, Emporia State UniversityPowerPoint Presentation
It is difficult to retrofit technology to include security controls. Sometimes new technologies are installed without information security personnel being consulted, only to result in a catastrophic network event or data compromise incident. At Emporia State University, there are steps taken to get ahead of an incident occurring. With the help of fiscal affairs personnel, all information technology purchases are reviewed prior to purchase, and necessary technical personnel engage with functional personnel BEFORE the technology is installed. Come hear some lessons learned, as well as advantages and disadvantages of this process. The audience will get ideas of what to consider in a risk assessment, how to use ideas shared in this presentation, or will be able to seek help from their peers in addressing frustrations regarding risk assessments at their institutions.
Moving Toward the Cloud – Migration of the ACCK ERP to a Hosted Infrastructure
Russ Francis Systems Administrator, Associated Colleges of Central KansasJerry Smith Executive Director Associated Colleges of Central Kansas
PowerPoint Presentation
ACCK was faced with an outdated data center that needed equipment refresh and environmental hardening. To address this need ACCK recently decided to move to a hosted infrastructure. This presentation will consider both the financial business case and the technological considerations that drove the decision to move to virtual hosting. The talk will also consider the migration planning and process. Finally migration issues and lessons learned will be discussed and the current status of the project considered.
Bridging the Gap for Mobile Devices: Eager Adoption v. Practical Support
Cory Falldine User Support Services, Emporia State UniversityThe increased presence of mobile technologies is requiring institutions to identify and adopt a balance between encouraging the use of these devices for innovation in academic and administrative arenas, and keeping an effective support structure that meets the institution's guidelines, policies, and procedures. Learn how ESU is accomplishing this balance.
May the App Be With You: Student Mobile Applications at Emporia State University
Larry Hayes Director, Enterprise Systems, Emporia State UniversityDon Morfitt Applications Developer, Emporia State University
PowerPoint Presentation
ESU recognizes the growing trend of our student population to expect access to their information instantly and wherever they might be via mobile devices. In order to establish a proof of concept, we identified and developed a set of mobile applications for iPhone and Android smartphones, as well as iPad devices. This session will demonstrate the capabilities of these apps and outline the development process used.
Enhance Faculty, Staff, and Student Technical Learning with Microsoft IT Academy
Dawn Bleuel Applications Training Specialist, (Wichita State UniversityThe Microsoft IT Academy (ITA) is comprised of a variety of online courses including the full suite of Office products, SQL Server 2008, keyboarding, and much more. It’s used at WSU by current faculty, staf,f and students. The courses demonstrate the various functions and features of courses and can be used as a refresher for procedures or to prepare for certification exams. The Human Resources Department can also use the ITA as a screen-out tool for interdepartmental transfers.
Managed Systems in Higher Education and Research
Kristin Arnburg Microcomputer Support Technician, Kansas State UniversityCharles Cline Systems Specialist, University of Kansas
Jake Coffman Information Specialist I, University of Kansas
Jeff Patton Information Systems Supervisor, University of Kansas
Aaron Riffel Systems Specialist, University of Kansas
Easan Selvan Information Specialist I, University of Kansas
Ashley Wallace Technology Support Technician, Washburn University
This talk will focus on assessing, deploying, and updating Windows server and client computers across physical, virtual, distributed, and mobile environments and the importance of designing for non-Windows systems as well. Topics will include the SCCM deployments at KU and K-State and other solutions needed for non-Windows system such as Centrify and Quest QMX. The evolution of managed systems to managed applications/services using virtualization will also be discussed.
Network Access Control Systems at Educational Institutions
Richard Becker Network Security Analyst, Information Security and Compliance, Kansas State UniversityBrian Leslie Help Desk Coordinator, Housing and Dining, Kansas State University
PowerPoint Presentation
Network Access Control systems face special challenges in an educational campus environment, as openness, lack of computer and software standardization, and user convenience must be balanced with network security. An educational campus NAC must be easy to implement and administrate on the back-end, and it must simultaneously be unobtrusive and effective at providing network security to the user. These criteria can be difficult to balance; this is doubly so when relying on vendor product literature or a salesperson to project how a NAC will function in the real world. An analysis of the Network Access Control products on the market will be coupled with a case study of K-State's implementations of Bradford and Impulse.
Project Management at Pittsburg State University
Barbara Herbert Assistant Director, Project and Process Manager, Office of Information Services, Pittsburg State UniversityPrezi Presentation
Failing to plan is planning to fail. The Office of Information Services at Pittsburg State University recently restructured to move to a project management methodology. This involved restructuring the department and redesigning our processes, while continuing to work on current projects and address new requests. We’ll share where we are in the process, what we’ve learned and our next steps.
Effective Instructional Design Strategies for Mobile Application Training
Robert Gibson Director, Academic Support Services, Emporia State UniversityTraining faculty users where to locate, how to select, and how to utilize various instructional applications for mobile devices has proven difficult given numerous technical limitations of devices. Often, information regarding applications is disseminated via word of mouth, with little or no knowledge or support regarding how to actually use the software. Significant research was invested in locating a solution that enables effective development of training resources that provide real-time, enhanced screen capture of these products. Included are strategies for selecting the applications, best-practices for using the application in instruction, and video-illustration regarding use of the application based on principles of instructional design.
Mediated Classrooms at FHSU
Jeff Bitikofer Mediated Classroom Engineer and Support Supervisor, Fort Hays State UniversityMichael Nease PC Support Manager, Fort Hays State University
FHSU is in the process of refreshing our mediated classrooms. The challenge is to find a cost effective and user friendly way to control the equipment in each room. The possibilities are endless, but costs escalate quickly with fancy control systems. In this session we will demonstrate how we are implementing new control systems while reusing much of the existing equipment to keep costs down.
Roundtable: Identity Management
Cheryl Alvarado Interim Director, Technical Infrastructure and Operations, Emporia State UniversityMark Griffin Assistant Director, Infrastructure and Support Services, Fort Hays State University
Kevin Halgren Assistant Director, Systems and Network Services, Washburn University
George Hosler Manager, System Integration, University of Kansas
Cheryl Pace Assistant to the CIO and Director of Identity Management, KU Medical Center
Tim Pearson Assistant Director of Information Services, Pittsburg State University
An open-ended discussion on the part of Kansas Higher-Ed institutions that are dealing with questions of Identity Management, Single Sign-On, Federated Identity, and similar issues. Discussion to include technical and non-technical aspects, how IDM projects have been handled, and where progress still needs to be made.
What Ya Gonna Do When They Call for Help? Helpdesk Specialists, Systems Admins, and Road Warriors Roundtable
David Dunn Microcomputer Support Technician, Kansas State UniversityRuss Feldhausen MicroComputer Support Technician, Kansas State University
Larry Havenstein Network Security Analyst, Kansas State University
Gary Kepka Microcomputer Support Technician, Kansas State University
Having to support technology on campus as well as in every county extension office throughout the entire State of Kansas, the IT staff in the College of Agriculture Department of Communications have run into issues relating to the disconnect between the on-campus staff and the Road Warriors who live and work in remote locations throughout Kansas.
We will give a short intro explaining the difficulties we face and then open the floor for help desk and system administrators and anyone who supports computers at the desktop or remotely to discuss what you deal with and what your solutions or useful tools are.