2008 MSU IT Conference
Mission Possible: Supporting the University with IT
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
James B. Henry Center
Libraries, Computing, and Technology, with the MSU Computer Store, hosted the 2008 MSU IT Conference to provide an opportunity for IT staff across campus to learn from each other. It is an opportunity for the people devoting their time and energy to enhancing the technology experience for students, faculty, and staff at MSU to come together as a cohesive group.
Keynote Speaker
William "Gerry" McCartney
William “Gerry” McCartney was appointed Purdue’s vice president for information technology and chief information officer in July 2007. As CIO, McCartney is responsible for overseeing Information Technology at Purdue, informally known as ITaP. ITaP is responsible for the planning and coordination of central computing and telecommunications systems on the West Lafayette campus, along with media production and distance-learning services. The organization consists of five business units and has over 450 staff members and an annual budget of more than $63 million. McCartney also holds an appointment as Associate Professor in Purdue’s School of Technology.
Prior to his interim appointment, McCartney served two years as assistant dean for technology at Purdue’s Krannert School of Management where he taught in the Krannert MBA, executive programs, and Engineering Management Program; he continues to act as Principal Investigator for the SIFT Project. He speaks and comments frequently on the entrepreneurial management of technology and is a contributor to CrankyGeeks.
McCartney earned his doctorate in sociology and anthropology from Purdue in 1995 and diplomas in Advanced Computer Programming and Systems Analysis from the Graduate School of Engineering at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, in 1982 and 1984. He took First Class Honors in both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1981 and 1984, respectively, from Maynooth College in Ireland.
Gerry is married to Dr. Kitti Carriker and they have two sons who attend West Lafayette High School.
Conference Presentations
Breakout Session 1 - 10:30 a.m.
Kuali Architecture: An Overview
Mike Criswell, Enterprise Business Solutions Project (EBSP)
Provided for those interested in receiving a high-level overview of the various technologies used to build a Kuali application. This session will focus primarily on the Kuali Financial System (KFS), Kuali Enterprise Workflow (KEW), and the Kuali Rice Framework (RICE). In addition, this session will cover how open source frameworks such as Struts, Spring, OJB, etc., are being utilized. The Kuali Foundation is a non-profit organization responsible for sustaining and evolving a comprehensive suite of administrative software. Its members are colleges, universities, commercial firms, and interested organizations that share a common vision of open, modular, and distributed systems for their software requirements.
MSU Web Accessibility Initiative
Paulette Granberry-Russell, David Gift, Mike Hudson, Al Puzzuoli, Mike Elledge, Web Accessibility Panel
Why is it important to have accessible websites here at MSU? MSU, like other institutions of higher education, increasingly relies on web content to educate, inform, and interact with constituencies. Just over 2% of the MSU community and over 10% of the broader community identify as people with disabilities. Additionally, MSU aims to improve access to both current and emerging technologies by building upon a framework of best design practices and web accessibility standards. This panel will explore how to ensure that MSU knowledge and leadership are appropriately available.
How Network Security Solutions Work: An Overview
Joe Budzyn, Academic Technology Services (ATS)
From the simple desktop firewall to protecting an active database application, this session offers a glimpse into how the many security technologies do what they do, and suggests a variety of ways to deploy them.
The Homepage During Crisis: How VT and NIU Used the Web to Communicate
Dave Mulder, Academic Technology Services (ATS)
Recent crises at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois presented major challenges for campus communicators and information technologists who administer their respective homepages. Between the massive, changing demand for news and the spike in requests to their Web servers, they faced and answered many challenges. What lessons can we take home to be better prepared here at
MSU?
Breakout Session 2 - 12:30 p.m.
Online Recording Solutions for Language Learning
Dennie Hoopingarner, Language Learning Center
The Flash Media Server enables audio and video recording and two-way streaming directly through the Flash plug-in. This technology provides a way for learners to record themselves for language practice, and for instructors to monitor their progress. This presentation will demonstrate some of the applications of this technology for language learning that are currently in use on campus, and discuss implications for alternative modes of instruction that are currently under development.
Demystifying Documentation: Writing Instructions That Work
Jessica Knott, Virtual University Design and Technology (VuDAT)
Without clear, concise technical documentation, even the most carefully designed and executed systems can be rendered confusing, frustrating, and unpopular to the user. This presentation offers five guidelines for writing good documentation, as well as references and an easily adaptable template to start the documentation ball rolling!
There's Voice in Them There Wires: A Discussion About the State of VoIP on Campus
Nick Kwiatkowski, Telecom Systems
Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) has become a relatively familiar name, but very few MSU employees are aware of how it is used on campus, and what policies are in place for its use. MSU Telecom Systems has built a robust telephone network on campus that uses VoIP and includes many different voice-based applications. At this presentation, learn what VoIP is, how MSU Telecom uses it on campus, and what services are planned to be deployed in the future. See the new technologies such as the latest VoIP phones, WiFi phones, and Presence solutions.
Preparing for New Enterprise Systems: What Departmental IT Can Do
Diana D'Angelo, Enterprise Information Stewardship
David Hartman, Controller's Office
MSU is planning dramatic changes in university processes and systems, with new financial, human resources, and and research administration systems on the horizon. What can those in a support role do to prepare? This presentation will outline steps departments can take to ease the transition, and how they fit with other university initiatives, including the new enterprise information stewardship framework.
Breakout Session 3 - 2:00 p.m.
Supporting Instructional Technology at the College Level
Theresa Bernardo, Rob Malinowski, and Scott Schopieray, Supporting Instructional Technology Panel
College-level technology support can act as the link between the faculty and central IT, facilitating advances in instructional technology use and streamlining of time and effort. In this panel session, we’ll present proven strategies, techniques, and ideas for implementing faculty development programs supporting faculty teaching and research at the local/college level.
Development Strategies for Web Applications
Jonathan Babbage, national Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL)
As production systems go, Web applications tend to have a low barrier to entry. Once a piece of functionality is released, how do you go about upgrading it? How do you integrate additional developers into an existing project? Identifying a formal development strategy will help solve both of these problems while promoting consistency, easing maintenance tasks, and providing a historical record of all code changes. This talk will cover techniques for development, testing, and rollout using MySQL, PHP, and other free tools.
Successfully Managing Customer Expectations
Mike McDonald, Administrative Information Systems (AIS)
Precise definition of a project’s expectations is elusive. As projects progress, changes occur that impact customer expectations and the project’s overall success. These changes must be identified, analyzed, and their impact communicated. This presentation highlights the Project Change Management process developed by the AIS Project Management Support Team.
Green IT
Jennifer Sowa, Office of Vice President for Finance and Operations
This session on Green Information Technology will address using technology in environmental campaigns to engage audiences, technological solutions to reduce energy, and e-waste. The MSU “Be Spartan Green” campaign will be used to illustrate how Green IT can be used as a vehicle to communicate messages of environmental stewardship as well as be used as a tool to combat climate change.
(Updated April 24, 2008)
