Quote of the Day

"You are a life saver" - by Kathleen Olivieri

My Quote of the Week

November 2008

"Life will present many disappointments. How you handle those disappointments will define who you are".

Kathleen C. Olivieri
Spoken to her daughter

Quotes of the Day

November 14, 2008

"There's (almost) no problem in student affairs (in higher education) that can't be solved by waiting 72 hours".

"Student affairs professionals are teachers. You have more interaction with students than some faculty. You have to take advantage of that "teachable moment". There will be many of those. You will make the difference in the lives of students who are special. There are students who will lead the student government and you will point them in the right direction. There are students who need more than just a point in the right direction. Those students need to be told they can succeed, to be encouraged, guided. You have that opportunity to make a difference to those students."

Roy Ruby
Interim President
Former Vice President of Student Affairs
Mississippi State University

Educause continued...

Traveled back to Starkville on October 31. Back in the office today - will provide more information on Educause later today or tomorrow. Don't forget to check out IT Infrastructure's handouts at:

mymedia.msstate.edu/educause

Wireless Guest Acess Poster Session

The poster session was terrific. Many people stopped and had lots of in-depth technical questions. I provided the 90 second overview and Todd answered all technical questions. The participants were truly engaged with the wireless guest network.

Other comments included the ingenious idea of putting the URL on the back of my business card. A handful of people commented on the great look of our poster from yesterday and today. There were questions about who designed the poster and who printed it, etc. The poster was visually appealing and did attract participants. We did need lots more handouts. The 50 we had went quickly.

Todd Hall did a great job today in answering questions. We made a good team. We also had positive comments about the poster sessions from MSU's User Services group. Congrats to them too for a great showing!

I will blog more on it later. For now, below are some pictures.

Wireless Guest Network

myMedia Poster Session

"Extreme Makeover: Building a Digital Asset Management System" - this poster session went very well for MSU. At the beginning of the session, we had lots of people surrounding our poster. I provided an overview and having the screen shots really helped. We were talking the entire poster session. In fact, we went over the time for the session because we still were having interest.

BEST PART - A guy from Berry College came up to me and said, "I saw you 2 years ago in Dallas and you had a podcast system. Now it seems that you took that and created something entirely different." Wow - he made my day. Someone remembered our great podcast system and stopped by to see what we are doing now! Way to go IT Infrastructure!

A person from Memphis State stopped by too - that was fun because we shared our podcast code with them. He actually talked to me via phone when they were implementing the podcast system.

The 50 handouts that we had went quickly. I am glad that I had my business cards and put the URL on the back. Had great comments on that ingenious idea too.

BEST PART 2: Coming back from the conference, I stopped by Walgreens (typical stop in Orlando - right?). When leaving Walgreens, a guy riding in a bicycle powered rickshaw yelled out to me, "Great Session Today - it was really wonderful - in the Lightening Round". I thanked him. That was fun. But, presenting is easy when the content is outstanding.

Questions or Comments from the Poster Session:

1. Copyright - as long as we state in our policies that the faculty is responsible for uploading material that isn't copyrighted all is well in "copyright land". Not sure that we state that anywhere, but lots of questions about copyright.
2. What programming language used?
3. How is the podcast recording integrated?
4. Graphic display of disc space - everyone liked that feature
   
5. Since this is open source, will you share?
6. How much disc space have you allocated? What do you anticipate needing?
7. You can upload more than just video/audio files?
8. What type of file would not be acceptable?
9. Do you have a media server/streaming server?
10. This is a download only thing?
11. Can students upload? Do you expect giving them accounts to own collections?
12. there were more....just can't think right now.

To Systems Services - thank you for writing/creating a great management system. To User Services - thank you for creating a great user interface. We received many compliments on the interface. And thanks to Todd Hall who works with me in ITI for helping out during the poster session. He did a terrific job in handling the technical questions! I felt at ease knowing he was there and could better answer those questions.

Oh - found a typo in the poster as we were taking it down. LOL -- "plublish"

Poster Sessions

Educause had a great variety of poster sessions today. Mississippi State was fortunate to have 2 great posters! I'm not sure there was another university with 2 poster sessions. Yeah us!

I took various pictures that are posted below. I'll post more later on the types of questions we received.

"Extreme Makeover" (bad lighting)

Same Poster at a Distance









I liked this poster design
MSU's other poster Session









Other Vibrant Posters

Traveling & Sick

When I woke up at 5:30 to get ready for the speaker breakfast, I realized that I had a very bad case of "pink eye". Yuck - while this isn't a deal-breaker in terms of participating in the conference, it is a nuisance. Not to mention it doesn't look very nice.

New Words of the Day

Microblogging - I have a Twitter account, just never thought about the term "microblogging".

Microformats - I think I understand this.

Accelerometer Technology - Wii type technology and then how to use it in education.

Crestron Tour at UCF

The Rosen College of Hospitality at the University of Central Florida and Crestron, held an event today to show the Crestron systems in action! I met interesting people and learned some good "nuggets" of information.

1. The lecterns in the new College of Medicine will have.....cup holders. Yes - CUP HOLDERS!!! Is that customer service or what? We were told that the professors requested that feature.
2. No chalk boards are allowed on the 16 campuses of University of Central Florida. Yep - no chalk. The health risks of the chalk is the main reason - chalk is not good for people with asthma. The chalk not only infiltrates the classroom technology but is spread through the air ducts. The answer - whiteboards. But wait, the chemicals used to clean the whiteboards isn't healthy either. When selecting a whiteboard, one must keep in mind the chemical that is required to clean the board. UCF recommended the Egan whiteboard because the cleaner is less chemically demanding.
3. Digital Signage - UCF uses digital signage extensively. Apparently Crestron has a product they are using. I didn't get all the info on this - yet Digital Signage is something I am seeing as a need on our campus.
4. PC's in Lectern stay on 24/7 - Three universities I talked to do this. When the system shuts down or there is no activity for 60 minutes, the pc automatically logs out. UCF, Wharton College of Business were 2 of the 3 that keep pc's on. Something to think about-
5. Wireless Receiver frequencies - UCF keeps a spreadsheet of the different frequencies of the wireless mic receiver. However, the wireless mics are provided to each room and therefore, informing users of the different frequencies isn't an issue for them. UCF's audio engineer was very nice, offered some suggestions on what he would recommend for building deployment.
6. Projector Sync with Lectern - UCF "locks out" the users upon starting and shutting down the system - just like what MSU does. With the extron system, the projector getting out of sync with the lectern was a BIG problem for them.
7. Pinnacle Video Transfer - UCF uses the Pinnacle product to capture audio/video directly to USB. They mount it directly to the lectern desktop with a "casing" around it for security. For $99. Interesting
   

The tour at UCF was very informative and enjoyable. Met very nice people too.

Take a look at some pictures taken at UCF.

Pictures of the Day

View from my hotel - there are 3 horses in one of the fields.

Doubletree Castle - my hotel from the opposite side of the pic above.








Look at the name of this store - it's a coffee shop. Seriously?

Who is Here

I've talked to people from U Mass - Amherst, University of Alaska, Michigan, University of Penn - Wharton School of Business. So far I have discovered that Mississippi State is very competitive in the technologies and services that we offer. I often wonder what people think when I tell them I'm from Mississippi and then what they think after they talk to me.

Mother/Daughter Matching Pajamas

I would not recommend. Imagine my surprise when I unpacked my pj's and they were way to small to wear. Matching pj's are really cute at Christmas, but not cute when traveling and you have the daughter's pj's. The tacky souvenir shop will save me from this tragedy - yes, they have pj's.

4,200 Acres

Did you know that Mississippi State University's main campus stretches across 4,200 Acres? That is about 10 square miles.

MSU owns an additional 80,000 acres around the state.

The main campus acreage is important because IT Infrastructure supports that area with wired and wireless internet connections.

In Orlando - Shopping

The flight to Orlando was a blur. At check in at the GTR airport, thank goodness they didn't weigh my one little piece of luggage. It was pretty heavy. Going through security, my computer bag was swabbed for some type of "undesirable" residue. Thank goodness (again) that the bag was a-ok. I'm guessing the large jewelry bag kind of freaked them out.

My "layover" in Atlanta was a whopping 34 minutes. After standing in the blistery, cold wind to get my computer bag from the commuter airplane, I walked very swiftly from the "D" terminal to "A". Not just from D to A, but from D1 to A1 - which means I had to walk the length of the terminal. I only managed a bathroom stop - no breakfast and no coffee.

Fast forward to Orlando (everything in between went ok). After I checked in to the hotel, I hopped on the I-Ride "trolley" to an outlet mall. I managed to go into at least 50 stores and only bought 1 pair of shoes (i needed sandles because I thought it would be colder and my feet were hot; walked out of the store wearing my sandles). Also bought 2 cokes using my debit card in the drink machine.

Picked up my registration materials at the conference center. The next few days will be busy with sessions and visiting vendors. My shopping and playtime is over with -

The end of my grand shopping extravaganza was a quick trip to Walgreens and then I stopped at every tacky souvenier store on the way. I love the tacky souveniers - it was really a treat to see how the stores "out do" each other with tackiness. You would NOT believe what Walgreens was selling: "Fresh Sushi Daily" That sign was on the door - seriously?

At Educause, looking for.....

...Flash streaming video information!!! I will be looking at lots of vendors and going to different presentations, but information about Flash is a top priority. What will you be looking for at Educause?

Educause 2008 Handouts

All of Information Technology Infrastructure's (ITI) handouts are located online at:

http://mymedia.msstate.edu/educause

Educause 2008

Educause 2008 is just around the corner. I will be participating in 4 events at this years Educause in Orlando.

1. I will serve as a Convenor for one session
   
2. In a Lightening Round session, I will present on "myMedia'.
3. Along with the Lightening Round, the same group will participate in poster sessions.
4. Wireless Access for Campus Guests - this was accepted as a poster session!

I will also participate in a pre-conference session about The Horizon Report. This report is absolutely outstanding and I'm thrilled to be devoting time to learning more about the report and implications for MSU and ITI (Information Technology Infrastructure).

EduComm Presentations Online

MSU was represented at EduComm 2008 by giving 2 presentations. One presentation is online for your viewing pleasure via Echo360:

Building a Digital Asset Management System: myMedia

I will have commentary on my presentation soon. Additionally, there are other terrific presentations to view and of course, critique. I will highlight presentations once I have a chance to preview a few more.

Stay tuned for more exciting content and discussion!

EduComm and InfoComm 2008

EduComm was great! I met some new colleagues who are involved in interesting projects at their university or school. InfoComm wasn't so much overwhelming, but was much much larger than last year. Take a look at a few clips from InfoComm 2008 in Las Vegas.

Shopping in Las Vegas

Have you ever wondered if commercials on tv really work? They do - especially "Build-a-Bear" commercials. My 10 year old went online and informed me that she needed a bear from Build-a-Bear to play in the online virtual world. Being a dutiful mother, I went to Build-a-Bear in Las Vegas. Choosing a critter and appropriate clothing took longer than it actually should have. But, I feel that I have chosen wisely.

Today, I ventured to one of the outlet malls. I have never been there and realized that I needed that experience. The mall was an outdoor mall. How smart was that? It's 107 outside and they mist water throughout the mall. What is wrong with that picture? Anyway, I braved the elements and walked by every shop. I went in many of the stores, but only made purchases as Clark (shoes) and Coach (purses and accessories).

The cab rides to and from the outlet mall were "interesting". The outlet mall was located near downtown Las Vegas. I was able to see the "other side" of Las Vegas.

InfoComm 08

The north and central halls were full of great vendors. Below are a few that I visited and wanted to share with you.

WolfVision - They have a new VZ-6 Light. MSU deploys the VZ-8 Light. The VZ-8 product is still the product of choice. In the fall, the VZ-8 light will have a new lens. Their ceiling document cameras are terrific. Their lowest end camera is still excellent. The other 2 ceiling cameras have a light that zooms with the zooming of the camera. The cost difference is significant (about $10,000 difference). I talked with one of their representatives from Europe. She was great - and she gave me some serious swag - an electric cooking fork!

Barix - Great company, great product. The Barix people are very friendly and eager to help meet your needs. Johannes, the President, was there as well. Received Swiss chocolates from them!

Spectrum Industries - The variety and quality of lecterns was excellent. I visited with 3 other lectern manufacturers at InfoComm, and I came back to Spectrum. The quality and price is right. The only drawback is that the sides of the lectern are a thick metal mesh. On the flip side, the lectern is lighter weight and would not have issues with cooling. Other highlights: keyboard drawer has a flip down lip with gel wrist pad. strong casters, handles for ease of movement, variety of sizes, and a good price. There are a variety of options for each lectern. If there is no customization to a lectern, order by Thursday then receive the following week. Another selling point - they have metal cut-outs for the front of the lectern. The set up fee for the metal cut out is around $500, but then after that each metal piece is no higher than $50. A metal stand for use in medical settings looks like a natural fit for ITS when laptops are needed for Orientation or other events. The new products are not online yet!!!!!

There were huge sections for audio, lighting and staging, digital signage, conferencing. There were so many vendors, it's hard to highlight them all.

Las Vegas Tips

When it's 107 degrees outside, it's not the heat coming down that will get you, but the heat coming up from the concrete. OMG - my feet were scorching today when I mistakenly decided to WALK to the Wynn hotel from the Convention Center. It looked so close. And, it was the same route that Jim Harfst, Glenna Sullivan and I took when we were at NAB 2006. I thought I could handle it.

Thank goodness I knew there was a Walgreens ahead. That is about all that kept me going. I stood in from of the refrigerated drinks to cool down - I am so not kidding. I got water while I was there and more bandaids for my feet. I wasn't getting blisters from my shoes, but from the bottom of my feet rubbing on my sandals. In Mississippi, there is enough humidity that there is no rubbing.

After a few minutes in Walgreens, I kept on my journey to the Wynn. I was now walking on the Strip. Several hundred more feet and I decided I needed to walk on the opposite side of the sidewalk. In case I fainted, I didn't want to fall into the blazing fast traffic. Just the night before a pedestrian was killed by a car on the Strip. The heat from the concrete was unbelievable. I was wearing a sundress and my feet and legs were scorching, not my shoulders. I was not feeling very good.

I did make it to the Wynn. The hotel/casino was fabulous. They have very comfortable chairs in the sports area. I sat and watched horse racing.

The $10 taxi ride back to my hotel was the BEST $10 I spent today. I did spend time at the Wynn and then at the shops across the street.

Tip #1: Don't WALK anyway in 107 degree heat in Vegas.
Tip #2: Take a taxi everywhere.
Tip #3: If you need to sit somewhere, the only place available is in the Casino.

EduComm Vendors

EduComm has some great vendors! Below is a list and why I like them.

ChunkIt! - Free toolbar that adds functionality to current search engines. It's really a cool product and I will be using it!

Polycom - The Polycom Instructor FS was displayed. It was beautiful. The stand looked terrific too. A perfect system to place in an administrative conference room. They wanted to give me brochures. I declined saying that it was on the web. They were thrilled that someone "got it" in terms of not needing a piece of paper when the information was already online.

OnPoint Lasers - Their lasers were green and extremely bright. I was very impressed and intend on recommending that we purchase a few for demo purposes. They have a product that will advance powerpoint slides in addition to the laser pointer. Good price point too.

Panopto - Another FREE product for qualified academic institutions. The product is a lecture capture technology. It's software based. The output is windows media. The intent with academic institutions is to be a part of the Socrates Project - a community to share best practices, enhancements, etc.

TechSmith Relay - This software product is designed to capture the computer screen. The difference in this product and other TechSmith products is that Relay is designed for extreme ease of use with limited settings. Drexel University co-presented with TechSmith. Drexel has a neat product - DragonDrop. Relay and DragonDrop are products worth looking at!

Presentation Podiums - At Educomm, there was one cabinetry vendor - KlassTech. They had very nice podiums. I liked how the monitor was attached with an arm giving more desktop real estate. This would also allow for a slightly larger monitor which may be needed.

Echo360 - What a great product. The features of this hardware and software solution provides most of the features I have been looking for. The quality of images is unbelievable. No preloading of presentations. Just teaching from a lectern using doc cam, pc, dvd player and this appliance will capture it. Multiple publishing options. When viewing, can move easily throughout the presentation by clicking on screenshots. Worth discussing!

EduComm 2008

EduComm 2008 begins tomorrow morning. I can't wait to hear the keynote, David Pogue, the personal-technology writer for the New York Times. He was a great presenter last year and his content was outstanding.

I'm sharing 2 presentations tomorrow:
1. Wireless Network Access for Campus Guests
2. Building a Digital Asset Management System: myMedia

To view the handouts and other resources, visit my EduComm page in myMedia.

Come to my sessions to hear about the GREAT things Mississippi State University is accomplishing.

Welcome

Hi and welcome to the "TechnoChiK" blog. I have several blogs for events and classes. This is my first blog that attempts to consolidate all of my blogs into one. Enjoy reading!