2002 June, 14
See also the 1998 and 1996 UCIST Directions Statements, "Building a Talent Trust for Canada," and Progress Report 2 - Building on Accomplishment.
This document is complemented by the 2002 Strategic Directions, the 2002 Directions Statement, which provides more detail, and the University of Waterloo IT Architecture Directions.
Progress on 1998 Recommendations
This section provides a brief overview of progress relative to the 1998 Statement and the recommendations made within, and details other relevant initiatives. Much has been accomplished since the last Directions Statement, through the commitment of many individuals around the university. UCIST is pleased to acknowledge that dedication and commitment.
Technical infrastructure
1998.1:
UCIST should work to develop a campus-wide student computing environment, integrated as much as possible with the environment used by faculty and staff.
With the advent of Windows 2000 and a growing need for an LDAP-compliant directory service, UCIST commissioned a campus project to develop a strategy for implementing Active Directory (AD) to support Windows 2000 migration. The final report recommends moving forward with two AD forests, one primarily intended for the new Nexus environment (the successor to Waterloo Polaris), and one intended primarily for academic-support areas and some academic areas.
1998.2:
Develop and implement a centralized mechanism for identification and authentication.
Information Systems & Technology (IST) completed an ID-Auth-Ecomm prototype project, a follow-on project to provide network authentication, and is now deploying a simpler solution developed by Engineering Computing. This area will develop further as the active directory infrastructure on campus matures and deployment proceeds.
User support and training
1998.3:
Identify core computing skills required to effectively participate in the Electronic Workplace, and develop a program within existing Human Resources training opportunities to effectively provide those skills. Provide faculty and staff members with release time to permit them to take full advantage of training sessions and maintain adequate levels of competency.
UCIST's recommendation that a comprehensive training program be developed which would provide training in the basic skills necessary for staff and faculty members to utilize the electronic technology available in an effective manner was referred to the Staff Training & Development Committee where it was endorsed enthusiastically. IST and other University of Waterloo computing-support staff have been offering a series of programs on "basic" skills which include electronic mail, Windows 95, Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Excel, PowerPoint and Microsoft Access: Skills for the Electronic Workplace (SEW). The courses in this program are designed to teach recommended computing skills for University of Waterloo staff and faculty. There are 32 courses in the program, broken up into eight categories:
- Basic Computer Literacy
- Desktop Tools
- Operating System Concepts
- Word Processing
- Electronic Spreadsheets
- Database Management
- Presentations
- Web Authoring
The intention of this program is to provide instruction in a comprehensive way for people who are new to the electronic workplace and to assist those who have the technology, but do not use it to its fullest potential. A complementary program has been prepared for faculty members and graduate students, entitled "Skills for the Academic Electronic Workplace" (SAW).
1998.4:
Explore and expand the opportunities available for self-directed training through such means as instructional CDs and web-based training materials.
Some online training materials had been made available before licensing changes rendered them prohibitively expensive. Alternatives are being sought and this direction remains important.
1998.5:
Develop a plan for training that matches a multi-layered delivery system to group and individual needs within the context and unique demands of their academic and academic-support units. Such a plan would also access and co-ordinate the University of Waterloo computing resources best positioned to meet needs.
In addition to the initiatives noted in 1998.3 and 1998.4, IST will conduct department/faculty specific training on request. Most of this training is done hands-on, in the IST training lab.
1998.6:
Improve communications among all groups and individuals involved in support and training, including IST and the faculty and administrative computing offices, to facilitate shared access to training opportunities and expertise across campus.
With the computing industry changing so rapidly, and so little time available for professional development, IST organizes seminars to help. Professional Development Seminars are held every Friday morning. While these seminars are organized for IST staff, all University of Waterloo computing support staff are welcome to attend.
IST also coordinates two groups for computing-support staff in the faculties (Faculty Computing User Support Group (FACCUS)), and academic-support departments.
1998.7:
Develop opportunities for ongoing training of the trainers in order to maintain their currency in emerging applications and systems, as well as in effective methods of transferring that knowledge to the University of Waterloo community.
See 1998.6.
Management of infrastructure
1998.8:
UCIST should further develop the framework for the provision of technical infrastructure and user support and training to balance the needs of the individual with that of the institution. This framework should make specific reference to the Teaching and Learning, Research, and Administrative activities.
See 1998.6.
1998.9:
Ensure recognition, in annual evaluation processes, of innovation in applying IT in teaching and learning.
[Ongoing]
1998.10:
Plan and coordinate teaching and learning infrastructure support, such as electronic classrooms, at an institutional level in conjunction with the development of the Electronic Workplace.
Stately progress is being made in providing "electronic classrooms" including network access, a computer for the instructor, and a complete suite of audio-visual equipment. IST and Audio-Visual are co-operating on a new support process for these classrooms. As part of the forthcoming campaign, there is expected to be some focus on multimedia classrooms/laboratories, support personnel, and faculty preparation time, which would provide the environment where new and novel methods of teaching can be tested and employed.
1998.11:
Establish a policy for the full exploitation of IT resources in Distance Education courses. Ensure that all new distance education courses fulfill this objective, and establish a schedule for updating existing course resources.
Distance education has made clear progress in supporting and developing new web-based courses. In the forthcoming campaign, items that have been recommended as priorities include: renewal of our substantial corpus of distance education material to employ current and emerging technologies and exploit new opportunities to serve students at a distance.
1998.12:
Encourage the development of IT-based teaching resources, through for example: a department assignment of teaching workload time for the production of IT-based course resources; a Faculty-administered incentive fund for IT projects which significantly improve the effectiveness and/or efficiency of teaching and learning; a competitive centrally-administered incentive fund for leadership projects which further the university's strategic role in the forefront of the application of IT in teaching and learning.
The FLEX Lab, located in the Dana Porter Library and managed jointly by LT3 and the Library, is a laboratory to support pedagogical innovation. The intuition that is driving this effort is that the capacity to encourage different forms of social/pedagogical interaction can make a difference to learning outcomes. The FLEX Lab is a site for learning by both the students and the teachers who will be using it.
iWeb, a University of Waterloo community sharing online instruction strategies, is a forum for web developers to share their experiences, problems and successes. We do not know how many individuals across campus are currently involved in the design, production, delivery and support of web pages for teaching at University of Waterloo. We do know through experience that most web developers struggle with similar issues. Through iWEB, we hope to provide a forum for web developers to share their experiences, problems and successes.
As a result of a project to evaluate course management systems, Blackboard's CourseInfo was chosen for initial support by LT3, faculty units, and IST. This choice is being reviewed in the light of current market conditions and our evolving needs for University of Waterloo Online Environment Project (UWonE).
LT3 Innovation Grants are available to: develop new technologies to support learning; develop computer-based course materials where there is clear innovation in the presentation, structure or content of the material; empirical testing of the effectiveness of learning technologies; explore new applications of computers to teaching and learning.
1998.13:
Establish a University of Waterloo Centre for Teaching and Learning Innovation as a focus for the university's leadership role in this area (consistent with Recommendation 8 of Building on Accomplishment).
LT3 has been created, reporting to the associate provosts, academic & student affairs and Information Systems & Technology. See also comments above under 1998.12.
1998.14:
Secure both internal and external resources to acquire shared high-performance computing equipment dedicated to research.
A number of research initiatives have resulted in the acquisition of several high-performance computing systems. IST has negotiated a framework to support such installations.
1998.15:
Continue to allocate resources to provide IST support for common research computing environments.
[See the comments under 1998.14.]
1998.16:
Departmentsshould allocate approximately 2% of their operating budget each year on workstations (assuming all employees have workstations).
Data from Finance continues to support UCIST's recommendation that 2% of operating budget each year should be allocated to workstations. In fact, data suggest that the figures is closer to 3% - 3.5%.
Other important progress
Student Information Systems Project
The largest information-system implementation project ever undertaken at University of Waterloo is in the final stages of going live. It is being used for all business processes related to and starting with the Fall 2001 term, and this initial "go-live" period will extend until May, 2002.