Summer 2015 Newsletter

College of Education Technology Newsletter

A Quarterly Technology Update for College of Education Faculty & Staff

Published: Summer 2015

From the Director of Technology

I recently celebrated my six month work anniversary in the College of Education and at the University of Washington.  In that time, I have had a chance to meet with many of you and witness the dedication & passion present in your work as teachers, learners, researchers and professionals.

Being new has also given me an opportunity to connect with other leaders in technology and teaching across campus to see what our colleagues are doing in a variety of areas including online learning, instructional technology, IT infrastructure and IT support.

Much of the work moving forward will be organized into three broad themes; stabilize, modernize and innovate.  This work carries a broad brush and will touch in some way everything from how we think about integrating technology in our teacher education programs to the technical capabilities of our teaching and meeting spaces to how we best provide ongoing support for our faculty, staff and students.

I look forward to working with each of you to support innovation and improve teaching, learning and research with technology.

CoE Technology News

CoE Technology Center Receives Two Student Technology Fee (STF) Grants

The Student Technology Fee was established to supplement the availability of technology to UW students and to provide opportunities for facilities and projects that require capital investment. The Committee solicits proposals from campus units for projects that meet the technology needs of students. This year the CoE Technology Center was awarded two technology grants.
The first grant will upgrade many of the the workstations in the lab and provide funding to install an interactive projector. Additionally the grant provides funds to establish a technology collaboration station in the space just across from the helpdesk. The second grant will refresh some of the equipment in our checkout pool.  We plan to host an open house in September to
share some of the new capabilities in the space once the the equipment is installed.  

College of Education Faculty Task Force on Technology in Teaching & Learning

In the last few years, the college has grown and many of our faculty are expanding the ways we use technology as a part of our pedagogy to prepare educators and leaders in education. With this growth we have been given an opportunity to revisit our strategy for supporting faculty and preparing teachers and leaders.  As a result we have established a Faculty Task Force on Technology in Teaching
& Learning.

The goals of the taskforce include

1. participate in the ongoing development of a shared strategic vision for academic
   technology in the COE,

2. identify a technology service catalog by identifying the needs of faculty,

3. work with the current LMS resources and various online opportunities in the
   college to develop and implement a curriculum for doctoral students
   (and possibly faculty) on online teaching and learning, and

4. make recommendations for support of the existing and future programs
   (undergraduate, professional learning, etc).

Technology Center Computer Lab: Autumn Quarter Software Requests

Do you need software installed in the CoE Technology Center computer lab? The following software
can be installed in our computer lab for student use. Please put in your request before August 1st.

 

New E-mail Based Helpdesk Ticket System Feature

 You talked and we listened.  Based on your feedback, Paul Hanisko has developed several new features for the CoE helpdesk ticket system. Now when you need technology support you can choose to submit a ticket through our established helpdesk page or you simply send an email to edhelp@uw.edu and it will generate a new helpdesk ticket for you.  If you choose to send an email to edhelp@uw.edu we ask you to include the who,what, where and how urgent information in the email so we can be sure to address your needs promptly.  

Additionally, you can now respond directly to helpdesk ticket email from one of our staff. You no longer need to login to the ticket system webpage to respond to a staff member.  

How are we Doing?

This summer the CoE Technology Support Team launched a new technology support survey.  The survey can be found here or at the end of any helpdesk ticket. The technology support survey is focused on providing feedback related to how well we are responding to your needs.  Our ultimate goal is to provide excellent service that supports the teaching, learning, research, and business needs of the CoE community. Please help us by letting us know how we are doing.

Worth Sharing

Maintaining Boundaries in the Use of Technology

Technology has become an increasingly necessary tool in daily life. You use it to do business, manage money, communicate, and shop. But sometimes it can feel like technology is managing you rather than the other way around. This month’s UW CareLink tip sheet provides ideas on how to create boundaries around your devices.

UW-IT Presents Top 12 Smart Computing Tips

A new two-minute video with tips on safeguarding your personal data and UW institutional information is now available on the UW-IT YouTube Channel.
View the closed-captioned Top 12 Smart Computing Tips, created by the UW Office of the Chief Information Security Officer, for an entertaining reminder of how to keep your data safe. The CISO Office also hosts several short online courses.