EDUCATION COUNCIL
Nebraska Information Technology Commission
Friday, April 19, 2002, 9:00 a.m.
Lincoln Public Schools Administration Building, Room E111
Lincoln, Nebraska
MINUTES
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Dr. Bill Berndt, UNMC
Mr. Con Dietz, Creighton University
Ms. Linda Engel, Nebraska City Schools
Mr. Jeff Johnson, Centennial Public Schools
Mr. Joe LeDuc, Lincoln Diocese Catholic Schools
Mr. Dennis Linster, (Alt. for Dr. Sheila Stearns, Wayne State College)
Mr. Ed Rastovski, Wahoo Public Schools
Dr. Chuck Friesen, (Alt. for Mr. Al Schneider, ESU 5)
Dr. Robin Smith, (Alt. for Dr. Tom Krepel, Chadron State College)
Mr. Alan Wibbels, ESU 10
LIAISONS PRESENT:
Mr. Bob Huber, Nebraska Education Telecommunications Commission
Dr. Dean Bergman, Nebraska Department of Education
MEMBERS AND LIAISONS NOT PRESENT: Mr. Keith Bartels, Boards of Education; Ms. Brenda Decker, Division of Communications; Mr. Kent Hendrickson, (alt. for Harvey Perlman, UNL); Dr. Jack Huck, Southeast Community College; Mr. Tip O’Neill, Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Nebraska; Dr. David Powers, Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education; Dr. Joe Preusser, Central Community College; and Dr. Rob Ziegler, Madison Public Schools.
CALL TO ORDER, ELECTRONIC POSTING, ROLL CALL
The Co-chair, Alan Wibbels, called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. There were nine members present at the time of roll call. A quorum existed to conduct official business. The Meeting Notice was posted to the NITC and Public Meeting Calendar Web sites on March 15, 2002. The Meeting Agenda was posted to the NITC Web site on April 15, 2002.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF APRIL 19, 2002 AGENDA
Mr. Linster moved to approve the April 19, 2002 meeting agenda as presented. Mr. Dietz seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Berndt-Yes, Dietz-Yes, Engel-Yes, Smith-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Rastovski-Yes, Friesen-Yes, Linster-Yes, and Wibbels-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MARCH 15, 2002 MINUTES
Mr. Linster moved to approve the March 15, 2002 meeting minutes as presented. Mr. LeDuc seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Wibbels-Yes; Linster-Yes, Friesen-Yes, Rastovski-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Smith-Yes, Engel-Yes, Dietz-Yes, and Berndt-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
WORK GROUP/COMMITTEE REPORTS – TRAINING ADVISORY WORK GROUP
Tom Rolfes
In the absence of Tracy Klosterman, Mr. Rolfes provided an update. There were a total of 27 applications submitted for training grants. Eight (8) for Tier II funding. One applicant was disqualified. The remaining nineteen (19) applied for Tier I funding. Eight to nine projects will be funded. The Training Advisory Work Group will review and prioritize the applications during May. At their June meeting, the NETC (Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission) will review and award projects.
Members commented that possible reasons for the low numbers of applicants were concerns regarding the evaluation process, as well as the cap on grant amounts. Some institutions may feel it is not worth the effort to apply.
Mr. Johnson arrived at 9:30 a.m.
Whereas the amount of funding for training grants has not increased in ten years, Mr. Dietz moved that the NITC Education Council recommend to the NETC an increase in the amount of available funds for training projects, and to increase the maximum for each grant to $25,000. Dr. Berndt seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Dietz-Yes, Engel-Yes, Smith-Yes, Johnson-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Rastovski-Yes, Friesen-Yes, Linster-Yes, Wibbels-Yes, and Berndt-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.
WORK GROUP/COMMITTEE REPORTS – NET DISTANCE LEARNING REPORT
Bob Huber, NET
Mr. Huber highlighted information from the Distance Learning Report and entertained questions and comments from the Council members.
UPDATE – K-12 MEMBER ON THE NITC TECHNICAL PANEL
Alan Wibbels
At the April meeting of the Technical Panel, Kirk Langer, ESU 18, was recommended as the K-12 representative to serve on the Technical Panel. And, Ron Cone, ESU 10, was recommended to serve as the alternate. This will be taken to the NITC for final approval at their April 30th meeting.
UPDATE – NETWORK NEBRASKA
Steve Schafer, Chief Information Officer
Mr. Schafer provided a brief history of the work group’s origin and purpose. The Work Group’s efforts have focused on researching existing Nebraska networks, as well as what other states are doing with networking. A draft interim report was been completed which will be presented to the NITC on April 30th. Efforts will now focus on developing a strategy for Nebraska. Members expressed concerns and frustrations regarding the timeline of the study. Mr. Wibbels invited K-12 Council members to an Educational Service Unit meeting next Wednesday, 1:30-4:30 in Omaha. The members will have opportunity to ask questions and provide input.
NEBRASKA EDUCATION PORTAL CONCEPT
Rod Armstrong, Nebraska On-Line
Mr. Schafer informed the Council that the State of Nebraska has been developing a business portal for state government and citizen services. Most recently, government e-business has been the focus. Mr. Schafer distributed copies of a Nebraska State Records Board Grant for an Education Portal.
Mr. Armstrong related that a portal concept has emerged as an important way to access state government. The next State Records Board meeting is in May and if the Education Portal grant is approved, NOL would come back to the Council for further development of the website.
Dr. Friesen left at 9:55 a.m.
Mr. Johnson moved to have NOL proceed with the State Records Board grant for an Education Portal. Dr. Berndt seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Rastovski-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Smith-Yes, Johnson-Yes, Engel-Yes, Dietz-Yes, Berndt-Yes, Wibbels-Yes, and Linster-Yes. The motion was carried by unanimous vote.
Training Calendar, Rod Armstrong. NOL is developing the training calendar similar to the Public Meeting Calendar. A prototype is almost ready for preview.
TASK GROUP REPORTS
There were no task group reports.
REVIEW OF EDUCATION COUNCIL PRIORITIES (PDF 8k) AND COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS (PDF 12k)
Tom Rolfes, Education Information Technology Manager
Council members reviewed the council priorities and action items and provided recommendation for changes and additions.
Dr. Berndt left at 10:37 a.m.
Recommendations and suggestions for possible funding sources for the Council’s priorities and action items included the following:
- No Child Left Behind Legislation
- Bioterrorism federal monies
Mr. Rolfes will further develop the action items and send them out to the members for further feedback and suggestions. Final approval of the Council’s Priorities and Action Items will be an action item for the May 17 meeting.
Dr. Smith shared that Chadron State College offers a class that provides instruction to teachers on how to put up a learning module on a website. Dr. Smith will send Mr. Rolfes the information to send out to Council members.
OTHER
There was no other business.
NEXT MEETING DATE, TIME AND LOCATION AND ADJOURNMENT
The next meeting of the NITC Education Council will be held on Friday, May 17th at 1:30 p.m. tentatively scheduled for Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln.
By group consensus, the Council agreed not to have a meeting in June.
Mr. Wibbels adjourned the meeting at 12:05 p.m.
Meeting minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Tom Rolfes, Office of the CIO/NITC.
Meeting Minutes