EDUCATION COUNCIL
NEBRASKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION
Friday, June 1, 2007, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM CDT
NET Board Room, 1800 N. 33rd
Lincoln, Nebraska
MINUTES
VOTING MEMBERS/ALTERNATES PRESENT:
Mr. Arnold Bateman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Mr. Ron Cone, Educational Service Unit 10
Ms. Lois Dietsch, Alt. for Jeff Johnson
Dr. Eileen Ely, Western Nebraska Community College
Dr. Terry Haack, Bennington Public Schools
Mr. Ed Hoffman, Alt. for Stan Carpenter, State College Board
Ms. Yvette Holly, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Mr. Joe LeDuc, Catholic Diocese of Lincoln
Mr. Dennis Linster, Wayne State College
Mr. Rich Molettiere, Omaha North High School
Mr. Tip O’Neill, Alt for Mr. Clark Chandler, Nebraska Wesleyan University
LIAISON/ALTERNATE MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mr. William Scheidler, Alt. for Ms. Brenda Decker, CIO, State of Nebraska
Mr. Terry Dugas, Alt. for Mr. Michael Winkle, NET
Ms. Kathleen Fimple, Alt. for Dr. Marshall Hill, Coordinating Commission for Post Secondary Commission
MEMBERS/LIAISONS ABSENT: Jack Huck, Southeast Community College; Mike Kozak, Department of Education; Chuck Lenosky, Creighton University; Ed Rastovski, Wahoo Public Schools; Linda Richards, Ralston Public School Board; and Bob Uhing, Educational Service Unit 1
CALL TO ORDER, ELECTRONIC POSTING, LOCATION OF OPEN MEETING LAW DOCUMENT, ROLL CALL INTRODUCTIONS
Dr. Haack called the meeting to order at 9:07 a.m. There were 9 voting members present at the time of roll call. A quorum existed to conduct official business. It was stated that the meeting notice was posted to the NITC Web site on May 16, 2007 and the meeting agenda posted to the NITC Web site May 30, 2007.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 1, 2007 AGENDA
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 16, 2007 MEETING
Mr. Linster moved to approve the March 16, 2007 minutes as presented. Mr. Molettiere seconded. Roll call vote: Molettiere-Yes, Linster-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Dietsch-Yes, Holly-Yes, Haack-Yes, Ely-Yes, Cone-Yes, and Bateman-Yes. Results: Yes-9, No-0. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Dr. Chuck Friesen, Class.com, presented information on free or inexpensive course content available in Summer 2007 to Nebraska schools. www.class.com. Class.com’s goal is to provide Nebraska educators with quality courseware to help schools meet unique needs. Class.com will establish high quality demonstration sites as models for best practice and research. Since funding is a barrier, Class.com will provide the courseware without charge and deploy this courseware though an open source LMS, Moodle. Class.com has been customized for use in K-12 schools. Class.com pioneered the development of web-based, interactive digital content for high school students. Katherine Endacott, Class.com CEO, can be contacted at kbendacott@class.com, 402-323-8377. Dr. Friesen entertained questions from the council members.
MEMBERSHIP - CONSIDER RECOMMENDATION OF MEMBER LIST TO THE NITC FOR APPROVAL AT THEIR JUNE 27, 2007 MEETING
Tom Rolfes, Education I.T. Manager
2007-09 Higher Education membership renewals/replacements expiring June 30, 2007:
Yvette Holly
Chuck Lenosky
Mike Chipps
Stan Carpenter
2007-09 K12 Education membership renewals/replacements expiring June 30, 2007:
Bob Uhing
Craig Pease
Art Tanderup
Joe LeDuc
Mr. Bateman moved to approve and forward the membership to the NITC for final approval. Mr. LeDuc seconded. Roll call vote: Cone-Yes, Ely-Yes, Haack-Yes, Holly-Yes, Dietsch-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Linster-Yes, Molettiere-Yes, and Bateman-Yes. Results: Yes-9, No-0. Motion carried.
The Nebraska Information Technology Commission wishes to recognize Dr. Jack Huck, Mr. Rich Molettiere, and Mr. Ed Rastovski for their many years of distinguished service to the Education Council.
PRESENTATION: RENOVO SOFTWARE SYSTEM
Ted Nafzger, Renovo Software, Inc., gave his presentation via the web with phone conferencing from Minneapolis. The clearinghouse system allows for multiple simultaneous users. Each user is assigned specific privileges. The clearinghouse and scheduling system incorporates class scheduling, administrative policies, and device control over a statewide network with multiple types of videoconferencing equipment. The 100 entities of northeast Nebraska will be the first group to test and utilize the clearinghouse/scheduling system. Mr. Nafzger entertained questions from the council members.
PRESENTATION: OMAHA PUBLIC SCHOOLS CREDIT RECOVERY SYSTEM USING ANGEL AND THE NATIONAL REPOSITORY FOR ONLINE COURSES
Dr. Rachel Wise, Dr. Roni Huerta, and Ms. Mary Schlegelmilch
The National Repository for Online Courses (NROC) is by Omaha Public Schools used as a rich resource for learning objects that can be unbundled and reassembed into credit recovery courses using learning management software (i.e. Angel). http://www.montereyinstitute.org/nroc/ Omaha Public Schools has also been exploring using NROC content for Advanced Placement courses and other online delivery. Omaha Public Schools was able to secure favorable district licensing for the entire content repository. If the state considers this system, the cost would depend on the number of learners, where and how the content is stored, level of usage, and willingness to reciprocate to NROC by contributing new and additional content creations by way of social authoring. Questions were entertained.
INFORMATIONAL UPDATES
LB 1208 IMPLEMENTATION. Approximately 87 schools, 5 educational service units, and Northeast Community College and Wayne State College will be directly involved in Phase I of the Network Nebraska expansion. In addition, Central and Metro Community Colleges will have links into this wide area network. All 97 entities have signed contract acknowledgements with vendors to participate in the project. All E-rate eligible entities filed for E-rate reimbursement at the local level. The administrative costs for Network Nebraska will be shared equally among all the participating entities. Each school or college is responsible for their own WAN connection and costs. Due to aggregated purchasing through Network Nebraska, the Internet access cost will go from ~$250/meg to $38/meg. As of June 1, eighty percent (80%) of the edge devices have been ordered. MSI of Omaha was awarded the State bid for edge devices. Qwest and Windstream were awarded contracts for the WAN services. Qwest will be working with nine independent telecommunications partners to connect 83 sites. Windstream has the 14 sites in the 402-South LATA. Most northeast Nebraska schools are scheduled to open their fall semesters on August 13th.
STATE MASTER CONTRACTS.
WAN Services: Qwest and Windstream are the State's main contractors for the wide area, high bandwidth network. State master contracts are part of the state’s leased approach to telecommunications infrastructure.
Edge Devices: MSI of Omaha was awarded the bid for the layer 3 routers and switches. Forty-one percent (41.5%) discount is available to all schools and public entities across the entire Cisco product catalog through MSI.
Videoconferencing Equipment: The State contract(s) for videoconferencing equipment will be posted to the Network Nebraska site when awarded www.networknebraska.net.
Renovo Software: The State master contract for the Clearinghouse and Scheduling System was awarded to Qwest/Renovo Software, Inc. The Distance Education Council is tasked by statute with coordinating the State's scheduling of distance learning so they are handling the licensing and fees. Renovo costs approximately $570 per codec, with 18% installation fee, and 13% annual maintenance. The Office of the CIO will perform the hosting of the Renovo Clearinghouse/Scheduling system on the State's servers.
Mr. Haack, Co-chair, had to leave the meeting. Mr. Molettiere presided over the remainder of the meeting.
NETWORK NEBRASKA WEBSITE. The Network Nebraska web site has new navigation options. The web site has information regarding the LB1208 Distance Education updates. Education entities participating in the MSI contract to purchase equipment at a reduced cost are being asked to use the website to complete a pdf form that is submitted to the Office of the CIO. FAQ’s is a new feature on the web site. Any person can submit anonymous or attributed questions that are posted online, with answers. Mr. Rolfes would appreciate additional suggestions from members about the web site.
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM STANDARDS WORK GROUP. The work group met on Wednesday, May 30 at Lincoln Public Schools. There were 90% of work group members in attendance. According to state statute, the Distance Education Council is tasked with statewide administration of learning management systems, while meeting any standards set by the Nebraska Information Technology Commission. The Learning/Content Managements System Standards Work Group is charged with exploring the technical aspects for a learning management system and recommending standards, as necessary, to the NITC Technical Panel. Kirk Langer, of Lincoln Public Schools, serves as Chair. Mr. Langer is also a member of the NITC Technical Panel. Their task is expcted to be completed within 90-120 days.
LEGISLATION
LB 603 was passed and signed by the Governor which promotes a new ESU funding formula for core services and combines it with the infrastructure fund. The bill will establish new election districts and also provides for a an ESU Coordinating Council to replace the Distance Education Council.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
There were no announcements
AGENDA ITEMS FOR 7/20/07 MEETING & CONSIDER LOCATION FOR 7/20/07 MEETING
Mr. Rolfes will not be available in July. In August, there will be one or more celebration events in northeast Nebraska. Education Council members requested a list of these events be sent. Mr. Rolfes will poll members as to a September meeting date and time.
ADJOURNMENT
Ms. Holly moved to adjourn. Mr. LeDuc seconded. All were in favor. Motion carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:42 a.m.
Meeting minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Tom Rolfes of the Office of the CIO/NITC.
Meeting Minutes