EDUCATION COUNCIL
of the
NEBRASKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION
Friday, September 15, 2006 ,
9:00 AM-11:00 AM CDT
Nebraska Video Conferencing Network
Host site: Executive Building #103, 521 S. 14th Street, Lincoln
Remote Site #1: Public Library Video Room, 2020 First Avenue, Kearney
Remote Site #2: WSC Connell Hall 21, 1111 Main Street, Wayne
Remote Site #3: High Plains Room, Panhandle Research Center, 4502 Avenue I, Scottsbluff
MINUTES
VOTING MEMBERS/ALTERNATES PRESENT:
Mr. Clark Chandler, Nebraska Wesleyan University
Mr. Ron Cone, Educational Service Unit 10 (Kearney site)
Ms. Lois Dietsch, Alt. for Jeff Johnson
Dr. Eileen Ely, Western Nebraska Community College (Scottsbluff Site)
Dr. Terry Haack, Bennington Public Schools
Ms. Yvette Holly, University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha site)
Dr. Jack Huck, Southeast Community College
Joe LeDuc, Catholic Diocese of Lincoln;
Mr. Chuck Lenosky, Creighton University (Omaha site)
Mr. Dennis Linster, Wayne State College (Wayne Site)
Dr. Ed Rastovski, Wahoo Public Schools
LIAISON/ALTERNATES MEMBERS PRESENT:
Mr. Terry Dugas, Alt. for Mike Winkle, NET
Mr. Mike Kozak, Department of Education
MEMBERS/LIAISONS ABSENT: Mr. Arnold Bateman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Stan Carpenter, State College Board; Brenda Decker, Chief Information Officer; Mr. Rich Molettiere, Omaha North High School; Marshall Hill, Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education; and Linda Richards, Ralston Public School Board;
Others Present: Gordon Roethemeyer, Bill Uhing, BJ Peters, Dr. Dan Hoesing, John Stitt, Bob Sistek, Ray Wilson, and Steve Henderson
CALL TO ORDER, ELECTRONIC POSTING, LOCATION OF OPEN MEETING LAW DOCUMENTS, ROLL CALL, INTRODUCTIONS
Dr. Haack called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. A quorum of 11-voting members was present at the time of roll call. The meeting notice and agenda was posted to the NITC Web site and the Nebraska Public Meeting Calendar on September 8, 2006. The public meeting law was posted in the video conference room next to the entry door.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA FOR THE SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 MEETING
Mr. Linster moved to approve the September 15, 2006 agenda as presented. Dr. Rastovski seconded. Mr. Linster seconded. Roll call vote: Chandler-Yes, Cone-Yes, Dietch-Yes, Ely-Yes, Haack-Yes, Holly-Yes, Huck-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Lenosky-Yes, Linster-Yes, and Rastovski-Yes. Results: Yes-11, No-0. Motion carried.
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF FROM THE MAY MEETING MINUTES
Mr. Chandler moved to approve the May 19, 2006 minutes as presented . Mr. Linster seconded. Roll call vote: Rastovski-Yes, Linster-Yes, Lenosky-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Huck-Yes, Holly-Yes, Haack-Yes, Ely-Yes, Dietch-Yes, Cone-Yes, and Chandler-Yes. Results: Yes-11, No-0. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
MEMBERSHIP: WELCOME NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS
New and returning members were welcomed back to serve on the council. Dr. Ely was present at the Scottbluff site as a new member representing Community Colleges.Al Schneider, representing ESU’s, is resigning from the council. Bob Uhing has been nominated for their sector representative but has not been confirmed. The NITC will be voting on his nomination at their November 1st. Mr. Uhing also serves on the Distance Education Council for LB1208. ESUs 7, 8, and 17 will be first to be involved in LB 1208 implementation.
Changes in alternate memberships do not need to be approved by the NITC. Ed Hoffman, Vice Chancellor for Facilitiies for the State College System, will replace Becky Kohrs as alternate for Stan Carpenter. Wayne Fisher has resigned with the NDE so he will not be able to serve as alternate for Mike Kozak. Another alternate has not been designated.
Mike Beach announced his resignation from NET. He accepted a new position and will be moving to Atlanta.
Dr. Haack requested that a letter of appreciation and thanks be sent to those members leaving the council. Mr. Rolfes will follow-up with the request.
CONSIDER ELECTION OF A CO-CHAIR TO REPRESENT K-12 EDUCATION
Dr. Huck presided over this rest of the meeting. Dr. Haack was originally elected to finish out Alan Wibbel's term as Chair. The floor was open for nominations:
Dr. Rastovski nominated Dr. Terry Haack to continue to serve as the co-chair representing K-12. Mr. LeDuc seconded. There were no more nominations. Nominations were closed. Roll call vote: Chandler-Yes, Rastovski-Yes, Cone-Yes, Linster-Yes, Ely-Yes, Lenosky-Yes, Haack-Yes, LeDuc-Yes, Holly-Yes, Dietch-Yes, and Huck-Yes. Results: Yes-11, No-0. Motion carried.
DISTANCE EDUCATION COUNCIL AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Bob Uhing, Administrator for Educational Service Units, has been elected as Chair of the Distance Education Council (DEC). Bill Kittl, has been nominated as Vice Chair. Gordon Roethemeyer has been selected as the Executive Director of the Distance Education Council. Mr. Rothemierer stated that he will be going out to meet contacts.
Although the duties and make-up of the NITC Education Council is somewhat different than the Distance Education Council, the end goal of is the same. One primary responsibility of the DEC that affects both councils is the scheduling system. CIO/NITC staff are working on an RFP for the system. The Distance Education Council also had an advisory committee that is meeting in Wayne on October 3rd.
OVERVIEW OF THE 2007-09 BIENNIAL I.T. PROJECT REVIEW PROCESS AND TIMELINE (FORMS)
The timeline for the Biennial I.T. Project Review was presented. The NITC must submit I.T. Budget Request Recommendations to the Governor and Legislature by November 15th. The NITC will be meeting on November 1st to review the recommendations submitted by the Technical Panel and advisory councils. The Education and Government Councils will be meeting jointly with the Technical Panel sometime between October 23 and October 27th. Normally, only the council chairs are involved. Their purpose is to bring the whole councils input on the projects.
The Education Council will need to hold a special meeting on October 13th to review requests and make recommendations. This year, a new management portfolio tool is being used to rate projects which would reflect various variables and values - funding amount, feasibility, project longevity, etc. After input of all scores, It will show a visual representation to the projects rated.
The reviewers lists was reviewed. All members of the Technical Panel, the Education Council and the State Government Council have been invited to rate the project requests as well. The rating form, explanation of scores and directions to the web site will be sent to members.
UPDATE: LB 1208 IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITIES
Ms. Decker, who serves as the Project Director for the implementation of LB1208, was not be available for the update. Mr. Rolfes will send out an updated list of members serving on the work groups. Implementation of LB 1208 is the responsibility of the CIO. Walter Weir is the Assistant Project Director. There are several project managers that serve as leads for the various work groups. So far, all work groups are on target per the established timeline. Mr. Rolfes provide a brief update on the following work groups:
Cost structure and billing. Work group has been working algorithm that is fair and equitable for billing costs and administrative fees.
DEC Collaboration. Mr. Rolfes is exploring opportunities to involve higher education in the process.
Design/Support. Work Groups is charged with network topology and is in the process of writing specifications for an RFP in correlation with e-Rate specifications. Informational meetings have been held with vendors.
e-Rate. Work Group is exploring a statewide applications rather than have individual schools apply. Five ESU’s (1, 2, 7, 8, 17) have requested in writing to be the first to be served by LB 1208.
Scheduling. Work Group is currently working on the RFP and it is in near final form. Plans are to have a decision to award in November.
Edge device bidding. Work Group is working on bidding of routers.
Video co-dec. Work Group has been working on the technical specification to replace up to 300 codecs. Plans are to have purchase done by April 1st.
DISCUSSION: STATEWIDE TECHNOLOGY PLAN NITC INITIATIVES & EDUCATION COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS
Progress needs to be made by January 2006 with the council's action items. Below are the action items and recommendations that council agreed to work on immediately.
P1 - Identify Tier II communities that offer opportunities for aggregation for services
onto the network.
The CAP will identify and work with communities that express an interest in
aggregating their public sector transport.
Wayne, Nebraska is example of a Tier II community. Mr. Linster provided information on what has happened in Wayne. In the future, Wayne would like to become a regional site.
Mr. Linster volunteered to develop a white paper to address the issue of aggregation. It was suggested that the white paper could accommodate several action items. Volunteers were asked to contact Mr. Linster. Mr. Rolfes offered to assist.
P3 - Offer Internet I services to eligible network participants.
The implementation of LB 1208 could assist with this action item. It was recommend to convene a work group to address policy issues. Some states have statutory restrictions for state to provide CLEC services. Lt. Governor Sheehy, chair of the NITC, is also chairing the broadband task force.
Statewide Synchronous Video Network
P4 - Develop an event clearinghouse that allows promotion, marketing, and registration
for interactive video events.
Develop a web-based clearinghouse that allows originators to post events
and users to register for or view the date, time and frequency of individual events.
It was recommend to convene a work group.
P1 - The NITC Technical Panel will establish standards related to the procurement and use of learning management systems by K-12 schools.
P2 - Promote the availability, distribution, and use of digital media throughout the Nebraska educational community.
Due to Network Nebraska it is possible that the model that is in place now could be rethought and re-examine due to the possibilities. No recommendation was made at this time.
There are no standards to date for “content” management. Discussions need to begin for possible development for enterprise applications. The Education Council can propose standards to the Technical Panel for final approval by the NITC. Mr. LeDuc and Mr. Linster volunteered to assist. Mr. Rothemeier will check with ESU technology trainers about volunteering.
MEETING MEETING DATE & TIME, AGENDA ITEMS FOR NOVEMBER 17 MEETING & CALL FOR SPECIAL MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT
There were no items suggested at this time for the regular November meeting.
Due to the biennial I.T. budget requests, the council will need to hold an October 13th special meeting to make and review recommendations to the NITC. Dr. Huck and Mr. Chandler will check on the availability of their facilities for this meeting. No videoconferencing will be available for the special meeting.
The regular meeting of the NITC Education Council will be held on November 17th, 9:00 a.m. The location will be determined at a later time.
Mr. Chandler moved to adjourned. Dr. Haack seconded. All were in favor. Motion carries by unanimous voice vote.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:42 a.m.
Meeting minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by Tom Rolfes, Office of the CIO/NITC.
Meeting Minutes