EDUCATION COUNCIL
Nebraska Information Technology Commission
Friday, December 13, 2002
Student Center--Conestoga Room
Nebraska Wesleyan University
MINUTES
VOTING MEMBERS/ALTERNATES PRESENT:
Mr. Con Dietz, Creighton University
Dr. Jerry Harnisch, alt.-Midland Lutheran College
Ms. Linda Engel, Nebraska City Public Schools
Mr. Terry Haack, Elkhorn High School
Mr. Dennis Baack, Nebraska Community College System
Mr. Jeff Johnson, Centennial Public Schools
Mr. Joe LeDuc, Catholic Diocese of Lincoln
Dr. Robert Manzer, alt.- Nebraska Wesleyan University
Dr. Ed Rastovski, Wahoo Public Schools
Mr. Al Schneider, ESU 5
Mr. Alan Wibbels, ESU 10
Dr. Chuck Friesen, alt.- Lincoln Public Schools
LIAISONS PRESENT:
Mr. Bob Huber, Nebraska Education Telecommunications Commission
Mr. Mike Beach, Nebraska Education Telecommunications Commission
Dr. Dean Bergman, Nebraska Department of Education
Mr. Wayne Fisher, alt.-Nebraska Department of Education
Ms. Carna Pfeil, alt.-Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education
MEMBERS AND LIAISONS NOT PRESENT:
Mr. Keith Bartels, Nebraska Association of School Boards; Dr. Jack Huck, Southeast Community College; Dr. Tom Krepel, Chadron State College; Dr. Jerry Moskus, Metropolitan Community College; Mr. Thomas O’Neill, Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Nebraska; Dr. Harvey Perlman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Dr. Sheila Sterns, Wayne State College; Ms. Brenda Decker, DAS-Division of Communications
CALL TO ORDER, ELECTRONIC POSTING, ROLL CALL AND INTRODUCTIONS
Co-Chair, Mr. Alan Wibbels called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. There were 10 voting members present at the time of roll call. A quorum existed to conduct official business. Mr. Wibbels stated that the meeting notice was posted to the NITC and the Nebraska Public Meeting Calendar Web sites on November 18, 2002 and that the meeting agenda was posted to the NITC Web site on December 10, 2002.
The members and guests introduced themselves.
APPROVAL OF THE MORNING’S AGENDA
Ms. Linda Engel moved to approve the December 13, 2002 agenda. Mr. Terry Haack seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Harnisch--yes, Engel--yes, Haack--yes, Baack--yes, Johnson--yes, LeDuc--yes, Manzer--yes, Rastovski--yes, Schneider--yes, Wibbels-yes. All were in favor, motion carried.
APPROVAL OF THE November 15, 2002 Minutes
Mr. Haack motioned to approve the November 15, 2002 minutes as presented. Dr. Manzer seconded the motion. Roll Call Vote: Harnisch--yes, Engel--yes, Haack--yes, Baack--yes, Johnson--yes, LeDuc--yes, Manzer--yes, Rastovski--yes, Schneider--yes, Wibbels-yes. All were in favor, motion carried.
Mr. Con Dietz arrived at 9:15 a.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
WORKGROUP/COMMITTEE REPORTS
Training Advisory Workgroup – No report.
NET Distance Learning Report (Excel 115k) - Mr. Bob Huber referred to the November, 2002 DLS report, linked to the agenda. The Network 2 hours are down 18% year to date from last year. Network 3 hours remain the same. NebSat classes are down 17% year to date. The Nebraska Video Conference Network (NVCN) system is running down 5% from last year. The Executive Building in Lincoln was the most used videoconference location with Scottsbluff using the most hours. The Help Desk contacts have increased in work for year to date. The Help Desk welcomes Randy Heinzman as the new Help Desk supervisor. DLS Team Site Visits are up 62% but hours are down due to satellite receiver swap-out.
UPDATE-- COURSE MANAGEMENT TOOL PILOT (PDF 150k) /Aggregated Purchase
Mr. Jim Zemke of the University of Nebraska Computer Services Network gave an update of the course management tool pilot and aggregated purchase possibilities with a PowerPoint Presentation.
In addition to the information presented, he stated that the Educational Service Units (ESU) have been a key element in getting the e-initiatives project underway.
Dr. Manzer stated that Nebraska Wesleyan University is currently doing a pilot with College of St. Mary’s in Omaha where pre-service teachers can dialogue with their cooperating teachers via online chat. This is saving both travel time and expenses.
PRESENTATION: NEBRASKA EDUCATION PORTAL
Mr. Rod Armstrong of Nebrask@OnLine gave a live demonstration of the Education Portal. The portal allows the Education Council and educational entities the opportunity to showcase a lot of information in one location. The site has almost 700 outside links/resources and about 3,700 internal links for navigation. Mr. Armstrong stated that NOL has concentrated on providing the navigation but relies on educational entities and state agencies to provide the content.
Mr. Armstrong highlighted features of the portal for the members. The “Search” button will be established to allow the users to do a key word search. There are navigational buttons on top that link to K-12 sites. The “Ask a Librarian” is a useful tool used to ask for additional information. NOL has placed a traditional disclaimer site stating that there are outside links for which NOL is not responsible. They are currently building a text-only site for users that require content only and to accommodate the special needs users.
In addition, a drop down menu allows users to click on a link that will take them to a secondary page with information. Multiple menus have organized information by topic, age or grade. Mr. Tom Rolfes was named as providing an extensive amount of information and resources to populate the portal.
Mr. Armstrong asked for some help from the Education Council members. He asked that each member and their institutions make sure all links and resources are appropriate. They can offer suggestions by clicking on the “Feedback Form” on the main page.
NOL’s General Manager also asked the Council how they feel about linking to commercial sites such as companies that sell textbooks or curriculum. It was discussed and all agreed that linking to commercial sites is not appropriate for the portal at this time.
Discussion.
The URL for the Education Portal test site is: http://www.nol.org/test/education.
Implementation On Timeline--NOL will do a soft rollout or soft launch on January 1, 2003. The Governor or Lieutenant Governor will do a press release around February 1, 2003 to promote the portal and its services.
PRIORITIZATION OF pORTAL sERVICES AND iNNOVATIONS
Mr. Tom Rolfes referred to a document entitled “List of Potential Value-added services or Innovations arising from the Nebraska Education Portal Project” (Word 32k). The document listed 10 services that could be developed in conjunction with the portal. mr. Rolfes asked the council members to read each very closely and determine which are their priorities. He mentioned that one service, the Feedback Form, was already completed and that one service, the reciprocal URL button for other educational websites, was in progress.
Mr. Steve Schafer stated that he received a $25,000 grant from State Records Board. About $5,000 was allocated to develop the actual site and now he has $20,000 remaining for additional enhancements to the portal or other projects.
Mr. Wibbels suggested prioritization of the nine items electronically via email. He stated that Mr. Rolfes would continue the electronic discussion and summarize all comments.
EDUCATION COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS
ASSIGN TASK GROUPS
Mr. Rolfes handed out a sheet with group assignments and prefaced the groups’ tasks with description of each of the priorities and what each hoped to accomplish.
Members that were assigned to Education Council Priority 1.1 which is the Statewide Synchronous Video Network Workgroup were: Dennis Baack, Dennis Linster, Al Schneider and Dean Bergman.
Members that were assigned to Education Council Priority 1.2 which is Adequate Rural Bandwidth were: Wayne Bell and Wayne Fisher.
Members that were assigned to Education Council Priority 2.1 which is Technology Training Grants were: Jerry Moskus, Linda Engel and Chuck Friesen.
Members that were assigned to Education Council Priority 3.1 which is Ensurance of Life Cycle Funding were: Kent Hendrickson, Alan Wibbels and Carna Pfeil.
Members that were assigned to Education Council Priority 4.1 which is the Role of Technology in Standards were: Don Mayhew, Rene Bose and Judi Carter.
Members that were assigned to Education Council Priority 4.2 which is the Educational Technology Proficiency Measures were: Con Dietz, Jerry Harnisch, Tip O’Neill, Terry Haack, Jeff Johnson and Ed Rastovski.
Members that were assigned to Education Council Priority 6.1 which is the Synchronous and Asynchronous Instructional Methods were: Robin Smith, Rob Manzer and Joe LeDuc.
Groups were asked to take 30 minutes to discuss their assigned priority and work through the sheet.
bRIEF TASK WORK GROUPS
The members reconvened at 11:15 a.m. and gave brief reports on what they discussed and accomplished. Mr. Rolfes gathered the worksheets and will transcribe them into word processing documents.
DISCUSSION: NEBRASKA NETWORK FINAL REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS (Word 172k)
REVISED ORGANIZATIONAL CHART (PDF 53k)
Mr. Rolfes explained the new arrows of the organizational chart. The chart reflects a triangular communication pathway between CAP, NPWG and NAWG. It was suggested that the three groups should take the next several months to determine the long-term focus of the network. Mr. Rolfes stated that NAWG has been in place since 2000, because the NITC approved their status and function in 2000.
Mr. Wayne Fisher stated that Dean Bergman had concerns with the NAWG reporting to the Technical Panel and not to the other councils for additional input. Mr. Rolfes suggested that Mr. Bergman e-mail his concerns about the chart and that NITC staff would address his concerns in the most appropriate manner.
Discussion.
NETWORK POLICY WORK GROUP (Word 30k)
Mr. Fisher voiced some concerns about the wording of the charter. The charters states, “Annual Meeting Membership may include major network stakeholders…” Mr. Bergman has a problem with the word “may.” He suggests that it be changed to “will” and it would be required for anyone buying services to attend the meetings.
Mr. Rolfes suggested that Mr. Bergman e-mail his concerns about the Network Policy Work Group charter wording and that NITC staff would address his concerns in the most appropriate manner. .
STATEWIDE SYNCHRONOUS VIDEO WORK GROUP (PDF 67k)
Mr. Beach stated that everyone has expressed interest in this work group; therefore he is willing to sponsor and drive this effort. The work group has a broad focus and could potentially have more than 12 members on it. He requested suggestions about the language of the charter and specific names of contact people very soon. Group members agreed to email the contact names and their numbers to Mr. Rolfes as soon as possible.
CONFIRM LOCATIONS FOR JANUARY and FEBRUARY MEETINGS
All council members remaining agreed not to have a January meeting and to communicate electronically, if needed. Mr. Rolfes asked the members to come prepared to the February meeting to talk about the priorities and action items.
The next meeting is tentatively set for February 21, 2003. The meeting location will be announced when confirmed.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Wibbels adjourned the meeting at 12:04 p.m.
Minutes were taken by Jen Soucie Kitt of the NITC and reviewed by Tom Rolfes, Education IT Manager.
Meeting Minutes