EDUCATION COUNCIL
NEBRASKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION
December 14, 1998
Mahoney State Park, Cedar Room
Ashland, Nebraska
APPROVED MINUTES
MEMBERS PRESENT |
|
Keith Bartels |
Jeff Johnson |
Dr. Christine Beischel, Bellevue University |
Terry Miller |
Dr. Dean Bergman |
Carna Pfeil, CCPE |
Larry Bock, Blair Community Schools |
Art Tanderup |
Dr. Uma Gupta |
Alan Wibbels |
Dr. Ken Halsey |
Dr. Mary Wise, Metropolitan Com. College |
Dr. Jack Huck |
Dr. Woody Ziegler |
Jay Jacobsen, Peru State |
Dr. James Moeser |
MEMBERS ABSENT |
|
Dr. William Berndt |
Susan Fees |
OTHERS PRESENT |
|
Mike Winkle, NITC Executive Director |
Lori Lopez Urdiales, Office of the CIO/NITC |
Tom Rolfes, Office of the CIO/NITC |
Dennis Linster, Wayne State College |
CALL TO ORDER AND MINUTES:
The meeting of the Education Council of the Nebraska Information Technology Commission was called to order at approximately 9:00 a.m. by co-chair Dr. Huck. Corrections/additions to the November 16th minutes included under "Members Present" changing Dr. Halsey's institution name from Peru to Wayne State and under "Others Present" changing Jay Jacobsen's institution name from Wayne State to Peru State. Dr. Bergman moved and it was seconded by Larry Bock to approve the November minutes as corrected. All were in favor. November minutes were approved.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
TELECOMMUNICATIONS AGGREGATION JOINT SUBCOMMITTEE:
Rick Becker, Government Information Technology Manager, of the Office of the Chief Information Officer, will be in contact with the 12 members of the joint subcommittee to setup the first meeting. Members thus far included: Education Council (Alan Wibbels, Woody Ziegler, Kent Hendrickson, and Jack Huck); Community Council (Craig Schroeder, Mike Nolan, Donna Hammack, and Tyler French); and the Government Council (one representative from each of the following agencies IMServices, Division of Communications, Health & Human Services and the Crime Commission to be determined).
EDUCATION PROPOSAL REVIEW COMMITTEE:
Tom Rolfes reported that the committee has not been able to meet but plans to meet in early January.
NEB*SAT TRANSITION COMMITTEE:
The committee met in November and December. Lt. Governor Kim Robak attended the December meeting. Mr. Rolfes reported that several points were discussed - not all were in agreement. Dr. Ziegler and Dr. Bergman are the council representatives. Both reported that although there is some hesitancy from some members it is the general consensus of the group to move toward a productive transition and making a recommendation to the NITC and the Education Council. Mr. Winkle will draft a proposal for the team by their January meeting.
RULE 88 SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY FUND:
Dr. Bergman presented materials to the Education Council members for information purposes only. The purpose of these funds are to connect schools to the internet and it will be done in three phases: Phase I - connection, Phase II - local area networking and Phase III - enhancement of systems.
LB 924 calls for technical review of this program. The Education Council does not need to review and approve these. Dr. Bergman will provide a report to the Education Council as to the selection criteria, number of awards granted and funded amounts. (Handouts on the Rule 88 Proposal and a progress report were distributed.)
CORE SERVICE FUND FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICE UNITS:
Discussion occurred regarding core services, LB 806 and LB 934 (staff development, technical training, and instructional materials). The .5 cent levy is not included in core services. The Core Service Fund Proposal is a program request rather than a technology infrastructure request. Mr. Winkle stated that this puts the NITC in an odd situation when there is a Technical Review panel, consisting of information technology managers and engineers, reviewing proposals that are service oriented rather than technology oriented. There needs to be clarification and fine tuning on issues such as these and the role of the NITC. It was group consensus to form a subcommittee to work on the legislative issues. Volunteers for the subcommittee were Dr. Bergman, Mr. Wibbels, and Mr. Miller. Mr. Winkle will organize the first meeting of the subcommittee. (Handouts on the Core Service Fund Proposal and Title 92/Chapter 84 governing ESU's were distributed.)
EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION GRANTS:
TIER 1 GRANT UPDATE:
The application deadline for Tier I lottery fund proposals was December 1st. The funding cap for proposals was $10,000. Fourteen applications were received but only ten included the technology requirements. The Education Council will not need to make any decision on these. The review committee will be meeting tomorrow, December 15th. The Tier II proposal funding cap is $100,000 and applications are due February 1st.
PROVIDER SOFTWARE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING CONSORTIA:
Providers for the Educational Service Units have been invited to discuss working together so that analog and digital systems can speak to each other. The two issues that will be discussed are technological interoperability and the administration of the systems through software. There was discussion regarding the need for providers to work together, the state's investment in technology, and the use of out-of-state providers. Dr. Bergman moved and it was seconded by Dr. Beischel that the Education Council supports the concept of interoperability of services with the caveat that it must be in sync with the statewide plan. All were in favor. Motion carried.
TECHNICAL REVIEW PANEL:
Council members were to have submitted names of persons who would serve on the expanded Technical Review panel. These persons would be available to assist with reviewing proposals. Mr. Rolfes reported that he has received names from only three of the council members. When Mr. Rolfes receives the names, that person will receive a form to complete that lists their area(s) of expertise. The deadline to submit names was extended to December 22nd.
NEBRASKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE:
Mr. Rolfes wanted to make the council members aware of a Lincoln based initiative between the State of Nebraska, IMServices, Lincoln School of Commerce, Lincoln Public Schools, AIM, and UNL has been invited to participate also. The mission, as stated by the NITI, "is to promote the professional promise of information technology careers and to connect the people, training, and employment opportunities for a brighter Nebraska future." Dr. Gupta stated that there are a lot of issues being discussed nationally regarding IT careers and volunteered to help this committee. (Handout explaining the Role and Mission of NITI was distributed.)
INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE/WEB REVIEW:
This is a statutory requirement of the NITC. Mr. Winkle would like each of the councils to conduct a web review, as well as discuss what kinds of information should be included in the Clearinghouse. Co-chairs Huck and Wibbels led a brainstorming session that listed the important elements of the clearinghouse, as suggested by Mr. Rolfes. A report will be given at the January meeting.
COMMITTEE WORK:
During the lunch hour, the council members were given worksheets, broke into three smaller working groups and later reported on the following discussion items:
Education Council's Accomplishment/Progress: The group reported that it was too soon to evaluate progress since the council has been in existence for only six months. Some of the council's accomplishments include the following: 1) Education Council has become a source of leadership for technology; 2) the NITC is well known now; 3) the common software interface meeting that will be held this afternoon is positive; and 4) there has been greater coordination efforts between the council and policy makers. The group felt they would like to see the council be more proactive in the future and felt that this type of discussion would be good to have as a future meeting agenda item.
Charter for the Education Council: The group suggested wording for the role and mission as follows.....
- "To advise the NITC concerning educational Infrastructure regarding technology. The NITC will identify, prioritize and coordinate matters pertaining to technology for the efficiency of expenditures and interactive linkage."
- "To establish collaborative articulation of our statewide infrastructure related to technology and education and provide systematic connectivity.
- To ensure effective and efficient use of state resources with regard to technology in education
- Establish equitable use and access to technology throughout the education community
- Identify and recommend technology applications in anticipation of future educational needs in the state"
Telecommunications Aggregation Joint Subcommittee: The group reported that they will take the following questions and issues to the joint subcommittee meeting: 1) backbone infrastructure access and how do we identify; 2) must be expandable; 3) who governs it and what policy will be in place; and 4) pricing - must be inclusive rather than exclusive.
NEXT MEETING DATE AND TIME:
The next meeting will be held January 11, 1999 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Dr. Gupta offered Creighton University for the next meeting and will get information to staff. Meeting was adjourned by co-chair, Dr. Huck at 1:30 p.m.
Minutes taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales, Administrative Assistant, and Tom Rolfes, Education Information Technology Manager, Office of the Chief Information Officer/NITC.
Meeting Minutes