Division of Instructional and Information TechnologyOnline Election Voting Making Paper Ballots an Endangered Species – I&IT Web Development has introduced BallotBox, an online application developed to administer online elections. The Senate approved the use of BallotBox for all elections at its April 11th meeting. This online voting application will be available for use to students, faculty and staff and will render the paper ballot obsolete.
BallotBox has already been successfully implemented at the recent Senate elections. To view the election results, visit SenWeb (you will need to enter your BroncoName).
Key features of BallotBox include:
Developers were careful to insert checks against election tampering.
“Even if someone were to compromise the database and change votes, the break-in would be detected and in all but the worst cases, the original votes restored,” explained Dr. Curtis Clark, Director of I&IT Web Development. “BallotBox is a state-of-the-art application that allows fast, easy, and secure voting online. It’s confidential and efficient.”
For more information, visit BallotBox.
Accessing Accessibility – Committed to providing access to information resources and technologies to individuals with disabilities, I&IT has taken a key role in the CSU-wide initiative on accessibility. Among our goals of creating accessible web pages, presentations and instructional materials to persons with visual, hearing and other disabilities, I&IT has also committed to providing training to staff and faculty members on creating dynamic, accessible PDF documents, web pages and PowerPoint presentations.
David Levin, Director of I&IT Learning, Curtis Clark, Director of Web Development and I are helping lead the university’s Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI) Steering Committee. The Steering Committee has members from each division of the university and from ASI and the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation. In addition to the goals cited above, we hope to revise the university’s procurement procedures so that each electronic/information technology item is reviewed for accessibility at the time of purchase.
For more information on the Accessibility Technology Initiative (ATI) and to register for training, visit Accessibility. The members of the Steering Committee are listed on the site.
Classroom Upgrade 4.0 – In the latest phase of the LCTI TELS project, 20 classrooms are scheduled to be fitted with cutting edge computer and multimedia technology this summer. Standard equipment installed in all LCTI TELS includes projector, motorized screen, computer, document camera, VCR, speakers, and podium equipped with easy-to-use controls and laptop connections. Working with Facilities, Planning and Management, I&IT Operations has already remodeled and placed modern technology in 57 classrooms. For a list of learning-centered technology classrooms, visit LC. For a list of wireless classrooms and other spaces, visit wireless.
DOLCE – Pronunciation: 'dOl-(")chA. Etymology: Italian, literally, sweet from Latin dulcis; used as a direction in music. Although perhaps unintentional, the DOLCE program initiative (Designing Online Learning-Centered Environments) has proven to be quite harmonious with growing faculty and student interest in online classes. In fact, spring quarter witnessed the success of 19 classes being taught completely online while another 125 "blended" or "hybrid" classes combined a mix of live attendance and online teaching.
During the fall and winter quarters, more than 1,000 students participated in six pilot DOLCE courses. Evaluations are still being reviewed but results look quite promising with initial data showing that students in the final evaluation achieved higher grades in the hybrid and online classes than their peers who took the same class and instructor in the more traditional face-to-face mode.
For more information on this project that I&IT administers in collaboration with the Faculty Center for Professional Development, visit DOLCE.
Interested in speaking with an I&IT Instructional Designer to assist in redesigning an existing course or parts of a course for online learning, blended delivery (partially online, partially face-to-face) and extended learning (as supplement to a traditional course)? Visit Instructional Design.
Data Warehouse Enhancements – We are in the prototype phase of a new campus reporting environment, a data warehouse that will replace BroncoData. The data warehouse project is a collaborative effort involving all of the university’s divisions. A cross-divisional Steering Committee sets direction, and reports are written by technical staff from all of the divisions.
Among the features of the new data warehouse reporting system are accessibility, ease of use, and a new tool for requesting reports. A long-awaited feature is "Data Dictionary", a tool that will help identify terms such as active students, continuing students, leave of absence, academic year, etc. - and provide authoritative definitions for them. "Report Library”, another new feature, will assist in finding existing reports. And last but not least, the much-requested “Active Student” report will offer academic and demographic information on students and will be easy to search and manipulate.
During the month of June we are offering demonstrations and seeking feedback. As we move from prototype to production we want to ensure that we are giving our users what works best for them.
For more information, contact our Data Warehouse Administrator, Diane Carter at 909.979.6335. We’ll keep you informed as we continue the rollout of a new, more user-friendly reporting system.
Vista and Office 2007 – Due to initial incompatibilities commonly associated with the release of any new software, I&IT has advised campus IT staff that the university should not immediately upgrade to Vista and Office 2007 until extensive testing of campus applications concludes. So that users adopting Vista and Office 2007 will be adequately supported, technical support training is currently being arranged for campus IT professionals. Subsequently, training will also be provided for end-users. Full support for the 2 new product lines is expected to be announced in late summer.
For more information on Vista and Office 2007, including tips and a brief overview of features, visit Vista.
Thanks to a Computer Information Systems senior project team consisting of I&IT and Cal Poly Pomona student assistants, several interactive and descriptive multimedia tutorials were developed in 10 weeks to assist students, faculty and staff on how to use one of the campus' most frequently used interfaces, BroncoDirect. These online tutorials were created using Captivate and Adobe Connect, formerly known as Macromedia Breeze.
In addition to creating useful tutorials, the senior project team created a framework for using Connect and Captivate in a university environment. As part of the project, the team developed documentation and training materials on the use of Connect and Captivate for training or teaching purposes.
Connect allows instructors to integrate video, audio, quiz and surveys, Flash (SWF) files, images, web pages, documents, spreadsheets and Captivate simulations into PowerPoint to create dynamic and interactive live and streamed online presentations. Connect is currently being used by faculty in many courses including Education, Economics, Kinesiology, Computer Information Systems and History to name only a few.
For more information and/or to view any of the tutorials, visit the Connect page under I&IT Learning.
To request a new account for Adobe Connect, visit Connect Request Form.
It’s no secret that Cal Poly Pomona is home to some of the brightest and most talented minds in technology. I&IT is proud to claim a big share of this talent pool. During the current academic year we have successfully recruited for 4 key management positions.
After an exhaustive, nationwide search, our leadership team was complete with the hiring of our new Director of Systems, Joe Matsumoto. Joe comes to us from Black and Decker, where he was Director of Technology and Operations in the firm’s Foothill Ranch, California office.
In late December, we hired our first, full-time Information Security Officer (ISO), Al Arboleda. Al was ISO at Cal State Northridge, and is presently the Chair of the CSU-wide ISO committee.
Dr. Curtis Clark was appointed permanent Director of Web Development following an intensive search. Curtis, a 30-year faculty member in Biology, was instrumental in the growth of the campus web prior to becoming Web Development Director.
And last but not least, Susan Reese, who had been interim Systems Director, moves into the new role of Projects & Services Manager. Susan will develop project management templates, lead large projects and assist I&IT customers with relations and results.
With these additions to our leadership team, we are excited to be part of a campus that is leading the way in its use of technology to instruct, communicate and inform.
On June 6, 2007, H. Keita, Director of I&IT Operations, announced his retirement effective July 13. Keita has led the LCTI project through two summers and over 55 classroom upgrades. His telecommunications staff offers excellent service from providing phones and services to answering thousands of questions per day. Keita is a familiar, friendly face on campus and he’ll be missed by friends from all over the university.
