The IT Department is currently working to implement an Information Delivery System that will give faculty, staff, and students access to network resources (applications, files, shared folders, printers, etc.) 24/7 from any computer that has an Internet connection. The IDS uses Citrix thin-client and web technologies to deliver applications and other network resources to end-users from any computer running Windows, Macintosh, or the Linux family of operating systems. The purpose of this project is to promote student achievement in academic competencies by providing remote access to existing and future software applications and network resources. This project will enable SCC to extend technology beyond the physical campus and enhance the learning environment for students in all programs including traditional, online, and dual-enrollment. This innovative project will provide the greatest number of students equal access to campus software applications and network resources 24 hours a day, seven days per week allowing students to learn and excel in their program of study. Faculty and staff can also leverage this technology to gain access to their network resources when they are away from their office (in the classroom, conference, home, district office, etc.). IDS allows your network resources to be available to you from any computer in the world that has an Internet connection.

During the summer break the IT Department is scheduled to implement a new email system. SCC employees will enjoy new features (everything in Microsoft Outlook will actually work) and an easy to use, fully functional web interface. Mac users will enjoy a much better interface too! Your email interface will look the same no matter how you access it (via the web or via your office computer). The new email system will make collaboration, scheduling, and tasks much easier and more efficient than our current system.

Have a service request for the IT Department? Technology equipment not working properly? Novell login not working properly? Please call the HelpDesk to troubleshoot the problem and they can enter in a HelpDesk Request. You can also place your own request by clicking here.

The new Student Information System (SIS) project continues to move toward the anticipated "go-live" date in October 2007. One major area of importance is Training. Train-the-trainer sessions are scheduled for May and June at the District.

Training for SCC:

End User training will start the middle of June continuing through October.

Faculty Portal training for residential and adjunct faculty will be scheduled during September and October.

Student Portal training will be scheduled for October through December.

As the training schedules are finalized, communication through emails as well as department/division meetings will be important.

ITS now has a website that contains several reports that you can use to track login information for your classroom or lab. Information such as your busiest time, busiest day, how many computers are being used in a certain hour and average session time can all be found here. These reports can also be exported to a .pdf or an Excel file. Click here to visit this website. If you would like your classroom or lab added to the list please contact the Helpdesk.

Knowledge Base

The IT Department is setting up a web integrated knowledge base system that will enable us to publish FAQs and common answers to How-To questions about Operating Systems, software products and services on our campus. This will be a keyword searchable knowledge base or you can navigate using a tree-view list. This product will also be used as a repository for Computer Technicians and our Systems Team to find answers and written documentation to common problems and setup procedures.

SharePoint

The IT Department has set up a SharePoint web server which will allow a group of users to share documents, spreadsheets, or any other file types. SharePoint web services can also be used as a virtual meeting place for discussions or brainstorming ideas. This will become very useful for committees or other groups of employees that span across our campus.

SCC`s Report Information System (RIS) is a database system that reports SCC course information, student enrollment data and other college/district wide data to department/division secretaries, administrative staff and faculty. We are constantly maintaining the system and creating new reports based on college reporting needs.

Spring break saw the much needed upgrade of our current SIS hardware. SCC`s Digital Equipment Corp (DEC) VAX hardware, which is more than 15 years old, was replaced over Spring Break with a new Windows Server running the Salem Automation, Inc. Charon VAX hardware emulator. The increased performance of the new hardware is greater than expected. Besides increased performance, SCC will also see a reduction in electrical consumption by migrating to the new hardware and shutting off the old hardware.

Apple has offered each of the Maricopa Colleges access to their "iTunes U" website. Each college is now in the production stage of completing their iTunes U website. Once production is completed, faculty will be encouraged to begin offering their podcasts on our SCC iTunes U website. Haven`t podcasted? Don`t worry! The CTLT will be providing workshops with demonstrations on how to supplement your instruction with podcasting, as well as how to get started producing your own podcasts.

The SCC Media Center has been working in coordination with the Library staff to include the Media Center`s video collection on the Integrated Library System. The Integrated Library System offers the SCC community the ease of accessing all library titles from one site. The Media Center will be adding the collection of videos which are available for student previewing and faculty check out for classroom viewing to the system. The Media Center has also been working with the IT staff to provide these titles via streaming media directly from our new media server to your computer. This will allow faculty and students to view the program without any checkout; just click and enjoy.

Archiving SCC`s History

The SCC Media Center is working in coordination with the Library to begin digitizing our SCC archives. Historical photos and articles will be scanned into a digital format to be searched using keywords for easy access.

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The Integrated Library System offers the SCC community the ease of accessing all library titles from one site.

The IT Department is constantly involved in numerous ongoing campus projects. These projects range from consulting on specific products to implementing Capital Technology allocations to developing Educational Specifications for new buildings. IT is currently working with the campus to incorporate technology for the new Science Building, the new General Classroom Building, and the remodel of the Business Building. We have also been involved in other construction projects such as the ME Addition for the Paint/Wall/Key shop and the new baseball field. IT is involved in multiple district-wide projects such as the Inventory Process Task Force 2007 inventory, the March 2007 CFS upgrade, the HRMS Time and Labor roll-out and the ongoing development and support for the new SIS system.

The SCC IT HelpDesk`s mission is to provide faculty, staff, and students with a primary point of contact within SCC so that access to college-supported instructional and technology services and the assistance essential to effectively use these services are provided in an efficient and effective manner. We hope to accomplish this by (a) focusing on empowering students, faculty, and staff to "serve themselves" by providing resources, including: CTLT staff, Quick Reference Guides, "how to" videos, and other remote support services, (b) expanding HelpDesk services to include more topics related to instruction and technology, and (c) developing a true "one-stop-shop" to meet all of our clients` instructional and technological needs to enhance teaching and learning. As we move forward to meeting our mission, we welcome your feedback. Click here to tell us how we`re doing!

The HelpYourselfDesk was put together as a 24/7 resource available to all students, faculty, and staff. Available items include "How To" Guides such as accessing network services (including wireless), burning CDs, and compressing files. Multiple Tutorials and Tips are also available for various Microsoft products and supported resources. Documentation and/or links were recently added pertaining to the HRMS Time and Labor rollout which occurred at SCC in March. Come visit the HelpYourselfDesk and feel empowered.

The new version of Microsoft Office 2007 is scheduled for roll-out on SCC starting in late summer and early fall. You may have heard about the significant interface changes to programs like Word and Excel - and perhaps feeling a little nervous right now. Here in the CTLT, we`re working to help alleviate those concerns. For starters, we`re planning a couple "What`s New in Office 2007" hour-long sessions this summer to demonstrate the new look and feel of Office. The first session is scheduled for Thursday, May 24 from 2:00PM - 3:00PM in BU132. We`ll offer other sessions during the Summer (and during Accountability Week). We`ll have quick reference guides to further help with the transition. Also, look for emails later in the Summer for hands-on training opportunities. You can always click here for the training schedule and new handouts on technologies used here at SCC.

A new version of Blackboard will be installed on May 22-23. Version 7.1 has some exciting improvements in the area of the Discussion Board, making the feature better at building community online with your students. There are a few other changes, such as in the area of Assessments and Gradebook that will make grading more flexible and convenient. To help you ramp up on the changes in Blackboard, we`ll be holding a "What`s New in 7.1" overview session on Thursday, May 24 from 1:00PM - 2:00PM in BU132. Please click here for additional Blackboard training workshops. To get a quick overview on the changes now, please click here.

SCC Website Content Management is currently undergoing a needed revision by software maker Revize. Improvements in place include quicker web page publishing times and updates to development tools. Updates due for release in May include a new web browser based editor and a better file management utility for managing web pages and associated files. Though improvements are in the works, Revize has historically had problems and delays implementing improvements and correcting software bugs. As a result we are evaluating other Content Management Systems in the event that promised improvements and corrections are not completed. The SCC Website directory has undergone some changes. The information in the directory is attained from a Human Resource database provided by MCCCD. The information in the MCCCD database was not intended to provide directory information for SCC, as a result the SCC Web directory contains some inaccuracies in department assignments, and job titles are vague and nondescript. By creating our own version of the directory, we are now able to reassign people into the correct departments and provide a more descriptive and representative job title for individuals. If your information is showing up incorrectly in the SCC Web directory please contact James Quintero by email or by phone (x36312).

Over spring and into summer we will be performing our final installation and configuration project on this generation of our campus Local Area Network (LAN). We started the project 3 years ago with the replacement of our core switch and have been budgeting and working to replace our edge switches. The final configuration provides redundancy at the core of our network with redundant links to every building.

Last year IT installed our first campus based wireless network. Since then, we have been working on expanding the current service. With our latest LAN upgrades, we will be placing wireless into buildings that currently do not have wireless service. We will be extending the wireless service to the open areas of the campus over the Summer.

We are currently designing and preparing to install our first Storage Area Network (SAN). Network based data storage is a common solution in most IT environments. Our SAN implementation will increase the capacity, stability, reliability, and security of SCC`s network data and files while lowering the total cost of ownership.

• ITS is proud to congratulate Michelle Ludeman, our Open Computer Lab Supervisor, for being selected PSA Employee of the Year for 06/07. Michelle has worked in the Lab for over 10 years. Way to go Michelle!!
• ITS would like to welcome Linda Herdan to our department. Linda comes to us from CGCC and has filled the position of Supervisor of Network Services. Welcome to SCC, Linda!

The Maricopa County Community College District provides its students and employees wide access to information and technologies for educational purposes. As a result, users are required to observe Constitutional and other legal mandates aimed at safeguarding equipment, networks, data, and software that are acquired and maintained with public funds... More information and links to the Technology Resource Standards can be reviewed here.