May 20, 2013

New employee in Online Education Support

Please help me welcome Qing Zhang to Washburn as a new employee in Online Education Support. Qing will fill the Online Education Support Specialist II position.

Qing Zhang Online Education Support Specialist II at WashburnHer primary responsibilities will be support of faculty, students, and staff in the use of Desire2Learn and Respondus; as well as assisting Marc Routsong, Online Education Support Coordinator; in the administrative functions of Desire2Learn.
Qing has a Master of Science degree in Instructional Design and Technology from Emporia State University. She has extensive experience presenting at conferences on topics such as: Integrating Digital Tools into the Classroom, Teaching and Learning with Mobile Devices,and Using Google SketchUp in Teaching and Learning. Qing was also a graduate teaching assistant at Emporia, co-teaching courses such as Advanced Instructional Technology for Educators and Technology in the Classroom.
Qing will start at Washburn tomorrow. Help us welcome Qing to Washburn. We are excited to have her join our staff!

Qing Zhang -Online Education Support Specialist II
Henderson Learning Resource Center-room 3A
qing.zhang@washburn.edu
785-670-2381

Filed Under: Instructional Technologies, Mobile, Technology Tagged With: , Leave a Comment
August 14, 2012

New WiFi in Residential Living

Washburn Information Technology Services is completing the installation of new wireless equipment in Residential Living facilities to better meet the needs and expectations our students living on campus. We expect this will provide substantially better service than our old system as we see more students, more equipment, and a wider variety of devices communicate on our campus wireless network.

The new wireless system replaces an older system that was designed around centralized, high-power equipment.  The new equipment is smaller, faster, and operates at lower power levels to reduce interference and work better with newer mobile devices.

We are installing many more access points (113 APs with the new system vs. 24 with with the old) and are placing them closer to the where the students live – in every suite in Kuehne, West, and Washburn Village and in student living spaces in the LLC. This allows us to improve placement of equipment to ensure good service and will substantially increase the total number of client devices we can support.

The new system is designed to optimize the sharing of available bandwidth while providing a high level of overall throughput in order to support, among other things the high definition internet video and other anticipated bandwidth-intensive technologies in the future.

We are very excited about the improvements this will bring and look forward to expanded use of this system as demand grows elsewhere on campus as well.

Additionally, we won’t be abandoning the older equipment we are removing from Residential Living. We will instead be reallocating it to areas where the design of that equipment can provide service more optimally. All of the equipment we remove from Residential Living will go to providing service for the direct benefit of our students elsewhere on campus.

Filed Under: General Support, Mobile, Telecommunications Tagged With: , , , , , Leave a Comment
May 29, 2012

The Mobility Imperative: Improving Engagement for Today’s Student

Join us in the Technology Learning Center (TLC)-Bennett 102, Wed. May 30th from 1-2pm for the webinar The Mobile Imperative:  Improving Engagement for Today’s Student.  Listen to Melissa Mintz, Blackboard Student Engagement Specialist, as she shares examples of how institutions are attempting to tackle this problem today, and provides a prescriptive road-map for institutions to move forward, solving for the Mobility Imperative. Mobile technologies are helping forward-thinking schools engage their students with innovative strategies for:
- Mobile Learning
- Student Outreach
- Faculty/Student Communication
- On-Demand Campus Information
- Student Life-cycle Management

Discussion will follow webinar.  Hope you can join us!

Filed Under: Instructional Technologies, Mobile Leave a Comment
May 24, 2012

What’s Next for Education: The New Course Ecosystem webinar in the Technology Learning Center

Please join us May 24th at 1:00 p.m. in the Technology Learning Center (Bennett 102) for “What’s Next for Education: The New Course Ecosystem.” This webinar is sponsored by Blackboard and hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education. A group discussion will follow.

Who: Institutional leaders, faculty, course designers and IT leaders will get an insightful view into the evolution of digital technology in the higher education landscape.

About: A recent survey notes that students are purchasing tablets and mobile devices at a rate far faster than predicted. And, it’s no surprise that the greatest growth sector in education is expected to be in the adoption of digital textbooks, multimedia and tools, a sector that topped the $1 billion dollar mark in 2011.

Content is not the only area in higher education undergoing transition. The mission of the learning management system LMS seems to be changing also. All types of content will soon be accessible within a single course experience, uniquely delivered by the learning management system. With the LMS as a new channel for digital content, instructors and students both can expect manifold benefits from greater choice in teaching materials to more options for consuming instructional content.

During this event, you will hear an insightful view into the evolution of digital technology in the higher education landscape.

Filed Under: Instructional Technologies, Mobile Leave a Comment