Educause Day Two, Part One

The University as an Agile Organization

Patrick Masson (University of Massachusetts Central Office)
David J. Staley (The Ohio State University)
Ken Udas (University of Massachusetts Central Office)

Here's what the program said:
"Web 2.0 is more than a set of tools; it is a 'platform' for organization, characterized by decentralized and emergent versus command-and-control leadership models. Can our institutions leverage the new realities of social media for better decision making and outcomes? This session will highlight the theory and practice of an 'agile university.'"

My take:
This was a terrific presentation! I realized that much of what I am trying to do with the team is simpatico with Agile, and that is where I need to put my effort in process improvement. When Patrick and Ken described the team at UMassOnline, my mouth was watering! They must be incredible managers to pull this off in a higher ed environment.

They suggested a couple of books:
Agile Project Management by Jim Highsmith
The New Invisible College by Caroline Wagner
The Spidar and the Starfish

I will be devoting several blog postings on this presentation.

Audio and Video Accessibility: Strategies and Workflows
Alice Anderson (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
James Glapa grossklag (College of the Canyons)
Sean Keegan (Stanford University)
Terrill Thomson(University of Washington)


Here's what the program said:
"Higher education institutions have legal and ethical obligations to provide audio and video resources that are accessible to all audience members, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. This panel session will explore several institutions' his off in a approaches for addressing their media accessibility challenges."

My take:
Unfortunately, these people didn't have anything new to present on making video accessible. I keep looking for a magic solution that will provide instant perfect captions for free. It doesn't exist, at least not yet.

Sherpa: Increasing Student Success with a Recommendation Engine
Robert Bramucci,Vice Chancellor, Technology & Learning Services 
South Orange County Community College District 
Jim Gaston, Associate Director, IT, Academic Systems & Special Projects 
South Orange County Community College District 

Here's what the program said:
Students flock to online services that offer intelligent recommendations: Amazon, Pandora, Facebook, iTunes, and Netflix present personalized choices, yet when students reach college they find static menus leading to a bewildering array of choices. At this session we will present Sherpa, a revolutionary personal guide to courses, information, and services.

This blog post seems to be too long for Blogger. So check for the second half, following this post.