Academic
Administrative
Network/Phone
TECH NOTES
Spring 2016
Information Services:
Communicative Disorders Mediasite
Recording System
A digital upgrade to the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Speech and
Hearing Clinic analog video recording system was performed over the summer 2014 with Tech Fee
funding. The clinic offers full diagnostic evaluations for children and adults who are suspected of
having speech, language, or hearing disorders. Ten therapy booths are equipped to simultaneously
video record the department therapy sessions provided by the graduate students and supervised
remotely by speech-language pathologists and audiologists (faculty). These recordings are then
saved to a secure server for video-on-demand playback.
The new system enhances students’ educational experiences by providing high-definition video
via user-controlled pan/tilt/zoom cameras for clearer session viewing as well as Bluetooth headsets
for two-way communication between instructors and students for real-time feedback. Other features
of the system include real-time session viewing capability on dedicated monitors (located in each
faculty office as well as on 3 computers in the control room) and multiple session streaming by
viewing output directly from the Mediasite recorders, and cataloging of videos for faster retrieval.
Students have the opportunity to view their therapy sessions for self-analysis and data collection, and
faculty use the recordings for instruction in didactic courses.
The clinic is located at 201 Carter Dr., Suite 400
Digital Modeling at Department of Art + Design
Digital modeling is used to design virtually every manufactured item we use, from plastic forks to
cars. It is the first step in the process of developing the aesthetics and function of everyday objects. In
the Fall of 2016 ART 230, Digital Object Design, will be offered to WCU students as a full semester
course. Professor Andrew Snyder explains that the class is intended to introduce students to the
process of digital modeling and 3D printing. Students will design a variety of functional and inventive
objects starting with drinking vessels and finishing with designing and making their own board game
using Rhinoceros 5.0. “Rhino” is a benchmark for industrial design and is used throughout industry for
modeling prototypes for 3D printing.
In addition to learning the process of digitally modeling objects, ART 230 will deal with 3D printing
and CNC milling. The object students design will be 3D printed in PLA (corn-based biodegradable
plastic) on the “Makerbot Replicator 2” 3D printer here at WCU. In addition to the Makerbot’s PLA,
students will receive first-hand training using our CNC router. The Nomad 883 router carves digitally
designed objects out of solid materials ranging from wood to aluminum.
Since this will be the first time the course is offered during a 15 week semester, it will give the
students time to thoroughly explore the process. Digital modeling’s cross-discipline nature makes it a
useful skill in various fields. We will explore the personal interests of students to see how digitally
modeled objects fit in to contemporary culture and everyday life.
WCU Course Catalog now Web-Based!
http://catalog.wcupa.edu/
In May 2015, the Office of the Registrar successfully implemented the first phase of a product suite
called Courseleaf (by Leepfrog Technologies) after 8 months of design and implementation efforts. This
first phase focused on a program called CourseLeaf Catalog (CAT) which is a proven catalog management
solution designed for intuitive editing, manageable workflows and on demand publishing to web,
mobile, tablet and print PDF platforms. CAT integrates and syncs with PeopleSoft, flags errors between
PeopleSoft and the course catalog and provides summary reports to deliver an academic catalog website
that accurately reflects West Chester University’s programs. The 2015-2016 course catalog signifies the
successful launch of this implementation as well as the online version which can be found at
http://catalog.wcupa.edu/.
CAT not only simplifies a manual and once very laborious task but also provides the following very
significant improvements to the course catalog.
CourseLeaf Catalog (CAT)
• Accuracy – because CAT draws from PeopleSoft’s Oracle database, there are no discrepancies between PeopleSoft and
the course catalog.
• Consistency – all departments use the same content design which provides uniformity and consistency throughout the
catalog.
• Student-friendly – CAT makes the course catalog student-friendly first and foremost by making it mobile but also by
providing excellent “searchability”. The Focus Search engine allows students and staff to find what they are looking for
easily. Once found, students can then save just that section to a PDF for future reference or printing.
• Intuitive Editing – within CAT, each department edits its own course content. No more gathering content updates from
different departments and no more going back-and-forth to clarify content changes or updates. Changes are easily
tracked and readily visible for all involved in the course change process through the author tools which use convenient
color coding to display proposed and accepted changes to the catalog.
• Workflows – built in workflows seamlessly direct a change or edit to the catalog from initiation through the various
levels of the process. It features a powerful collaborative approval system, taking the entire update process online.
Email notifications let the right person know when they have actions to take.
• On Demand Publishing – last but certainly not least! CAT simplifies the publication process of the annual course
catalog making it easy to export as a PDF and then to the web, making it accessible from your PC, smartphone or
tablet! What previously included manually updating a lengthy Microsoft Word document is now with one click
generated into a PDF ready for the printer.
Check out the new course catalog @ http://catalog.wcupa.edu/! There is even an online tutorial available to walk you
through the online catalog – view the tutorial here!
Kudos to Megan Jerabek (Registrar’s Office) and Andrea Grinwis (Vice Provost’s Office) for planning and implementing
such a wonderful product! Many thanks also to Pat Lenzi’s Administrative Computing group, who assisted with the
implementation.
Phase 2 involved implementing CIM which is CourseLeaf’s curriculum management product. CourseLeaf Curriculum
(CIM) is a tool that improves the way we edit, track and approve new and existing courses and programs across campus.
CIM, pronounced 'kim’ takes the curriculum management process online with customized forms, manageable workflows
and tight integration into PeopleSoft. CIM was successfully launched September 2015 under the direction of WCU
Curriculum and Academic Policies Council Chair, Dr. Corinne Murphy and former Chair, Dr. Jeffery Osgood.
INTERACTIVE & COLLABORATIVE
TEACHING/LEARNING SPACES
West Chester University campus technology is constantly evolving,
and the Information Services Division is currently working on
improving West Chester’s teaching and learning spaces to keep
classrooms updated with the newest, latest, and greatest
technology. Most students are familiar with the traditional
classrooms that may be equipped with interactive technologies such
as smart boards, interactive projectors, or clickers to help enhance
the learning experience and provide increased assessment
outcomes. However, many professors are also interested in stepping
it up a notch by utilizing and experimenting with collaborative
technologies as well.
Interactive learning can eliminate the need of an old fashioned chalk board and whiteboard, but collaborative
technologies allows for small group interaction and information sharing, and makes for a more interesting learning
environment. Anderson Hall room 202 recently received interactive and collaborative technology for the College of
Business and Public Affairs faculty to use and test out to increase student sharing and collaboration in preparation for the
classrooms in the new Business and Public Management Center (BPMC) when it opens. A wall-mounted interactive
projection system was added to the room to provide interactive technologies. A wireless presentation device was also
installed to provide a collaborative environment. Using the wireless presentation device, faculty and students can present
wirelessly from any device via an app. This allows professors to walk freely around the room. Multiple users can also
connect and display their devices simultaneously to allow for collaboration and sharing. Features like video sharing,
document sharing, photo sharing, web browser sharing, drag and drop, and interactive Microsoft Office are what these
new interactive learning spaces hold.
A true collaborative classroom would have multiple displays throughout the room -accommodating 6-8 students at each
display, connecting wirelessly via the RamNet wireless network. Students work in “huddle spaces” or small groups, and
collaborate to share and learn the material. The faculty member will be the moderator of the class and will have full
control over what is being presented onto each monitor. This method of learning is still in the trial phase and Information
Services is currently researching and testing three different wireless device technologies to accompany this style of
learning.
Future plans show that the College of Education is interested in installing this technology in classrooms located in Wayne
and Recitation Hall. In addition, the BPAC building will have five collaborative classrooms when it opens in 2017
• The Faculty and Staff Training (FAST) (formerly known as Software Application Training [SAT]) unit
supports WCU faculty and staff in becoming proficient in various applications, in addition to providing
best practices in trending platforms (i.e. Social Media, D2L, RamCloud). Courses are designed to
accommodate all levels of learning and are run in succession, allowing users to build on acquired skills.
FAST staff also produces reference documentation to support the training initiative. Browse through the
FAST Course Offerings to access information about the classes, as well as the corresponding
documentation.
• View the Training Schedule for the current month. All training sessions are held in Anderson Hall, room 2
• For more information, please visit the FAST website: www.wcupa.edu/fast
Tech Trivia:
Sponsored by the Student Services Inc (SSI)
The winner will be chosen at random from those submitting all correct answers to Dr.
Fabrey at jfabrey@wcupa.edu within 48 hours of the appearance of this issue of Tech
Notes. Prize will be determined and awarded by SSI.
For this issue, different technology strategies will be required to find answers that are NOT technological
in nature. For example, try looking up related sites and/or using quotes around several words to make
sure that they appear next to each other. Try using our Library Digital Archives.
1.
The man known as the “father of
information theory” was born
100 years ago, in 1916. What is
his name?
2.
The first IBM hard drive was
HUGE but its capacity was
SMALL and it was VERY
expensive! How many MB
and how many $/month to
lease?
3.
The man who
decided to put the
@ symbol in email
addresses died this
year. What is his
name?
Answers to the Tech Notes Fall 2015 contest: 1. The code names for Windows 95, 98, Vista, 7, and 10 were Chicago,
Memphis, Longhorn, Blackcomb, Threshold: ; 2. True, WCU has the largest varsity division II athletics program;
WCU won national championships in: Women’s Field Hockey 2011, 2012, Women’s Lacrosse 2002, 2008, Baseball
2012 ; 3. The wartime safety device depicted in Popular Mechanics in November, 1915, was the Wheeled Body
Shield . Winner: Karissa Zerr!!!
Back to Cover
Contact Information
IT Help Desk
(Faculty/Staff/Student)
http://www.wcupa.edu/infoservices/clien
tServices/itHelpDesk/
x3350
021 Anderson Hall
Telephone Repair
wcupa.edu/infoservices/commservices
x3535
002 Basement, 121
Allegheny Hall
Desire2Learn (D2L)
http://www.wcupa.edu/infoservices/clien
tServices/d2lServices/
x3350
002 Anderson Hall
ResNet Central
wcupa.edu/infoservices/resnet
x2660
003 Ground Floor,
Brandywine Hall
FAST (Faculty & Staff Training)
fast@wcupa.edu
x3191
024 Anderson Hall
Web Services
http://www.wcupa.edu/infoservices/webTe
am/
x0043
002 Anderson Hall
TECH NOTES STAFF
Theresa Boppell, James Fabrey,
William McGrory, Alyssa Riccio,
Juli Szonntag, Sandra Unger
VICE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
Vice President & CIO
Dikran Kassabian
Donna Beckett
x2828
023
Anderson
Special Assistant
James Fabrey
Kathleen Barimani
x3228
150
25UNA
DIVISION CONTACTS
Client Services
Technical Services
Content and Web Services
Paul Gargiulo
JT Singh
Kim Slattery
x3397
x1045
x0043
020F
020B
005
Anderson
Anderson
Anderson
Administrative Computing
Pat Lenzi
x1048
017
Allegheny
Telecom/Infrastructure
ResNet
Joseph Sincavage
Richard Chan
x3535
x1061
003
004
Allegheny
Allegheny