ITC – Multimedia Classroom Committee
March 11, 2009 11:45am, N. Copernicus 204
Minutes
Present: Brodeur, Doan, Menoche, Pocock, Rudzinski, Washko
I. Call to Order
II. Minutes of Previous meeting
This was the first meeting of the semester. There were no previous minutes.
III. Announcements
There were no announcements.
IV. Old Business
This was the first meeting of the semester. There was no previous business.
V. New Business
1. Since this was the first meeting of the semester, the committee began with a discussion of
the committee charge, review of past practices, expenditure guidelines, budget restrictions,
deployment timelines, and faculty survey issues.
Washko/Pocock described concerns with past deployments with the primary goal of preventing
future issues. Washko stated that the total budget allocated to the committee was $139,500.
Approximately $92,000 of the total is already reserved for the purpose of replacing 40 projectors
and adding additional data jacks to improve management of the new projectors. The total
remaining for use by the committee this semester is approximately $47,500. Washko stated that
these were Bond funds which were available now, but which needed to be allocated by 6/30/2009.
It was recommended that deployments occur over the summer.
Discussion concerning the requirements for eligibility of requested funds resulted in the committee
agreeing that all requests for funds for spaces used for classes would be considered, regardless of
the location of the deployment. This was to clarify the eligibility requirements which in the past,
sometimes implied certain sections of the academic community might not be eligible based upon
the room location or purpose.
Relating to the process of requesting funds for multimedia classroom projects, Rudzinski presented
the FY2010 Budget Change Summary provided by the UPBC on 3/10/2009. That document also
listed Multimedia Classroom projects. The committee decided to review the process by which
Multimedia Classroom projects were requested and provide input to the ITC at some as yet
undetermined future date.
Pocock presented an overview of the typical cost of multimedia technologies used in the classroom.
The approximate costs follow:
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“Black box”
Data drop installation
Projection installation
Projector
Screen
Smartboard
Extron switcher unit
$400
$400
$1200-$1500
$1750
$400
$2000
$3500
Pocock also stated that there are 140 multimedia stations supported by his department. That total
did not include other areas of multimedia classroom technology purchased by (and mostly
supported by) other departments on campus.
The committee discussed the importance of improving the quantity and quality of feedback from
faculty regarding their experiences in utilizing the Multimedia classroom technology used at the
university. Rudzinski presented the (albeit dated) 2007 Instructional Technology survey results to
the committee. The committee, acknowledging the importance of quality feedback, recommended a
multi-pronged approach to soliciting feedback from the faculty. Menoche recommended that
“Informational Flyers” be prominently posted next to each multimedia station on campus. These
documents would ask for feedback (both positive and negative) from the multimedia station users.
It was hoped that this method would also obtain feedback from those part-time faculty who are
generally more difficult to contact. Additionally, chairpersons of each department on campus
would be contacted with a polite request to include the “Informational Flyer” notification as an
agenda item in their next departmental meeting. Doan offered that individually meeting with each
department during their departmental meetings might provide improved quality and quantity of
data. The committee decided that Rudzinski would contact the department chairperson’s with an
offer to meet with their departments at a mutually convenient time. Committee members would
share the responsibility (as their schedules permitted) to meet with these departments. Washko
recommended a deadline of mid-April for feedback to the committee. Washko also recommended
that since this first committee meeting occurred in March, it would be in the best interests of the
committee to start the data collection process earlier in the academic year (September). In this
way, enough time would be available to solicit quality faculty feedback.
The action items resulting for this meeting follow:
1. Rudzinski will develop a draft of an “Informational Flyer” for review by the committee.
After review, the document will be posted near each of the multimedia stations on campus
and will also be used as a basis for discussion as an agenda item during departmental
meetings across campus.
2. Rudzinski will contact the Dean’s office in each school, to request permission to contact
each department chairperson in the school requesting their faculty’s input regarding
multimedia in the classroom at the University.
3. After receiving permission, Rudzinski would then provide the “Informational Flyer” to the
department chairperson’s and also ask if they were amenable to a brief visit by a committee
member to discuss multimedia classroom technology at their next departmental meeting.
VI. Adjourn – The meeting was adjourned at 11:55am
Respectfully submitted,
Henry Rudzinski
ITC Multimedia Classroom Committee Chairperson/Secretary