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Annual Report
2014 - 2015
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“
Message from the President and CEO , George Laskaris
NJEDge.Net, our member driven non-profit
consortium of academic institutions in New Jersey,
was also very instrumental in providing professional
development programs. These programs covered
the topics of virtualization and advanced networking
technologies that enabled our staff to gain the
knowledge needed to implement the technology at
Passaic County Community College. With NJEDge’s
consortium buying PCCC was able to purchase
the software and support needed to implement
virtualization at a significant savings.
Robert Mondelli
VP of Information Technology
Passaic County Community College
”
The 2014 annual report is
about connectivity:
In 2014, NJEDge.Net focused greater attention on our
community’s growing needs and began working on
expanding its range of member contacts to focus on
engaging faculty and professional staff in the use of
technology to improve teaching and learning. This
annual report is about how we built and continue to
build a connected community.
I am particularly proud of this year’s achievements
because the senior staff has made great strides,
collaboratively, across functional areas, creating robust
programs and services in cloud, network and video
solutions. Through their efforts, NJEDge was extremely
productive in improving and expanding the range of
member services and increasing the economies of scale
in supporting the consortium.
I asked each senior staff member to write out his or her
accomplishments for this year’s annual report so that our
members hear from them individually to gauge if the
corporation has fulfilled its mission to support the higher
education community of New Jersey.
Through Brian Gately’s thorough understanding of the
operational dynamics of NJEDge he is essentially the
chief operations officer and coordinates functional areas
as well as the overall budget. His forecasts have been on
target year after year and our financial stability has grown
over the last several years. Brian as our deputy executive
director is second in command of the organization and
also oversees business development.
Sheri Prupis, in her dedication to academic and
community engagement, created numerous memorable
events over the last several years. Attendance to our
conference, showcase, luncheon, activity group meetings,
webinars and workshops has risen by 30%. We routinely
facilitate collaboration between members through
our activity groups, EDge.Networks, and professional
development programs. Under Sheri’s oversight, the
Affiliate Partner Program grew to seventeen vendors.
Sujay Daniel and his team have built many new features
and capabilities into NJVID, New Jersey’s Academic
Digital Media Repository service. A user can now move
multiple video objects in bulk from one collection to
another; there is audio support for uploads. NJVID has
integrated Instructure’s Canvas Learning Management
System interoperability. NJVID gained new institutional
subscribers not just in New Jersey but also in Virginia,
Michigan and Maryland. Our strategic plan to “Grow
NJVID” is in full bloom.
Bruce Tyrell oversees telecommunications and network
infrastructure services that connect member campuses
to the NJEDge regional optical backbone. Because of his
vast knowledge and telecommunications background,
Bruce is able to assist institutions with their connectivity
options and optimal network solutions. Post super
storm Sandy, Bruce spent considerable time and energy
working with members to design redundant circuits to
prevent possible outages in the future. Bruce facilitated
Stevens Institute of Technology’s adoption of a new GigE
Internet and a 10 Gig virtual desktop infrastructure.
Jim Stankiewicz engineers the design and architecture of
our state-wide optical backbone at Halsey Street and all
of our co-locations at Montclair State and in Philadelphia
and Camden. This year he worked with Ocean County
College and The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
on their LISP upgrade. To date, Jim has configured 24
Connected Members to run LISP in their campus network.
As business manager, Joe Rearden oversaw the extension
of our VMware agreement, and organized a week long,
in-depth course on server virtualization for five member
institutions. Currently, Joe is working with New Jersey
Institute of Technology on the production of a new
“LIFEBOAT” Infrastructure-as-a-Service as part of the
NJEDge Community Cloud.
Eric Kumala deployed the videoconferencing needs
for Super Bowl XLVIII, held in Rutherford. For months,
NJEDge was at Giants Stadium to test the Vidyo
equipment to be used at the actual game. Eric presented
Vidyo capabilities to many school boards and as a result
we have gained more K12 members.
Through keen management, the senior staff proved to be
prodigious in accomplishing their goals.
NJEDge.Net will continue to apply its vast knowledge
and expertise in academic and network technology to
support its member institutions.
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A letter from Sr. Rosemary Jeffries, Chair of the Board of
Trustees & President, Georgian Court University
“
Sister Rosemary Jeffries will have a
lasting impact on NJEDge. Probably one
of the biggest challenges facing higher
education today is how to best utilize
rapidly developing technologies in the
teaching and learning process. Under
Sister Rosemary’s visionary leadership,
NJEDge has fostered an environment
where our academic and technology
leaders have come together to develop
innovative approaches to better serve our
students.
”
Steven Rose, Ed.D.
President
Passaic County Community College
“The
Almanac of Higher Education 2014,” published
by The Chronicle of Higher Education in August lists
the following as the top four priorities of information
technology: help faculty members integrate technology
in teaching; hire and retain qualified IT staff members;
provide adequate user support and leverage technology
to help students succeed. NJEDge.Net has addressed all
these goals this year with its professional development
programs and activity group initiative. This is no small
feat.
The board initiated the following addendum to
the strategic plan: “foster an academic technology
partnership.” The new goal reflects the trustee’s 2012
policy of forging a partnership between technology and
academics. It is evident that NJEDge carried this strategy
forward with increased visits to meet with the CIOs, CAOs,
faculty and professional staff from member institutions
about their needs.
Through a series of retreats, the board has also forged
for NJEDge four guiding principles for developing an
academic/technology partnership with its members.
These guidelines are a blueprint to the paramount
mission of ensuring student success. To carry out
these principles NJEDge must work with faculty and
professional staff to embrace academic technology tools
and integrate them to develop sound pedagogy.
EDge.Networks—the NJEDge activity groups—
will provide greater assistance in its professional
development programs.
The board members worked very closely with the NJEDge
staff with personal letters to our counterparts to pave the
way for direct interaction.
The Board of Trustees is extremely pleased by NJEDge
efforts in introducing video conferencing, virtualization,
LISP, NJVID, and academic engagement programs. We
applaud all the senior staff for their follow-through and
commitment.
We say thank you and goodbye to Anthony Modorsky for
his years in service on the Board of Trustees.
As for me, the role of chair of the NJEDge.Net Board of
Trustees ends this fiscal year. It is a bittersweet farewell.
I am extremely pleased with the activity of the board
these three years. We have accomplished much. But I will
miss the comradery of conferring with other presidents,
provosts and executive directors on the future of
NJEDge.Net.
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NJVID Update
NJVID, NJEDge’s Digital repository and streaming service
continues to be a success among its instructional technology,
library and student users in the higher education community.
Usage of NJVID both in media uploads as well as viewership of
the media in the service has doubled since the past year.
The easy to use interface along with the out-of-box capability
for instructors to start uploading content from within their
LMS environments has led to a rise in user uploaded content.
Currently the repository hosts over 4,800 hours and over 12,000
media files that were uploaded by Institutional users. NJVID has
contributed not only to the application of a flipped classroom
but also let instructors and students make innovative use of
media through video and audio uploads.
The NJVID staff is also currently working on importing over
4000 student jazz performances from William Paterson
University to the repository.
Vineet Phillips, Application Developer. Adam Adamou,
Systems Administrator, Sujay Daniel, Network & Information
Systems Architect & Project Director, NJVID, Abhishek
Hegde, Systems Analyst
The year also saw the addition of over 500 commercial video
titles from upwards of 10 new commercial video distributors
such as Landmark Media, Zeitgeist films, Centre for New
American Media and many more. In addition, NJVID also hosts
the complete collection for some of the new vendors such as
First Run Features, Documentary Educational Resources and
Interfilms Inc. NJVID subscribers can not only choose from more
than 6,500 available titles and 26,000 learning objects from
over 65 vendors belonging to a diverse array of educational
fields but also avail attractive discounts on these purchases.
Institutions and libraries today are adopting the concept of
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and streaming content that
their faculty and students are interested in seeing. NJVID makes
this very easy and streamlined for an institution. This not only
benefits the institution but also other NJVID subscribers as they
can then license content from such vendors.
NJVID users can easily access licensed content from their
institutions, homes, mobile devices as well as from within their
LMS courses where these content are embedded. This results in
a higher ROI for institutional purchases. The popularity of the
commercial video service among the subscribers has resulted
in more distributors such as Media Education Foundation
choosing NJVID to be the streaming location for all their
new offerings as well as collections. An increasing number of
institutions are looking at NJVID to converge their streaming
and repository needs using the platform.
In the past year, NJVID has gained subscribers not just in New
Jersey but also in Virginia, Michigan and Maryland. George
Mason University (Virginia), Carnegie Institute of Science
(Maryland), Aquinas College, Lawrence Technological University
and Madonna University (Michigan) are some of the new
subscribers of NJVID. NJEDge has been successful in striking
a deal with Collaborative Services of Maryland (CSM) to resell
NJVID to the educational institutions of Maryland. In the next
year, NJEDge will be working on finding more partners around
the country to resell and make the service more affordable for
New Jersey Institutions.
Some of the new features that were added in the last year
include
•
•
Support for audio uploads:
NJVID users can upload audio files, expanding the media
types supported by the service. Audio files are encoded
automatically and offer all features that are available for
videos. With the introduction of the feature; institutions
are now expanding their usage of the service into the
audio domain.
NJVID releases integration tool for Instructure’s Canvas LMS:
NJVID now integrates with one of the most popular LMS
that has a growing user base among higher education
•
•
•
institutional community. Leveraging the Learning Tools
Interoperability (LTI) technology standard, NJVID gives
instructors the capability to upload as well as pick and
choose their media, publish and share content directly from
within the LMS using the provided tool. Instructors who
require time release of content can control its availability making it an ideal option for pedagogies such as the flipped
classroom. Canvas is an addition to the list of popular LMS’s
such as Moodle, Blackboard and Sakai that are already
supported by NJVID.
Enhanced usage reporting tool for administrators,
content owners and librarians: The NJVID reporting tool lets administrators, librarians and
content uploaders and owners view detailed statistics of
their media assets. The reporting tool provides key insights
into how the service is being used within the institution
through a combination of graphs and statistics. Users can
not only track media uploads, usage, and views but also
view storage being used. Using an intuitive interface, users
can filter the reports based on media types, collections and
platforms and other elements.
Exporting MARC records for media in bulk:
Institutions can download MARC records for their entire
commercial collection for reference and for exporting into
their OPAC/ILS systems.
Student upload functionality in LMS systems: In addition to instructors, students can also upload content
into courses enabled by their faculty. This provides a greater
flexibility and avenues of using media in courses for the
subscribing institutions.
•
•
•
Creation of more administrative permissions within profiles:
Administrators can now create user roles with permissions
to create sub-collections thereby providing an additional
functionality for instructors.
Availability of wide screen video player options in LMS’s:
Instructors can opt for a larger, wide-screen media player for
video playback within the LMS course.
Integration with Crestron HD lecture capture devices:
The Crestron lecture capture system provides a very simple,
one-box component for capturing lectures, presentations,
medical procedures, seminars, and training sessions. NJVID
integrates with Crestron to provide an end-to-end delivery
solution of the captured content to users on their computers
and mobile devices via website as well as LMS systems. This
seamless integration is an addition to the other lecture capture
systems such as Camtasia Relay that are currently supported by
NJVID.
In addition this past year also saw the release of other useful features
such as:
•
Support for larger set of video and audio input formats and
codecs
•
Bulk transfer of digital objects between collections
•
Support for Multiple Identity Federations
•
Generation of high resolution thumbnails
To learn more about NJVID, please visit www.njvid.net
NJVID at Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology has been using NJVID for over
a year now and we have been extremely pleased with the
experience. We started to use and promote it as an alternative to
the other digital repository systems that are out there. In an effort
to save storage space within our learning management system,
we encourage instructors to put their videos into NJVID. This not
only helped them store and categorize their lecture content, it
provided them additional options for securing their videos with
various privacy settings.
I help instructors tape their podcasts and the output after editing.
NJVID allows me a space where I can load the videos, share them
with the instructors instantaneously, and keep them private. This
provides feedback before I make the final video public.
Stevens is now using a learning management system that is
integrated with NJVID (Canvas.) We have seen the usage numbers
spike as instructors have an even easier way of accessing the
system and sharing content with the students. Instructors
appreciate the embed feature that NJVID’s integration has to
offer. I am also a student and this makes the course look more
technologically advanced and visually appealing.
The best part about NJVID is working with its staff. The team is
so responsive and helpful. I work specifically with Abhishek and
Sujay, and they are wonderful. Abhishek recently trained me on
the Canvas integration TWICE! I had missed a few items in the
first training as there were some distractions in the office, but
he had no problem scheduling another walkthrough. I wasn’t
hesitant to request this of him, because the team is always willing
to help. I now feel much more confident to train my team and the
instructors on how to use the system. I am always amazed how
NJVID already has all of my questions covered. If there is a feature
or setting that I am looking for it is either already in place, or has
been considered. It is almost as if they thought of everything,
or at least that they know their
users very well. NJVID’s team
has provided me with the best
experience and support.
Allison Ruppino
Instructional Designer,
WebCampus Department
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Network Update
Keeping NJEDge’s network
robust and secure is vital
and the responsibility of
Jim Stankiewicz, Director of
Internet Engineering. Jim
reports that our network at
Halsey Street, Newark, with
co-location facilities at
Montclair State University,
Philadelphia and Camden,
maintains a sturdy presence.
Jim Stankiewicz
Over the past year, NJEDge’s
Internet Engineer
Internet capacity has been
increased and a new network design is in place.
During Hurricane Sandy the NJEDge.Net system remained
reliable, helping schools like Fairleigh Dickinson and
Georgian Court universities, and The Richard Stockton
College of New Jersey, stay in contact with students, faculty
and staff.
To remain reliable, Jim completed a Network Core transition
to Cisco ASR9K Series and installed a new NJEDge POP at
Rowan University in Camden.
Ocean County College
Interested in a second ISP connection, Ocean County
College recently installed Locator/ID Separation Protocol
(LISP), a routing architecture that separates a device’s
identity and attachment to a network. Inspired by Jim
Stankiewicz’s presentation about LISP at Rider, I talked to
him about having it installed rather than using BGP. I had
previously been at NJEDge meetings with Jim, Mike Kobal
and Cisco, where they discussed it. Based on these talks, I
decided LISP was the right path for Ocean.
In order to meet the institutional needs, Stevens Institute of
Technology opted to install its virtual desktop infrastructure
(VDI) at the NJEDge Montclair co-location facility. Jim
facilitated this move by implementing a network design to
accommodate Stevens’ needs. We have also begun to test
secured Internet routing known as rPKI.
Jim is in the process of conducting a pilot to test Host
Mobility. Members have enhanced connectivity options
through our co-location at Montclair State University.
LISP provides a streamlined solution for handling multiprovider connectivity and policy without BGP complexity.
It is offered to our members at no additional charge.
Presently, there is increased resiliency to our LISP Mapping
System. We have also installed a new 10G service for
Rutgers University to connect to the BIG 10 Conference.
Jim has configured twenty-four connected members to
run LISP in their network. Ocean County College and the
Pingry Schools are the most recent adopters of the LISP
technology.
Now Ocean has two ASR
routers, one going to
Comcast and one going
to Verizon/NJEDge. Jim
Stankiewicz did the
configurations for both
connections using LISP. The two different ISP’s were
thoroughly tested, one at a time. Having a second ISP
connection makes Ocean more confident that the
college’s Internet can handle something going wrong.
Working with Jim was great. He presented the
information for the LISP configuration. Jim made his
instructions very clear and left no guesswork. After
getting the circuits and Comcast equipment installed, Jim
Stankiewicz and I were able to transition into LISP on a
Sunday, during regular network maintenance time.
Besides the second ISP connection, LISP has other
benefits for Ocean. One is that it is easy and simple to use.
Additionally, LISP has a feature that allows colleges to use
their own IP addresses at remote sites, a feature that may
come in handy in the future for disaster recovery.
At the same time that Ocean County College installed
LISP, the college also increased the bandwidth to NJEDge
and to Comcast to four hundred megabytes. Increasing
the bandwidth to NJEDge took care of increasing the
bandwidth to Ocean’s satellite campus in Manahawkin
because Ocean’s internet connection goes through the
Tom’s River’s campus in a point-to-point connection.
Anthony Carfora
Network Manager
Deputy Director Update
As Deputy Executive
Director, Brian Gately has
overall responsibility for
financing, and member
relationships.
Brian Gately
Deputy Executive Director
Together with George
Laskaris and Sheri Prupis,
Brian puts together the
strategic plan, that turns
the Board of Trustees’
priorities to the action
plan. Brian has added
responsibility of assuring
NJEDge is fiscally sound.
Brian has a telecommunications background that he
combines with business acumen and budgetary expertise
to help the NJEDge.Net team. He manages vendor
bids and contracts plus looks for new services to meet
members’ needs. Focusing on optimal strategies and
services for the network, he evaluates and plans new
services. Tactically, Brian meets with member institutions
to support them in the planning process.
Brian brings to NJEDge.Net a better way to do business.
He coordinates bid preparation, bid evaluation, and
works on contract execution. Brian’s detailed budget
management background has benefited NJEDge.Net’s
planning efforts. He is the main contact with the auditors
and the NJIT financial services group.
Like any successful team member Brian knows his
colleagues all wear multiple hats and each one pitches
in where needed. Another reminder of how NJEDge.Net
serves the community holistically.
Program Management Update
The NJEDge program
management unit
facilitates member
support. The unit is
responsible for the
NJEDge strategic goal
of maintaining technical
excellence for our
members. In order to
make sure that NJEDge
is responsive to member
needs, and proactive
in helping members
Bruce Tyrrell
plan, Bruce Tyrrell and
Program Manager
his associate, Bridget
Trapanese, work with members to optimize their network
connections to the NJEDge core and at off-site campus
locations.
Bruce collaborates with Jim Stankiewicz, NJEDge’s
Internet Engineer, in providing dual connectivity,
redundancy, disaster recovery, and WAN optimization for
our members. Bruce coordinates between the members
and vendors, while Jim designs and operates the NJEDge
core network. In 2014, together they developed and
implemented vendor circuit testing and certification
process; installed network support of the new Camden
POP at the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
and provided remote support to troubleshoot existing
NJEDge and member network issues with the new Fluke
test platform.
Eric Kumala, NJEDge’s Video Engineer, is a member of
Bruce’s team. Together they work to educate members
on Vidyo, the video conferencing solution. They present
on video conferencing benefits to K12 school districts,
higher education institutions and local municipalities.
This past year they installed nine new Vidyo room
systems.
NJEDge has had a significant growth in video in the last
twelve months. Cumulatively, K-12 and high education
members access nearly 800 hours of video conferencing
per semester. Egg Harbor Township School District used
video conferencing to conduct real time conversation
with students in France.
Bruce facilitated Stevens Institute of Technology’s
adoption of a new GigE Internet and a 10 Gig virtual
desktop infrastructure through our co-location facilities
at Montclair State University. By leveraging Montclair
State University, Bruce helped Ocean County College plan
for its disaster recovery system. This year Bruce brought
on board Pingry School and Linden Board of Education
as new connected K-12 members. He assisted Montclair
Board of Education and Township in a major upgrade,
bringing them to a GigE connection.
Dual connectivity is vital for any institution, especially
when faced with an emergency like Hurricane Sandy.
Ocean County College, Raritan Valley Community College
and The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey are
new dual connected members to the NJEDge’s network
(which has its own redundancy). This ensures NJEDge
members reliable Internet connection.
To increase last mile diversity, Raritan Valley Community
College, College of St. Elizabeth and Bergen County
College moved their last mile redundant access to
Fibertech. When UMDNJ merged with Rutgers, NJEDge
managed the Rutgers’ WAN migration project and
assisted Rowan University with its massive circuit
redesign.
Bruce and Bridget implemented Send Word Now,
the emergency notification platform, to improve
communications with our members during emergencies
and policy changes.
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Brookdale Community College
Brookdale Community College had a single connection to
NJEDge’s network. This created a vulnerability for its branch
campus and four higher education centers. The centers were
connected to the Internet through a single switched Ethernet
Initially the college investigated adding redundant circuits to
each higher education center, but budgetary constraints forced
it to look at other options. NJEDge designed and proposed a
cost-effective solution to add some measure of redundancy at
a far lower cost. NJEDge added a second virtual circuit back to
a NJEDge point-of-presence; should the primary circuit path
back to the main campus fail, traffic will be rerouted through this
secondary circuit through a virtual firewall, directly out to the
Internet. This solution moves Brookdale closer to the reliable
network a college needs.
Camille Shelley,
Executive Director
Office of Information Technology
service circuit to their main campus in Lincroft. With increased
reliance on hosted services such as Google Apps and the Canvas
learning management system, the college needed to improve
the reliability and resiliency of Internet at all their sites.
Egg Harbor Township of New Jersey
The New Jersey Common Core and State Technology Standards
brings new challenges to K12 school districts. Equitable access
for our students and faculty is the most demanding need our
school district has been forced to deal with to enhance our
technology infrastructure and support.
The Vidyo portal service provided by NJEDge has helped the
Egg Harbor Township school district participate in home and
global community projects. Having a safe social network
for communicating with other classes and students around
the world is one of the main core objectives in establishing
global communities for future work place readiness. Egg
Harbor Township students are able to participate, in real time,
conversations with students in France through this video
conferencing system.
Michael Sweeder
Educational Media Technology Director
Video Conferencing Update
Eric Kumala
Video Engineer
NJEDge.Net supports
Vidyo as the video
conferencing solution
for K12, higher
education, local and
state government.
Through Eric Kumala’s
efforts, NJEDge
has had significant
growth in the
adoption of Vidyo.
Nearly 800 hours of
video conferencing
occur every semster.
Among NJEDge.Net’s video conference successes, most
noteworthy this year, was its involvement with Super
Bowl XLVIII hosted at MetLife Stadium. Partnering with
the NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness,
NJEDge’s Vidyo Service was utilized to provide real-time
situational awareness to various federal, state, county and
local agencies involved with the Super Bowl.
NJEDge’s Vidyo service was deployed at the Super
Bowl Public Safety Complex to not only provide video
conferencing to command staff but also used to
retransmit various camera feeds from the PSC (public
safety complex) to other agencies. Command staff
had access to thousands of camera feeds including the
stadium, NJ Transit and various other official sources.
was utilized to connect the stadium to other public safety
compounds, such as the County of Bergen, Morris County,
FBI, and other government agencies. Whatever was
shown on the video wall at the stadium was sent to the
other locations. In the event of something catastrophic
happening, video was part of the disaster plan, so that
local authorities could videoconference and share real
time camera sources with other agencies, including the
federal government.
To arrange the video feeds for the Super Bowl, work had
to be done a year in advance. Monthly meetings became
bimonthly meetings as work progressed in identifying
locations for the cameras, and deploying equipment,
assets and resources. Multiple weekends were spent
structuring the video plan. For the last half of the NFL
season, NJEDge was at Giants Stadium during the home
games, testing, evaluating and rehearsing for the Super
Bowl.
This is not the first time NJEDge’s Vidyo technology
has been used for public safety situational awareness.
During Hurricane Sandy, NJEDge’s video technology was
provided to the state police to be used for situational
awareness. Should something catastrophic happen, the
situation can visibly be shared with public safety around
the state or country, and recovery can begin.
Video feeds were transported from stadium cameras and
NJ Transit cameras to public safety agencies. To do so
required cameras access to the stadium, helicopter video,
and other assets. NJEDge’s video service was the glue that
Super Bowl Public Safety Complex
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Virtualization Update
In July of 2013, NJEDge
and VMware extended
the Enterprise License
Agreement (ELA) for an
additional three years,
allowing members to
continue to receive
outstanding discounts
on software and support
for their virtualization
projects. As part of this
extension, NJEDge also
enlisted Carahsoft to
provide aggregation
Joe Rearden
services for the
Business Planning Manager
administration of the
ELA. This was especially important to assist with bringing
into the program more than twenty five VMware certified
resellers.
In January of 2014, NJEDge extended its strategic
partnership with the New Jersey School Boards
Association. Through this partnership, more than thirty
school districts are now participating in NJEDge’s
virtualization program. In the future, NJEDge and the
New Jersey School Board Association (NJSBA) hope to
extend this partnership to offer additional cost-saving
opportunities and support digital learning for the entire
K-20 community in New Jersey.
In March, NJEDge completed negotiations with Nutanix,
a leading provider of converged infrastructure for
virtualization which allows NJEDge members to receive
special, member only discounts on Nutanix hardware,
software and support.
Joe Rearden initiates and heads up the virtualization
program for NJEDge. As Business Planning Manager, he
negotiated the VMware agreement extension.
At the NJEDge Annual Conference in November of 2013,
NJEDge and NJIT announced the production availability
of a new “LIVEBOAT” Infrastructure-as-a-Service offering
as part of the NJEDge Community Cloud. Six members
have begun using LIVEBOAT and several have moved
backups of their critical tier 1 applications, like websites,
DNS and directory services into this environment.
Early reports confirm that the LIFEBOAT provides a
cost effective, on-net solution for disaster recovery and
business continuity purposes, which will be available
to members even if their campus infrastructure is taken
offline by natural disasters or other emergency situations.
2014 Virtualization & Community Cloud Day
NJEDge held a Virtualization & Community Cloud Day at
Mercer County Community College in May. There were
seventy five participants. Chris Wolf, VMware’s Chief
Technology Officer for the Americas, was the keynote
speaker. There were also several breakout sessions on
virtualization and related topics, including one by the
Core Systems team from NJIT. In addition, a “hands on lab”
was provided where participants could learn about the
latest technologies.
Two months later, NJEDge held a VMware vSphere:
Install, Configure, Manage course at the Southern
Regional Institute and Educational Technology Training
Center. There were eight participants from five member
institutions in this week long, in-depth course on server
virtualization.
NJIT/NJEDge LIFEBOAT
Explaining Virtualization to Get Buy-in from Faculty and Admin
This year, I was asked by our vice
president of academics to give a
presentation to the faculty about
VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure)
at Passaic County Community
College’s Faculty Development Day.
I accepted and saw the advantages
of having 120 or so faculty, deans,
and VP’s in one room. I wanted
to explain how we were able to
implement Server and Desktop
Virtualization at the college and
how, with NJEDge’s leadership
and professional development
programs, we were able to
Robert Mondelli
VP of Information Technology accomplish this initiative.
Passaic County Community
College
In assembling my presentation,
I began by asking myself the
question “What is VDI?” As any good Internet user would do, I
consulted Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia, “Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure (VDI) is a desktop-centric service that hosts
users desktop environments on remote servers and/or blade
PC’s which are accessed over a network using a remote display
protocol.” I needed to be able to explain this in terms that the
layperson could understand.
There are many advantages to using VDI, such as the many
connection options. Besides using a thin client or PC, one can use
a multitude of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets.
I regularly access my virtual desktop on my Apple iPad and can
access my desktop using my Samsung Android phone. The
biggest advantage to VDI is being able to access one’s desktop
from anywhere on and off campus with a network presence. No
longer does one have to be “at the desk” to access one’s desktop.
One can be anywhere, at any time.
Gone are also the worries about PC failures, backups and hard
drive crashes. Over the years at PCCC, we have built multiple
datacenters with redundant power supplies, generators,
computing resources, storage and backup strategies. With VDI,
security and data get protected via centralization. The data no
longer resides at the user device; it is stored in the data center.
I told the faculty that besides providing them with virtual
desktops, we are also provisioning student labs and parts of the
library with VDI. This gives us the added benefit of providing
students with a standard lab desktop with all the common
software titles installed. This desktop can be accessed from
anywhere on campus and eventually from anywhere off-campus
as well.
I also described the benefits of VDI for
IT administrators, such as providing
a more centralized, efficient user
environment that is easier to
maintain and able to respond more
quickly to the changing needs
of the user. Virtualization gives IT
the opportunity to manage users’
desktops centrally, without needing
to leave the office. For example,
every semester we used to do a desktop refresh for every PC
in the labs and Library, restoring every PC to a clean state and
applying patches and updates. We needed to visit 1600 PC’s
with 1600 different versions of operating systems, Microsoft
Office, browsers and so on. This was a high maintenance, time
consuming process. Today, using our virtualization software, we
can send a fresh copy of the desktop each time the user logs in.
All updates and patches can be applied very easily. System/PC
maintenance is reduced dramatically through virtualization.
VDI deployment provides anytime, anywhere access to desktops,
apps and data, optimal user experience on most devices
over most networks, centralized management of desktops
and applications, up-to-date with security and compliance
regulations and additional business continuity and disaster
recovery options.
Savings are apparent in other areas as well. Using thin clients
significantly reduces our electrical footprint. Desktop computers
typically use about 65-250 watts of power per-hour whereas
thin clients only use about 6-14 watts of power per-hour. Other
savings come from software licensing because of different pricing
models used for virtual environments.
NJEDge.Net was instrumental in providing professional
development programs. These programs covered the topics
of virtualization and advanced networking technologies that
enabled our staff to gain the knowledge needed to implement
the technology at PCCC. Also, with NJEDge’s consortium-buying,
PCCC was able to purchase the software and support needed to
implement virtualization at significant savings.
CONNECTED
COMMUNITY
Academic & Community Engagement Update
“
”
…The real name of our connection to this everywhere
different and differently named earth is ‘work.’
- Wendell Berry, American novelist and cultural critic
We are defined by our work. Its
effectiveness is measured by
the connection to individuals
and community.
At the 2013 annual conference, we paid tribute to
those who created the foundation for NJEDge.Net.
Saul Fenster, Jeanne Oswald, George Carroll, Kathy
Ciociola and Dennis Bone were the first to envision
and put in place a statewide research and educational
network for New Jersey. They were given the Charles
McMickle Award for Innovation and Excellence.
At all our events—annual conference, faculty
showcase, activity group meetings, webinars—we
witnessed a community hard at work. Their agenda
is to collaborate, lead,
champion, celebrate and
connect. Attendance to all
the major events surpassed
the year before, attesting to
how the members feel about
the work we do. NJEDge is
relevant.
Sheri Prupis
EDge.Networks—the activity groups—was very productive. At the first meeting of the Academic Technology Group
(ATG), Derek Weber of Raritan Valley Community College presented on his success with creating a flipped classroom.
Three attendees returned to their campus and developed their own flipped class. At the Executive Forum at the
2013 annual conference, the NJCIOs discussed cyber security and decided to produce a generic video, one for
faculty and the other for students, on initial steps to take in safeguarding personal and institutional data. Too often
the user services professionals who are in the forefront of campus service are forgotten but their responsibilities are
vital to maintain the welfare of faculty, students, administrators, and staff. NJEDge addressed the issues concerning
Helpdesk personnel, desktop support technicians, media assistants, IT support specialists and consultants by
sponsoring the first User Services Symposium in June 2014.
The action plan set by the Academic Technology Group was quickly embraced as was the decision of the NJCIO
Forum in creating a cyber-awareness video. The enthusiasm of the June gathering prompted the formation of a
User Services activity group.
We approached Raritan Valley Community College, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rider and Montclair State
universities to write about their latest innovation on campus and how NJEDge made a difference in teaching
innovations. The consensus is NJEDge is attuned to their innovations, and is often the collaborator in their
academic technology. More and more we see members seeking out NJEDge to help them in their professional
growth. From student internships to student success, these write-ups are emblematic of the work of our members
and their relationship with NJEDge. Members make the most of what is new and they interact with the consortium
as a vessel, venue, or depot to continue the work.
2013 Annual Conference – Digital Reality
The annual conference did hear many projections of what is
digital reality. Vijay Kumar of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) spoke about new ecosystems of learning
opportunities formed by open source technology. MOOC
(Massive Open Online Course) is the new challenge, and the
new reality of massive online learning. Clive Thompson of
the New York Times Magazine discussed public thinking,
new literacies, ambient awareness, and, drawing on his own
experience using Google Glass, wearable computing. Jeff
Selingo from The Chronicle of Higher Education, discussed
how the perfect storm of financial, political, demographic, and
technological forces are changing higher education forever.
Clive Thompson wearing Google Glass
Honorees receiving the Charles McMickle Award
for Innovation and Excellence at the 2013 Annual
Conference
George Laskaris and Vijay Kumar
In spite of being in the age of webinars and video conferencing, a two and a half day face-to-face meeting is not
anachronistic, it is essential. It allows participants to get to know colleagues, it is paramount to see, touch and
feel the collegiality.
Faculty Best Practices Showcase
Brookdale Community College was the first two-year school
to host the Faculty Best Practices Showcase. There were 28
breakout sessions and 14 poster presentations. Erin Templeton,
associate professor of English from Converse College and Ken
Ronkowitz from NJIT were guest speakers.
Professional development programs like the showcase attracts
the younger generation of faculty and staff. They are eager
to learn and share. It is a good opportunity to show works-inprogress because the feedback from participants is helpful and
comes from seasoned presenters. Targeted to educators from
Patricia Kahn of Brookdale welcoming attendees
K-12, higher education, institutional research, and healthcare
related teaching, the faculty showcase is an opportunity to
present work of New Jersey academics to colleagues.
The showcase features dynamic presentations and posters on
technology-mediated instruction. This is an excellent arena for
NJEDge members, faculty, researchers and professional staff
to present on the newest applications and latest ideas about
learning activities for on-ground and online courses.
Showcase assembly
User Services Symposium
The most satisfying demonstration of community engagement was the
User Services Symposium. User services managers and directors, helpdesk
personnel, and administrative staff from over 15 institutions came to
the inaugural event. The guest speaker, John Bucher, talked about his
experience from being a helpdesk personnel to becoming chief technology
officer at Oberlin College to an appreciative crowd. The participants solidly
engaged with colleagues from other schools. The enthusiasm was palpable.
Managers of user services, helpdesk personnel and administrative staff
who act as the first line of defense for any institution gathered for the
Andrew Chiang of Brookdale
addressing the panel
inaugural meeting and were inspiring and inspired by what was presented.
Most importantly, they networked with peers from other institutions,
shared stories and made steps for future collaboration. All felt that such
a gathering was long overdue and they made the most of the day by
interacting with colleagues.
Everyone showed great appreciation for NJEDge’s coordination for the
symposium and look forward to becoming part of new activity group in
EDge.Networks.
John Bucher and Sheri Prupis
2014 Summer Luncheon
The Summer Luncheon is the
annual “feel good” event held
in July as a thank you from
NJEDge to our members for
their continued support.
Robbie Melton from the Tennessee School of Regents was
explosive! Her talk was a demonstration of the latest smart
devices, such as a $100 tablet from Walmart, and introduction
to new apps that can monitor your health and wealth.
Robbie explained the benefits of some of the newest apps
and eLearning innovations. The event was at a new location,
Robbie Melton’s presentation style
McCloone’s of Long Branch, because our crowd has grown
considerably. Attendance to the Summer Luncheon has grown
25% in one year. In 2014, over 180 participants gathered
by the beach, along the Jersey shore, and celebrated
themselves and NJEDge.
Walmart’s $100 tablet
The 2014 luncheon was also the first time that a full
social media blitz (a new NJEDge app, Facebook invites,
and a live social tweet) played an integral part of making
this luncheon a success.
The Collaborative Work of NJCIO Forum
At 2013 NJEDge annual conference, the NJCIOs met at the Thursday Executive Forum to talk about cyber security. How does an
institution protect itself from inappropriate behavior of its end users--faculty, staff, and students? Incoming students and new
faculty may not be aware of the protocol of keeping one’s identify safe. And in this community of computers, laptops, smartphones,
and tablets, we are living out our lives through the use of these devices. In this BYOD environment, cyber security can easily be
compromised, unwittingly perhaps, but a breach affects student records, financial aid, institutional research and many more data
that reside on the campus IT resources. One preventive method was to create a generic video, one for faculty and the other for
students on basic safety measures..
Princeton University supplied the script, and Neal Sturm, CIO of Fairleigh Dickinson University, took on the responsibility of
producing two versions of the video. The videos run 5 minutes each and can be accessible through NJVID. NJEDge urges its
members to use the two videos as part of student and faculty orientation.
Flipped Classroom Mode: Principles of Biology
At Raritan Valley Community College, my main responsibility is to
obsession with covering the
teach Principles of Biology, a general education course targeted
material.
for non-science majors. Most students entering the course
either have a fear or disdain for science due to past experiences.
The success of this flipped
My goal for the course is to cultivate an appreciation and
approach, with the infusion
understanding for science, while also providing opportunities
of instructional technology,
for students to improve in many of the other skills required
has provided the impetus for
for the 21st century student: problem-solving, responsibility,
others within the department to choose this path. I am currently
accountability, innovation, initiative, exploration, productivity,
working with our Anatomy and Physiology instructors to assist
communication, and collaboration.
in their efforts to flip by sharing my knowledge in the area of
screencasting and mobile technology. The Environmental
It became apparent that the structure of my classroom was one
Studies program asked me how to get started. This approach is
of the greatest impediments. Like most others, I was educated
now mainstream and continues to grow in popularity.
in an instructor-centered environment, where the students were
passive recipients of information. Opportunities to problem-
One of the most helpful experiences in my journey was the
solve, to explore, or to collaborate were few and far between.
opportunity to present my work in collaboration with NJEDge. I
By parroting my own learning experience, I was hindering the
presented at the annual conference in November and with the
ability of my students to achieve these learning outcomes. I
statewide technology group in February. These opportunities
desired to modify my classroom to resemble an orchestral show,
to share my experiences and collect feedback have been an
where the instrumentalists were at the center of the experience,
important part of the process.
guided by a conductor.
The flipped classroom model presented this opportunity.
By delivering content pre-lecture either through the use of
screencasts or reading, there are additional opportunities to
maximize our twice weekly meetings. I no longer teach to a
collective body of one. By using lecture time more efficiently,
I am able to assess students individually and meet them
where they are, all while providing opportunities for greater
accountability, exploration, and contextually relevant learning.
Instead of staring off into space or tinkering with social media,
these non-science students were actively engaged in their
own learning. We now engage in meaningful debates on the
role of biology in society, which was always difficult due to my
Derek Weber
Associate Professor of Biology
Department of Science and Engineering
User Services Symposium at NJIT
For years I have participated in NJEDge because its members
made me a better educator and IT professional. Getting the
opportunity to meet my colleagues from around the state
has confirmed that we all face many of the same challenges.
Members are able to build professional networks and
become more effective professionals by sharing strategies
and experiences.
While the eight NJEDge activity groups cater to many of the
IT professionals that support teaching with technology, the
user services professionals have largely been underserved.
After the morning key-note there were eight different
Unfortunately, this is a common theme that can be seen on
presentations by NJEDge members on topics such as
many campuses. Too often the user services professionals
prospecting and retaining student talent, developing a
that are on the front lines of our campuses are forgotten
Helpdesk ticket tracking database, time management,
about as policies are implemented and technologies
inventory tracking and PC management. In many cases the
introduced. The assumption is that whatever gets thrown
presentations were made by people who had not previously
their way will be easily handled and supported. Too
spoken at an NJEDge event. After the breakout sessions
often they get passed up for professional development
Dr. Bucher led a panel discussion with IT leaders from four
opportunities either because budgets are being tightened or
schools who discussed the pressing issues impacting the user
we need them on campus.
services profession.
To address this need NJEDge hosted its first User Services
From the positive reaction, it was apparent that there is a
Symposium on June 12. The turnout was stronger than
need for an activity group that can develop a community
expected as more than seventy Help Desk Associates,
among these important and often under-appreciated user
Desktop Support Technicians, Media Assistants, IT Support
services professionals on our campuses. Moving forward I
Specialists and Consultants came together to explore
will co-chair this group with Yelena Lyudmilova, Assistant
strategies for better serving our students, faculty and
Director of Education and Computing Technology at Essex
staff. They represented community, four-year colleges,
County College. One of our first tasks will be to establish
and universities and research institutions. For many
a user services track at the NJEDge annual conference to
participants, this was their first opportunity to meet their
continue the conversations and sharing.
counterparts from other schools and to establish dialogue
and relationships that will form a new User Services Activity
Group.
Blake Haggerty
When planning for this event began we wanted to
Director, Technology Support Center
acknowledge that the user services profession has rapidly
New Jersey Institute of Technology
evolved. We needed a key-note speaker that was familiar
with how the user services professions have evolved and
more importantly the direction that it is headed. Dr. Bucher,
Chief Technology Officer at Oberlin College, was a perfect fit.
With more than four decades of end user support Dr. Bucher
was able to help everyone as IT professionals – providing
forward thinking suggestions for structuring careers as well
as for ongoing professional development.
Rider’s Canvas Integration
During the 2011-2012 academic year, Rider University created
a taskforce to evaluate its learning management system
(LMS). This periodic evaluation was done to ensure that the
university provided the best software to its community and to
realize any potential cost savings. This Evaluation Committee
was charged with reviewing available LMS systems and
making a recommendation whether to stay with Blackboard,
Rider’s current LMS, or to adopt a different one. The university
had piloted Moodle and Canvas while Rider was still using
Blackboard, and faculty who had tried Canvas were vocal
Rider launched Canvas during the Summer Sessions to give
faculty enough time to prepare for the fall semester. Now Canvas
is the single LMS system to support the entire university.
Rider did not experience any major issues with the conversion.
advocates for its adoption on campus.
In fact, the conversion resulted in fewer Helpdesk tickets and
The Evaluation Committee was faculty-led, with broad
has been responsive and helped with the transition. Rider’s
representation of academic departments, and once it agreed on
Canvas, Rider formed an Implementation Committee, comprised
of staff from the IT office, Teaching and Learning Center, and
doubled faculty adoption of the LMS. Instructure, as a company,
schools are currently working on using Canvas for outcomes
collection and are in the process of replacing systems that they
used to collect them.
Academic Affairs office. The Implementation Committee met
weekly to ensure project milestones were met. The committee
was particularly sensitive to issues of communication and the
training of faculty and students. Faculty on the Evaluation
Committee served as early adopters of Canvas and worked with
the Implementation Committee to provide support for their
colleagues.
Kim Heeyong
Coordinator of Distance Learning
College of Continuing Studies
Boris Vilic
Dean, College of
Continuing Studies
Raritan Valley’s Student Success in Online Courses
It has long been established that online and hybrid college
devoted more time to the course and took it more seriously.
courses offer students the opportunity to achieve equivalent,
One student even commented that they scheduled their
and in some cases higher learning gains. So, why aren’t students
sign on times in their calendar. Another student volunteered
doing better online?
that this was the first online course they completed, with all
previous online attempts ending in withdrawal. Having a better
Concerned with student persistence and performance in online
understanding of online work provides students with the tools
classes, Professors Pattiann Kletz and Melanie Morris from
to take a more intentional approach to online learning and the
Raritan Valley Community College developed a Student Success
opportunity to plan their studies appropriately. Preliminary
Module. The module instructs students on the realities of online
quantitative data suggests that persistence in courses using
coursework, the characteristics of a successful online student,
the student success module increased in the summer 2014 as
where to get academic and technical help, and academic
compared to summer 2013.
integrity. The materials were developed from best practices and
scholarship on successful online study. The module has three
Establishing realistic expectations at the outset of online
components which each include a unique interactive element as
education should help students adapt to online study as well as
well as an assessment to gauge learning.
raise their consciousness about the various ways in which they
can achieve academically.
During the 2013 NJEDge annual conference, enthusiastic
presentation attendees interacted with the materials. The
module was introduced into select courses beginning fall
2013. During summer 2014, students were surveyed about the
materials. Student feedback indicates that students changed
their approach to the course, with several noting that they
Patti Kletz
Chair, Business
& Public Service
Department
Melanie Morris,
Professor of
Business Law
The IT Internship Experience at Montclair State University
Within the past six years, the Division of Information
Technology has developed an IT Internship Program at
Montclair State University — a great new way to give
students real-life work experience in IT.
This innovative program had its start in 2008 when IT
began to notice a trend with current student employees
leaving their positions as student assistants and working
for companies off campus. With the support of then
University Help Desk Manager, Summer R. Jones, the IT
Internship Program began offering students a chance to
work in IT for credit.
The division introduced its first two students to the IT
Internship Program in summer 2008. As the program
criteria had not been fully developed, it was decided
that IT would allow the student interns to work on
projects that were worthwhile but abandoned due to
time constraints with the full time staff. That summer,
the students worked independently creating and
implementing a formalized Remote Desktop program
and our first iteration of a “desktop lockdown”. In fall
2008, the IT Internship Program was opened to all eligible
MSU students. Over the course of the last six years, the
program has averaged two to three interns per year with
several of those students going on to work as full time
professionals within the distributed technology groups
at MSU.
The IT Internship Program is part of a larger framework
within the university. The program works directly with
the Cooperative Education Program (CO-OP), which
allows students to exchange supervised work experience
for college credit. The Cooperative Education Program
gives students skills that they can utilize in the future. In
addition to receiving direct referrals from faculty advisors
and Gennae Hinson, Director for Career Services within
the College of Science and Mathematics, the IT Internship
Program recruits through its listing as an employer in the
CO-OP program.
In recruiting for the program, the desirable qualities are
initiative, independence and aptitude to learn, since
technical skillsets can vary from person to person. The
internship is a platform for learning, so having those
characteristics are key to completing the internship
successfully. Each intern is matched with a full time
staff member according to the intern’s skillset and
assigned project. This staff member serves as the intern’s
supervisor to guide the intern to the correct resources in
order to complete his or her tasks.
its student employees. The interns must present their
projects to the supervising managers, directors and the
Vice President of Information Technology. However,
there is also an academic component of the internship
program. To receive credit, all interns must submit a
learning agreement for approval to their Faculty advisor.
They must also complete both a mid-semester and final
evaluation, and a site visit from their faculty advisors.
Interns are evaluated by their CO-OP advisors, faculty
advisor, and direct supervisors in IT.
For many graduating seniors MSU was a logical path
to career development. Jeff Giacobbe, Associate Vice
President for Enterprise Technology Services and Minto
Gill, Director of Networking and Telecommunications,
chose to work in their alma mater upon graduation along
with countless other MSU technical staff.
Montclair State University’s IT Internship Program
provides practical work experience, helps develop project
management skills, presentation skills and exposes the
intern to a real world work environment. This exposure is
invaluable in today’s society for developing marketable
employees.
The program provided a real benefit to IT as it has
enabled interns to work on projects that might have been
placed on hold. It gave full time staff direct supervision
over the interns to increase their soft skills and produced
policies and applications that are still being used today.
Some of these major endeavors are the IT Services
Status page, the Computer Lab Availability Tool and our
campus-wide 24x7 Virtual Computing Lab.
Each student intern is treated as a hybrid of student and
employee. They are given a workspace separate from
the student area. In addition, they are able to work 40
hours versus the 20 hour limit that MSU imposes on
Daniel Stratthaus, Summer Jones, Matthew Cannizzaro
CONNECTED
COMMUNITY
Affiliate Partner Program Update
“
As an Affiliate Member, ePlus Technology is proud to
be a Platinum Sponsor. Being a Platinum Sponsor
allows us to help educate NJEDge members as
well as strengthen our relationship with the higher
education community.
”
-- George Pashardis, ePlus Regional VP of Sales
NJEDge.Net’s Affiliate Partner
Program is a valuable way for
companies to support
its mission.
2013-2014 was a year of dynamic growth for the Affiliate Program,
with more companies than ever before seeking an affiliation with
NJEDge.Net
The Affiliate Partner Program is an integral part of how we service
our community. The support provided by the Affiliate Program
helps NJEDge host successful events which strengthen the member
community. Affiliate Program events give members the exclusive
access to the experts and professional development they need
to keep their institutions at the cutting edge of new educational
technology.
Companies who are accepted into the Affiliate Program pay a
yearly membership fee and receive significant discounts for their
participation in NJEDge annual events.
The Affiliate Program was revamped in 2014 in order to
accommodate the growing number of companies wanting to join
the community. The new structure enables NJEDge Affiliates to
choose a partnership level that matches their company’s needs
and budget. Companies can select Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum
sponsorship.
The 2013-2014 Affiliate Partner Program was responsible for 10 webinars on relevant
and timely topics ranging from learning management systems to disaster recovery
and planning for educational continuity. Our affiliates also co-hosted well-attended
in-person events. One of these events, a special security summit at Rutgers University,
gave NJEDge members the exciting opportunity to discuss security issues with Teresa
Payton former CIO of the White House.
The Affiliate Program had a very positive impact on NJEDge.Net events in 2013-2014.
Our partner companies provided important support for our Annual Conference,
Faculty Showcase, Virtualization & Community Cloud Day, and Summer Luncheon.
NJEDge.Net Affiliate Partners were a strong presence on our 2013 Conference’s vendor
floor. They sponsored speakers, breakout sessions, and of course the creative social
networking opportunities for which our conference is so famous. These special events
included a wine and appetizer reception, special customized drinks for conference
attendees, and several rounds of laser tag and tank battles.
The Affiliate Program is launching an exciting new program in 2014-2015. With an
eye to deepening connections and providing even more quality programming for
members, NJEDge opened a “Platinum Sponsor” category for long-time NJEDge
supporter ePlus Technology.
Affiliate Partner Program Member Education –
Experts Teach Trending Topics
2013-2014 Affiliate Program Webinars
• The Convergence of Technology and Records Management: How
to Create Anywhere/Anytime Access
• Optimizing Network Infrastructure for Video Surveillance
• Compliance and E-Discovery: Managing Electronic Information
• Student Success and Student Retention
• How to Choose a Learning Management System
• Designing a Continuity of Learning Plan for your Institution
• Climate Change and Disaster Recovery
• IT Help Desk Lessons Learned
• End-user Computing
• Data-driven Predictive Decision Making in Infrastructure Planning
• Creating a Teaching Ecosystem
2013-2014 Affiliate Program On-Site Seminars
• Embracing the Internet of Everything in NJ Education - Rutgers’
HighPoint Stadium
• Core BTS and NJEDge.Net Presents Security in Education Summit
– Rutgers Student Center
• Infrastructure Pitfalls in a Mobile World – Middlesex County
College
The NJEDge.Net 2014-2015 Affiliate Partners who proudly support NJEDge.Net’s non-profit mission:
Platinum
ePlus inc. is a technology solutions integrator with core focus areas in data center/cloud computing,
collaboration, IT infrastructure, services capabilities, and security. They are headquartered in Herndon, VA.
Sponsor
Gold
Sponsor
Broadview Networks is a New-York based information technology and cloud services provider which offers its
own advanced communications network as well as integrated networking services.
Gold
Sponsor
Located in Long Branch, New Jersey, MRA International is a full-service Hewlett-Packard dealer which provides
technical consultation and product training to clients in state and local government, K-12, higher education and
healthcare.
Gold
Sponsor
Johnston Communications Voice and Data is a privately owned telecommunications integrator in the New York
metropolitan area which designs, installs, and maintains wireless networks, surveillance, and security solutions.
Silver
Sponsor
Silver
Sponsor
Silver
Sponsor
Aspire Technology Partners is a professional technology services firm headquartered in Hazlet, New Jersey
which specializes in business infrastructure and communication solutions.
Brightspace is a learning platform created by Desire2Learn. More than 650 institutions in 20 different countries
around the world use enterprise eLearning solutions provided by D2L.
Canvas by Instructure is a cloud-based education technology platform in use at over 400 colleges, universities,
and school districts that delivers mobile LMS access. Instructure is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Silver
Sponsor
Computer Design and Integration LLC , a New Jersey-based company focused on data center solutions,
provides comprehensive and innovative technology infrastructure services that address the needs of our SLED
customers.
Silver
Sponsor
CoreBTS integrates technologies and customizes solutions for business and education customers. CoreBTS
specializes in addressing the security and compliance challenges faced by K-12 and Higher Ed institutions.
Silver
Sponsor
Dyntek Services, Inc., a project-based systems integrator provides professional technology solutions to clientele
from Higher Education, K-12, and state & local government.
Silver
Sponsor
PKA Technology is a New York-based company with expertise in disaster recovery, cloud solutions, highperformance computing, and “green” IT virtualization solutions.
Silver
Sponsor
Headquartered in Bellmawr, New Jersey, PBG Networks is an information technology services firm specializing
in virtualization solutions and high performance computing.
Silver
Sponsor
Headquartered in New York City and with offices around the country, Presidio is an IT solutions provider with
expertise in the areas of infrastructure, security, data storage, mobile computing, big data, mass storage, and
security.
Silver
Sponsor
Promedia Technology Services, Inc., located in Little Falls, NJ, is a technology solutions provider with a focus on
education and government clients.
Silver
Sponsor
Rockefeller Group Technology Solutions, Inc. delivers solutions for organization’s voice, data, internet, cloud,
security, and storage, infrastructure, and professional service needs and requirements.
Bronze
Sponsor
Blackboard Inc. is an integrated technology company with corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C. that is
primarily known as a developer of education software, in particular Blackboard Learning System.
Bronze
Sponsor
Sparta, NJ’s High Point Solutions provides professional services, planning, building and bespoke IT
infrastructure solutions to customers in financial services, retail organizations, healthcare, universities, and
government agencies.
NJEDge.Net Board of Trustees
OFFICERS
Chair: Sr. Rosemary E. Jeffries
Vice Chair: Steven Rose
Treasurer: Joel Bloom
Secretary: Neal Sturm
NJEDge.Net President & CEO: George Laskaris
PUBLIC RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES
Joel Bloom, President, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Mira Lalovic-Hand, Vice President & CIO of Information Resources & Technology, Rowan University
Donald Smith, Vice President of Information Technology and CIO, Rutgers University
David Ullman, Associate Provost for Information Services & Technology and CIO, New Jersey Institute of Technology
STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Edward Chapel, Vice President of Information Technology and CIO, Montclair State University
Susan Henderson, President, New Jersey City University
Harvey Kesselman, Provost and Executive Vice President, Richard Stockton College of NJ
James McCarthy, Associate Provost for Computing and Communications, Richard Stockton College of NJ
Taras Pavlovsky, Chair, VALE Executive Committee/Dean of the Library, The College of New Jersey
Kathleen Waldron, President, William Paterson University of New Jersey
INDEPENDENT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Sr. Rosemary Jeffries, President, Georgian Court University
Carol Kondrach, Associate Vice President, Rider University
Neal Sturm, Vice President and CIO, Fairleigh Dickinson University
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
Steven Rose, President, Passaic County Community College
Jack Farrell, Senior Professor, Union County College
Maris Lown, Vice President Academic Affairs, Union County College
Maureen Murphy, President, Brookdale Community College
PROPRIETARY COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
Leonard DeBotton, CIO and Vice President, Berkeley College
OUTSIDE HIGHER EDUCATION
Laurence Cocco, Director, Office of Educational Technology, Department of Education
NJEDge.Net Members
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Atlantic Cape Community College
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Camden County College
The College of New Jersey
College of Saint Elizabeth
County College of Morris
Cumberland County College
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Georgian Court University
Hudson County Community College
Institute for Advanced Study
Kean University
Mercer County Community College
Middlesex County College
Monmouth University
Montclair State University
New Jersey City University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Ocean County College
Passaic County Community College
Ramapo College of New Jersey
Raritan Valley Community College
The Richard Stockton College/Carnegie College
Rider University
Rowan University
Rutgers University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Sussex County Community College
Thomas Edison State College
Union County College
Warren County Community College
William Paterson University
Fairfield Board of Education
Madison Public Library
Montclair Board Of Education
Newark Public Schools
Passaic County Technical Institute
Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School
The Pingry School
Toms River Public Schools
County of Burlington
County of Salem
County of Sussex
City of Millville
State of New Jersey (all agencies)
Associate Members:
Drew University
Essex County College
Felician College
Gloucester County College
Princeton University
Salem Community College
Seton Hall University
St Peter’s College
University Hosptital
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Bayonne Board Of Education
Bloomfield Board of Education
Bound Brook School District
Bridgewater Raritan Board Of Education
Camden Board of Education
Carlstadt-East Rutherford Board of Education
Colts Neck Township Schools
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East Windsor School District
Edison Township Public Schools
Egg Harbor Township Board Of Education
Hazlet Township Public Schools
High Point Regional HS Board of Education
Hillsborough Township School District
Jersey City Board of Education
Jersey City Public Schools
Keansburg Board Of Education
Leonia Board Of Education
Livingston Public Schools Board of Education
Madison Board of Education
Millville Board Of Education
Morris Hills Regional School District
Mount Olive Board Of Education
New Brunswick School District
New Jersey School Board Association
North Arlington School District
North Warren Regional School District
Parsippany Troy Hills Board of Education
Perth Amboy Public Schools
Readington Board Of Education
Red Bank Middle School
Ridgewood Board Of Education
Sayreville School District
Somerset Public Schools
Somerville Board Of Education
South Plainfield Public Schools Board of Ed.
Team Academy Charter School
Union City Board Of Education
Watchung Hills Regional H.S.
Woodland Park Board Of Education
Out of State Higher Education Associate
Members of NJVID:
Aquinas College
Cleary College
George Mason University
Lawrence Theological
Madonna University
Associate Library Subscribed Member:
VALE (Virtual Academic Library Environment of
New Jersey)
NJEDge.Net Staff
George G. Laskaris
Vineet Phillips
Brian Gately
Blake Prupis
Sheri Prupis
Andre Sharrief
President and CEO
Deputy Executive Director
Vice President for Academic and Community
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.
Sujay Daniel
Network & Information Systems Architect
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Bruce Tyrrell
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James Stankiewicz
Director, Internet Engineering
Joe Rearden
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Eric Kulmala
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Adam Adamou
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Abhishek Hegde
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Ann Westra
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Corrine Statia
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Onaje Rabb
Production Assistant/Verizon FIOS Project
Production Coordinator
About NJEDge.Net
NJEDge.Net (http://www.NJEDge.Net) is a non-profit technology consortium of academic and research institutions
in New Jersey. Through its deployment of an advanced regional optical network, NJEDge.Net supports its members
in their institutional missions by providing collaborative resources and networked information services in support of
teaching and learning; research and development; outreach and public service; as well as economic development
throughout the state of New Jersey.
It is a state research and education network which provides statewide technology infrastructure to colleges, universities,
K-12 schools and hospital/medical institutions. Members depend on NJEDge.Net for cost-effective deployments
of new technology and advanced applications made possible through our consortium buying power. Service and
support for our participating members account for a combined total of over 9,000 gigabits for Internet and Internet2
and bandwidth travelling over a managed IP infrastructure that covers the entire state.
In providing a broadband statewide network, NJEDge.Net establishes standards for interoperability, achieves
economies of scale and supports new and emerging technologies to foster and support productive use of technology
across the academic enterprise.
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