University of Nevada
Las Vegas
UNLV
UNLV
How Technology has Changed the
Way College’s Deliver their Programs
and Services to the Student Body
Ali Albrecht
Brittany Freight
Chris Desmarais
Alexander Templeton
Presentation Overview:

Issue 1:
Online Academic Advising

Issue 2:
Podcasting

Issue 3:
Emergency Alert Services

Issue 4:
Flash Tutorials

Issue 5:
Smart Classrooms
Rationale:
Rationale:
Rationale:
Rationale:
Rationale:
Used by Student Affairs for efficiency
and ease of Academic Advising.
Used by Student Affairs to reach students and
beneficial for distance learning.
To ensure that the students across the country are safe
and able to be contacted as quickly as possible in the
case of an emergency.
Used by Student Affairs and instructors for better retention
and clarity of information when a student is present.
State-of-the-Art technology incorporated into the
classroom environment and justified by Student
Affairs in retention and draw to the institution.
Terminology Clarification:

Online Academic Advising:
Helps students to make better decisions when registering for
classes by giving information and helpful advice about courses.

Podcasting:
Podcasts are audio or video files which have been recorded and
downloaded on the Internet to be listened to at the user’s convenience.

Emergency Alert Services:
A way to expedite notification to students in the event of:
weather-related closures

Flash Tutorials:
Two-dimensional moving of shapes, or text, to create tutorials
of instruction so students can view when not present for class.

Smart Classrooms:
Technologically advanced classrooms that might include such state-of-art
technology as: Smart Boards, Elmo Paper Scanners, Overhead Projectors,
Multiple Internet Seats, and various progressive Software’s.
Reasoning for Issues:

To advance the way information is shared
with students.

Students learn in different ways:
Podcasting, Online Academic Advising, Flash
Tutorials and Smart Classrooms are able to
accommodate every learning style.

Emergency Alert Services:
To keep students safe while on college campuses.
Technology Mission:
UNLV Online Information Technology Mission Statement:
Mission: (The importance of Information Technology at UNLV)
The primary mission of the Office of Information Technology (OIT) is to support and
enhance teaching, research, scholarly and creative production, and administration through
the effective management and use of information technology resources. The Office of
Information Technology also provides leadership in helping faculty, students and staff
utilize innovative technologies that results in genuine benefits to the University.
(http://oit.unlv.edu/about_us/mission.html. Retrieved: 2/11/2008)
Services Provided Include:
• Development and support of applications and information systems that meet the
changing needs of students, faculty, and staff
• Hardware and software maintenance, repair, and replacement for faculty and staff,
teaching facilities, research facilities, college and department student laboratories,
student laboratories, and administrative offices
• Assistance with the development of instruction programs that are less restricted by
time and place than are courses and programs delivered by traditional means
• Access to the latest in instruction technology including training and incentives for
integration of technology into the curriculum
Online Academic Advising
(3) Categories:
1. e-portfolios
2. Student
Advising Systems
3. Student Learning
Assessment
Career Path Advice Online:
Issue 1: Online Academic Advising
e-Portfolios:
The e-portfolio provides a vehicle for student users to:
– Learn about and understand the skills that are desirable
for them to acquire throughout the college experience
– Become familiar with the array of experience opportunities
in support of skill development
– Become proactive in planning a set of experiences and
skill acquisition throughout college in support of their
career plans
– Through reflection, translate a range of experience into
skills and their career plans
 The e-portfolio represents a powerful tool that support
college student development, as well as, career development

Issue 1: Online Academic Advising

e-Portfolio Pro’s:
1. Enhancing careers services
2. Integrating and assessing
student learning
3. Versatile as institution
4. Students are driving force

e-Portfolio Con’s:
1. Early stages, long
term effects limited
2. Complexity, cost
and variability
3. Integration requires
tech and time
4. Re-conceptualization of how
institution defines and
assesses learning
Example of the Interface
Issue 1: Online Academic Advising

Student Advising System 2.0 (SAS2): The latest web-based project
developed at California State University Dominguez Hills.
– Helps students to make better decisions when registering for classes
by giving them information and helpful advice about courses.
– Intended to be user-friendly and effective.
– SAS2 is built based on SAS previously designed technology.
– SAS2 is designed to provide support for both students and faculty
during advising.
– The system combines:
 Web-mediated advising.
 Well thought algorithm, database technology and e-mail by using
Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) scripting language for coding.
 “My Sequel” Structure Query Language (MYSQL): Database
system for accessing students’ records, and e-mail technology
application.
Issue 1: Online Academic Advising
University of British Columbia (UBC), e-Strategy:

The implementation of new IT-based services or applications can
play a direct role in enabling people to excel through simple timesaving tools and reliable infrastructure.

Structured methodology for Business Process Redesign (BPR).
The methodology was introduced by JM Associates, a small higher
education–focused consulting firm.

By designing and implementing its own business processes through
easily configurable service-oriented software, a university can tailor
its relationship with students and alumni, reflect unique aspects of
research capabilities and goals, and save members of the
community valuable time.
Issue 1: Online Academic Advising
University of British Columbia, e-Strategy Developments:




Optical Light Paths: Secure, high-speed, point-to-point
connections that connect directly to a remote resource.
Researchers can link the research team with needed resources.
Consider the example of a Student Information System (SIS).
It supports business functions in the registrar’s office, such as
registering students and collecting tuition payments.
– Many of these systems do not allow a student to make payments
that are not related to functions in the registrar’s office, such as
library fines, parking fees, or buying textbooks. By contrast, a
student needs to pay the bills, no matter which university
department might be involved.
Existing systems tend to be oriented to the needs of the
department, not to the needs of the end user. This can be
restructured within IT using e-strategy.
Issue 1: Online Academic Advising
UBC e-strategy: Systems Comprising Services
Developments in Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) are based on the
principle that systems of loosely coupled standardized services will be more
flexible, less costly to maintain, and more reliable to use.
 A service can be to “process a credit card payment” or “set up a light path.”
Services communicate with one another through open standard protocols.
They all speak the same language.
 Rather than customizing complex software packages, people can configure
services to interact in ways that reflect their needs. A service-oriented IT
architecture holds the promise of liberating from best practice to our
practice.
 We will have the tools and systems capable of leaping departmental
borders, but need agreement to use them, knowing that the new tools
threaten to erode the clandestine departmental silos.

Issue 1: Online Academic Advising

Online Advising Pro’s:
1. Retention through
restructuring: less idleness
2. Addresses commuter
student issue
3. Applicable to transfer students
4. Faculty members may be new
and relatively unfamiliar with
the curriculum
5. Small ranks of faculty;
requiring many departments
to take special interest in
advising students
6. Distance learners
7. Track their progress toward
completion of their degree

Online Advising Con’s:
1. No face to face interaction
2. Remotely located students and
international degree programs
3. Transfer students: less attention
4. Transferable credits from
institutions
5. Appropriate plug-ins
6. Mandate for more
open classes
Podcasting:
Issue 2: Podcasting
Podcasting stands for Portable on Demand Broadcasting.
 Podcasts are audio or video files which have been recorded and
downloaded on the Internet to be listened to at the user’s convenience.
 Podcasts can be listened to through the user’s computer or transferred
to an mp3 device which can be listened to by the user at their
convenience.


Five contributors to the rapid growth of Podcasts:
– Pervasive internet activity
– Growth in broadband internet access
– Access to multimedia capable personal computers
– A blur between streaming and downloading media content
– The rapid adoption of portable MP3 playback devices
Issue 2: Podcasting


Five steps to create a Podcast:
– Step 1: Create a script of what is going to be said or create
dialogue as they go along
– Step 2: Record footage using a digital recording device
– Step 3: Edit footage using editing software
– Step 4: Footage is uploaded to specific web server and then to
a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed which points to
a specific episode.
– Step 5: User applies validation software to assure that
the RSS is functioning properly
The Podcast episode is now ready to be distributed
to numerous Podcasting sites.
Issue 2: Podcasting

Podcasting in Higher Education:
– Several examples of how Podcasts are used:
 Recording of live classrooms, usually lectures
 University promotional materials, such as freshman orientation
 Special event lecture series
 Share announcements, such as sporting events
 Describe homework assignments
– Podcasts should be used to “supplement class materials so that
students can better understand concepts, theories, and applications
that may not have been available during the class.” (Vogele, 2006)
– Podcasts allows students to revisit important information in order to
grasp key aspects of lectures, assignments, announcement, etc.
Issue 2: Podcasting

Benefits of Podcasting in Higher Education:
– Learner Control: Students can re-attend, pause, and fast forward
to the information necessary to help them learn in the way that
suits them best.
– Accommodates Absent Students: Those that have an emergency
or are sick and are unable to attend class can view the lecture from
their own computer.
– Significant Learning Aid for Auditory Learners: Benefits
students that learn better through listening rather than reading or
taking notes.
– Conversational Voice for Online Classes: To see and/or hear a
professor conducting a lecture may enhance the quality of learning
through online classes
– Convenience: Faculty and students can access Podcasts fairly easily
Issue 2: Podcasting

Challenges of Podcasting in Higher Education:
– Faculty Buy-In Podcasting: Some professors may
not understand the generation of students, may not be
technologically sound for the use of Podcasts, or may
not want to change traditional ways of teaching.
– Not useful for the hearing impaired.
– Two-way communication and audience participation
is not found through the use of Podcasts.
– Understanding Effectiveness: Since Podcasts are a
newly used learning tool there is not a lot of evidence to
show the effectiveness of Podcasts.
Issue 2: Podcasting

Podcasting has not been around for very long, there is
not enough information to determine the effectiveness.

What we know:
– It is effective for those students who are interested
in the uses of Podcasting.
– Podcasts are beneficial for students that learn better
by hearing a lecture, speaker, or how to do homework.
– Relatively ineffective for students that have no
desire to use the tools provided through podcasts.

By giving Podcasts a chance to develop over time,
case studies will have more of an impact on
determining effectiveness.
‘EMERGENCY’
Emergency Alert Services:
Issue 3: Emergency Alert Services

What are Emergency Alert Services (EAS)?
A way to expedite notification to students in the event of a weatherrelated closure or an emergency situations that my be occurring on
or near the Universities campus.

Uses of Emergency Alert Services:
These systems have recently been added to college campuses to
insure that rapid, coordinated, and effective responses about a crisis
situation reach students.

Emergency Alert Services systems have been installed at hundreds
of universities across the country since the massacre at Virginia
Tech last April.
Issue 3: Emergency Alert Services

Cell phone alerts are promising new technology because they can
quickly reach students at any time and/or place they may be.

3n, Omnilert LLC, ClearTXT, MIR3 Intelligent Notification, School
World, Honeywell International, and Instant Alert are just some of
the companies that specialize in the Emergency Alert Services
and currently have accounts with universities and colleges around
the country.

These companies are unique in that they have the ability to send
thousands of messages per minute, which is a necessity when
talking about alerting an entire college campus community
of an emergency.
Issue 3: Emergency Alert Services

EAS Pro’s:
The ability to hastily
distribute a message
regarding an emergency.
2. Able to reach a large
number of the student
population.
3. Relatively inexpensive
to employ on a campus.
1.

EAS Con’s:
Not all students feel
comfortable giving out
their personal information
to the university.
2. Not all students receive
the messages due to
server problems.
1.
Issue 3: Emergency Alert Services
Case Study: Purdue University Tests Emergency Messaging
 (As reported in BizEd, 2007. 6(6), p. 64)
– Companies were focused on the function or ability to send out
mass numbers of messages and calls and not on their actual
performance.
– Purdue began by asking how many of the messages were actually
received by their students.
– One-day experiment where thousands of students volunteered to
accept and respond to text messages and e-mails.
– Company text-messaging system, as well as, the schools
e-mail system were used for the study.
– Researcher at Purdue University tracked the following
aspects of the study:
 Time taken for messages to be delivered.
 Time taken for volunteers to send confirmation
of receipt of a message.
Issue 3: Emergency Alert Services
Purdue University Case Study continued:
– 9,900 text messages and 56,000 e-mails were sent in within
seven minutes.
– 5,700 people in the text-message study responded to the message
as instructed, with just under 300 of them coming within the first
ten minutes.
– 19,535 e-mails responses were received with 10,000
in the first hour
– 364 confirmed delivery failures were experienced
during the study.
– It was later discovered that many volunteers received the messages
but simply did not respond to them.
– Purdue then reviewed the data that was collected from this study
and planned on running a second test study before finalizing which
company they would work with for their Emergency-notification
system.
Flash Tutorials: Moving 2D pictures for instruction of completing tasks
Flash Tutorials:
Issue 4: Flash Tutorials

Flash Animation is an animated film which is created using Adobe Flash
animation software and often distributed in Shockwave file format. It can be
created in Flash or with other programs capable of writing Shockwave files.

Flash is able to integrate bitmaps and other raster-based art, as well as
video, most Flash films are created using only 2D, vector-based drawings
which often result a clean graphic appearance.

Flash animations are typically distributed by way of the World Wide Web.
Web Flash animations may be interactive and are often created in a series.
Flash animations are being more and more widely used in the multi-user
community with Flash generators and embedded videos in user's profiles
across the internet.

Instructors are now using Flash animations as tutorials on websites for
explanation and step-by-step instruction for student viewing if they are
not present for class.
Issue 4: Flash Animation
Start
Moving Animation
Tutorial
Computer Tutorial:
Programmed instruction provided to a user at a computer terminal,
often concerning the use of a particular software package and built
into that package.
Finish
Adobe
Flash
Issue 4: Example of Flash Interface
the
your
work.
WEEK
4: Begin
Midterm Assignment
This week, we began our midterm assignment.
Below is a link to set of storyboards. Your midterm boards should
have good composition, shot variety, and should be clear.
TOPICS COVERED THIS WEEK:
• Why storyboarding? Where is it used?
• Importance of Composition
•
•
•
•
Examples provided by
www.randolfdimalanta.com
How to draw and sketch utilizing basic shape and line.
The power of line and its psychology. What emotion do jagged lines suggest?
Rule of Thirds and The Golden Mean as it relates to composition.
The 180 degree rule.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT:
Work on your midterm assignment entitled: "A character overcoming an obstacle"
• 24 panels.• 4" x 6" panels • Mount Board • Include shot description and any dialogue.
NEXT WEEK:
• Overall Neatness and Craftsmanship
• Verbal Presentation
• Clarity of line
• Value and Shading
• Composition and Shot Variety
Professor Marc Meyer of Columbia University uses
a Smart Board to access online documents
Smart Classrooms:
Issue 5: Smart Classrooms
What are Smart Classrooms?

Classrooms equipped the latest technology
of learning based tools. For example:
– Projector Systems:
The ability to project from in-class Windows and Macintosh
computers, laptops, and traditional paper or printed materials
– Internet Connectivity for Laptops:
Wireless internet connection
– Elmo Paper Scanner / Projectors:
Traditional text, paper, or transparency sources can be used for immediate
sharing of your presentation materials this in-class projection system.
– Ceiling-Mounted Document Cameras:
Used to record lectures for further viewing through Podcasts.
– Single Control Systems:
For intuitive switching of sources to projector and internal display (e.g.,
computer, VHS, DVD, laptop, etc). Can switch sources directly from system
as well as remote.
– Other Resources:
Modern Computers, VCR / DVD Players,
Electronic Whiteboards, Speaker / Sound Systems
Issue 5: Smart Classrooms

Helpful Products for the Smart Classroom:
Digital Voice Recorder:
– This product records audio and has the capability to translate to text.
This feature makes it easier for students to have effective notes.
– Can also translate speech and text to five different languages.
– Especially helpful for students that are hearing impaired.
– International students would also benefit from this device. While
they are learning the native language, they can be sure they are
understanding the information correctly with the digital voice recorder.

How Smart Boards Work:
– USB cable and draws the power it needs from the computer.
– When you connect a digital projector to your computer, you can project
the computer image onto the SMART Board interactive whiteboard.
– Driver converts contact with the interactive whiteboard into mouse
clicks or digital ink.
– Enables you to use your finger as a mouse or write
overtop of applications.
Issue 5: Smart Classrooms

What is the purpose of Smart Classrooms?
– To provide educational opportunities for student learners.
– “…to provide classroom environments using technology that promotes
active participation, learning and assessment, and prepares students for
the “real world” environments in which they hope to excel”
(SDSU, 2007).



Many universities that have invested into “Smart Classrooms” have
set up designated rooms with specific hardware and software
needed for class instruction.
For example, a web design course will need to be in a room that has
a computer with the proper software installed for the purpose of the
class. It is not necessary for every classroom to have computers for
everyone, but in this case it is essential.
Smart Classrooms cater to the total class size as well. A large
projection screen is needed, along with other smart classroom
equipment for a class size of 100-150 people.
Issue 5: Smart Classrooms

Key Points:
– Design a Smart Classroom for those that
will teach and learn from it.
– Know the function of each classroom.
– Provide support: A support staff that knows
how the technology used works is necessary
– Keep them updated: To have a successful Smart
Classroom, the latest software is needed to assure
students are learning the most up to date information.
– Be flexible
– Keep it simple: Putting too much technology
in the classroom makes it difficult for common use.
Conclusions:
“Leaders have to act more quickly today.
The pressure comes much faster.”
-Andrew Grove, Former CEO of Intel
“When computers (people) are networked, their power
multiplies geometrically. Not only can people share all that
information inside their machines, but they can reach out and
instantly tap the power of other machines (people), essentially
making the entire network their computer.”
-Scott McNeely, Director of Consumer Affairs at Viator, Inc.
“Computing is not about computers
any more. It is about living.”
-Nicholas Negroponte, Architect, Computer Scientist and
Professor at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
References:
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Anonymous, (2007). Purdue Tests Emergency Messaging.
BizEd, 6 (6), 64.
Beheshti, M., Tran, T., Kowalski K., Han, J. (2006).
Student Advising System. (SAS 2.0).
Dimalanta, R., (2008). Website of Instructor, Animator, Designer at the
Art Institute of Las Vegas. http://www.randofdimalanta.com
Dodds, T. (2007). Information Technology: A Contributor to Innovation in Higher
Education. New Directions For Higher Education. No. 137, Spring.
Foster, A. (2007). After Virginia Tech, Campuses Rush to Add Alert Systems. The
Chronicle of Higher Education, 54 (6).
Flanagan, B., & Calandra, B., (2005). Podcasting in the Classroom. Retrieved Feb. 8,
2008, from http://eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_
01/0000019b/80/1e/1d/f3.pdf
Garis, J. W. (2007). E-portfolios: Concepts, Designs and Integration Within Student
Affairs. New Directions For Student Services. No. 119, Fall.
Gribbins, M. (2007). The Perceived Usefulness of Podcasting in Higher Education:
A Survey of Students’ Attitudes and Intention to Use. Retrieved Feb. 7, 2008, from
http://people.uis.edu/mgribbin/MWAIS2007paper.pdf
Hoover, E., & Lipka, S. (2007). Colleges Weigh When to Alert Students of Danger.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 54 (15), A1 - A28, 3p, 1c.
References:
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Kennedy, M. (2004). To Cope With the World as it Exists in 2004, Education
Administrators must be Prepared to Respond to Security Crises and Threats of
Terrorism. American School and University, 76 (6), supp. 4, 6 & 8.
Murphy, C. (n.d.). ABC ‘s of Smart Classrooms. Retrieved Feb. 9, 2008, from
http://www.softwaresecure.com/pdf/ABCs%20of%20Smart%
Shim, J., Shropshire, J., Park, S., Harris, H., & Campbell, N. (2007). Podcasting for elearning, communication, and delivery. Emerald, 107(4), 587-600. Retrieved February
6, 2008, from
http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Fi
lename=Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/0291070408.html
Smart Classrooms. (2007). Retrieved Feb. 10, 2008, from
http://its.sdsu.edu/resources/smartclassroom.
Smart Technologies ULC, (2008). Retrieved from site:
http://www2.smarttech.com/st/enUS/Products/SMART+Boards/Front
+Projection/600+Series/Default.htm 20Classrooms_Sylbus2002.pdf.
Vogele, C. ,& Gard, E., (2006) Podcasting for Corporations and Universities;
Look Before you Leap. Journal of Internet Law, Retrieved Nov. 14, 2007 from
http://ssrn.com/abstract=995059.
Waters, J. K., (2007). In Case of Emergency. T.H.E. Journal, 34(4), 18.
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