Council
on Academic Computing
2002-2003
Activities Report
COMMITTEE CHARGE
On
·
Explore
how the University can satisfy the future needs of both the academic community
and the individual researcher over the next five to ten years.
·
Help
develop a faculty version of the University portal, which is currently
available only to students.
·
Work
with the
·
Work
with the Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education (CIDDE) to
determine how electronic teaching might be better facilitated among the
faculty.
SUBCOMMITTEES
Four
subcommittees were created to address the Provost’s charge.
Faculty Portal
Members of
the subcommittee met with representatives of the Office of Computing Services
and Systems Development (CSSD) to discuss the development of the faculty
portal. Most of the subcommittee’s
recommendations were included or will be included in the portal. News links, library links, and the academic
calendar are already available. Faculty
should be able to check class rosters via the faculty portal in the fall. Other features that were requested but are
not ready for implementation include links to Human Resources, the IRB, and
both retirement vendors. Potential links
between the Health Sciences Web Portal and the faculty portal were
discussed. CSSD has met with
representatives of the Health Sciences Web Portal to examine the relationship
between the two portals.
Faculty Training
Members of
the subcommittee surveyed the regional campuses to determine the adequacy of
their electronic teaching resources. The
regional campuses do not lack these resources, and the presidents of these
campuses do not foresee a shortfall in these resources. However, the budgets of regional campuses
currently do not fund instructional technology personnel; these positions are
funded through foundation grants. The
subcommittee recommends that funds be allocated to the
Future of Academic Computing
Members of
the subcommittee discussed whether the University could be used as a test case
for some of the applications that the computer industry is developing (e.g.,
self-healing computing, on-the-fly computing, grid computing, and ubiquitous
computing). They also planned a
colloquium at which university faculty and officials from IBM would discuss the
future of high-speed computing and the internet. The event was postponed due to scheduling
conflicts and will be rescheduled in the fall.
High Performance Computing Initiative (HPCI)
The Council
worked with the
Jinx Walton, Director of CSSD, frequently reported on the activities of
CSSD. Computing milestones and
achievements often were announced. The
following is a breakdown by area.
Connectivity
·
The
gigabit ethernet upgrade to the University’s academic
and administrative buildings was completed.
·
The
link between the University and PSC was upgraded to a gigabit.
·
Wireless
network access is available to students in the Cathedral of Learning, Hillman
Library,
Services
and Software
·
CSSD
continues to work on the faculty web portal and the Student Data Warehouse.
· Blackboard 5.51 was upgraded.
Miscellaneous
·
CSSD
is working to eliminate sponsored accounts that are no longer valid.
· CSSD is addressing the use of
University computing resources to download copyrighted material.
Members
of the Council also frequently discussed computing resources and issues. The following are some of the issues that
were addressed.
· The
annual upgrade of computer lab software and related software compatibility and
licensing issues.
·
Security
concerns associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act (i.e., HIPAA).
·
Disparity in faculty training in the use of
electronic teaching resources, primarily within the humanities departments.
HIGH PERFORMANCE
NETWORK ATTACHMENT INITIATIVE
The High Performance
Network Applications Initiative (HPNAI) was administered by the Office of the
Provost and the Council during the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 academic years. The purpose of HPNAI was to promote the
development and use of advanced computer networks and to accelerate the
development of next generation network-based applications at the
Dr. Gunduz
Caginalp discussed his project, “Large-Scale Networked Computation, Analysis,
and Visualization.” This project used
visualization technology to display solutions to moving boundary problems.
Dr. S. K.
Chang presented the results of his project, “The Growing Book.” The project is an internet-based text on data
structure algorithms. It is composed of chapters written by a geographically
dispersed set of authors, each of whom can edit his or her chapter
independently of the other authors. Future iterations of the project will add
multi-lingual capabilities, multi-media graphics, and individualized tools to
the current, English-based text.
Drs. Luis
F. Chaparro, Juan J. Manfredi, and Ching-Chung Li
discussed their project, “A Distributed Teaching and Research Cooperation
System in Engineering and Mathematics.”
Visual recordings of their classes were housed on a server that could be
accessed via the internet. They hope to
parlay their success in the initial phases of this project into a system that
supports virtual classrooms.
Dr. Rose
Constantino discussed the results of her project, “Delivery of Digital Media in
Teaching and Research.” Dr. Constantino
developed four three-credit courses, each of which used Blackboard teaching
software and webcasting technology. The courses are part of a certificate program
in forensic nursing. Another component
of the project extended counseling services to abused women. Dr. Constantino collaborated with Pittsburgh
Action Against Rape to use e-mail as a form of
short-term, emergency counseling.
INFORMATION SESSIONS
The Student Portal
Jinx Walton
from CSSD reported on the student portal (my.pitt.edu/portal). Each student’s page is composed of four
sections: my pages, communities, webmail, and student
services. The portal was designed in conjunction
with a variety of student focus groups.
It offers quick access to those University services that are of greatest
interest to students, e.g., information from the Registrar’s Office and the
Financial Aid Office; the internet sites that students most frequently use; and
a web-based e-mail system that can be accessed from anywhere in the world.
The Student Data Warehouse Project
CSSD staff
presented an overview of the Student Data Warehouse Project. Access to student data traditionally was
limited because data for each unit or department resided in separate databases
and access to these databases was not well coordinated. The Data Warehouse will function as an easily
accessible, secure, central repository of student information. The Data Warehouse was developed in
conjunction with the Office of the Registrar, Student Financial Services, the
Office of Admissions and Aid, and the Faculty and
Instructional Programs
Nick
Laudato from the Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education
(CIDDE) described the software packages that are available to the University’s
faculty. He discussed course management
software (Blackboard), testing systems for distance education (Computer
Assisted Testing System), and instructional projection systems (Janus). He also
discussed the Faculty Instructional Development Lab. The lab is built around a training room and
includes a consulting area, a video editing area, an audio booth, and a
technology area.
2002-2003 MEMBERSHIP
|
Dr. George Klinzing |
Office of the Provost, Chair |
|
Dr. Melanie Anderson |
UP |
|
Dr. Siddharth Chandra |
GSPIA |
|
Dr. Carson Chow |
FAS/Mathematics |
|
Dr. Ellen Cohn |
SHRS |
|
Dr. Andrew Connolly |
FAS/Physics & Astronomy |
|
Dr. Gregory Dick |
UP |
|
Dr. Peter Draus |
Nursing |
|
Dr. Charles Friedman |
Medicine |
|
Dr. Irene Frieze |
FAS/Psychology representing SCUC |
|
Dr. Dennis Galletta |
KGSB |
|
Dr. Arthur Hellman |
Law |
|
Dr. Ronald Hoelzeman |
Engineering |
|
Dr. Hassan Karimi |
SIS |
|
Dr. Daniel Mosse |
FAS/Computer Science |
|
Dr. Bambang Parmanto |
SHRS |
|
Dr. Susan Sereika |
Nursing representing SCUC |
|
Dr. Clement Stone |
Education |
|
Dr. Clara Vana |
UP |
|
Ms. Jinx Walton |
Computing Services and Systems Development |
|
Dr. Michael Zemaitis |
Pharmacy |