ASCUE '99
June 12 - 17, 1999
Ocean Creek Resort
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Dress is Resort Casual

If you have any questions or require additional information about the conference, please feel free to contact Program Chair Dagrun Bennett at (317) 738-8150 (voice), (317) 738-8146 (fax), and email address bennetd@franklincoll.edu

To view the papers from the last three conferences and also the last three newsletters in electronic form, go to: http://www.gettysburg.edu/ascue

ASCUE's ASCUE-L listserver is also available for discussion of topics of interest to ASCUE members. Subscribe by sending the E-mail message:

SUBSCRIBE ASCUE-L yourname

to listserv@gettysburg.edu.

Send messages to ascue-l@gettysburg.edu

Welcome to ASCUE's first newsletter of the 1998-1999 year! For those of you who may be reading about us for the first time, ASCUE is the Association of Small Computer Users in Education. We are a diversified group of professionals who use technology in higher education. We are faculty, academic, and administrative staff from predominantly smaller institutions who are all dealing with the same technology issues. Do you want to transform your curriculum to teach using the Web and other technologies? Are you trying to support hundreds or even thousands of users from students to faculty to staff on everything from core supported software to the latest high-tech gizmo? Are you struggling with finding the right organizational structure to support your campus? Are you wrestling with the Y2K problem on your campus? You will find many of us in ASCUE are doing exactly the same things.

So where can you find answers to your dilemmas? At our annual ASCUE Conference! Every June we gather in Myrtle Beach to re-energize, and share problems and solutions with colleagues who are also confronted with the same issues and choice points. Our website will contain the latest information about ASCUE and the upcoming conference, including conference proceedings from prior years. You can also find names, addresses, and e-mail address information about our Board of Directors; feel free to contact them with any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have for ASCUE.

I hope you will agree that this past June's conference continued a fine tradition of ASCUE conferences. I am equally excited about the fine group of people we have working on this coming year's conference. Dagrun Bennett is our '99 Program Chair; Dagrun has served on the board for many years as Secretary and has as good a working knowledge of our users as anyone. I'm sure she will develop a program that will reflect our membes' interests. Check Dagrun's Call for Papers elsewhere in this newsletter. Carl Singer and I will be working on coming up with a slate of Pre-Conference workshops and Keynote speakers. Let either one of us know of any great ideas you have. Peter Smith continues as our publicity person and he is already flexing his muscle keeping us on schedule! Nancy Thibeault has joined the board and will be working with vendors this year. Jack Cundiff will work on local arrangements, and, with Rick Rodger and long-time A/V volunteer Rick Houston, will ensure we have the equipment we need to run a first-class conference. Tom Gusler will serve as our Secretary and make sure you get your conference announcements on a timely basis. Finally, Tom Pollack is our Treasurer and will continue to bring all his skills to bear to keep registration information and details well controlled.

It is my pleasure to work with these folks to coordinate the various elements of the conference and to make sure everyone stays in communication. I say pleasure because I can't think of a better, and more committed, group to work with. I hope you join with me to extend our appreciation to these hard-working folks for the job they do for ASCUE. I look forward to welcoming you to ASCUE 1999, June 13-17th.

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Roundtable - Delivering Instructional Content

Bill Wilson, Gettysburg College

Our Roundtable discussed a number of software solutions in a number of areas. A lively discussion surrounded the whole area of the Web and what tools people were using to lower the barriers to html instruction and use. Web Course in a Box was widely viewed a good product for instructors who needed some assistance in getting a web-based course started with the least amount of background. WebCT and TopClass were also mentioned as development environments for producing course-level material. As for page generation tools, many candidates were mentioned including Netscape Composer, Adobe's Pagemill, and Microsoft's Frontpage. Questions regarding dealing with formulas and other limitations were also raised. Using pdf format and tools such as Acrobat were discussed in this context.

Cost of software solutions were on many people's minds. As a result, the group generated a list of tools that were free or of low cost. Netcape, Composer, Web Course in a Box, Real Player (as well as the RealServer for streaming media), and a number of other programs were mentioned as leads for people to explore.

Perhaps we should develop a space on the ASCUE web for software tools, costs, pros and cons, to be posted. Send your ideas to Bill Wilson (wilson@gettysburg.edu) and I'll try to spin up a software tools area with input from you, the membership. Have a good holiday season.

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The Training and Support Crisis

Kim S. Breighner, Gettysburg College

The guidelines for the roundtable were: What programs and initiatives are we trying to help deal with the escalating support demands we all face? Can we identify approaches that increase our effectiveness in the training/support area? Are certain delivery mechanisms more effective than others? Do we have time to experiment with new models?

There was a fair amount of discussion on various traditional and non-traditional ways of conducting training such as web-based, CD-ROM vs. web-based, enlisting students as trainers, special software and hardware for lab use, one-on-one or small group training vs. larger workshops, using project-based "idea books," and running training videos on campus cable stations.

Also discussed was the issue of customer service and help desk support issues such as supplying users with FAQ and tech tips databases; using listservs for tech support; the importance of a human voice on the phone at help desks; lab maintenance and security issues; encouraging the use of liaisons to be departmental first contacts for trouble calls; building easy-to-use and informative web pages so users know who to contact for help, create and assist user groups that meet on a regular basis; and burning CDs as a vehicle for distributing campus software to incoming students.

Of course, there was a lot of discussion on the matter of finding time to learn new technology or getting released time for faculty for this purpose, supplying incentives or other ways to motivate users, and the idea of starting small and encouraging faculty-to-faculty mentoring to inspire others to jump on the bandwagon.

IT professionals must work closely with faculty to make them aware of just what is available to them, and then work with them to develop technology models that would add value to their courses. Faculty must first be willing to change the way they have taught their courses in the past. Perhaps the biggest problem is finding the time it takes to convert a course taught in the traditional way to a course that involves the use of technology. Most of the time there are not many incentives for them to use technology in their classes in the first place -- especially when tenure committees do not recognize it as a good use of their time. This is something that is slowly changing; more and more institutions are begin ning to look upon technology as a very useful adjunct to the curriculum. It is the task of faculty members to decide where, when, or if using technology would be useful and it is the task of IT professionals to help them in this quest.

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Residential Networking Roundtable

Peter Smith, Saint Mary's College

Networking the residence halls has become almost a necessity with the current competition for students that most colleges face. Support for student-owned networked computers can overwhelm the staff at most small colleges if careful planning is not done. Gettysburg College reported that they spend $35,000 to hire student consultant for the residence halls and have dedicated a full-time staff member to supervise this effort. While traveling to 40 small colleges last year, I found that this level of commitment of resources was not uncommon.

The first topic we discussed at this roundtable was hooking student computers to the network at the start of the year. Many schools provide a kit that students are given or can purchase from IT or from the bookstore which helps them make the connection themselves. Some schools even provide a videotape or repeatedly show one on the campus cable network which provides a step-by-step example of how to connect. If students are unsuccessful in hooking their computer up themselves, then student consultants or staff members will visit their rooms and help them.

Other schools have a day or two where students bring their CPUs to a central place where students, staff, or, possibly, local vendors will make sure they are network-ready. This gathering is often referred to as a "fair." If this process requires the installation of a network card, students either purchase or are given the card. Fewer schools are allowing staff or student consultants to install network cards due to liability concerns. At the fair staff can talk the student owner through the card installation process. The advantage of involving local vendors is that they are usually already qualified to install the cards.

Some schools warn against selling the network cards on campus due to liability concerns. They establish standards for computers which students wish to be hooked to the network and recommend a standard network card. Instead of an on-campus fair, these schools make arrangement with a local vendor to have students needing network cards installed bring their computers to the vendor on a scheduled basis.

Finally, some schools reported that their staff and student consultants go to each student room on an appointment basis to do what it takes to hook up their computers to the network. This is, by far, the most time-consuming method. A few schools I visited had devoted all their staff time for two-thirds of the first semester to the hookup effort. Many parents expect this one-on-one effort in return for the high tuition they are paying. Some schools will put a 30 minute limit on the in-room service call. If they cannot get the student hooked up in that time, the student is moved to the end of the queue.

Student consultants, often called Residential Computing Consultants (RCC), have proved essential to the residential computing support effort. Even though the pay scale is quite low, the attraction of the RCC job is its importance on the resume. Some schools let students and even staff moonlight by providing service calls to students in the residence halls. After the first service call, a student is charged a fee (usually $45-50 per hour) which is paid directly to the person making the call.

It is very important to carefully document all training given to the RCCs. Some schools have a certification program, allowing RCCs to take positions of greater responsibility as they attain higher levels of certification. Some schools fire students who do not reach a basic level of certification after training. At Skidmore, the students have set up and administered their own RCC training program and little staff time needs to be dedicated to Resnet maintenance.

One school considered leasing network-ready laptops to students. They discovered that the leasing cost was prohibitive and security was a problem in that laptops are easy to steal. Students are bringing their own laptops, however, making network planning more difficult. Permanent IP addresses as the basis for network connections do not work. DHCP has proved to provide a much better environment.

Two other topics covered at the roundtable were printer support in the residence halls and censorship. If a school puts laser printers in the residence halls, they can expect their printing costs to go up significantly. To avoid budget overruns, some schools station a work-study student by the printer to collect a fee for each page printed. At least two-thirds of the schools represented at the roundtable did not supervise either printers or computer clusters in the residence halls. A solution found to be satisfactory for several schools was to let the residence hall staff purchase the printer and supplies and monitor its use. A few schools have the ability to monitor students using a networked printer no matter where it is, and these schools generally start charging a student so much per printed page after the first 500-1000 pages.

On the censorship question everyone was in agreement. If at all possible, don't do it. It may be worth while to provide some educational programs on proper uses of the college network, and certainly any commercial use should be prohibited, but support staff have much better things to do than monitor which web sites students are accessing or what kinds of email messages they are sending.

A final topic was how to plan for the replacement of the electronic equipment needed to run the network into the residence halls. Most agreed that this equipment should be replaced every four years, similar to the replacement cycle for college-owned computers. The best plan is to determine the total cost of hubs and switches and other electronic equipment and set aside one-fourth of this amount each year. Colleges have to consider replacement of equipment as part of the cost of doing business.

Old-Timer Profiles Needed

Peter Smith, Editor

In the spring ASCUE newsletter, we have tried to include profiles of folks who have served ASCUE unselfishly for a number of years and who may or may not still be active. Two years ago, we highlighted Jack Cundiff, our local arrangements person for the conference each year and ASCUE's historian. Last year, we profiled the former newsletter editor, Wally Roth. If you know any "old-timers," please interview them and send your story about them to me at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, IN 46556.

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Thirty Years Ago in ASCUE!

Peter Smith

Thirty years ago, ASCUE (it was called CUETUG in those days -- the golden age of acronyms -- standing for College and University Eleven-Thirty Users Group) had just concluded its first annual conference and was preparing for its second. The first was held at Tarkio College in Tarkio, Missouri, in June of 1968. It was at this conference of IBM 1130 users that CUETUG was established.

The second conference was held at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi, some 40 miles from St. Louis. Its goal was to "continue the forum for exchange of ideas and methods for the most effective use of computers on campus." Thirty years later, we are still pursuing the same goal! One highlight of the 1969 conference was the air-conditioned dormitories which were available for the participants. There were a number of years between 1969 and 1986, when we first began coming to Myrtle Beach, that folks sweltered in college dormitories during the conference.

One item of special interest from the brochure advertising the Principia conference was the cost. The registration fee was $52 for members and $60 for non-members, not significantly less than the current $120 - $140 registration fees. But listen to what was included in this fee: "The registration fee includes room and meals beginning with dinner on Wednesday evening and continuing through the noon luncheon on Friday."

The second conference was a good bit shorter than our current four-day affair, since it did not start until 4pm on Wednesday and closed at 3pm on Friday. There were no concurrent sessions and only one panel session on the use of computers in the curriculum. Some of the other general session topics were: Student Billing, General Accounting, Student Aid, an IBM presentation on RPG, and a session on Information Systems Revisited.

The only presenter who is still active in ASCUE was Jack Cundiff who did both the Student Billing and the General Accounting presentations. Another presenter, Al Malveaux from Xavier University in New Orleans, is familiar to me since I spent the 1968-69 academic year teaching at Xavier and worked with Al.

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Excerpts From the First ASCUE Newsletter

Peter Smith, Editor

The first ASCUE newsletter was published in November of 1975, making the current issue Vol. 23 No. 1. This 1975 newsletter was distributed even before ASCUE was officially incorporated on June 14, 1976. The first newsletter gave a report from the first ASCUE fall board meeting, a letter from the president, and a plea from Grove City College in New Jersey for help in setting up its computer center. It is interesting that Grove City College still sends faculty and staff to ASCUE conferences and they are active presenters.

The 1975 newsletter discussed the plans for the 1976 conference at Oklahoma Christian College in Oklahoma City, the furthest west that any of our conferences have been held. The cost had increased to $90, but it still covered room, board, proceedings and transportation to and from the airport.

The newsletter urged conference presenters to get their papers in early so the proceedings could be prepared before the conference. Apparently that plea fell on deaf ears because it was not until after we moved to Myrtle Beach in the late 80's that we have had proceedings available for use during the conference. This first newsletter mentioned that the proceedings for the 1975 conference would not be available until December 1, 1975. The practice of producing complete proceedings after the fact seemed to have fallen by the wayside as well, since the 1987-88 newsletters published some of the papers from the June 1987 conference and made no mention of the preparation of proceedings.

The president's letter from the 1975 fall newsletter applauded the decision to change the name of the organization to ASCUE, a decision made at the 1975 annual conference. "The secretary was receiving many requests from schools asking that they be removed from the membership list because they no longer had an IBM 1130... There is evidence already that the move has been in the right direction. The secretary reports receiving new applications for membership and inquiries for information." By the way, it is clear from this 1975 newsletter that the intent of the framers of the new name was to develop an organization for users of small computers and not for small users of computers.

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The Association of Small Computer Users in Education, ASCUE, is seeking proposals from faculty and staff for presentations at its 32nd Annual Summer Conference. Proposals should focus on issues in academic and administrative computing that are of interest to small educational institutions. Proposals on any relevant topic are acceptable, but those that support the conference theme, "IT trends in the 20th Century: How has IT prepared us for the 21st?" are particularly welcome. This covers quite a large range of topics; we are looking for creative ways of using information technology and the web to solve problems or add value to the campus environment, or interesting applications that show where we have been and how it prepares us to go where we need to go. Some suggestions for theme related topics:

• Institutional Information: Data integration, security issues, web management, faculty and student access, how the Web has changed processes, tools being used, (e.g., Oracle)
  
• Faculty/academic Information: Courses, changes to traditional instructional models, tools in use (e.g., web editors, presentation software)
  
• Training and Support: Changes to traditional support services made possible by the net, staff training, student technology assistants, tools being used, (e.g., helpdesk software)
  
• Campus Communication: Intranets, e-mail and home-pages, video-conferencing, changes to traditional processes, policy issues, standards, tools being used (e.g., point cast, calendars)
  
• Student Issues: student resnet support, ownership of material, rights and responsibilities.

The 1999 conference will offer pre-conference workshops on Sunday, June 13, and we are also seeking individuals to lead full-or half-day workshops on topics that support the conference theme. These workshops have been very successful at past conferences and help set the tone for the conference itself.

Presentations for the conference are limited to 45 minutes including time for questions at the end and can be in traditional paper, panel, or tutorial format. Presentations will be printed in the Conference Proceedings, which will be distributed at the conference and will also be submitted to the Educational Resource Information Center for inclusion in the ERIC database. All presenters must register for the conference.

If you are interested in making a presentation, please send your name, title, mailing address, phone number, and email address, the title of your presentation, and a 100-150 word abstract that accurately describes the presentation. The deadline for submission is January 15; notification of the status of your proposal will occur by February 15. Detailed information on conference registration, accommodations, schedule, and A/V needs will follow after that deadline. Please send your proposals to:

Dagrun Bennett
1999 Program Chair - ASCUE
Computing Services
Franklin College
Franklin, IN 46131
(317)738-8150 (office) (317)738-8146 (fax)
bennetd@franklincoll.edu

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