Lots of projects and “to do’s” are planned for 2019 – 2020 including the completion of the W10 upgrade, infrastructure improvements, and continued instructional design support and training for our online initiative. In addition, IT will continue to work with Engineering and Buildings and Grounds on the MakerSpace lab. Other priorities include:
Virtual becomes a Reality
A Virtual Reality Committee was formed at CSI consisting of members from OITS and Academic areas, working jointly to bring forth a VR presence on Campus in order to enhance teaching and enrich student learning. 1C213 will be transformed into a VR room, consisting of various untethered Oculus GO and Quest headsets, as well as an HTC Vice Pro system that will be coupled with a sophisticated Alienware Aurora computer system and a 65” display unit. Utilizing this equipment, and various applications, professors will create course content that will be utilized in the classroom. While some will be using apps already available for their disciplines, others will be creating their own applications through the use of special camera equipment.
Infrastructure
The focus for the networking team will be replacing end of life access layer switches in order to provide a faster and more reliable network experience. As bring your own device (B.Y.O.D) continues to grow, we will continue to deploy new state-of-the-art access point’s (AP’s) to allow our Students, Faculty, and Staff to use their wireless devices on campus.
Website
Working closely with Academic Divisions and Communications the web team will continue enhancing our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by adding targeted key words based on significant events and newsworthy items occurring throughout CSI. In addition, modifications will be made to the homepage to provide more focus and clarity based on the College’s branding. In this regard, CSI Today and the College’s calendar will also be integrated as well as upgrading our current platform to the latest version of Drupal. Finally, training and support will continue to allow users to become more autonomous when updating their pages.
IOT
Information Technology continues to make strides on Internet of Things (IOT). Our latest initiative includes a low cost solution to assist students with navigating our 204 acre campus. We are frequently being asked questions such as “Where is the Registrar?” or “How do I get to the Recreation Center.” Since our campus is very large and it is also difficult to differentiate buildings it became apparent that a wayfinding solution was needed. Using Google Maps, the College Community can navigate to their desired location by following the “walking” directions. Taking it a step further, QR codes were created for each building providing the Directory of individuals in the building.
EAB
Working with the EAB Leadership Team, IT assisted with the preparation of a new website introducing the EAB “Navigator Advisement Tool” for faculty/staff and students.
Training
Based upon feedback from the Technology Survey, the Technology training team will be creating a video training library. The library will hold recordings of Lunch & Learn Sessions, Webinars and Tech Byte Tuesday sessions.
Windows 10 upgrade
Microsoft will end support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020. The Office of Information Technology Services is taking a proactive approach and is upgrading all college computers to Windows 10; before the specified date. To date, OITS upgraded 2872 desktop computers for Faculty, Staff and student areas.