Technology Vision
Golden West College

Omid Pourzanjani

 Consider the following scenarios, depicting the services available to a typical GWC student, faculty or staff equipped with a WAP-enabled cell phone, PDA, or tablet PC (hereafter referred to as a PDA).

Student Experience 

Shortly after moving to Huntington Beach, I decided to visit various local colleges.  I noticed GWC’s large digital board on Edinger and decided to checkout GWC’s website.  Since the registration forms were online and seemed fairly brief, I decided to initiate the process. I was pleasantly surprised that since GWC is part of the “Matriculated Colleges and Universities Community” (wouldn’t this be a worthwhile 10-year plan?!), my transcripts from my previous schools were already available to GWC, so I was able to matriculate on the spot.  I browsed through the course offerings, reviewed their course outlines, course syllabi, and the faculty’s bios. Since the website was specifically engineered for efficiency on various devices, the process was quite fast on my PDA.

 Although I could have simply paid for all the fees using my credit card, my need for financial aid and easy navigation of the site guided me to complete the quick online application for financial aid.  The app capture process was extremely simple since I had already provided the key info for registration, and some of the historical info was available through my transcripts. After my registration process was complete, the course outline, syllabus, and a brief faculty bio were downloaded to my PDA for each course in my “cart”.

 During registration, I was also asked if I wanted to purchase and pay for my books and course material, which I happily accepted in order to avoid the long bookstore lines.  A few days later, this material was delivered to my house. One of the classes had the book in electronic form and that book was delivered to my PDA immediately after I had accepted the payment of the material.

 On the first day of instruction, I noticed that by entering the wireless umbrella of GWC, my PDA was automatically populated with campus maps, highlighting the location of parking lots, my classes, and other important locations such as Registration, Cafeteria, Bookstore, restrooms, and the Library. (I was asked to authorize this service at the time of registration.) Walking to my class, I noticed that for those students without PDA’s, a number of kiosks were strategically located throughout the campus to provide similar services.

 I decided to make a stop at the cafeteria for a quick snack.  On my first checkout, I was asked if I wanted to charge my future purchases using my PDA’s quick pay service. I happily accepted this service and was told that it also works at the bookstore, vending machines, and various other pay-points on campus.

 During registration, I was asked if I wanted to provide my professors with my email address, phone number, and a brief bio that may alert them to any special instructional needs that I may have.  I took advantage of this service and even included a cool picture of myself.

After the first class session, the professor recognized me from the picture I had sent him, got a hold of me, and we were able to discuss my desire to do a special project with him.

 Once the registration for the following semester had started, the campus registration system was apparently intelligent enough to review my transcripts, my major, my preferred transfer colleges, and my work schedule. It sent an email to me with a proposed schedule for the following semester. I discovered later that the GWC counselors perform a manual review of the system recommended schedules to ensure accuracy. I discussed the proposed schedule with some of my classmates and one of my teachers, made some modifications to the schedule, and clicked “submit” on my PDA to confirm my registration for next semester.  Interestingly, the proposed schedule had also offered an optional course. Since I had taken Visual Basic 6.0 before, it alerted me of a new Visual Basic .Net course available next semester!  Cross-selling on the part of the campus?  Perhaps, but I had actually subscribed to these types of alerts during registration.

 Life at GWC has been very good. Throughout the semesters, I have been alerted to important administration deadlines, class exams, and project due dates.  The proactive notifications, anticipation of my needs, and intelligent management of my graduation requirements, have removed a great deal of burden and stress from me. I have been able to get access to numerous services using my single login from my secured PDA.  I never have to remember any passwords or logins to any other campus services. It’s the kind of service I could not imagine at any other college.  So, even though GWC does not offer a course in Swahili, I can no longer imagine going to another school and putting up with their administrative nightmare to take a Swahili course.

 In my classrooms, each student station is equipped with a docking station. I’m able to dock my PDA, and sometime my laptop, for power and for faster network connectivity.  Most of my courses contain an online component with specific time slots when I can electronically collaborate with my professors.  The professor is able to send lecture notes, changes to homework, and remind us of upcoming class activities.  Once, one of my professors even notified us of his need to miss class at the last minute.  Even though I was looking forward to the class, I was quite happy that I did not have to drive all the way to the campus to get the news of the cancelled class. 

 I’m also very happy that starting this semester, we no longer have to use scantrons for taking quizzes and exams.  I can now take my exams in the lab or even on my own laptop or PDA. This new service should save a little time and natural resources for everyone.

 Managing my calendar has also been quite fantastic.  I receive email alerts for all exams, project due dates, campus academic deadlines, school games and activities, student committee meetings, and more.  I’m able to add these activities to my personal calendar or choose to discard any notification.  Most of the committees to which I belong have websites through which they manage most communications and sometimes even conduct webinars and online meetings.

 All these interactions have worked successfully because at GWC, the support staff doesn’t hide behind the technology. Technology has been matched by a friendly and helpful staff. When I need help using a new program or completing a particular form, the people at the help-desk or in a particular office are always willing to assist me. If something frustrates me, they show tremendous patience in helping me overcome an obstacle. They even have an electronic suggestion box that is actually monitored and maintained. Once, I made a suggestion for changing a particular procedure. Apparently, my suggestion was routed to the appropriate system administrator. To my surprise, within a week, I got a response thanking me for the suggestion and indicating that my idea would be implemented in the next system release. A programmer called me several weeks later and asked a few detailed questions to clarify the issues I had found difficult.

 I was getting a little uneasy about my work at GWC the last few months.  I felt that my graduation should be nearing but I had not been able to contact the Counseling office.  Today, I received an email outlining my graduation requirements and letting me know that by taking one specific course during the summer that I could actually join the graduation ceremony in May.  This email also included a few links to transfer universities; clicking on each link authorized GWC to forward my transcripts to those campuses.  There were also links to the websites of the transfer campuses that took me directly to their on-line applications.

 As exciting as it is for me to finish my A.A. degree and to transfer to a 4-year college, I’m also worried about transferring to another college where I’ll have to micromanage every aspect of my education, check and double-check every interaction, and send and resend every form.  I’ve been quite spoiled by all the tightly integrated and interactive services at GWC.

 Faculty Experience

I saw an ad in the paper for a tenure-track faculty position at GWC.  The ad had a prominent link to the school’s website, so I decided to check it out using my PDA. I was able to navigate through the site and get to the job description pretty quickly. The website was so well designed that within minutes I knew all about the job, the campus, the benefits, the salary, the student demographics, and was able to view the bios of the other faculty members in that department. I was so impressed by how “connected” this campus was that I quickly filled-out the online employment application.

 During the next couple of months I continued receiving emails about the progress of my application and was updated on the anticipated interview timelines. Finally, one day, I received an email offering me three different interview timeslots. By clicking on a link, I was able to select my preferred interview date and time.  The email also included the interview location, map of the campus, a parking permit and a list of the interviewees and links to their bios. I downloaded all this information to my PDA and reviewed them later.

 The interview process was grueling, but I was lucky enough to be offered the job. The college was able to complete all the necessary reference checks quickly, because I had included phone and email information for the required items in the online application form. Also, because my academic vita had hot links – committee members were able to review actual work samples, previous course syllabi, as well as several journal articles I had authored.

 Immediately after accepting the position, I received an email containing a URL, a user ID and a password. From there I was able to complete all my employment forms, health insurance forms, employment history forms, etc.  Fortunately, I never had to answer the same questions twice.  I couldn’t believe that all these systems were connected together. It was as if they were all connected to one single database. During this process, I was able to sign up for direct deposit of my paychecks to my bank account and to receive my paycheck stubs through email every month.

 Another service offered during this process was to register my PDA’s digital certificate with GWC for future transactions.  I, of course, accepted this offer as well since it meant no more user IDs and passwords. 

 Once my PDA’s digital certificate was registered with GWC’s security server, I was routed to a site to select my courses for the following semester.  Since I was a new hire, there weren’t many choices left. However, the backend system knew the historical registration trends, as well as the lecture room and lab availability.  So, although I didn’t get too many choices on which classes I wanted to teach, I did have quite a bit of flexibility over my teaching schedule.

 Since I was hired somewhat late in the summer, the books had already been ordered for my classes. I was asked if I wanted to have the books sent directly to my office, which I accepted.  I was also given the option to download one of the books to my PDA since it was available in electronic form. The other books and course material were delivered to my office in a few days. Another feature made available by the bookstore was that I could download contact information about the publisher into my PDA. So, I emailed the company to find out information about the course specific website and other options available to instructors and students. 

 When my course selection process was completed, I was provided with a personalized website.  This site included sub-sites, one for each of my classes.  Each class site included the class roster, student phone numbers, emails, and in some cases bios and pictures.  A few students had special requests and instructional needs which was great info to have before the first class session.  The system had detected that I was new to teaching these courses and had automatically added the official course outline, course syllabi from previous instructors, and even a few lecture note packages from previous instructors who had felt comfortable in making their notes public. I decided to download the info from other instructors to my PDA, customize them, and then add them back to the class site at a later date.  I could also use this site to post my homework assignments, practice exams, lecture notes, course syllabi, in-person office hours, virtual office hours, and a more detailed autobiography of myself. Another feature of this site was the ability to send emails or instant messages (SMS) to all my students regarding changes in assignments or if I needed to be late to class or had to miss a class completely. I immediately took advantage of this feature and send my students a “Welcome to class” email that contained the reading assignment and a preview of what to expect on the first day of class.

 Students could use this site to post questions through discussion threads, post their homework assignments, class projects, or notify me of any special situations like having to leave town on a personal trip.  The discussion threads and online chat facilities provided a forum for students to help each other, which significantly improved class collaboration and enhanced their learning experience.

 This site has also enhanced my instruction in a few other subtle but significant ways. Since I have the flexibility to conduct my office hours online, I am able to answer queries from students anywhere, using my PDA, so the feedback they receive is quicker and more complete.  Since the online discussion groups I set up for my students are so successful, I often answer questions and concerns to a group of students rather than to individuals, making the learning process more efficient for everyone.  The online interactions are also much less intimidating for students than the old days of working up the courage to knock on the professor’s door. 

This site also enabled the entire test taking process.  I was able to design my exams online; students were able to take those exams; and finally, I was able to grade the exams and post the results.  On the multiple choice and scantron-like exams, the scores were automatically calculated and posted on the site.

My first day at school was most amazing.  Upon entering GWC’s wireless network umbrella, I received an email that contained the campus map, locations of my classes and a few other useful locations such as the cafeteria, bookstore, division and department offices, and restrooms. 

 My lecture room was equipped with wireless presentation units and projectors.  So, I was able to power up the units and project the PowerPoint presentations off my PDA and onto the large screen.  This was quite nice since I didn’t have to worry about system compatibility issues and having to install my presentation on another computer and worry about font matching issue, PowerPoint version compatibility issues, etc. The classroom also had docking stations for me and for all the students for power and faster network connectivity.

 The whiteboards in the classroom were also on the network. After writing notes on these boards, I could capture them on the lecture room computer and send them to all the students.  This feature allowed the students to engage in the discussions as opposed to doing the busy work of trying to capture what I had written on the boards.

 The final grading process was a breeze.  Since I had used the standard electronic roster (from the class website), I was able to verify the scores and the calculated grades, make any last minute modifications, and submit the grades to the Student Records office.  Since the data was being accessed directly from the campus “mainframe”, the grading program already knew which students had dropped and which ones had requested Audit or CR/NC grade types.  The great thing was that none of the data was ever kept on my local system or PDA, so I never had to worry about losing the data.  I could also access the data from any device that I own, including my desktop computer at home.  No more grade sheets, bubbles, or number 2 pencils.

 Interestingly, there are websites, similar to my class websites that are available for each of the campus committees, taskforces, and support services. Some of the campus and district wide committees take advantage of the available technologies to improve their processes and interactions in a number of ways that include: conducting online meetings, providing faculty with online support material to guide them through various processes (such as the templates and best practices guidelines for designing and implementing new courses from CCI), and providing online professional development opportunities. 

The Campus Graphics center has a website that allows me to submit my reprographics work via email and then pick up my copies on my way to class.  And when I need to make arrangements for a special guest lecturer, I am able to access the campus master calendar from the Facilities Department and make arrangements for a special room, with the necessary equipment for the presentation and then click on the hot links that allow me to forward directions, maps and a parking pass to the guest lecturer.  One more click allows me to access a list serve of my classes and inform all of my students, via email that these special arrangements have been made.

The amount of “bureaucracy” at GWC, and the associated stress, has been so much lower than any other campus at which I had taught before. By receiving proactive email notifications on my PDA on important campus meetings, deadlines, and activities, I have been able to focus more on my instruction than keeping up with flyers in my inbox.  Every time I receive a notification, I have the option to respond to it (active elements embedded within the email message), add it to my calendar or to simply cancel/delete it.  I’m also able to customize my subscriptions so as to limit the notifications to only those items that are important to me and in which I need to be involved. Using my PDA, I have real-time access to the campus directory and I’m able to send email to anyone on campus or call the person via my PDA.  I can also receive my voice and email messages in the same inbox using my PDA.  This real-time access to information via my PDA extends into my personnel data, vacation time, student surveys, and tenure reviews.

Staff Experience at GWC

 Scenario 1 - New employee:

 My orientation at Golden West College was three days away and the forecast called for rain, which would probably cancel the walking tour of the campus. The orientation CD had arrived at my home a week or so before and I already had a feeling of familiarity with the campus grounds and many of the support staff, faculty, and administrators through the virtual introduction provided on the CD and online. I had also completed and submitted all required forms through the web links provided on the CD, reviewed one last time the checklist and helpful hints and was eager to begin my new position and meet my virtual co-workers in person.

I had also received my GWC network account, which allowed me to get acquainted with the campus web portal. Campus and District news was pushed to me along with a calendar of events ranging from sports schedules, online forums, Performing Arts events, and an International Students Cultural Exhibit that I was interested in attending, but otherwise would not have known about. Exploring more options provided me access to training on a number of software applications, email and Internet tips and training, as well as an area to create personalized web pages. The training provided was in the form of online tutorials, video streams, and interactive presentations all available both online and for download. I looked at the shared folder where I would find many of the documents related to my responsibilities, although anxious to start, I'd have to wait to begin work on those. I did review how this system allowed for collaboration on projects, drag and drop ability to submit files across the network to other individuals as well as to other campus areas such as Graphics Services, and provided me the ability to organize and customize the menus and screens as I wished.

But for now I'd put this system to task. I calendared the Cultural Exhibit as "Priority" and set the options to notify me in advance by email at my campus and home emails, my PDA, and my cell phone. I reviewed the online campus map for the location of the event and printed the special parking pass provided to me use until I retrieved the permanent one which one notification told me was sitting in my campus mailbox. In the meantime I'd take a tutorial and refresh my Office skills, set up my options for receiving campus news and read some of the past publications that were posted online."

Scenario 2 - on the job:

 Through video conferencing with Community Colleges across the state, we were able to share our knowledge of the project, now in its third year of implementation. I had participated in a number of videoconferences in the past but this was different in that I was in my office on campus and that the project manager was participating from home. My role throughout the project was fairly narrow in scope, so I did not expect that a lot of questions would be directed to me during the session, but it was essential I participate in the event that I was asked to share my experiences and knowledge with regard to my specific role. It was extremely convenient for me that I could be at my desk and work on other matters while awaiting an audio notification that a question was being directed to me.  The conference was streamed to my desktop with icons providing me options for opening and closing video and audio streams and capture of the transcripts for the entire conference. Conference related documents and web links were available by simply opening new windows on my desktop while still participating in a discussion. By dragging entire documents or web links into a "SEND/POST" area, I was able to quickly provide some of the technical specifications that were provided to us by the vendors we were working closely with on this project as well as project reports created here on campus.

An urgent broadcast message appeared onscreen from a department across campus, followed shortly by the ringing of my phone. A file had just been revised with new information and the new version needed to be sent to a vendor out of state immediately. Although that was simple enough it would also require a signature from a colleague who was currently off campus. A request was sent via the website to the individual's cell phone, pager, and PDA. Within five minutes a new signed-page was delivered back electronically and merged into the document. The revised file was now ready to send.

An audio alarm alerted me that someone had selected my icon and that a conference question was being posted to me. I opened the project folder located on our intranet in order to provide an accurate answer and awaited my question.”

Summary

The interesting fact about this fictitious “life at GWC” is that technically and technologically, all these scenarios are possible today.  Our challenge is not to anticipate the next big technology trend or gadget, but to prepare a plan that would allow us to build the infrastructure, the applications and services that would enable these scenarios. This plan should also include activities for preparing our students and faculty in understanding and adopting these services as part of their everyday lives.

Required Technology Infrastructure

• Single User Directory
• Single Authentication Service for Internet, Intranet, and Extranet services
• Single Data Repository for important student, faculty, and staff information.  This could be a virtual “single repository” in that it could be a collection of repositories connected together via Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) software such as TIBCO or webMethods.
• Wireless infrastructure with full coverage umbrella extending to the edges of GWC’s physical campus parameter.
• Ability for Faculty, Staff and Students to self-register their computing devices to use the wireless services.
• Portal technology that is designed to integrate seamlessly with the critical backend systems.
• Portal technologies that support delivery of content to various devices such as desktop systems, laptops, tablet PC’s, PDA’s, and internet-enabled cell phones.
• Real-time video and audio broadcast and conferencing to the desktop.
• An enterprise workflow engine, integrated with the Portal, capable of delivering rapid workflow-based applications with connectivity to critical GWC and District systems.
• Ability to work with campus workflow based applications offline (untethered) and resync once on the network.
• Empowerment of faculty and staff to choose their system of choice, be it a laptop, desktop, PDA, etc. selected from standards/vendors determined by GWC and the District.
• A Data Warehousing strategy integrated with Business Intelligence (BI) tools for mining student information, trends, etc.
• Providing discounted purchase of wireless computing devices for everyone through the bookstore, working with master purchasing agreements with major vendors (such as Dell).
• Integration of telephone/voice services with digital IP delivery and email services.
• Integration of Campus Reprographics systems and services with the Network.
• Expansion of TSS’s resources to provide adequate support for the additional systems and services.

Omid Pourzanjani, M.S.

Faculty

Golden West College