I wanted to share with you the IRES February Update which
includes Information Resources’ accomplishments and news for the past few
months. As we continue to refine our campus communications we welcome your input.
If you have any questions regarding this update you are welcome to
contact me directly at mlschilling@csuchico.edu or Brooke Banks at bfbanks@csuchico.edu (x6212).
Thank you, Mike Schilling
Chico State Mobile App
On January 28th the Chico State Mobile App was released for iPhone users from the Apple App
Store. The application was released for Android
users on Feb. 8th and on Feb. 22th the mobile web version was made available
for mobile devices not supporting iOS or Android. By Feb. 20th the iOS version
of the application had been downloaded over 3,600 times and the Android version
had been downloaded over 450 times. The CSU, Chico Mobile App connects users to
campus classes, the campus directory, maps, emergency contact numbers, campus
news and events and much more. On one day during the past week, there were more than 3,000 active connections to the Blackboard Learn mobile application.
Information Resources partnered with organizations across campus to design the features offered in the 12 links within the CSU, Chico Mobile App. We are excited that this collaborative effort resulted in our first mobile application available for use in less than six months from the start of the project. We anticipate a second version of the application, with additional features, will be available before the end of the spring semester.
Business Continuity for Blackboard Learn
In December 2012,
an investment by Information Resources enabled the implementation of a redundant
virtual server environment within our secondary data center in Meriam
Library. By replicating the production Blackboard Learn virtual
servers and databases to a secondary data center, the application is protected
in the event of a major outage in the primary data center in Butte Hall.
Utilizing VMWare Site Recovery Manager Software, Blackboard system
administrators can bring-up the Blackboard system in hours instead of days or
weeks in order to rebuild all the servers and databases from tape backup
media. This new data center capability ensures rapid
recovery of the learning management system and extends the service level to our
students and faculty. This added environment
also protects many of our other systems which run in the virtual server
environment.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Compliance Process
For almost
10 years CSU Chico has responded to DMCA notices sent from organizations such
as the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Motion Picture
Association of America (MPAA), Universal Studios, and Paramount Pictures. When these copyright holders identify that
someone on the CSU, Chico network is offering their copyrighted material for
download, they want us to take action.
Information Resources has partnered with University Housing and Food
Service and Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) to develop processes that both meet
our requirements under the law and help educate our students.
When we
receive these notices we forward them to students along with information
regarding copyright law and alternative legal sources for downloading music,
movies and software. The chart below
illustrates the volume of these notices processed in the past two academic
years. While we have made some progress
in educating our students, we continue to receive a significant number of
reports for both first time and repeat occurrences. Each report consumes valuable staff time in
responding to the DMCA and following-up with our students. For more information regarding our
responsibilities under the DMCA as an internet service provider, feel free to
contact Brooke Banks at bfbanks@csuchico.edu
or x6212.
10-Gigabit Network Upgrade
The campus
upgraded its connections to the Internet in November 2012. We moved from two 1-gigabit connections to
one 1-gigabit connection and one 10-gigabit connection. Not only has this
increased the campus’ bandwidth capacity to the Internet by a magnitude of 10,
but it has also provided a completely redundant connection to the Internet. The
increase in availability and reliability of the campus’ Internet connection is
a major benefit of the upgrade.
In addition to the upgrade in Internet connectivity, the campus has provisioned a new connection to the High Performance Research Network (HPRN). The HPRN backbone provides resources to academic departments with enhanced Internet access requirements for their grants. HPRN connects to the Internet2 Abilene network and will provide leading-edge services for large-application users on campus.
Support in the Transition to Blackboard Learn
In fall 2012, the Technology and
Learning Program (TLP) responded to 1,842 requests for assistance from faculty
and staff. Calls remained the most popular method for contact, followed closely
by lab visits (see graph below). Assisting with the transition to the new
enterprise learning management system in Fall 2012, as well as an increased
faculty focus on the impact of technology in teaching and learning through
Academy e-Learning and other campus discussions of online education, has
contributed to an 18% increase in service requests over Spring 2012 and an 80%
increase in service requests over Fall 2011.
