October 3, 2019

Present

Stephanie Anderson, Ray Brennan, Sandy Cardoza, Juan Diaz, Brandon Gainer, David Garrido, Pam Grey, Alex Harrell, Sri Lakshmanan, Sharon Luciw, Joe Moreau, Arafa Omer, Mary Pape (co-chair), Iman Seale (notes), Marisa Spatafore (co-chair)

Welcome/Introductions

Spatafore introduced new web support technician Juan Diaz. New DASB student representative Arafa Omer and Communication Studies faculty member Stephanie Anderson.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes were approved with a minor typographical correction.

Website Technical Update

Accessibility/Ranking Report

Harrell presented the RocketValidator U.S. leaderboard, on which De Anza is number one for accessibility. Harrell also explained that while RocketValidator checks up to 100 pages, he checks up to 2,000 using RocketValidator and other tools to ensure the website maintains a high standard for accessibility.

Recent Improvements

Harrell briefly showed the new draft layout for governance pages which consolidates agendas and minutes onto a single meeting page. This is still in development. Spatafore stated that this new layout is best for ease of use, consistency and accreditation purposes.     

Updates on Curriculum Management System; Professional Development Platform implementation

Ranck discussed the need for updating the outdated curriculum management system. She announced that eLumen was chosen as the new system because it serves SLO needs, catalog needs and meets other requirements set at the beginning of the search. The system is used by many other community colleges, offers lots of flexibility and will streamline curriculum procedures. Transitioning will begin this academic year, pending board approval at its next meeting on Monday, Oct. 7. Selecting the new system also meets needs for accreditation.

The professional development platform has been a collaborative effort between Online Education and the Office of Professional Development. Cornerstone is the product now being focused upon. Due to the close of purchasing for the fiscal year last spring, it hasn’t yet been acquired. Ranck stated that the platform will be revisited now that improvements have been made to it as well. Moreau added that District HR will also be using the product once it rolls out.

Tech Plan Updates

Goal 1: Support ubiquitous, agile technology across the campus community

Objective	Implementation Activities
Promote the consolidation of technology functions to yield economies of scale and/or foster better communication	Outlook email and Microsoft Office were brought together under the Office 365 environment for full integration within the same web suite. There are ongoing improvements to governance webpages. The curriculum and professional development platforms also mark ongoing progress with this objective.
Updated to: Assist with the next phase of Canvas trainings          Previously: Assist with the transition of the course management system from Catalyst to Canvas	Improvements on an ongoing basis. The new Online U cohort was established.
Create a map for technology support	This objective is complete.

Goal 2: Teaching, learning and student engagement

Objective	Implementation Activities
Collaborate with Academic Senate, other partners on the development of open educational resources (OER)	New faculty coordinator Mark Healy has made documenting zero and low-cost books in Banner/schedule a priority. Healy has also been arranging one-on-one consults with faculty. Ranck noted that De Anza continues to rank highly on the OpenStax list of schools using the most OER.
Updated to: Assist as affordable and feasible in the organized provision and/or support of instructional technology in classrooms and programs                  Previously: Assist as affordable and feasible in the organized provision of tablets and similar devices in classrooms and programs	Ranck reported that BSI-funded tablets will be be used in “stretch classes.” There’s a least one pilot course to use tablets in the stretch class. This initiative is being monitored for now. Ranck stated they’re also looking to make tablets available for students through the Library. Grey added that the Bookstore has purchased more budget-friendly electronics.
Guide the continual growth of course management system functionality to foster meaningful student-instructor and student-to-student communication	Cardoza noted high student interested in student-instructor text communication. Moreau and Luciw explained how student-instructor text communications might work, perhaps through Jabber. This project has been on hold due to time and staff constraints. Gainer, Moreau and student representative Omer discussed respective expectations and perspectives of faculty and students for text communication. Moreau stated that this should be added to the district tech plan objectives for the 2019-20 academic year.
Collaborate with its accessibility expert and Disability Support Programs and Services (DSPS) to continually evaluate accessibility and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance across the website, learning management system and student information systems	Ongoing improvements.
Improve access to student and academic services via technology	Grey stated there’s currently exploration of a new transcript-ordering system, Parchment, which should be easier and significantly cheaper for students. The committee agreed that it would be good to get updates on Parchment from Nazy at the next meeting.

Goal 3: Deeper research into student success and subsequent responses

Objective	Implementation Activities
Collect and analyze data to guide the enrichment of the student experience through technology	Updates were provided through Lakshmanan’s presentation of the DSPS survey results during Standing Updates.
Research and work to implement device-independent technologies that improve student access and equity

Goal 4: Professional development

Objective	Implementation Activities
Cultivate a culture in which technology training is understood to be beneficial for all employees.	Ranck stated that that the new professional development program coordinator can provide workshops and some assistance with tech training for faculty. Spatafore added that the professional development platform should help with this too for communicating trainings.
Evaluate technology training needs and priorities.

Preliminary Recommendations: Improvements to next version of Tech Plan

• For the revision process, Moreau suggested an end-user survey for faculty and staff this fall. Spatafore added that it would be beneficial for the Tech Committee to brainstorm questions for this.
• A student device survey was also a suggestion for next fall in order to capture the greatest number of student responses. The last device survey proved very useful and informative.

Standing Updates

Accessibility

• Lakshmanan reviewed the DSPS survey results with the committee.

Banner Student

• Moreau noted ongoing Banner Self-Service improvements in collaboration with Galoyan and A&R staff. They’re working toward a shopping cart-style system for registration that will improve user experience.

ETS

• Wireless back-end updates took place this summer. Luciw stated that they’re looking into additional updates and improvements from the vendor.
• The new printing system was supposed to be deployed for fall but has not launched yet. This is still in progress.
• Adobe software licensing changes rolled out over summer. Students will now have access to their projects after leaving the college. Employees now have easy access to Adobe software as well.

ETS Project Scheduling

• Grey discussed implementation of updated, standardized digital campus signage system that will be managed through the Office of Communications. Infrastructure is currently being updated so implementation of the new system may be pushed into winter quarter.

Online Education Advisory Group

• Gainer briefly reviewed ongoing progress.