Slide 1

Strategies for Training and Support in a Distributed Autonomy Environment

Ian WilkinsonEducation Projects Specialist,Technology Supportian.wilkinson@ttu.edu

May 2016

About Texas Tech University

Created by legislative action in 1923

TTU is the only Texas university to house undergraduate, graduate, law, architecture, and medical schools

About Texas Tech University

Lubbock is geographically isolated from the rest of the state, and 300 miles from the nearest city in any direction, so Texas Tech has always had an emphasis on distance education and outreach programs-video learning fits well into this mission

About Texas Tech University

13 collegesOver 35,000 studentsOver 1800 students enrolled onlineBig 12 athletics conference

About Texas Tech University

What other organizations are represented here today?

Distributed Autonomy Collaboration and PartnershipCentral IT Function:CIO and Central IT StaffDept. IT StaffDept. IT StaffDept. IT StaffDept. IT Staff

What is distributed autonomy?

IT Division provides common services and essential tools to all departments on campusIT Division helps ensure compliance with state and federal regulationsCollege and department IT focus on specialized technology needs for that areaWork in partnership to select campus technologies, leverage common requirements, and review emerging technology solutionsAll aligned with institutional strategic priorities and goals

Distributed Autonomy

Examples of what the IT Division provides:

Network infrastructureEmail serviceNetwork account management - SSOSite License softwareSingle Point of Technical ContactCentral IT services, including SharePoint, Blackboard, WIKI, Mediasite, etc.

Mediasite 5-year Growth

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

IT Division provides:

On-premise Mediasite HA serverMedia storageScheduled and on-demand trainingTechnical support for content ownersTechnical support for viewersUser access to video production softwareCaptioning toolsUser access to Mediasite environment

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

Department responsibilities:

Mediasite recorder annual license(s)Recording equipment & room integrationLecture capture room schedulingAccess to department contentCaptions

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

Mediasite HA Server:

Mediasite HA serverMediasite is made available as a service to all departments at Texas Tech UniversityIT Division operates and maintains the Mediasite server cluster Load balanced, redundant high-availability server configuration

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

Mediasite Storage:

IT Division operates and maintains Mediasite server media storage servers IT Division provides storage reports to content owners every semester to indicate what content is unviewed and can likely be archivedWhen needed, IT Division assists with archiving or restoring content

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

Training:

IT Division has several scheduled hands-on training events per yearIT Division provides training as needed for new usersIT Division consults with departments and staff on associated technology purchasesIT Division works with eLearning to integrate Mediasite with other tools

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

Video Production Software:

IT Division provides site license for software that can be installed and used by faculty and staff to produce high-quality video, including Adobe Presenter and Adobe Premiere Pro

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

Captioning Tools:

IT Division provides site license for software that can be installed and used by faculty and staff to caption videoIT Division establishes connection to caption providers and grants permission to users authorized to use the service

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

User Access:

O.U.s and Security Groups in Active Directory are tied to roles in MediasiteAllows for password management to rest with SSOAllows some departmental control over access for their members where desiredFaculty and staff only- we currently do not allow student access

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 1:

Student has problems viewing online video

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 1:

Student has problems viewing online video

Students can call ITHC for helpFaculty are encouraged to put this information in their syllabiFaculty who use other video platforms often wind up providing ad hoc technical support for these other platforms

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 2:

A department wishes to add lecture capture capability to a classroom

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 2:

A department wishes to add lecture capture capability to a classroom

Department defines purpose and scope of classroomDepartment defines budget, finds/allocates fundsIT Division consults on equipment & configuration IT Division provides access & training for Mediasite

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 3:

A faculty member wishes to create video lectures for flipped and/or online learning

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 3:

A faculty member wishes to create video lectures for flipped and/or online learning

Faculty referred to IT Division (usually by ITHC or Instructional Design team)IT Division consults with faculty to determine best tools to useIT Division grants access to MyMediasiteFaculty is provided one-on-one training by IT Division staffFaculty (and viewers) have support for Mediasite content

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 4:

A department wishes to record a special event in a room that is not equipped with a Mediasite recorder

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 4:

A department wishes to record a special event in a room that is not equipped with a Mediasite recorder

IT Division has a small fleet of portable recorders that can be checked out to capture special eventsIT Division provides training on recorder use and often helps with setup

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 5:

Departmental IT has trouble publishing recorded content to the Mediasite server

Distributed Autonomy

Scenario 5:

Departmental IT has trouble publishing recorded content to the Mediasite server

Departmental IT can call IT Division staff for support and troubleshootingIT Division will work with department staff and Sonic Foundry support to resolve the problem

Distributed Autonomy

Lessons Learned:

If it aint broke, dont fix it we do not ever update Mediasite or add features during an academic term

Let someone else find the bugs! We wait to upgrade to major versions and stay a couple versions behind the latest release

Follow Sonic Foundrys example: encourage Mediasite users to work together and share tips and tricks

Collaborate with Provost, eLearning, teaching development, and other academic groups to develop a retention and archive strategy

When cleaning out unused presentations, someone will decide they want something back keep archived content in network storage for a short time to allow easier restoration

Thanks for listening!

Feel welcome to contact me with questionsIan WilkinsonEducation Projects Specialist,Technology Supportian.wilkinson@ttu.edu