Monitoring student assistants' tasks effectively is a significant part of management. The BACC Squad at Dahlgren Memorial Library are student assistants who help maintain the printers, copiers and computers within the library. Since technology is a large part of their job, it is important that they use innovative tools for performing their tasks.…

After a comprehensive review of the major learning management systems (LMS) in 2019--2020, Schoolcraft College began a transition from Anthology's Blackboard Original LMS to the updated Blackboard Ultra Course View. The learning management system impacts or informs the daily work-flows of several key stakeholders. As such, it was imperative to…

Cuts abound despite an infusion of technology, restructured media programs, and research connecting media specialists to improved student achievement. Verbal and written support about the value of a library or media specialist has not translated into monetary support at a time of universal funding problems. All grade levels and district sizes are…

Helping students land tech jobs after graduation may be one of the most gratifying benefits of involving students in campus IT--but it's not the only one. Student workers can reduce IT costs and, equally important, they bring to the table a useful perspective: They are, after all, the IT department's constituents and can often provide insights…

Students pick up technology faster than their teacher's. So when it comes to troubleshooting technical headaches in the classroom, it's not surprising that schools are turning to their own best resources--the students themselves. Whether staffing a "genius bar" in the media center or troubleshooting a balky projector, students at some schools are…

In the library context, they depend on sophisticated business applications specifically designed to support their work. This infrastructure consists of such components as integrated library systems, their associated online catalogs or discovery services, and self-check equipment, as well as a Web site and the various online tools and services…

Small and midsize institutions have proven the success of a blended library/IT organization, a hybrid model in which both librarians and IT professionals report to the same senior leader. What hasn't been proven is how well such a blend works for larger universities. There the challenge has become part of the larger institutional budget debate:…

Indiana University (IU) provides great support for the technology the community needs to teach, learn, and conduct research. Rather than limiting support by defining a rigid support matrix, IU has chosen instead to utilize knowledge management technology to provide self-service for repetitive information technology (IT) questions, and focus…

Today's higher education environment is marked by heightened accountability and decreased budgets. In such an environment, no higher education institution can afford to ignore alternative approaches that could result in more effective and less costly solutions. Open-source software (OSS) can serve as a viable alternative to traditional proprietary…

Many chief information officers (CIOs) have come to accept and even embrace the role of outsourcers in their portfolio of IT services. In 2009, 47 percent of the 352 CIOs surveyed by the Center for Higher Education Chief Information Officer Studies (CHECS) said they had selectively outsourced some part of the IT function, up from 43 percent the…

Miscommunications and misunderstandings surrounding common words that have one meaning in library-speak and a different meaning in IT-speak are all too common. There are tons of books on communicating; one could spend a career reading them all. In this article, the author recommends one book that describes how to focus on phrasing questions in…

Information and communication technologies are today playing a very important role in transforming the mode of imparting education. The trend in educational system has seen a leaning towards upgrading and updating knowledge and ideas to face increasingly demanding in order to meet the rapid expansion of knowledge. Technology enabled teaching have…

The new faces on the help desk are younger, work for cheap, and may be the tech savviest in the building. This article describes how two IT training programs are teaching students valuable technology skills while providing schools with a much-needed lift to their troubleshooting teams. The programs--Generation YES and Mouse Squad--put students at…

Planning is necessary in selecting the appropriate digital asset management system for your institution. Key issues one should consider in planning: the objects to be stored, where they come from, and how they will be accessed; the end users; and the needed staffing levels for system maintenance. During the development of the system requirements,…

This article talks about service level agreement (SLA). The essential goal of an SLA is to set a manageable foundation of appropriate expectations so that the relationship between parties (whether between product/service provider and a school, or a school and its constituents) will be workable and sustainable. Careful consideration of service…