Unleash 2016 Wilkinson FINAL

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 colleges• Over 35,000 students• Over 1800 students enrolled online• Big 12 athletics conference

About Texas Tech University

What other organizations are represented here today?

Distributed Autonomy – Collaboration and Partnership

Central IT Function:CIO and Central IT

StaffDept. IT

Staff

Dept. IT

Staff

Dept. IT

Staff

Dept. IT

Staff

What is “distributed autonomy”?

• IT Division provides common services and

essential tools to all departments on campus• IT Division helps ensure compliance with state

and federal regulations• College and department IT focus on specialized

technology needs for that area• Work in partnership to select campus

technologies, leverage common requirements, and review emerging technology solutions

• All aligned with institutional strategic priorities and goals

Distributed Autonomy

Examples of what the IT Division provides:

• Network infrastructure• Email service• Network account

management - SSO• Site License software• Single Point of Technical

Contact• Central IT services,

including SharePoint, Blackboard, WIKI, Mediasite, etc.

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Presentations: 12,000+

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Views: 761,000+

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Hours of Content: 10,000+

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Unique Viewers: 25,000+

Mediasite 5-year Growth

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

IT Division provides:

• On-premise Mediasite HA server• Media storage• Scheduled and on-demand training• Technical support for content

owners• Technical support for viewers• User access to video production

software• Captioning tools• User access to Mediasite

environment

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

Department responsibilities:

• Mediasite recorder annual license(s)

• Recording equipment & room integration

• Lecture capture room scheduling

• Access to department content• Captions

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

Mediasite HA Server:

Mediasite HA server• Mediasite is made available as

a service to all departments at Texas Tech University

• IT 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 archived

• When needed, IT Division assists with archiving or restoring content

Distributed Autonomy: Mediasite

Training:

• IT Division has several scheduled hands-on training events per year

• IT Division provides training as needed for new users

• IT Division consults with departments and staff on associated technology purchases

• IT 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 video

• IT 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 Mediasite

• Allows for password management to rest with SSO

• Allows some departmental control over access for their members where desired

• Faculty 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 help• Faculty are encouraged to put this

information in their syllabi• Faculty 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 classroom• Department defines budget, finds/allocates funds• IT 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 use

• IT Division grants access to MyMediasite• Faculty is provided one-on-one training

by IT Division staff• Faculty (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 events

• IT 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 troubleshooting

• IT Division will work with department staff and Sonic Foundry support to resolve the problem

Distributed Autonomy

Lessons Learned:• “If it ain’t broke, don’t 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 Foundry’s 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 questions

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