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P E P P E R D I N E I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y

M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

Table of Contents

Leadership....................2

Updates........................3

Technology & Learning

.......................................4

Faculty Spotlight.......5-6

Did you know...?

Benchmarks &

Accountibility...............7

Information Technology

Pepperdine Help Desk

Available 24/7

(310) 506-HELP or

(866) 767-8623

IT Website

community.pepperdine.edu/it

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INSIGHT | MAY | 2013

M A Y 2 0 1 3L E A D E R S H I P

IT Leadership to Present TechQual Findings to Pepperdine CommunityInformation Technology’s (IT) annual Tech-

Qual+ assessment of Pepperdine’s technolo-

gy services and support concluded on Sun-

day, April 7. IT leadership has already begun

analyzing the data and will be using it to help

set the division’s FY14 priorities and objec-

tives, an effective planning process that has

been followed since 2007.

The survey was sent to a random sample of

2,549 members of the Pepperdine communi-

ty, including faculty, staff, and students; 461

people completed the survey, an 18 percent

response rate.

The results are displayed as a radar chart (see chart to the upper right). There are 15 spokes, which rep-

resent the 15 questions in the survey. As this is a national survey used by other universities, the first 12 ques-

tions are fixed and related to themes such as connectivity & access, technology & collaboration services,

and support & training. The remaining questions are customizable and related to the use of technology in

teaching and learning, and Pepperdine’s handling of sensitive personal information.

The yellow band represents users’ zone of tolerance (minimum to desired service level). The blue band rep-

resents how well IT is meeting the minimum service level and the red band represents areas that fall below

minimum expectations. IT will be looking closely into all areas of the survey, but will pay particular attention

to the red areas of the graph.

P E P P E R D I N E I N F O R M A T I O N T E C H N O L O G Y

M O N T H L Y R E P O R T

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INSIGHT | MAY | 2013

IT is pleased to announce an extension of its soft-

ware patch service, which presently patch Win-

dows operating systems and Office applications

for you automatically. In mid-May 2013, IT will be-

gin the process of patching Acrobat Reader, Java, and Flash.

This device management service is part of IT’s larger strategy to protect you from computer

viruses and malware while freeing you from worrying about which software is out-of-date and

vulnerable to being exploited.

Device management will allow IT to safeguard University-owned technology devices more effec-

tively leading to enhanced educational outcomes, informed business decisions, and improved

operational efficiency. Visit the following link to learn more: http://community.pepperdine.edu/

it/services/devicemanagement/

New Device Management Service takes the Guessing out of Software Updates for University-Owned Computers

U P D A T E S

Town Hall PresentationsAs a new communication effort this year, IT’s leadership council and Chief Information Officer

Jonathan See will be teaming up to conduct mini town hall presentations for each interested

school and major area. IT leadership will work with each school’s technology director/liaison to

arrange a best date for the presentation. Those who are interested in seeing the results are wel-

come to attend and participate.

The presentations will share survey findings as well as explain IT’s method of using the results to

set each fiscal year’s priorities and objectives. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in

dialogue with IT leaders to further discuss the findings.

The survey questions can be found at http://community.pepperdine.edu/it/content/2013_tech-

qual_survey_questions_approved.pdf

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INSIGHT | MAY | 2013

Technology and Learning Team Hosts Five Faculty at the Open Apereo 2013 Conference in San DiegoThis June, the Technology and

Learning team will attend the

Open Apereo 2013 conference

in San Diego, CA. The Apereo

Foundation is a new organiza-

tion that combines the Sakai

and Jasig communities and

produces enterprise-ready,

open-source solutions for high-

er education. Pepperdine Uni-

versity uses both Sakai CLE and JASIG’s Central Authentication Service (CAS).

At the conference, the Technology and Learning team will be leading two pre-conference work-

shops on Sunday, June 2, titled “Teaching with Sakai CLE from the Ground Up!” They will be joined

by Dr. Stella Erbes of Seaver’s Humanities and Teacher Education program. Together, they will

help newcomers to Sakai CLE learn how to promote learning with this powerful learning manage-

ment system.

IT will be sponsoring five professors at this year’s conference. IT routinely invites Pepperdine faculty

members to attend educational technology conferences as a professional development op-

portunity as well as a chance to identify and share products and strategies to promote student

learning. The Technology and Learning is excited to have the following professors join them at the

conference:

Learn more about the conference at http://community.pepperdine.edu/techlearn/events/

sakai2013/default.htm

T E C H N O L O G Y & L E A R N I N G

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INSIGHT | MAY | 2013

F A C U L T Y S P O T L I G H TProf. Elizabeth Smith Shares How Blogs Improve Student Learning and Engagement

Blogs are often used as public journals for

individuals to reflect upon a wide range

of topics including food, fashion, travel,

politics, and more. But, how are blogs

used in education?

Prof. Elizabeth Smith, a visiting professor of

Journalism at Seaver College, discussed

how blogs can function as effective cog-

nitive tools that can enhance knowledge creation, metacognition, and collaborative learning

in education.

Prof. Smith spoke in front of a group of her colleagues for the Technology and Learning Faculty

Speaker Series. This series features Pepperdine faculty members from all five schools who share

their experience teaching with technology. Each speaker offers amazing insights and strategies,

and may even expose mistakes or challenges faculty can avoid while teaching with technology.

In Dr. Smith’s presentation, she shared how blogs used in her journalism class improved student

learning and engagement. Prof. Smith offered examples from student blogs and shared her own

blog that she designed and developed as a resource for her students. In addition, she instructed

attendees how students (and professors) can easily create their own blogs using free blogging

platforms.

To watch Elizabeth Smith’s presentation “Blogs in the Classroom: Through a Journalism Lens”,

please visit: http://community.pepperdine.edu/techlearn/teaching/speaker-series/smith-blogs-

forjournalism.htm

Watch the Entire Series this Summer!The entire Faculty Speaker Series can be found on the Technology and Learning group’s website

at: http://community.pepperdine.edu/techlearn/teaching/speaker-series/

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INSIGHT | MAY | 2013

Summer Faculty Professional Development Session Begins in JuneT E C H N O L O G Y & L E A R N I N G

The summer Faculty Professional Development session begins Mon-

day, June 17, to be held at the Drescher Graduate campus. This

two-week, technology-enhanced faculty professional development

program led by the Technology and Learning group and Pep-

perdine’s Dr. Stella Erbes is for faculty who are new to integrating

instructional technology into their courses.

Workshops and sessions will focus on course design that integrates technologies into the classroom

that are learner-centric and shifts how faculty deliver course content. Each lesson plan is peda-

gogically constructed to evaluate which technologies can help faculty deliver course information,

engage students, measure learning, and incorporate new learning activities.

Faculty will earn up to $400 for attending the full program or $25 per day if they can’t make the full

two weeks. Morning snacks and lunch will be provided. Spaces are limited, so register now to be

eligible to be one of the twelve participants at

http://community.pepperdine.edu/techlearn/teaching/faculty-professional-development/

The student and human resources (HR) areas of WaveNet will be

unavailable from 12:01am on Saturday, May 25 until noon PST on

Sunday, May 26. IT will be performing database upgrades to im-

prove stability and maintain system requirements. You will not be

able to access the HR and student administration areas within

WaveNet. Access to email, Courses (powered by Sakai), Finance

(except students), and Simpler will remain available.

- Students will not be able to access course schedules, grades, student records, and student

financial services.

- Staff will not be able to access student administration and human resources applications.

- Faculty will not be able to view class management tools such as class rosters, post grades, or

student advising.

- Applicants will not be able to view application status, To Do lists, or financial aid.

To learn more, please visit: http://community.pepperdine.edu/it/about/news/2011/peoplesoft-

upgrade.htm

Rescheduled: Student and HR Areas Within WaveNet Unavailable May 25 to 26U P C O M I N G E V E N T S

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INSIGHT | MAY | 2013

D I D Y O U K N O W . . . ?

S u b s c r i b e o r T e l l U s W h a t Y o u T h i n kDo you know someone who would benefit from reading IT’s InsighT Report? Or do you have a

question or comment about the report? Drop us a line at techcomm@pepperdine.edu.

This summer check out the new training videos

on credit card substantiation, credit card ap-

proval, and Adobe Acrobat XI on IT’s YouTube

page.

These videos feature the new online credit card

substantiation process, which was designed by

Enterprise Information System’s Hector Ramirez

and Tim Bodden. This module allows Pepperdine

staff to substantiate monthly expenses, update

multiple transactions, view credit card activity, and approve line by line transactions.

The Adobe Acrobat XI video shows users how to attach scanned images of receipts to individual

expense reports. Check out these useful videos. IT is constantly adding new videos to the You-

Tube library. So be sure to check back for more how-to guides.

Pepperdine IT’s YouTube page can be found at http://www.youtube.com/user/ITPepperdine

New Training Videos on Credit Card Substantiation Available on IT’s YouTube Page

A C C O U N T I B I L I T Y & B E N C H M A R K I N G

Pepperdine Help Desk. During April 2013, there were 2,554 requests for support managed through

the Help Desk. Of these requests, 70 percent were resolved within two days and 97 percent were

resolved in fewer than five days. The average wait time for individuals calling the Help Desk was

44 seconds. Ninety percent of requests were resolved by the Help Desk on the first call.