Mackay Senior Leadership Conference

More than 70 senior leaders and external presenters attended the annual CQUniversity Senior Leadership Conference in Mackay last week. The conference, which ran from Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th June, covered a range of strategic topics, including Engagement, Leadership, Research, Multi-City operations and Dual-Sector issues.

On Friday, there was an ICT presentation titled “The Connected University – Emerging Collaboration Technologies in Learning and Teaching”, and Jeff Santamaria, Roy Pidgeon and Shaune Sinclair from Information Technology Directorate teamed up with Professors Rob Reed and Mark Looi for the 90 minute session.

Rob Reed led off with feedback from students about the degree of support and engagement required to fulfil their needs in online/distance learning mode, and related this to attrition amongst distance and online students. He demonstrated an online “collaborative learning environment” using a pilot version of the Moodle 2 Learning Management System (LMS) and he advocated for improved engagement with students by effective use of tools such as video clips, live chat and email.

Mark Looi outlined the optimal use of the Cisco “Webex” online and video collaboration tool for learning, teaching and administration. Staff from the School of ICT, who recently commenced a pilot of the Webex system for staff collaboration within the school, demonstrated a mock exercise in effective collaboration with staff from across Central Queensland and interstate campuses participating. The Webex session was then opened up to conference members, and a number of senior staff, including the Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic & Research) participated live in the Webex interactive session from within the venue.

Jeff Santamaria demonstrated integration of the Webex collaboration tool with the Moodle 2 LMS – a “live” session hosted by Netspot in Adelaide with help from Cisco engineers. The University is planning to migrate to Moodle 2 early next year, and Jeff showed a new initiative by Cisco to integrate their Webex online collaboration toolset seamlessly with Moodle 2. Jeff also gave an overview of the importance of building mobile applications to better connect and engage with our students.

Shaune Sinclair provided an overview of developments in live broadcast as well as recorded video content management, including potential application at CQUniversity. He walked the audience through a “roadmap” to bring CQUniversity up to the latest standards and practices in live and recorded video content.

Roy Pidgeon provided an overview of CQUniversity's new Staff Portal, demonstrated key features including the ability to integrate with normal desktop functions, communities, news and discussion forums, and outlined how Google Docs integrates with the Portal.

Overall, The Connected University presentation was a great success. The presenters were “swamped” by members of the audience seeking more information, generating much discussion throughout the rest of the conference on the big ICT concepts presented during the session.

Students can soon ‘lock’ workstations in Computer Labs

From Monday 13 June 2011, CQUniversity students and staff will be able to ‘lock’ the computer they are using in the Library and Student Labs at Rockhampton, Mackay, Gladstone, Bundaberg and Noosa Campuses.

How to lock a computer?

To lock or unlock a workstation, press CTRL + ALT + DELETE, and follow the prompts.

By locking a workstation, it allows users to step away from the computer while preventing other people from accessing their work. Students and staff are encouraged to lock or log off their workstation whenever leaving a computer unattended.

A timer is also being introduced which will automatically lock the computers in the Libraries and Student Labs after 20 minutes of inactivity.

If a computer has been idle for 90 minutes (e.g. unattended), the user will be logged off to prevent the workstation from being permanently locked.

Students and staff are reminded to save their work regularly.

For further information or IT assistance, please contact the ITD Service Centre.

Disruption to CQUniversity’s Network Services as a result of Brisbane Flooding

CQUniversity has been advised by our Internet Service Provider (Aarnet) that due to disruptions to power supply as a result of the flood situation in Brisbane, CQUniversity’s primary Network Links are currently unavailable.

The University is now using its backup Network Link which provides a significantly reduced capacity.

This means that over the next 48 hours, students and staff may suffer slower services or interruptions to CQUniversity’s Learning & Teaching services, including telephone, network and internet access.

We would therefore ask all staff to wherever possible avoid large downloads and all unnecessary use of multimedia services such as YouTube and Facebook.

During this time, please be assured that CQUniversity is working closely with service providers and other Universities to reduce the impact of any disruptions which may occur. CQUniversity will provide updates as more information becomes available.

For further information regarding CQUniversity’s Network Services, please contact the ITD Service Centre on ext 9233 or 1300 666 620 or servicedesk@cqu.edu.au.

Please ensure you check the University Flood Website www.cqu.edu.au/flood for up to date information.

Improved CQUniversity Web Search

As a method of improving how students and staff find information on the CQUniversity website, the Information Technology Directorate (ITD) has undertaken an evaluation of a new online search tool called the Google Search Appliance (GSA).

The GSA provides benefits over the existing Google Search box that is currently being used on some of the University’s web pages. For example, the GSA provides:

• Detailed reporting on search queries and results.
• Ability to customise search results to meet the needs of the University.
• Integration with site security, so students and staff will see search results based on what content they can access.  

As part of the evaluation, various aspects were considered including performance, search response relevancy, management features and useability.

Feedback from the evaluation was positive and staff reported that the GSA eliminated issues where they previously found it difficult to find what they were looking for on the CQUniversity website. 

After recent approval from the Web Project Board, the acquisition and integration of the GSA into CQUniversity’s web presence has commenced. 

To try using this new online search tool, the GSA is available on the CQUniversity Staff homepage.

ITD intends to make the GSA available on more web pages and also introduce a new search facility on CQUniversity homepage.

For more information about the introduction of the GSA, please contact the ITD Service Centre.

Term 3 Pilot Begins! New My.CQU Student Portal and CQUniversity Mail

In Term 1, 2011 CQUniversity is improving its Student Portal (My.CQU) and working with Google to introduce a new student email system (called CQUniversity Mail).

The new My.CQU Student Portal will provide students with better access to their course information, student forums and the ability to customise pages to suit their studies.

CQUniversity is also working with Google to provide all students with new email services and online collaboration tools. Students will have access to a new lifelong CQUniversity email account, increased email storage and a range of new online collaboration tools. These tools will include features similar to:

• Google Talk – Instant messaging, online chat and video;  
• Google Calendar – Students can schedule group study sessions or assignment work; and
• Google Docs – Multiple students can share, edit and collaborate on a document online in real-time.  

As these planned changes are a significant undertaking for the University, a pilot of the new My.CQU Student Portal, CQUniversity Mail and other online collaboration tools is being run during Term 3, 2010. The student and staff feedback received during this Pilot is important and will enable us to improve these systems in preparation for 2011.

Further information about this Term 3 Pilot is on the CQUniTECHNOLOGY website. Students and staff can also contact the ITD Service Centre if they require any technical assistance using the new My.CQU Portal and CQUniversity Mail systems.

Student Technology Survey - Your chance to WIN $100 Voucher!

CQUniversity's Information Technology Directorate (ITD) is seeking student feedback about what they think of current technology, mobile and other electronic devices. 

We want to get to know and understand how students are using different electronic devices while studying at CQUni.

From Wednesday 15th September - Friday 1st October 2010, an online survey will be available for students to complete and their participation will remain confidential (i.e. the feedback will not be published).

While completing this survey is voluntary, the responses will be used to help CQUniversity improve the way students use technology as part of their learning experience throughout their studies.

To start the survey click on the link below:

• Student Technology Survey 

The survey will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete depending on individual answers.

All students that participate in this survey will have the option to go into a draw to win a $100 iTunes voucher or a $100 CQUniversity Bookshop voucher (winner’s choice). The draw will take place in the first week of October 2010. All contact details will be destroyed after the draw and not be used for any other purpose other than this draw.  

Please note that participation in the survey is entirely voluntary and that participation or non-participation will have no impact on students CQUniversity studies or assessments. All responses are anonymous and no individuals will be identified.

New! Staff can press ‘Shift + F11’ to open the IT Service Desk Online

Staff no longer have to sign in to access the IT Service Desk Online when working on campus.

The IT Service Desk Online is a web-based program that enables CQUniversity staff and students to log their IT Service requests and enquires with the ITD Service Centre.

Staff have previously needed to sign into the IT Service Desk Online (via http://itservicedesk.cqu.edu.au/) to log new or view their existing IT service requests.

To make it easier for staff to access this service, they can now open it directly from their office computers by:

• Double-clicking on the new IT Service Desk Online icon, which is available on the main computer screen (examples pictured below); or
• Pressing the new shortcut ‘Shift + F11’.
  This is available to staff that are working on-campus and connected to the University network.

Further information about using the IT Service Desk Online is available in this user guide (PDF).

Screenshots of the new IT Service Desk Online icon, now available on staff computers.