News Archive

Wireless Upgrade for Academic Buildings

August 18, 2023

Completed Wireless upgrade for all Academic Buildings Spring and Summer of 2023.  Project expanded capacity and coverage inside the academic buildings; Bayou, SSCB, STEM, Rec, Housing, Arbor, Delta, Pearland Academic, and Pearland Health Science for the start of the fall semester 2023.  Looking forward, OIT will be completing upgrades non-academic buildings, FMC, NOA 1, NOA 2, and PD.  In addition, OIT will be adding external wireless coverage outside each of the following buildings; Bayou, SSCB, Arbor, Delta, Pearland Academic, Pearland Health Science, FMC, NOA 1, NOA 2, and PD.  This effort will provide continuity of services between buildings.

UHS Facilities Forum 2023

August 10-11, 2023

The focus of the conference was building stronger and better teams for success into the future, within Facilities. John Rodriguez participated as a panel speaker on the discussion for "Teams and Technology Together".  The specific focus of this panel was how new technology is changing the way we do things in Facilities, training and retaining staff, and the importance of involving IT early and often in the design/construction/operations of Facilities. 

Creating Connections

July 18, 2023

OIT invited UH Downtown for a networking event.

Quality Matters

May 25, 2023

OIT's Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team continues working toward our QM-related training goal. By the end of the current academic year, we expect that all IDT staff will have completed QM's Applying the Quality Matters Rubric, Higher Education (APPQMR) training and that all Instructional Designers will be QM-certified Peer Reviewers and facilitators for the online and face-to-face versions of the APPQMR training.

• Instructional Designers Aubrie Grass and Nadine Noman have completed both QM's Applying the Quality Matters Rubric, Higher Education (APPQMR) and Peer Reviewer training, and they are now certified Quality Matters Peer Reviewers.
• Instructional Designer Henry Newkirk is now certified as a QM Face-to-Face Trainer for the APPQMR course.
• Our Learning Technology Administrators (LTAs), Jenn Ray and Sam Houston completed QM's Applying the Quality Matters Rubric, Higher Education (APPQMR) course. Our OIT colleague, Demetrius Myles, the OIT Support Center Associate Director, joined them and also completed the APPQMR course.

We have our first UHCL faculty registrant for QM's Applying the Quality Matters Rubric, Higher Education (APPQMR) course! Faculty interested in completing the QM online course can contact the IDT team at IDT@uhcl.edu for more information.

Canvas Transition

May 25, 2023

UHCL will launch the first phase of our "soft" rollout of Canvas on June 5, when SU23 classes begin. As of Wednesday, May 24, 2023, SU23 Canvas use includes the following:

33 Faculty Early Adopters
85 Classes/Sections Using Canvas
706 Unduplicated Student Headcount in Canvas

765 Student Enrollments in Class Using Canvas (Duplicated Headcount)

As a reminder, the following resources are available to learn more about Canvas and UHCL's Canvas transition:

• IDT Newsletter – If you want to receive the newsletter, please email IDT@uhcl.edu and ask that we add you to the distribution list.
• Canvas Faculty Support webpage
• Canvas Student Support webpage

OneButton Recording Studio

May 25, 2023

Our new OneButton Recording Studio is now available for faculty and staff use. The self-contained system enables users to easily create high-quality video content. It includes the hardware and software needed to write, draw, and annotate on screen as you present, similar in function to a "light board." Walk into the studio with your PowerPoint desk on a USB drive and walk away with your MP4 video, as demonstrated in the vendor's short overview video! To make an appointment for a 15-minute orientation session, please use the IDT team's Bookings page.

Campus ID Card and Meal Plan System

May 12, 2023

We successfully implemented our new Campus ID Card and Meal Plan System (Phase1). It was a System wide project. System provides non-proprietary, transactional solutions through secure integrations.  Key objectives included card production, mobile platform, meal plan management, dining/retail point of sale, online ordering, and print/copy, The online photo upload process has AI approval functionality. The meal Plan Portal (MPP) fully automates the meal plan selection, purchasing, and billing process. Its security and PCI compliance scans are key measures and protocols for data security and protection. Thanks to all who supported the project.

 

The University of Houston-Clear Lake's Service Awards

April 12, 2023

Congratulations to this year's OIT Staff Service Award recipients on reaching their career milestones! Photo right: Mike and Sheeba at Reward ceremony:

30 Years of Services
Sana Zeidan 

25 Years of Services
Joyce Ferrell 
Mike Livingston  
Nora Martinez 

15 Years of Services
Amy Barth 
Richard Dotter 

10 Years of Services
Susan Clark 10

5 Years of Services
Jared Hoevelman
Sheeba Thomas 

Eduroam

March 28, 2023

Our network specialists Gene and Ali have completed the setup of Eduroam.

What is Eduroam? Eduroam (education roaming) is the secure, world-wide roaming wireless service developed for and by the international research and education community. Eduroam allows students, researchers and staff to roam and find connectivity at more than 2,500 locations in the US, and more than 33,000 worldwide.

More information, visit Mobile Devices and WiFi.

News from Technology Learning Services

January 4, 2023

New Professional Staff

OIT's Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) is pleased to announce that we are now fully staffed. We hope you'll join us in welcoming our two newest staff members:

• Aubrie Grass, Instructional Designer I (designated primarily for faculty in the College of Business)
• Nadin Noman, Instructional Designer I (designated primarily for faculty in the College of Science and Engineering)

You'll likely see and hear more from them soon as our team embarks on several significant projects, including the Canvas transition and the introduction of Quality Matters. In the meantime, BUS and CSE faculty are welcome to contact OIT's Support Center to schedule individual meetings with your new designated IDs to discuss instructional design, instructional technology, or active learning-related questions or concerns.

Quality Matters
The IDT team is well on our way to ensuring that all our staff receives Quality Matters training and, where appropriate, relevant QM certification(s). The items below reflect our progress to date:

• Completed QM's Applying the Quality Matters Rubric, Higher Education (APPQMR) training: Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Henry Newkirk, and Izaak Diefenbach
• Completed QM's Peer Reviewer training: Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Henry Newkirk, and Izaak Diefenbach
• Certified as a QM Peer Reviewer: Jenni Willis-Opalenik
• Certified as a QM Online Trainer for the APPQMR course: Jenni Willis-Opalenik, Henry Newkirk, and Izaak Diefenbach
• Certified as a QM Face-to-Face Trainer for the APPQMR course: Jenni Willis-Opalenik

By the end of the current academic year, we expect that all our team will have completed the APPQMR and that all Instructional Designers will be QM-certified to teach the online and face-to-face versions of the APPQMR.

EDUCAUSE Learning Lab Completion | Designing Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) Courses to Support Multimodal Learning Environments

January 4, 2023

Instructional Designers Henry Newkirk and Izaak Diefenbach recently completed the month-long EDUCAUSE Learning Lab on HyFlex course design. This rigorous professional development offering provided them with timely and current additional insights on several topics:

• Identifying opportunities and needs for HyFlex approaches that best suit UHCL;
• Using a design framework and process to create design plans for new HyFlex courses; and
• Planning the evaluation of HyFlex courses and programs to assess their value to the university and identify improvement opportunities.

Look for professional development opportunities from the IDT team in 2023 on the topic of HyFlex instruction. In the meantime, contact OIT's Support Center to submit an appointment request to speak with Henry or Izaak about HyFlex planning, course design/development, delivery, and evaluation.

Canvas Transition
UHCL's transition from Blackboard to Canvas is underway, with the IDT team busily preparing to support faculty, staff, and students for our "soft" rollout with volunteer faculty "early adopters" in SU23. The goal is for all classes to be in Canvas beginning SP24. Shortly, we'll complete our purchase of Canvas, get our new system configured, get our "early birds" going, and begin offering informational sessions and faculty training. Please take advantage of any or all of the following resources for Canvas-related updates:

• IDT Newsletter – We'll resume issuing an online newsletter via email beginning Wednesday, January 11, 2023. If you would like to receive the newsletter, please email IDT@uhcl.edu and ask that we add you to the distribution list.
• Canvas Faculty Support webpage – Once the SP23 semester begins, we'll review and update this page every Friday with any new information, support materials, etc. We also plan to add a hyperlink to this web page that clients may use to send Canvas-related questions to our team.
• IDT Blog – Newsletter articles and other information are added to our IDT Blog each week, making this resource valuable for learning more about Canvas and other existing technologies, tips, etc.

OIT Jingle & Mingle Holiday Party

December 20, 2022

EDUCAUSE Annual Conference

Online Event
November 2–3, 2022

Dr. Gaskins was one of the speakers.

C-Suite's Vantage from the Perspective of Leaders Who Also Happen to be People of Color

The session is an unfiltered discussion of the challenges, impacts, and opportunities for leadership for people of color. Each of these individuals has traveled varied paths to the C-suite and will share freely. The conversation is extensible to all regardless of race and may have special relevance to minorities. Participants will hear about the panelists' respective journeys, their strategies for career success, and aspects of the journey that did not turn out in the ways they had hoped.

Educause Service Design and Transition Toolkit

October 6, 2022

Sheeba Thomas was a part of the Educause Working Group, that created and published the Educause Service Design and Transition Toolkit

Tech Summit 2022 Conference

Texas A&M University System
September 27-28, 2022

Dr. LeeBrain Gaskins, Senior AVP of IT/CIO at UHCL was one of the keynote speakers of the CIO Panel discussion at Tech Summit, Texas A&M 2022. Topics Include:

• Adopting a mindset that embraces change instead of fearing it
• Developing change resiliency
• Planning a career when the skills to succeed are a moving target
• Delivering services when the customer thinks more about how they will adopt and use
• the service than if it was delivered on-time and on-budget

Trainings and Certifications

October 13, 2022

Congratulations to Sai Sreerama who has completed her PMP Project Management Professional Certification from Project Management Institute (PMI).

September 26, 2022

Congratulations to Kenneth Cunningham for obtaining "Entry Certificate in Business Analysis" from International Institute of Business Analysis.

UHCL works with UH, UHV, and UHD to complete IT Facilities Standards for UH System

September 23, 2022

Last August, the Board of Regents received an audit report of IT facilities across the University of Houston system that brought to light an array of risk conditions present. In response, the board requested the creation of system-wide standards for such facilities, and charged Dr. Dennis Fouty to return in one year to report the four universities' progress in identifying and remedying deficiencies. John Rodriguez and several other key IT employees at UHCL were part of the task force to establish and document these essential standards. Over the past six months, the team created University of Houston System IT Facilities: Baseline Standards, along with assessment checklists to identify gaps where the requirements are not met and a repository of standard resolutions to cure them. Each university has completed the gap assessment and remediation plan. The Board of Regents (BOR) will be presented the results at the next meeting in November. The remediation plans will be transitioned to IT operations at each university and thus closing out the system-wide project as successfully completed. IT Infrastructure folks will meet quarterly moving forward to give updates remediation efforts and collaborate on experiences to further strengthen IT Infrastructure across the universities and system.