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CIS CIO Tom Franke will be writing a new monthly column for Signals,
supplying an insider’s perspective to the wheels that help turn
technology on campus. Here is the premiere.
I’ve now been at UNH for two months, and I am very grateful for
the warm welcome I’ve received. I’ve seen exciting applications
of technology both within CIS and throughout the University. I have also
heard creative ideas for new uses of technology, tempered at times by
concerns about the need to contain costs.
As a practical matter, balancing our dreams and our realities requires
a planning process. At UNH, we have two university-wide groups specifically
charged with technology planning. I have asked the Technology Policy and
Planning Group (TPPG) to join me in developing a UNH technology plan to
help us identify strategic directions and priorities. At the same time,
Provost Mallory has charged the Committee for Instructional Technology
(CIT) to develop an academic technology plan. Although the emphasis of
the two groups may differ, I anticipate that we will collaborate—and
I hope both groups will receive much involvement from the wider community.
I recall when an e-mail account was a major perk of university employment.
Today e-mail access is ubiquitous. Not long ago a student told me, “E-mail
is old people’s technology.” In a survey conducted last spring
over 75% of UNH students reported spending over ten hours a week “using
an electronic device (computer, Palm device, etc.)”—and cell
phones were excluded. A third (36.2%) reported spending more than 20 hours
a week with these devices.
On most measures, our students were more technologically engaged than
the national average.
Although subject to some reservations about representativeness of the
sample, it seems safe to conclude that technology plays a big part in
student lives. It comes as no surprise that we are now exploring with
the Student Senate their desire for increased wireless network access.
E-mail is still a mainstay for most of us “old people” (sigh),
but I’m looking forward to an exploration of IM, wikis, blogs, digital
media access, podcasting, and many other technologies, both academic and
general in nature. As TPPG and CIT conduct a formal look to the future,
I hope to hear from you informally as well. My “old people”
contact is
tom.franke@unh.edu.
I hope to hear from you.
