Meeting Notes - March 18, 2009

1) Approval of Notes from February 18, 2009
The notes were approved.
2) Wireless Phase II Prioritized by Deans
The team reviewed the spreadsheet with the Dean’s prioritization recommendations.
#A1 - ATC
#A2 – E Quad.
#A3 - S Quad & Planetarium
#A4 - A Quad
#A5 – Forum
#A6 – L Quad
#B – CDC, G Quad, LCW, Meeting rooms around campus, PE (incl. press box and fields)

During the discussion the following points were made:

  • ATC will have to be delayed until after the renovation of the building. Jeanpierre advised the first renovation meeting for ATC is scheduled next week but that the additional funding from the State was not available so the budget would have to be reduced by this amount.
  • E1 is under renovation so E quad will have to be delayed until after the renovation
  • Wireless around the pool is more important than the press box
  • Unsure if there is a ‘drop' (wireless Ethernet connection) by the pool area
  • Some faculty are concerned with students having wireless access in classrooms
  • April time frame for start of Phase II
  • The wireless will speak B,G in all areas; and N in Phase II areas
  • Wireless is already in Campus Center, Kirsch Center and the Library. It will soon be in RSS, Science Center, & Admin.
  • Wireless in the patio area by the campus center and by the pool would be useful
  • Hanging ‘APs (wireless access points) and lighting them up.
  • Students need for powering their electronic devices will become a key issue.

The final recommendation was:

#1 - S Quad & Planetarium (Planetarium is a part of S Quad)

#2 - L quad

#3 - A quad

#4 - Probably one other, maybe E or Campus Center patio, depending on the timing of the renovations.

#5 - FORUM
#6 - ATC

3) FTP Access to Main De Anza Server

Creamer reminded the team of the discussion to date. OmniUpdate was adopted as the WCMS two years ago. FPT is insecure and problematic. One year ago the web team brought the item to Technology Task Force requesting agreement to shut off FTP to the main De Anza web site this year. However, the item was not finalized which is why the Web team are bringing back the item for review and approval for enactment next year (2010).
FTP is used by approx. 40% of sites. Looking at the management of the entire website, there is a hardware issue. The hardware is 98% filled up. Although many companies use FTP, the security issue for De Anza is the control of uploading files and rouge web servers. A WCMS is much simpler, cleaner, easier, & safer to use.
Current servers on campus are: CAOS, Nebulia (PSME), Voyager (CompSci), Manila, Dilbert, etc.

How do we handle the people with 'legacy' web sites? Legacy web sites have a lot of work and time invested in them. It is not a trivial imposition of time and cost to convert them to OmniUpdate. What is the true cost of converting to OmniUpdate? 
Many of the sites are out of date and do not conform/are not consistent with a De Anza website. Information is either completely lacking or difficult to find. There are sites that do not refer to De Anza and have no links to the college. Custom sites are erected, perhaps by students, who graduate and there is no-one to take them over. Easy of access and conformity for the students on the higher level sites is key. Templates allow for a generous amount of customization whilst maintaining ease of access and conformity. De Anza is one college and one environment and it is critical for the web pages to reflect the College.

A counter argument was presented for the need to reflect the image and feel of the departments and to embrace the creativeness of the people posting to these sites. Students should feel the site is inspiring and tailor-made for the area i.e. PMSE vs. Creative Arts sites might look and feel quite different.
There is no quick answer but is there common ground to agree on some keys issues? Perhaps the Web team could come to department meetings and do a 'show and tell' on OmniUpdate.

The item concluded with a request to continue the discussion at the next meeting with a view to finding some consensus.

4) Burning Issues
What is the plan for our email system? Eudora is not user friendly or reliable. The new EIS Banner project team is looking at a different mail client. The topic is also under discussion in the Standards Committee. The De Anza training department was eliminated in the last round of cuts. Can employees choose their own way of getting mail? The District has an obligation to provide and support an email client. ETS recognize the problem and concern but as Eudora is still functional and there are numerous higher priorities for the District, they will wait for the recommendation from the EIS Banner team.

There will be a problem if MeetingMaker purges records prior to 2007 because of its use to archive critical meetings such as accreditation, Measures E & C, etc. The EIS Banner team are also looking at a new calendaring system.
Ceballos, Chang, Creamer, Dolen, Jeanpierre, Luciw, Mitchell, Mowery, Oswenski, Rosenberg
Notes: Gibson.

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