10:00am - 11:15am

Apple Presentation/Workshop:
Getting Started on iPod Touch/iPhone
The Apple Team led by Jayson Bevins, Systems Engineer, Apple, Inc.
Get to know the new iPod Touch. In this workshop, we walk you through the basics and provide plenty of tips and tricks to take you further. See how easy it is to access the conference network, send email, and surf the web. You’ll also learn more about syncing, making web clips, downloading applications from the Apps Store, and more.

Ideas on Complex Projects, Part 1: eDiscovery and Archiving Implementation
Nancy Holmes, Account Manager, ESI (Introduction to the discussion)
Ed Kibler, Technology Integration Specialist, Washington & Lee University (Introductions of W&L Team)
Rick Peterson, CTO, Washington & Lee University
Jef McCreery, Director Core Systems, Washington & Lee University
Jeff Knudson, Core Systems Group, Washington & Lee University
Julie Knudson, Enterprise Applications, Washington & Lee University
Morris Trimer, Core Systems Group, Washington & Lee University
Amy Remington, Director of Services Delivery, ESI (Project Manager on this Project)
Rich Slan, Senior Engineer Consultant, ESI (Lead Engineer)
How do you choose and manage a partnership and still meet high expectations? In this session, Washington and Lee University will share our ideas and experience in planning, implementing, and managing just such a complex engagement. The initial discussion will focus on the University’s decision to implement an archival and retrieval solution from Symantec (eVault), and the process by which W&L partnered with a vendor to help implement the solution. Components of the process and project management include idea to design to building the foundation to the final implementation. This session includes an optional Part 2.

Panel: How to Support an Ever-Changing Mobile Computing Environment
Joyce Landreth, Assistant Director for Support, Virginia Tech
Steve Broaddus, Manager, Advanced Desktop Technologies, George Mason
Lori Kressin, ITC USS Coordinator, University of Virginia
Carol Hurley, Desktop Support, University Computing Support, Virginia Tech
Join us for a panel discussion about support for mobile computing. To start things off, we’ll show our websites and talk about our successes and failures in designing current models for support. Then we’ll open the floor to “brainstorm” how we can improve efforts around mobile computing. Things to think about: How do you decide which devices to support? How much support do you offer? Do you support personally–owned devices? Who, organizationally, decides what devices are sold? What applications do you support? What about security?

Panel: Front-Line IT Professional Development: The UVA LSP-PRO Program after Implementation
Bruce Carveth, Database Administrator - Transplant Unit, University of Virginia
Michael Sturges, Technology Planning Coordinator, University of Virginia
Sean McCord, Local Support Partners Coordinator, University of Virginia
Jeremy Kong, Manager, ExTech, University of Virginia
At last year’s ACCS conference, we introduced the University of Virginia’s LSP-PRO project: an employee-initiated training and professional development initiative. This project aims to equip new and existing department–based IT support professionals with the basic knowledge required to operate effectively in our University system through a series of four employee–taught courses. Now that the program is in place and functioning, many questions are emerging: How will we keep the enthusiasm among IT support people strong and growing over the mid– and long–term? How should the broader institution recognize and support these training successes? How might we move from an insurgent employee–empowered project to an institutionalized program? How should the project evolve its course material within the fast–changing IT environment? The training of distributed IT professionals is a daunting and potentially expensive proposition. UVa’s efforts to instill professional standards for IT has been employee–led and (so far) inexpensive, and its early successes have come with lessons learned. In this session, we’ll unveil that learning.

UVa & VT: Cross-Campus Collaboration
David McPherson, Manager, Online Course Systems, Virginia Tech
Trisha Gordon, UVaCollab Project Lead and Support Manager, University of Virginia
Tim Sigmon, Director, Advanced Technology, University of Virginia
Ed McPherson, Director, Technology Applications for Community Engagement, Virginia Tech
As our two institutions move from one Learning Management Systems (LMS) to another, we have developed a partnership to leverage knowledge from both Universities to help each other in this transition. At the University of Virginia, we’re moving from a homegrown LMS to Sakai, an open–source LMS with a large global community of support. And at Virginia Tech, we’re moving from Blackboard to Sakai; so while our starting point is different, our end point is the same. In this session, we will share stories of our moves to date, how we have joined together and shared—and continue to share—our institutional knowledge with one another other as we move forward with Sakai

11:30am - 12:30pm

Virtual Desktops – Making the Impossible Possible Today
Richard Barlow, Senior Systems Engineer, NetApp
In this session we will explore the topic of virtual desktops and their place in the IT infrastructure. We will examine the challenges and solutions to some of the most pressing needs for desktop virtualization. What was impossible (or excessively expensive) once has become possible with recent advances in storage technology. Come learn about how NetApp is enabling the desktop revolution by minimizing storage and maximizing ROI.

Making Students Work for You
Terri Austin, Director of User Services for Information Technology, Roanoke College
In an IT world of small staffs and low budgets, Roanoke College has leveraged student help, allowing us to continue offering the technology and customer service that our faculty and staff have come to expect. This presentation will outline Roanoke's student “IT assistants” program, where students staff the help desk, work as technicians, and do Web programming.

Multimodal Emergency Notification
Sam Kennedy, Assistant Director, User Services, Virginia Commonwealth University
What is the best way to issue emergency notifications on a college campus? Text Messaging? Email? Facebook? Digital Signs? The answer? It depends, but you can be sure you will need to employ as many communication tools as possible. Your audience is always moving so you have to be, too. We'll examine a multimodal–communications approach to emergency notifications and peek at what the future holds.

Making Sense of Your iTunes U User Statistics
James Yucha, Deputy Director, Application Services, Virginia Commonwealth University
Stephen Grainer, Webmaster, Virginia Commonwealth University
Each week, Apple sends a spreadsheet with the usage statistics for your iTunes University site. The spreadsheet is very difficult to interpret and contains some private data. With Virginia Commonwealth University faculty and staff wanting to know if their content was being accessed, it was necessary to find a way to easily upload and display this data. To do this, VCU developed a Ruby–on–Rails application by which we upload the spreadsheet and then display the data via a Web interface. During this session we will point out some of the issues we faced and demonstrate the application.

Constructing a Framework for IT Project Management: Our True Story
Robert Nakles, Executive Director, ITU Security and Project Management Office, George Mason University
John Prette, IT Project Manager, ITU Security & Project Management, George Mason University
The construction and implementation of a formal IT project management framework is quite a challenge. The ITU Project Management Office (PMO) at George Mason University has assembled a workable framework and built a technical infrastructure to support it. The staff of the PMO will tell “the behind the scenes” story of how it was created and now is being used. Examples of real projects, in various phases, will be displayed as they currently appear in the online system. The challenges and successes will be highlighted.

1:45pm - 2:45pm

Apple Presentation/Workshop:
Getting Started on iPod Touch/iPhone
The Apple Team led by Jayson Bevins, Systems Engineer, Apple, Inc.
Get to know the new iPod Touch. In this workshop, we walk you through the basics and provide plenty of tips and tricks to take you further. See how easy it is to access the conference network, send email, and surf the web. You’ll also learn more about syncing, making web clips, downloading applications from the Apps Store, and more.

Storage and Virtualized Environments
Keith McDaniel, Account Manager, NetApp
In this session, we will discuss the cost savings of server virtualization and the importance of storage as a way to achieve overall project return on investment. We will share industry best practices and cite examples of how other colleges and universities have made the most of their VM projects.

Utilizing Mobile Devices for Powerful Instruction
Timothy Owens, Longwood University
Mobile technology is exploding as evidenced by the rapid growth in cell phone usage and the enormous advancements in related technologies. As students embrace these innovations, we must take advantage of them. This session will begin with a broad overview of some of the latest statistics on the increasing use of cell phones, their applications, and mobile Web usage, followed by a look at their potential in the classroom for polling and podcasting. We’ll also look at the iPhone with educational applications, OpenMoko, Google Android, and other devices that are changing the power of mobility. We’ll finish by discussing the “distraction dilemma”, a side effect of endorsing mobile device use in the classroom.

The Power of Facebook
Lauren McSwain-Starrett, ITC PR and Marketing Specialist, University of Virginia
Scott Crittenden, ITC Webmaster, University of Virginia
Facebook has become a global phenomenon. It's the fifth most–visited website on Earth. We all know it’s wildly popular with students (an estimated 75% of American college students use it daily) but what you may not realize is that fewer than half of Facebook users are in college. In fact, the fastest–growing demographic is 45-65 year-olds. Surprised? Come find out more about Facebook: what it is, why it’s grown so popular, and how you and your organization should be harnessing its power. In this session, we’ll discuss how Facebook can boost your marketing efforts on campus and how its powerful tools can help you promote events and communicate with colleagues and users in ways you never imagined. We’ll also cover the mechanics of creating a profile and controlling privacy settings. Our presentation will be followed by an informal discussion. Bring your laptop along, and we’ll help you set up your own account or try out new features. And if you’re already a Facebook veteran, please join us and share your experiences!

Scraping Toward a Giant EduGraph: Merging & Exposing Data about Courses, Blogs, and Universities
Patrick Murray-John, Instructional Technology Specialist, University of Mary Washington
For some time, the University of Mary Washington has been exploring the richness of expression for teaching and learning offered by our WordPress MultiUser installation, UMW Blogs. At the same time, at Semantic UMW (http://semantic.umwblogs.org), we’ve been exploring the possibilities offered by Semantic Web technologies for revealing that content and latent connections within it, through “scraping” data from RSS and Atom feeds. In this session, we’ll look at the current state of Semantic Web technologies, especially those being deployed by Semantic UMW, and how they can be used to explore the blogging practices and intellectual life of students and faculty. We’ll also look ahead to the next steps in the project, uniting information about the associated courses (teacher, subjects, topics, etc.) with data from the blogs. Ultimately, the target is to make such applications and resources available across institutions, creating a “Giant EduGraph” of data about courses, their subject matter, and their blogs, with the goal of helping students and faculty across institutions discover each other.

3:00pm - 4:00pm

Apple Presentation:
21st Century Learning: New Communities, New Content, New Conversations
Dr. Barry Adams, Education Technology Consultant, Apple Inc.

The Support Tsunami
Tim Dewey, President & CEO, VIRTUAL Support Options
Information technology support organizations today are tasked with delivering consistent levels of support in the face of tightly constrained budgets. Add to that the challenge of figuring out how and from where this support will come. Join us for an informational discussion about how the VIRTUAL Support Center is becoming a strategic support model for leading IT organizations worldwide.

UVa REALM: A Moodle-Based Modular Medical Education Tool
Joan Cichon, Instructional Designer, University of Virginia
Terri Ellison, Director of Cardiovascular Education, University of Virginia
Phillip Lang, Computer Systems Analyst, University of Virginia
The delivery of graduate medical education is changing. No longer is the old mentor model (see one, do one, teach one) sufficient. Governing boards such as the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) use a peer review process based upon established standards and guidelines. Of the six competencies required for the Residency program, our REALM pilot program has focused on the competency of Medical Knowledge, with plans to expand our curricular offerings to the other competencies within the next year. Using the REALM, our learners can be followed over the course of their residency program as they rotate through various services in the UVa Health System. We want the REALM to be a one-stop access area for what our learners need. We’ll take ACCS program participants on a tour of the REALM and show them how we have modified our use of Moodle, a course-based program, to encompass our rotation-based learning program.

Assistive and Instructional Opportunities Through the Apple iTouch: Ideas for Technology Administrators
Brian Dye, Technology Coordinator, Virginia Tech
Dr. Frances (Fran) G. Smith, Virginia Commonwealth University
As an emerging portable technology, the Apple iTouch includes an array of universally designed technologies that can support instruction. A full screen display, touch sensitivity, wi–fi connectivity, and other features offer options to reach many classroom learners. This session will provide participants with information about how to use and customize this device and add software applications that promote instruction, in and out of the classroom.

Supporting VT’s Large and Diverse Campus
David McPherson, Manager, Online Course Systems, Virginia Tech
Ed McPherson, Director, Technology Applications for Community Engagement, Virginia Tech
Nate Smith, Desktop Support, Virginia Tech
Julia Mays, Knowledge Management Specialist, Virginia Tech
At Virginia Tech, we have a large and diverse campus, ranging from extremely technical users who push the boundaries of our computing systems to those users who need help with the basics of computing. How does VT manage to support this extreme spread? We have grown a collaborative support network that ties together broad–spectrum support from the 4Help group and more narrow expert knowledge about learning systems utilized by instructors. In this session, we’ll show these groups, and how their synergy works.

8:45am - 9:45am

Keynote Address: William Rankin
Dr. William Rankin is the Director of Educational Innovation and Associate Professor of English at Abilene Christian University. In the spring of 2007, Bill and a team of academics at ACU began work on the initiative that became “ACU Connected,” a ground-breaking iPhone and iPod touch–based mobile–learning initiative. Working closely with students, faculty, and technologists, he helped produce the &ldquot;Connected” video, and he continues to work on projects designed to help people envision and implement new learning technologies. As a project lead for ACU Connected, Bill was named one of Campus Technology magazine's “Innovators of the Year” for 2008 in the mobile learning category. Bill has presented about ACU Connected at Rutgers’ “The Connected World” conference, at the New Media Consortium's annual meeting at Princeton, at the Handheld Learning 2008 Conference in London and at this year’s EDUCAUSE national conference in Orlando. With more than 20 years’ experience working with educational technology, Bill has consulted broadly with universities and educational developers in the US and UK, has designed and constructed computer-based learning facilities, and has written more than two million dollars worth of educational technology grants. Bill has just been named ACU’s first Director of Educational Innovation, an academic technology imagineering position designed to explore and develop new educational technologies and pedagogies.

10:00am - 11:15am

Apple Presentation:
iPhone in the Enterprise
Michael Dennehy, Sales Director for the iPhone, Apple Inc.
Dean Curtis, Systems Engineer for iPhone, Apple Inc.
iPhone, the top selling handset in the U.S. is taking off in the enterprise. A richer overall experience, iPhone offers a compelling mobile platform that can change the way mobile professionals work. Come hear first hand how other leaders are using iPhone 3G to accelerate their mobile strategy. You will see success stories, hear about some unique applications, and be able to ask questions about best practices.

Archive and Retention: Migrating to Exchange
Grace Ruiz Little, Assistance Director, Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University recently migrated faculty and staff email from Lotus Notes to Microsoft Exchange with Symantec’s Enterprise Vault. This presentation covers the process we went through to develop Archive and Retention Rules for the University—a process involving many throughout the university, including faculty, staff, the registrar, human resources, auditors, and lawyers.

Panel: Been There, Done That. What Else?
Don Hall, Technology Support Services Manager, Radford University
What are we all doing for mobile support? In 2004, Radford University started a tablet initiative targeting our entire campus community. Our goal was to transform support in such a way that faculty and students would better understand the tools being offered. We did this through requiring training and providing more efficient service with the creation of a loaner pool and pre–imaged hard drives in the event of operating system failure. We will discuss our findings of our yearly internal evaluations, and talk about how others are handling mobile support.

Panel: Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin,’ Keep Your Help Desk Growin’
Natalie Talbott, Manager, User Support Services, Virginia Western Community College
Debby Boyle, Help Desk Manager, James Madison University Computing Center
Kim Redford, Director, User Support Services, Longwood University
Join us for a Help Desk “roundup!” Our “ideers for discussin’” include Remote Control Techniques for dealin’ with those ornery customers; handlin’ “restless–as–a–hen–on–a–hot–griddle” employees, and “hell–bent for leather” support (also known as online chat.)

Small Pieces To Go
Andrew Rush, New Media Specialist, University of Mary Washington
Jim Groom, Instructional Technology Specialist, University of Mary Washington
In this session, we’ll examine how the concept of small pieces loosely joined applies to mobile computing in education. We’ll reveal how an educational publishing platform such as the University of Mary Washington’s UMW Blogs has everything in place to provide a complete mobile learning “infrastructure.” While Apple’s iPhone will be featured, we’ll demonstrate how feeds and syndication provide a simple input/output framework that is ideal for the mobile education environment. We’ll discuss numerous applications and websites that can be combined to create a seamless way to research, create, and even present with mobile devices…because the question isn’t whether we are ready for mobile computing, but whether mobile computing is ready for us!

11:30am - 12:30pm

Getting Started with GarageBand and Enhanced Podcasting
Rick Reo, Instructional Technology, George Mason University
In this impromtu workshop, you will learn how to make sense of the GarageBand interface and how to use some basic audio recording and editing features. You will also learn how to create an enhanced podcast which is an special kind of audio file that permits you to break your content into chapters and to add images and hyperlinks to augment the audio content.

Part 2, Ideas on Complex Projects: GroupWise to Exchange Migration
Nancy Holmes, Account Manager, ESI (Introduction to the discussion)
Ed Kibler, Technology Integration Specialist, Washington & Lee University (Introductions of W&L Team)
Rick Peterson, CTO, Washington & Lee University
Jef McCreery, Director Core Systems, Washington & Lee University
Jeff Knudson, Core Systems Group, Washington & Lee University
Julie Knudson, Enterprise Applications, Washington & Lee University
Morris Trimer, Core Systems Group, Washington & Lee University
Amy Remington, Director of Services Delivery, ESI (Project Manager on this Project)
Rich Slan, Senior Engineer Consultant, ESI (Lead Engineer)
How do you choose and manage a partnership and still meet high expectations? In this session, Washington and Lee University will share our ideas and experience in planning, implementing, and managing just such a complex engagement. The discussion will focus on the University’s need to migrate from Novell Groupwise to Microsoft Exchange. Other factors impacting this migration was a growing number of Mac clients on campus requiring Entourage integration, and the key decision to use Microsoft SharePoint for Project Management by both ESI and W&L. This session will also illustrate the value in partnering to meet timelines, augment staff, and bring in additional subject matter expertise. This is a continuation of an earlier seminar, Ideas on Complex Projects, Part 1: eDiscovery and Archiving Implementation.

Google Apps for All Community College Students
Matt Lawson, Director of Enterprise Services, Virginia Community College System
In 2008, all community college students in Virginia started using Google Apps for Education for email services. In this session, we’ll discuss the migration process and the benefits realized to the community college system and its students.

All Things Microsoft Office
David Norris, Microsoft Education Solution Specialist, Microsoft
All Things Microsoft Office will cover Office 2007 for Windows PCs, 2008 for Macs, and a Sneak Peek of “Office 14*”. We’ll have a conversation about all things Microsoft Office, from key features of the current versions of Office for Mac and PC, to where the Office System of applications is going in the future. This session will cover not only features of the conventional Office Suite, but will explore the current and future directions of the Office System of applications (e.g., Microsoft Office SharePoint). (*Note: “Office 14” information is provided under existing Non-Disclosure Agreements already in place at each ACCS institution. Information regarding future products and features should not be shared and is subject to change.)

Virginia Tech’s Open Source Knowledge Base Solution
Julia Mays, Knowledge Management Specialist, Virginia Tech
Jason Hubbard, Web Application Developer, Virginia Tech
Following up on last year’s overview of Virginia Tech’s knowledge base, we will discuss the transition from a home–grown workflow system to the open–source product we chose as our new knowledge base solution: KBPublisher (www.kbpublisher.com). In comparison to the old system, KBPublisher has proven itself a more efficient and flexible tool, allowing the help desk to better support the increase of new technologies, including mobile devices and wireless services. We will discuss the selection process and implementation of this new knowledge base solution.

1:45pm - 2:45pm

Apple Presentation and Panel Discussion:
An Open Forum about Next-Phase Mobile Learning
Facilitated by ACU's Bill Rankin
This panel offers an opportunity for those interested in mobile learning to ask questions, explore concepts, propose solutions, and share resources.

Virginia Government Electronic Transcripts
Peter Coleman, Project Coordinator, Virginia Dept. of Education
The VDOE successfully piloted Electronic Transcripts with eight school divisions and two institutions of higher education (James Madison and George Mason universities). This session will summarize our findings and plans for implementation at other school divisions and institutions.

Enhancing Personalized Support
April Steele, Tech Squad Administrator, Virginia Commonwealth University
Last year (2007–2008) was Virginia Commonwealth University’s maiden voyage with the Technology Services Tech Squad, a group established to support instructional technology in the classrooms. The Tech Squad is comprised of student–based audio/visual and PC support staff providing front–line help. They’re stationed in kiosk and satellite offices around campus to provide training on the use and repair of A/V and PC equipment. This school year’s model for The Technology Services Tech Squad, also known as TS2, has been updated and enhanced to provide more tailored support. While the Tech Squad is still using front–line service as a model, we’ll discuss how their help is offered with experienced insight and superior customer service to faculty, students and staff—all in light of statewide budget changes.

Live@edu: More Than Just Email
David Norris, Microsoft Education Solution Specialist, Microsoft
In this session, we’ll lead a demonstration and discussion of the R3 release of Microsoft Live@edu. We’ll explore the full collaborative possibilities—from email and shared calendaring to a range of Web–based collaboration tools, including SkyDrive (25 Gb of cloud storage), Office Live Workspaces, and others. We’ll demonstrate new features in this latest release: a rich cross-browser experience, presence awareness with integrated instant messaging, new Exchange 14 features, enhanced management tools for administrators, and even stronger collaborative possibilities for schools combining on-premises Exchange for faculty and hosted Live@edu for students.

Mobility in the Classroom: The Impact of Flexible Classroom Design
Matthew Silverman, Learning Space System Design Engineer, George Mason University
Ying Xie, PhD, Instructional Designer, George Mason University
In the fall of 2007 George Mason University began a “collaborative classroom” design process. A team of faculty, instructional designers, and instructional technology staff worked closely to develop a new classroom configuration that broke from stereotypical lecture orientations in existing technology classrooms. With the opening of the first collaborative classroom in 2008, the team introduced flexibility, diverse technology, and an environment conducive to group work. Its flexible furniture, multiple projection areas, whiteboard capture, as well as a host of other technology and infrastructure improvements, got rave reviews. This presentation will look at the design process, an overview of the technology, the research findings to date, and lessons learned from the project.

3:00pm - 4:30pm

CIO Panel - This will be a panel discussion on a topic selected by CIOs from around the state.

8:45am - 9:45am

Keynote Address: Adrian Sannier
Dr. Adrian Sannier is the University Technology Officer at Arizona State University and a Professor in the Division of Computing Studies. As University Technology Officer, he is responsible for developing and implementing a long range technology plan in support of President Crow’s vision for the New American University, fulfilling ASU's goals of excellence, access and impact. Dr. Sannier is charged with the selection, integration and deployment of strategic technologies to meet the unique administrative, research and academic computing needs of a multi–campus university in one of the fastest growing regions of the United States. He is the dynamic technologist who drove ASU’s rapid conversion to Google Mail. He continues to develop groundbreaking initiatives at the school.

10:00am - 11:00am

Apple Presentation
Easy Automation of Classroom Management
Sal Soghoian, AppleScript Product Manager, Apple Inc.

Giving It Away: Ten Years of UVa's Laptops for Students Program
Tony Townsend, Chief Technology Analyst, University of Virginia
The University of Virginia does not require incoming students to purchase a computer. In order to make sure all students, regardless of economic need, have equal access to technology, we created the “Laptops for Students” program. With it, UVa grants new computers to those for whom the purchase might otherwise be impossible. This presentation will highlight how we got started, the program’s evolution, and the lessons we’ve learned.

Finding the Knowledge to Support Learning in the Classroom and Beyond
Amber Evans, Faculty Development Institute Coordinator of Instruction, Virginia Tech
Ed McPherson, Director, Technology Applications for Community Engagement, Virginia Tech
Carol Hurley, University Computing Support Help Desk, Virginia Tech
How do you successfully adopt something new? The key is knowing where to go for support and help! Training is often touted as the solution to learning new things for end users. With training comes an opportunity for participants to learn the requisite information, but also to develop problem-solving skills and the knowledge of where to go when help is needed. This session will cover the importance of providing users with training, documentation (both on the Web and on paper), and the skills to find their own solutions. We’ll look at the usefulness of a Knowledge Base and the importance of utilizing the Help Desk to support immediate (and follow-up) questions. Key topics will include researching all avenues of support; providing personable contact; making accessible the myriad ways to alleviate “How do I ...?” questions; and accepting and incorporating feedback from participants.

Anytime, Anywhere Learning: Connecting the Higher Education Community
Kerri Momorella, Leader, Enterprise Collaboration Services, Systems Alliance, Inc.
Students, faculty, alumni, and administrators are all driving the need for the Connected Learning Community—a vibrant and sustainable educational environment, where all users are empowered, connected, and fully supported with the ability to access and share information when and where it is needed. In this session, Systems Alliance will demonstrate how Microsoft SharePoint and PerformancePoint technologies support teachers, students, parents, and administrators in their quest to participate in a meaningful exchange of learning that incorporates both mobile devices and Web 2.0 technologies.

Flexible Computing Solutions
Arron Kizer, End User Computing Practice Lead, Dell Computers
The traditional desktop model has reached its pinnacle, causing IT organizations to look for alternative computing methods. The changing landscape goes beyond virtual desktops and encompasses technologies from new tech upstarts to long–established corporations. In this session, we’ll cover virtual desktops (including what they are and why you need them), OS streaming solutions, application virtualization and streaming (and what really is the difference between them), and most importantly, how your organization can leverage technology to simplify your desktop support.

Enabling Mobile Collaboration for Non–Traditional Students
Anthony Sweitzer, Education Sales Manager, Cisco Systems
Today’s students demand flexible ways to access information, work together, and re–create the in–class collaborative experience when they are scattered across campus, across town, or across the globe. These expectations present challenges for institution IT leaders as they struggle to keep up with the speed of smart phone and Web 2.0 innovation. Join this lively session featuring Anthony Sweitzer from Cisco WebEx as he demonstrates technologies, like WebEx on the iPhone, which enables a leap forward in your ability to meet these demands, even during tight economic times. You will learn about key challenges WebEx customers face in deploying collaboration technology to their students, faculty, and administration, and how the newest technology from Cisco WebEx is helping them deliver access and advantages for students on the go.

11:15am - 12:15pm

Data Recovery Without Tums: Best Practices in the Real World
Edward Lewis, Senior Systems Engineer, Systems Alliance, Inc.
Edward Coram, Vice President, Professional Services, Systems Alliance, Inc.
Your institution and its cohort of students, administrators, faculty, and staff rely on an expanding universe of data. Ensuring its integrity and availability can be a gut–wrenching challenge, so what happens when disaster strikes—next week? In this session, we will help you meet requirements for campus–wide data recovery objectives. We’ll share best practice advice for documenting requirements and testing scenarios. In addition, we’ll show you how new technologies are making data recovery easier and more cost effective than you may have believed possible.

Unified Messaging: More Efficient and Productive Communications for Higher Ed
George Phillips, Regional Sales Manager, Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc.
Ed Csukas, Sales Engineer, Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc.
Unified Messaging allows desktop users (faculty, staff, and students) to receive all incoming email, FAX, and voice messages in their email inbox for easy handling. Voice messages appear as sound file attachments (.WAV) to an email message. FAX messages are received within the inbox via a FAX server. Flexibility isn’t the only advantage Unified Messaging brings to the table; it also promotes enterprise mobility by allowing workers to stay connected to the office at all times with its numerous features. In this session, we will talk about how all these features come together in one place.

Let’s Talk About IT: Communication Strategies for Success
Jeff Overholtzer, Director, Strategic Planning and Communication, ITS, Washington & Lee University
How does your campus perceive your information technology organization? Poor communication can undermine confidence in IT and result in confusion and even anger on the part of clients. The speaker will draw on audience and personal examples to discuss worst and best practices in communicating with various campus audiences. Plans and processes will be shared to help IT organizations effectively communicate change and demonstrate alignment with institutional goals and values.

Mobile Security
Clay Calvert, Director of IT Security, University of Mary Washington
Laptops and smart phones allow us to be more productive and accessible. However, new conveniences often open new opportunities for data to be compromised. In this session, we’ll discuss ways to protect against mobile data theft.

Server and Desktop Virtualization
Jeff Glenn, General Manager - Roanoke, SyCom Technologies
Vitualization technology allows organizations to do more with less. In this session, we’ll discuss how SyCom has helped our customers reduce the need for physical servers, extend the life of PCs, and reduce the time required to manage client–server environments.

Virginia Virtual Computing Lab
John Savage, Director, Advanced Academic Computing, George Mason University
Mrs. Tonie Ellerson, Virginia Commonwealth University
In a cooperative effort, George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University are enhancing support for academic programs and student learning through the use of a new, on demand, Virtual Computing Lab (VCL). This presentation will demonstrate instructional and financial opportunities made available through the use of open source, virtual computing tools.