The Conference on Higher Education Computing in Kansas (CHECK) is an annual gathering of information technology professionals in post-secondary institutions in Kansas to present, discuss, and learn about new technologies and current issues in providing IT services to the higher education community. CHECK is sponsored by the Regents Information Technology Council (RITC) and coordinated by the Information Technology and Services Advisory (ITSA) subcommittee. Hosting the event rotates among the member institutions.
Educational Uses of Augmented and Virtual Reality
Presented by: Dan Workman, Pittsburg State University
In the fast and exciting area of augmented reality and virtual reality, everyone is looking for how they can expand their business with these new tools. With an estimated market of $120 billion by 2020, it is no wonder people with these skills are becoming more in demand. Here at Pittsburg State, we are helping students reach that future by offering new programs and incorporating the world of AR/VR into existing classes. This presentation will include a brief description of some of our past projects and upcoming projects, as well as live demos with Microsoft HoloLens, Oculus, and BT300!
Identity Management from the Ground Up
Presented by: John Kuefler, Pittsburg State University
Like most universities, Pittsburg State has a variety of different systems, both legacy and new. Keeping track of who has access to what can be tough when different individuals are responsible for handling on-boarding and off-boarding of accounts for services. Things often slip through the cracks, resulting in a less than desirable experience when new users step on campus and potential security issues when individuals leave the university. Learn about how Pittsburg State University has gone back to the drawing board to create an identity management system that automatically ensures that, no matter what type of user, they have the services they need when they start, and removed when they leave.
Proactive Student Outreach
Presented by: Mason Powell, Chuck LaPointe, Kerrin Burke, Edward DeLaTorre, University of Kansas
IT can easily spend its days "keeping the lights on" by focusing on managing networks, supporting workstations and managing large software contracts. Our group was created to do things a little bit differently. IT can also be a proactive student support organization. This presentation will focus on the techniques, placements and people involved in doing targeted and effective student outreach. We will talk about the ways in which we've changed the face of our IT department at KU over the past 4 years. We'll explore Orientation, Hawk Week events, downtime planning and how one goes about collecting, analyzing and acting on data collected. We want to show you the successes to be gained by engaging students on campus.
Creating Structure and Process Around Projects
Presented by: Angela Chauncey, Anthony Phillips, Ashley Wondra, Kansas State University
Setting priorities is easier said than done. Learn how K-State Information Technology Services uses a Project Review Board (PRB) to set priorities and manage the scarce resources needed to address those priorities. The first step is to start small and build from there. Topics covered include the maturity stages of the PRB and how progress is measured, as well as lessons learned along the way.
Managing Your Apple Devices with JAMF Software
Presented by: Tennyson Williams, Pittsburg State University
With the popularity of Apple products on the rise, the task of managing these devices can become challenging for any IT support team. Fortunately, there is hope! JAMF software is a Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution that empowers your support team to manage these devices. In this session, you will learn how JAMF easily integrates with Apple’s Device Enrollment Program (DEP), which allows you to deploy and configure IOS and MacOS devices without your tech support staff ever having to touch the device. Learn how to take advantage of the hundreds of inventoried items, explore deployment options, and learn how to tackle security vulnerabilities and prevent unauthorized application installs.
On-Boarding and Off-Boarding, What's Your Process?
Presented by: Mark Griffin & Michael Nease, Fort Hays State University - John Kuefler, Pittsburg State University - Larry Hayes, Emporia State University - Brett Morrill, Wichita State University
Join us for a round table discussion about on-boarding and off-boarding procedures. Every school has their own process for on-boarding and off-boarding faculty and staff. How well does your process work? How often do you have to deviate from the "normal" process? When do you create new technology accounts? Does your school provide access to the LMS system for new faculty prior to their actual start date? Do you provide any other access prior to their actual start date? How are you notified of new hires? Do you receive last minute notifications? There are so many unique circumstances that can come up during this process. This round table discussion will facilitate open collaboration and discussion on this topic.
Connecting Security and Awareness at the Personal Level
Presented by: Ryan Kurtenbach, Emporia State University
In August 2016, the Emporia State University IT Security team launched a new Security Awareness Campaign to address the growing number of phishing scams, compromised accounts, and other security related issues. We accomplished this by developing engaging promotional materials, offering an incentive for people to participate through activities and interactive events, and creating a baseline by formulating practical policies and guidelines for users. Our activities included informational sessions, interactive workshops, contests and social events. During the course of our campaign, we realized the importance of relationships. People were much more receptive to our advice when we met them on a personal level, as opposed to telling them what they have to do.
Kick Your Project Teams Into High Gear with Office 365 Groups and Planner
Presented by: Charles Appelseth, Kansas State University
IT workers find themselves juggling many projects, tasks, and commitments. How do you keep track of it all? Office 365 Groups and Planner to the rescue. Office 365 Groups and Planner includes many collaborative features that make it easier to get things done. In this presentation, we will cover features such as group-based email, collaborative file editing, sharing, and uses of OneNote. We will also share use case studies from higher education as well as how these tools can be used in research, instruction, and other forms of collaborative work.
What's After VDI? - The "PSU App Store" Pilot
Presented by: Tim Pearson, Pittsburg State University
What if most of your VDI infrastructure could be replaced by a simple "App Store" download server and a licensing server - allowing students to run University apps from their own devices, and controlling who runs what, from where, and when? What if you could use this same technology to turn general purpose computer labs into specialty labs - and vice versa? PSU is piloting just such a solution. This presentation will explain the technology in detail and provide live examples.
Gallagher’s security solution offers educational institutions around the world a combination of enhanced operational efficiency and cost savings. Gallagher Command Centre’s software provides powerful, versatile, and unique business value features that enable our ability to interface with students and staff administration systems. This gives schools a single point of truth in automating the cardholder’s access privileges for site access on campus and student accommodation.
Integration with Syllabus Plus enables automation in the scheduling and booking of resources and equipment through Gallagher Command Centre to synchronize access control system with class time-tables, and subsequently manage room resources by automatically unlocking doors. Gallagher’s powerful solution helps schools reduce keys, increase security and accountability, as well as, improve financial savings.
A "Shocker" Fast Roll Out of PPM and ITSM
Presented by: Anita Barrett, Wichita State University
Bringing PPM and ITSM Concepts, processes and tools to WSU: Successes and current challenges. Phase I and II of TeamDynamix back to back go lives rollout, June Project Management and August Ticketing System. Recorded project volume increased by 30% at least, volume of tickets captured by 100%, decreased by 75% the hours spent reviewing what everyone was doing. All projects have project charters and are fully staffed before beginning, so the projects are easier to manage as there are clear expectations and the team is trained and ready to roll!
Managing Shadow IT
Presented by: John Williams, City of Lawrence, KS
Managing IT in a publicly funded organization can be a daunting task. With an IT budget spread across 40 different accounts from 11 different departments; managing technology related projects and expenditures at the City of Lawrence had become seemingly impossible. All too often involvement with IT only happened when it became absolutely necessary. In our organization, I have proposed a new approach called "Shadow IT management"; an approach in which we stop trying to "control progress" being made by other departments, and instead enable action by communication, certification, and cooperation. We have outlined a cooperative approach with the other departments that enables them to leverage technology in their favor, WITHOUT crippling the organization with inefficient or unsafe IT practices.
Student Driven Wildcat IT Support Help Desk
Presented by: Waldo Berry and Fred Darkow, Kansas State University
What is cloud computing and how does it work?
Why are organizations choosing AWS?
What are some general concepts you need to know about Amazon Web Services?
- AWS Foundational Services: EC2, VPC, S3, EBS
- AWS Security, Identity, and Access Management: IAM
- AWS Databases: RDS, DynamoDB
- AWS Management Tools: Auto Scaling, CloudWatch, Elastic Load Balancing, Trusted Advisor
How are organizations getting started with AWS?
- Over 25 - 10 minute tutorials to get you and your college on its way with AWS!
Ilos for Video Production and Faculty Development
Presented by: Nathan Riedel, Fort Hays State University
FHSU's video production platform, “ilos” can be used to create, curate and distribute videos with unbelievable ease. Learn how FHSU has coupled ilos with the Learning Technologies knowledge base to assist faculty in developing more efficient and engaging courses. Attendees will be given a standard ilos demonstration covering 1) the process of setting up the ilos video recorder and recording a video, 2) the several options within the ilos video portal: sharing, editing, bookmarking, closed caption requests, etc., 3) video organization and distribution, and 4) ilos guest options. After demonstrating how to effortlessly record videos, attendees will then see how ilos has been used with the Learning Technologies knowledge base to create a Kahn Academy style video repository.
Ransomware Redemption, and How a Small IT Staff Survived the Storm
Presented by: J.J. Widener, Seward County Community College
This is a personal account of a ransomware attack that happened on our campus, and what our IT team did to overcome the attack. Learn how a small community college in Kansas survived one of the worst ransomware attacks reported by the KCCIT (Kansas Community Colleges Information Technology) group. The ransomware attack started from a .zip file that was opened by not just one employee, but seven, in one day. This session will define the security methods that we had in place, and those that we didn't. It will also provide an insight into the technology we used to recover all of the data on our file server. All data on the desktops were lost, unless stored on a network file share. This session will provide highly technical information, and also beginner level information for everyone. Learn the steps needed to start an Information Security Program on your campus, and to get buy in from all employees.
Training That Works! Building a Training Model That Promotes Teamwork, Communication and Continual Support
Presented by: Becky Qualls, Pittsburg State University
Implementing and integrating systems that require new processes and technology can produce frustration for both content experts and clients. Identifying core users and developing continual learning groups is key to successful integration and continuing support. Creating expertise in the client base and offering continual user groups help create this success by offering varying communication tools and methods, which can access multiple venues for support. This model served Pittsburg State well during our recent ERP implementation. This session provides a format for developing this process that will 1) create training sessions that are effective and focused, 2) build a support base that will assist in troubleshooting and assistance to all customers, and 3) provide continuing, constant communication that helps foster team mentality.
Effectively record a Zoom presentation
Presented by: David Dunn, Kansas State University
Do you use Zoom to collaborate with your peers or clients? Have you ever wished you could keep a copy of a session for others to view later? Have you tried to record a session, but were unable to get the audio, video or screen sharing to work just right? I will show the equipment I use, the steps I take and the pitfalls I have fallen into while doing just these things. My goal is to enable you to make quality recordings of your Zoom presentations so your viewers can see and hear the presenter as well as if they were originally present.
The Journey to Migrate Banner to Ellucian Hosted Services in AWS
Presented by: Matthew Holmes, Johnson County Community College
Hear about the journey to migrate over 70 servers, 90 plus integration points, and dozens of applications from an on premise Banner install to Ellucian's Application Hosted Services (AHS) in Amazon Web Services. The Banner ERP environment at JCCC has been through many changes in the last 20 years. The Banner systems started with IBM RS6000 running AIX in the 90’s, migrated to SUN SPARC and Solaris in the early 2000’s, then finally completing 100% virtualization on premise of all Windows and Linux servers in November 2015. The migration to the hosted environment was completed in 2016. Learn how IS staff workloads are changing and how we work with the vendor to support the Banner environment at JCCC.
TigerTech Rock Stars!
Presented by: Michael Nease and Michelle Schlyer, Fort Hays State University
Being a smaller university gives Fort Hays some interesting support opportunities. After a significant restructuring of Technology Services in Fall 2015, we have created, TigerTech, a unique support structure that offers personal service ranging from phone directory assistance and general information to technical computer support. You will see how we merged three separate departments into one, and how it has worked for us so far. Our team of 20+ students and 9 full timers mostly reside in a convenient office suite with a lobby to assist walk-ins. TigerTech is the first point of contact for students, visitors, faculty, and staff to address all sorts of questions from navigation of various FHSU systems, classroom A/V support, and more!