AAC

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AACU Coordinating Information to Serve Member
Institutions Marlena Larson, Gretchen Sauvey and
Eileen Boswell LSC 555, Prof. Bill
Kules November 26, 2007 The Catholic University
of America
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Intro Technology is Knocking!
Webinars
Videoconferences
Blogs
Wikis
RSS Feeds
Podcasts
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About AACU

• Type non-profit membership organization
• Mission to promote liberal education
• Members 1100 institutions
• Products and Services
• Meetings
• Publications
• Support for reform efforts
• Staff
• President
• Five vice-presidents
• 40 other employees

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Overview of Presentation
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IT Staff

• Challenges
• Current integration of iMIS and website
• Training of staff members
• Hardware maintenance
• Critique
• Equipped to implement Web 2.0 tools
• Working toward iMIS-web integration
• Making progress with podcasts
• Recommendations
• Create web 2.0 awareness
• Practice with baby steps
• Be patient change takes time

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Other staff (including management)

• Challenges
• Balancing needs and resources
• Keeping up with technology
• Understanding members needs
• Critique
• Willingness to invest resources
• Support for internal technology upgrades
• Reluctance to embrace new interactive technology
• Recommendations
• Start small
• Ground innovation in established practices
• Lead by example

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Members

• Challenges
• Need better forums to connect
• Resources can be hard to find
• Involvement is cumbersome

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Membership Questionnaire Results

• What they appreciate
• Staying current on issues
• Forum to discuss the issues
• Networking with other institutions
• Opportunity to meet colleagues from a range of
  institutions
• Suggestions to meet their needs better
• Be more attuned to community colleges
• Find ways to include more members of the
  institution through less expensive conferences or
  through podcasting and videoconferencing

• Use of Web 2.0 Technologies
• Webinars 80
• Videoconferencing 80
• Online chats 60
• Online discussion boards 80
• Podcasting 40
• Blogs 20
• Wikis 60

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ConclusionOpen the door slowly.
Videoconferences
Webinars
Blogs
Podcasts
Wikis
RSS Feeds
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Lessons Learned
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Questions and Discussion