April 7, 2021 at 11:30 AM - Information Services Committee Meeting

Discussion:  Call to order at 11:30 AM.

Staff:  Kraig Lofquist, Deb Hericks, Scott Isaacson, Rhonda Eis, Priscilla Quintana, Andrew Easton

Discussion:  A pending amendment to lottery funds allocation (perhaps LB529) proposes to extend the time of the existing Education Innovation Networks by an extra year, to end 6/30/2022. The Software Innovation Network, while still pursuing specific projects, needs to refocus on the process through which we:

• learn about software needs and priorities of school districts,
• communicate and cultivate communities and systems of support for proposed projects,
• prioritize and select projects to adopt and support,
• form and guide project teams,
• decide to build, buy, and/or integrate software,
• evaluate and refine the performance of the process and individual projects,
•  And determine when to end support for a project

A high-level infographic was drafted and is included for discussion. The text of the process is being drafted, will be developed collaboratively with the Software Innovation Network leadership, and with input from related networks, ESUCC affiliates and committees.

Discussion:  This work is paused for a bit to complete more of the process. We remain in touch with others who are looking at these needs and will reconvene in the future.

Discussion:  The main work in this area is with the eduroam project. ESUs 2, 6 and 10 have begun test implementations of the RADIUS authentication services and of the eduroam wireless network in their facilities and some school districts they serve. We are proposing to use $150,000 of the Software Innovation Network funds to fund the eduroam membership for 2 additional years 2022 and 2023, along with an allowance for hosting and development costs associated with operating the eduroam service statewide. The contract is not yet finalized between the University of Nebraska and Internet2. When it is, we will have an exact cost for the additional years of membership.

Discussion: 

Including the latest sign-ups, 137 districts are participating in the Canvas consortium. The team plans 4 summer sessions for instructional leaders who will establish the standards and templates for using Canvas in their districts. These dates are being finalized and will be promoted. I will continue meeting with the Canvas leadership team to discuss long-term governance/organization of the Canvas community.

 

Discussion: 

Part of Trevor Paschall’s time will support the work in this area of collecting data from districts and ESUs about the software they use and the contract language in place related to data privacy and security.

Discussion:  Technology Director shared the statistics on the GEERs Devices.  

Discussion:  Technology Director shared update on the Broadband access.  

Discussion:   Executive Director shared an update as this has been put on hold.  

Discussion:  Technology Director gave report throughout meeting.  

Discussion:  Coordinator of Digital Learning gave his report for the past month.  Continues to work on Future Ready Conference for summer.  Discussed Monday Motivation and it's future.  Shared other updates on other social media for ESUCC.  NVIS website update - continue to work on getting new site ready to launch and add more virtual field trips.  

Discussion:  Project Coordinator gave updates on the SORA library and OER.  She also shared some statistics on the resources for digital citizenship.  The last training with Catlin Tucker on May 24 via Zoom.  

Discussion:  Meeting adjourned at 12:33 PM.