Stephen Gilfus Blackboard Founder to Present at Maricopa Community College System

Following is the Agenda for the Maricopa Octillo Retreat

Wednesday May 19, 1999
6:00 – 8:00 AM – Breakfast, lobby of Hampton Inn, Printed summary reports of day 1 activities will be available.
8:00 – 8:15 AM – Introduction to Day 2 Activities (Manny Griego)
8:15 – 8:45 AM – Projected Growth in Maricopa County and Implications for the District

Lionel Diaz, District Facilities Planning, Alfredo de los Santos, Vice-Chancellor of Student and Educational Development. Information and detailed maps presented are from the Maricopa Community Colleges Planning Data Set, a report published for the District by the Maricopa Association of Governments. The entire document [7.8 Mb] is available as an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) document.

The maps from this report are also available as a PowerPoint presentation [3.7 Mb] which the Maricopa Community Colleges are encouraged to use for their internal and external presentations

8:45 – 10:45 AM – Large Group Discussions

Participants will be randomly assigned to 3 larger groups (“X”, “Y”, and “Z”). Each group, lead by a team of Ocotillo Faculty Chairs, is to review the brainstorming ideas from the Café discussions, compile ideas and prioritize them. The groups may do this as a whole or by first subdividing. Leaders are responsible for reporting back on the best suggestions, identifying which are “do-able” ideas, when they can be addressed, and who should be involved.

10:45 – 11:00 AM – Break
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM – Full Group Discussion “XYZ”

Report out for each Issue from all three groups. A complete report is also available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Group Reports: Select an issue…Assessment of TechnologyAccess to TechnologyTechnology StaffingTechnology Cost/ReplacementFaculty/Staff Development

12:30 – 1:30 PM – Lunch
1:30 – 2:00 PM – Closing – Ideas for future directions of Ocotillo. Wrap-up and prize drawings.
1:00 – 2:00 Register

Sign in at the retreat site, DuBois Center, NAU. Pick up agenda, T-shirts, and retreat activity instructions, including Y2K Activity. College technology plans on display. Add to posted lists of “Who’s doing What with Technology”, organized by college. As examples are posted others can add post-its with their name expressing their interest in learning more about the item.

2:00 – 2:30 – Greetings/Introductions/Retreat Overview

Manny Griego, General Ocotillo Faculty Chair, Alfredo de los Santos, Vice-Chancellor of Student and Educational Development

2:30 – 4:30 – Café Discussion Activities

Attendees will be sent to randomly assigned small group discussion tables (6 per table), with the locations listed on your badges. Each table has a technology issue question which the group will brainstorm ideas as solutions. One person is randomly assigned to introduce the question and, in the last few minutes, transfer the best ideas to a summary sheet. The summaries will be compiled for distribution tomorrow morning.

There will be 6 session times of 15 minutes each, with 5 minutes between sessions. For each session, the attendees will move to a new table, meet a new group of people, and discuss a new issue. One session is a break time where you can relax, eat a snack, or add to the “Who’s Doing What” lists.

2:30 – 2:45 :: Café round 1
2:50 – 3:05 :: Café round 2
3:10 – 3:25 :: Café round 3
3:30 – 3:45 :: Café round 4
3:50 – 4:05 :: Café round 5
4:10 – 4:25 :: Café round 6

Café Issue Questions Linked from each issue below are notes that were compiled from all café groups. A complete set is also available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format [46k].

Assessment of Learning with Technology
What are meaningful and do-able measures we can use systematically to get an understanding of how technology support or hinders learning? e.g. student surveys, comparison studies, online portfolios…

Access to technology
What are the needs for providing equitable technology access to students, faculty, and our communities? How can they be financially achieved? e.g. dial-in access, standardized networked software (“palettes”), accounts for students, specialized labs, uniform technology access fees

Technology Staffing
What is needed to better equip colleges with adequate staff to support instructional use of technology? What are appropriate staffing numbers/positions? What are are the enticements that would keep valuable staff from leaving for “greener” pastures? e.g. hiring process, job descriptions, consistent titles/pay scales, attractions for jobs, district support?

Technology Cost/Replacement
What are the ways colleges can classify technology use and prioritize for equipment upgrade/replacement/recycling? How can costs of software, upgrades, and human support be tied to capital purchases? e.g. levels of users, locations of use (lab, office, mobile)

Faculty/Staff Development for Technology
Given the demands and shortage of staff to do so, what are creative ways we can provide support for the use of instructional technology? What can be done collaboratively?

4:30 – 4:45 break
4:45 – 5:30 – Full Group Discussion : Flashlight

Panel discussion by Maricopa participants in the NAU web99 pre-conference workshop on Flashlight. Q&A from audience and sharing of ideas on technology A&E. [

5:30 – 6:30 – Dinner at NAU conference center. Hotel keys may be picked up any time after 5:00.
6:30 – 7:00 – Blackboard Presentation

Stephen Gilfus, company co-founder and VP of Marketing and Sales and Head of Product Strategy and Development at Blackboard will discuss the CourseInfo package recently purchased by Maricopa and discuss features of their new enterprise product, Campus.

7:00 – 8:00 – Distance Learning and Other District Initiatives

Ron Bleed, Vice-Chancellor for Information Technologies Services will provide an overview of district technology agendas, and lead a discussion about the recent report to Chancellor Elsner on Maricopa’s vision for distance learning.