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ETS Technology Survey 2001 Witten Responses |
| Question /
Comment: Are there any other comments / issues that you would like to share with the Educational Technology Advisory Council (ETAC), and / or Educational Technology Services (ETS)? |
Foothill Administrators
The call center staff needs extensive technical training. if i were to call three times im sure id get three different answers, none of which would be correct. that is of course, if i could get through in the first place.
Keep trying to find ways to do more for/with less. You're making good progress already.
None
The ETAC committee needs to better define itself and communicate its mission to the district and campus community. I understand there has been much effort in this area, but a continued effort is needed to build consensus and support for its initiatives
Foothill Faculty
ETS is a step in the right direction!
GOOD LUCK IN SLOWING DOWN THE COMPUTER RUN-AWAY, ESPECIALLY IN THE COMING ERA OF LOW REVENUES.
Willie needs to tighten the ETS reins and move it forward aggressively. Once this happens, I'm looking forward to some really exciting stuff happening here, far beyond the buzz he generated when MeetingMaker was introduced.
I would like to be able to send and receive FAX from my office--This simple thing would greatly improve my work situation.
I would like to learn more about computers and be able to apply this knowledge.
Forget all the flash and fancy web pages and concentrate on the basics. When the network is not reliable, we loose students!
I would like to see the results of this survey in a timely manner.
As a faculty member, the personal efforts that I must make to stay up-to-date on technological changes and the time I spend answering other staff's questions about the technology in my field is significant. My digitally based classes must be almost re-designed each time I teach them. This is a unique situation and requires a great deal of creative energy.
Too often the district assumes all professors use/need Macintoshes when the reality is that the vast majority of computers in the engineering/scientific world are PCs.
It would be great to buy for faculty and support standard windows software. I finally gave up and bought Access and other Windows programs from my own money.
Personally Iím confused with the issue of the district saying no money for this or that, yet we see ETS hiring 'administration level' personnel, when what is really need in ets is 'worker level' personnel.
We are making progress and we are looking good, we just need to come up with a plan to reach the potential of web/CBT instruction.
Not at this time
No
I am extremely pleased to have been contacted by you via email. I would love to see not only future communiquÈs delivered this way but for you to take a leadership role in training the district in such practices. I have been extremely dismayed at the continuing abuse of resources and the commensurate environmental impact caused by the district. Hooray for you!
The ETS people have been especially helpful. David, Long, Paul, Norman, Victor, and John have been wonderful with providing support
Foothill Classified
Server reboots and other area wide problems need a broadcast system to warn users. As we rely on the internet to provide services to our students, it needs to be reliable. If a server is taken offline in the middle of an online assessment session, student and staff become frustrated.
Your A/V support staff at Foothill is excellent! Please give them the recognition they deserve!
No
1. I have had great response from your team in the past several months, especially with my most recent Meeting Maker problem. Thank you for helping, and so quickly!
ETS has a very difficult job to do. I appreciate all their efforts to keep us functional. I enjoy reading news bytes.
The ETS staff do a great job, but sometimes aren't as visible as they might be.
The call center should have at least 1 tech that has worked on the field weather it be De Anza and Foothill who have seen the actual errors or problems dealing with what the people are asking about when they call.
The personnel on the call desk need to be more knowledgeable. When I have a problem, I don't want someone who knows a little or less than I do. I absolute hate your telephone system, it's just like calling an outside vendor. It is impersonal and unfriendly.
It appears that since the "new network" has been installed, we are experiencing more down time and power interruptions. This causes more work for staff and frustration for students. Has anyone addressed the possibility of a back-up power source - especially for the library network?
Have 1 pending call since 11/15/01. When it's an easy case guys from ETS are coming right away. When it's not so easy they don't show up.
You are doing a good job. Keep up the good work. Keep growing to meet the demands of the college.
NewsBytes is a good publication.
First, thanks for asking via this e-survey! Only a note regarding survey question 32: I didn't respond because there is no one source of information that I prefer. I rely heavily on asking my co-workers how they have solved a particular problem, but not usually before I consult the electronic help features myself and I often refer to manuals and Internet resources. I also call Tech Help or Staff Development for answers. Most of us use all the help we can get.
This survey takes longer than 20 minutes if you have comments!
ETAC could arrange purchase of a library of training CD's on many computer training topics; any staff/faculty member of FH, DA, or District should be able to check out the materials and renew them if needed. Could this be done through the campus libraries? This could be advertised in a news bytes newsletter, on the ETS web site.
The Fujitsu phone system is very cumbersome to use and the voice prompts are irritating. There are times I want to throw it out the window.
Middlefield Campus is isolated from the other campuses and we are not always able to access other equipment as people at Foothill might be able to do. For example, if our fax machine is not working, we can't go to another office to use one. We are out of
Foothill Unknown
Isn't it time we stop beating a dead, but expensive, horse and dump the Macintosh?
Thank you for your newsletter - I read them and keep them handy for reference
Shorten your survey. Way too many questions. I do not receive effective service from the call center. No follow up on requests, can't get through.
It would make it much easier if when we call ETS, we can get a live person to talk to right away instead of having to wait and wait and wait and eventually get an automated message that says "leave a message".
Call center needs more classified personnel.
1. Who are you? 2. Where are you? P.S. I was trying to access my work email from home and ran into problems. Then "excite at home" went out of business, so now I am really unable to make this work. Meanwhile, on the 12th of December I will be moving my computer out of my office and taking it home. I have been given to understand that once that computer leaves my office, I will not be able to ask for help. This concerns me. :(Thanks for the opportunity to come out of the closet on these technology issues. ;)
No
It would be nice if some of the services, software, etc. was advertised so that we know what's available for us to use. Also, some training courses like the ones mentioned would be great!
I would like to see Eudora have the email address of faculty and staff already on our private email list.
Keeping in touch when there is a problem that is taking some time to solve, and if they think it can be solved.
None
Josie Hernandez and Kelly are very knowledgeable and helpful. They give immediate feedback and are very friendly.
Provide more tech support resources.
De Anza Administrators
Using the call center is still confusing. When I have a need, a ticket is generated and then I receive a call from an ETS staffer, and if I have to return the call I have not been able to speak with the person on the phone.
My office is very dependent on technology to serve students. I would like to have input into the prioritization of projects that affect student services. We can help you set priorities!!
It would be great if we had some equipment that could be "checked out" when needed, especially those things that are used infrequently by a department, such as scanners. Many of us with really tight budgets have to do without.
Yes your current structure of too many managers and not enough workers is not working well-no responses from ETS. I think ETS should not be at the district, it should be at both colleges where technology is used for instruction. The Admin systems and personnel for them should be at the district, the majority of the work force from ETS should be at the two colleges.
On the majority of occasions in which I or one of my staff has contacted the help desk for support, we received no follow-up on the request. At this moment, for example, we have been waiting more than a week for response to our request for ETS support in teaching our network technician to wire an Ethernet connector.
Web hosting for faculty. You donít seem to have the message yet. At least we donít have the answer. Thank you.
My experiences with ETS have for the most part been positive. I commend the Call Center for their patience and perseverance in ensuring that our programs needs are met.
Employ more technicians, fewer directors, and have roving service providers (preferably in uniforms so they can be readily identified and radio equipped) so they can respond to emergency and high priority customer service areas.
This survey focuses on rather technical issues, I think t prioritization and process are the more compelling issues
Keep up the good work...congrats to Kelly and her staff, and the ETS staff at Foothill...Jose at De Anza needs to be re-trained in management techniques...he sets a poor example for his staff.
De Anza Faculty
I find the high speed Internet access I have had in both MQ11 and F5 to be adequately fast and extremely beneficial. I have developed to distance learning courses (100% web-based) and done a lot of surfing to put together my "Introduction to E-business" class. I couldn't have done it without high speed Internet access!I have always found the ETS help people to be very good at what they do. Some people complain about delays in getting help but that has not been my experience.
See #40 above.
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEM ON THIS SURVEY TO ME: A few of us would like to keep our old [lastname@fhda.edu] email addresses as aliases, and don't understand why we can't. We don't like that we weren't asked, and our needs for keeping the old ones were
Well, what I notice, from time to time, is that I come into the lab in ATC 309, for instance, and I find the computers are 'frozen' or some change was made to the server that screwed things. Since I will be the last person to be notified, I have to run around, madly, in order to get help and get my class going. This is very frustrating at times (and it happens about twice per quarter (much too often for my liking)...
I love you guys and I know you need more people to get around more quickly. Thanks
What ever happened to the Intranet, and Staff News that was supposed to be online?
Yeah, but I'm out of time.
From my experience, I believe ETS needs improvement.
Was told it may take 8 more weeks to get connected to WWW (original work order lost).
Itís frustrating when experiencing a computer problem to have to leave message and wait and wait for repair. My district provided computer has never worked correctly. I finally had Apple come in from outside and they told me it would never work correctly and I AM AT LEAST 1 YEAR PAST WAITING FOR A REPLACEMENT COMPUTER SINCE I WAS IN THE 1ST ROUND OF INSTRUCTORS TO GET A COMPUTER IN MY OFFICE. I have gotten my own printer and scanner in my office so that I have these resources for classroom needs. I am still not hooked up to a district printing source.
Shorten the length of time it takes to order and get equipment into office. I initiated a purchase order in Jan. and did not get the computer onto my desk until May. I could have ordered the equipment from Dell myself.
The network support (for any of the school and district servers) has been lacking in communication with the faculty. My students need the information that I upload to one of the servers, so I would like to know the status of any problems they are having with the servers. Other faculty members also use the servers for their classes, and need the info, as well. I have left telephone and email messages about problems with one of the servers, and never got a response, except from the call center that they forwarded the problems to the network people. That's the only response I received.
Serious consideration should be given to verifying that students in online courses actually receive the level of critical thinking instruction included in the course outline, particularly in those courses where such CT curriculum is in response to the Ed Code and Title 5.
I would hope that projects that benefit students in general (see #40), not necessarily students of a particular class, would be able to find a home on District servers. Presently it appears that access is limited to distance learning courses. Hybrid courses (traditional classes with some on-line components) sound very attractive; hopefully it will become easier to experiment with their development.
Access to technology and scheduling in rooms with technology should be made available to all divisions.
One compliment I have is that I really appreciate that you have supported both PC and Mac systems. I believe they both have a place in the community college, and I know it makes it more challenging for our tech people to deal with. I also appreciate the support and expertise of the support people I have worked with, specifically the folks at IDS, and David Garrido. Finally, I really appreciate the communication and efforts for feedback that you have provided through the newsbytes publication and this survey. Thank you!
I appreciate your fast and personable responses when I call.
Too slow to install applications on the PCs in AT204, AT205
De Anza Classified
Kelly, Josie, Laura and Matthew are so helpful. I appreciate all their help and assistance.
I believe that the ETS division needs more staffing to accommodate the requests from employees. Currently, it takes too long for service requests to be processed. During Fall quarter our office and my former office (EDC) often waited 2 months to have a simple phone change made.
ETS is getting better and more responsive. OTI Help Desk Program has increased and developed and good working relationship between ETS and OTI.
The one training session I have been able to attend so far (MeetingMaker) was very informative and worthwhile.
Using the phone system seems overly complicated
Like the direction we're taking to treat our users as customers that~~we want to keep. Very encouraging.
Yes, Can you make a 5-10% cut in technology like everyone else so the district will have the money to provide the classified staff with a COLA?
ETS support staff is always very helpful and courteous. Unfortunately, there are not enough staff to serve the needs of both campuses
Classified workers who MUST use computers to do their work should be the FIRST to receive new computers and updated software, not every faculty, even those who rarely use theirs!
I like my new e-mail address. Thank you!
The more often the availability of training sessions for almost any programs the better. Make the intermediate/advanced courses more intermediate and advanced and less beginner/intermediate. Too many people taking the advanced courses really need to take the beginner classes again prior to the advanced.
There is a huge need for ETS to be in the faces of administrators (each college) to keep a clear understanding of ETS accomplishments and current projects in support of the colleges. It is the perception that ETS always has lots of money and administrators....so what is ETS doing for the faculty and college administrators. Too many vague answers for too long is another remark faculty and deans make in their meetings. ..where's the collaboration with faculty, administrators, grant writers with ETS?
On a hold service has improved. Response and follow-up from the Call Center is very good. It is beyond the Call Center that things begin to slow. It would be helpful to have a check list for new employees on how to get technology to their desk. Telephone and data access is very slow. Not able to know on a timely basis if request can even or occur let along get it done. Need for a "consultant" to review needs and help client access what the current request and future needs are so that the equipment and software is ordered and continue to build from the initial purchase.
Thanks for the reminder for this survey...which would have been forgotten. Reaching out to us poor users who don't have any one to turn to on a quick basis. When we have problems, we have them NOW...not for a telephone call to leave a message, put on a list, see you whenever!!!! Problems that come up are usually immediate for me!
Call Tech, this advice never disappointed me so far in case I have trouble with new technologies, however, I would like to be able to troubleshoot on my own.
Better follow-up on calls, more timely
You need to offer morning trainings. There have been lots of trainings offered, but I haven't been able to attend any of them because they were in the afternoon.
None.
YES, all CDEP phones have the wrong time of day displayed for more than one month.
Would love to have the Registered student downloaded perhaps daily during the first two weeks of the quarter, and brought to the Library so that when students come in to use the OML, their DASB cards work. We have to manually create a student's record. We use the SIRSI application (library catalogue). In this day and age, why can't the records be downloaded to our system daily? This is a major problem. We're constantly having to ask the students to bring their receipt showing that they are registered and paid their DASB fees. Also, is there a magical way of getting information into the SIRSI System that will show that students are indeed registered in a DLC (Distance Learning Course). Major, major problem. Currently, a DASB card and DLC card is required each time that the students come to the OML to checkout DLC materials. These two items have been on my WISH LIST for many years.
We have added a layer of bureaucracy to receiving service support. It was more efficient, for example, to contact the former "audio visual" department for specific services. Now some requests get lost in never-never land. Being on hold with the Call Center for endless minutes, making numerous calls, or waiting a few days for technical support is unacceptable. Unfortunately, without a computer, work virtually comes to a standstill.
None.
Why haven't we gone to web-based email yet? I thought that was in the works to allow ease of sending and replying to email from home. I would like ETS to keep in mind that there are MANY BEGINNING users of computers, and stop assuming that no one needs basic instruction
De Anza Unknown
We have had great response from using the Call Center. Keep working on that function so that everybody uses it in the way it was intended. I love the issuance of standards for desktop functions. Makes my job easier for the routine matters, but sometimes need more of a consultant for our area to bring us into the future. Also, I've often wondered whether an electronic message board for the college could be set up to allow people to post messages that would be accessible on the intranet so that we could make the campus aware of issues or events that were of some campus-wide interest. Could be worth trying.
Why would a coordinator who has informed the Call Center of a job that needs to be done have to speak to Don Danner before the technicians will do the work? Why is there a Call Center if Don Danner has to discuss the work with the person requesting it before the technicians will do the work?
Campus web sites have too many dead links, very unprofessional.
I know ETS is busy and can't handle every request for service immediately, but a simple phone call or e-mail would go a long way to making me feel like my request has been heard and not lost in the mountain of work you have
You are doing a good job. I think that having a dedicated faculty workroom with computers for training is good. The student assistant that roams around is helpful. If she/he can't answer my questions, I know where to ask.
Please remember that some of us cannot do our jobs without our computer hardware and software up and running. Our system cannot be down for very long. We do appreciate all of your help. How is the working relationship between ETS and both campuses ? Is anyone feeling short changed ? How do we maintain the balance between old technology and new technology ? Is ETS becoming a non - Foothill/De Anza entity? How is our relationship to instruction? Do the campuses have faith in ETS?
I would like to know what software that students need can be downloaded on the office computers without calling ETS. Many students know what they need and want to work on projects but I need to tell them that Software copyrights are respected and can only be downloaded or administered to the computers by ETS staff.
None
ETS call line is very responsive and helpful. Kelly Pettit has managed the call center in the best way possible.
Central Services Administrators
It is great that there is now a structure in place.
Keep working to improve the performance of ETS processes and services.
I was happy to discover that you have a Walk In service which I tried to use one day when I couldn't access my email via my lap top. They referred me elsewhere but I appreciated this level of availability if I'm willing and able to bring my computer to you.
You're doing an excellent job--I've never worked anywhere that began to compare.
Central Services Faculty
We really need to have a glossary of data definitions, so that data elements such as WSCH, FTEF, FTES are carefully defined, and these definitions are District standards. Currently one may access our SIS/HRS/FRS screens and find a definition for each data element, this capability should also be available for users when using the data warehouse system. The data warehouse needs to have a searchable source for all of the data elements.
I am teaching two Web-based classes through distance learning as part of my Article 19 retirement. Communication with the distance learning department and with students is excellent
Central Services Classified
I need training on BRIO.
No.
It's important not to over commit to projects without the necessary recources.
I don't like not being able to call Foothill ETS for help, it seems like an extra step which takes longer.
I think every faculty and staff member should have an easy email address (get rid of those dang numbers!) and dedicated space on a web server.
The phone support has been prompt and courteous.
Central Services Unknown
I submitted the first half of this survey by mistake; here's the rest.
n/a
I am a retiring trustee for the district and have had those commuter-oriented problems. While I received responses on my concerns or technological issues, being located off campus posed quite a burden to staff. I eventually bought my own G-3 rather than continue to have my old Mac (inherited from Bob Smithwick) continue to crash. Additionally, I believe the 'new' ETS division is working like the dickens to serve over a thousand users. You are to be commended!