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NERCOMP EVENT
Clearing The Smog
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In many organizations, the communication barriers that arise between departments, working groups, and project teams often impede the delivery of service and reduce overall effectiveness. This SIG will focus on various ways of breaking down silos and increasing communication across your organization. Through short presentations and group activities, we'll identify barriers to communication, brainstorm solutions, and consider how best to implement some effective approaches at your institution. Come prepared to share ideas from your organization and learn from your colleagues.
Workshop Organizer/Host: Janet Hill, Amy Kolosseus, Chris Roppola and Josh Wilson all of Brandeis University
Date/Time:
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
9:00am - 3:00pm
Registration begins at 8:00am
Location:
Four Points Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center
1125 Boston Providence Turnpike
Norwood, MA
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Special instructions:
Pricing:
NERCOMP Members: $93
Non-Members: $193
By clicking on the "Register" button below, you are indicating a commitment to attend and will be held responsible for the registration fee.
Your fee can be refunded if you notify us of a cancellation at least 8 days prior to the event via email to nercomp@nercomp.org.
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Additional Information
Event Schedule:
8:00am - 9:00am Registration and Coffee
9:00am - 9:30am Welcome & Icebreaker Game
9:30am - 9:50am Reinventing Staff Meetings at Brandeis University
Speakers:
Janet Hill, Applications Project Leader, Brandeis University
Amy Kolosseus, Research and Instruction Librarian, Brandeis University
Chris Roppola, Computer Classroom and Lab Administrator, Brandeis University
Josh Wilson, Associate Director, Library & Technology Services, Brandeis University
After the creation of Brandeis University’s newly merged Library and Technology Services (LTS) organization in January 2005, there was a clear need to bridge the divide between librarians and technologists. In Fall 2006, a small group of LTS staff members began to address this problem by developing a new model for our monthly organization-wide staff meetings. In an effort to make these meetings more collaborative, informative, and fun, this group developed meeting agendas that included games, discussions about work in progress, presentations about projects affecting multiple areas of the organization, news about staff accomplishments, and opportunities for staff members to become better acquainted. During this presentation, you’ll learn about this new approach to staff meetings, some of the past year’s successes, and a few areas for further improvement.
9:50am - 10:40am Small group discussions: Identifying barriers
10:40am - 10:55am Break
10:55am - 12:00pm Communicating Across Your Organization -- Two Approaches
- Collaborative communication: using wikis to break down silos at Amherst College
- All the news that's fit to email: communicating and building community at Yale University
Amherst College Segment for Clearing the Smog
Speakers:
Devindra Hardawar, Desktop Support Associate, Amherst College
Margaret Stancer, Director, Desktop Computing Services, Amherst College
We will talk about the development of the wiki being used by the IT organization at Amherst College. It started as a tool to enhance a specific collaboration and is now being used by all the IT groups. The wiki has fostered transparency, and ultimately, communication; for example, we post our weekly meeting notes. Does everyone eagerly await this information? No, but colleagues are reading it and they do ask questions and pass on additional information. We will also comment on what wiki functionality we may move to our new content management system and why.
Effectively Communicating Informative, Essential, and Fun Weekly News Within an IT Organization
Speakers:
Janet Jeddry, Website Manager, ITS Communications, Yale University
Maya Satmary, Executive Coordinator, Yale University
Ever wonder why you don’t know who the new employee is across the hall? Maybe you need more players on the department softball team? Publishing information in internal newsletters reaches all staff in a dependable and timely manner. Exciting newsletters keep everyone in the loop. Come and hear how Yale ITS created a newsletter people look for in their email every week.
12:00pm - 1:00pm Lunch
1:00pm - 1:50pm Small Group Discussions: Breaking Down Communication Barriers
1:50pm - 2:45pm Evaluating & Improving Your Approach
- Panel presentation
- Group discussions
2:45pm - 3:00pm Debrief & Conclusion
3:00pm End
Speaker:
Amy Kolosseus
Amy Kolosseus is a Research and Instruction Technology Librarian at Brandeis University where she teaches educational technologies and information and media literacy to faculty, staff and students. She was deeply involved in Brandeis’; recent move from WebCT to Moodle and works as a collection and technology liaison to the Theater department.
Speaker:
Chris Roppola
Chris Roppola has been a part of Brandeis University Library and Technology Services since September of 1999. Originally the Coordinator of our Language Lab, Chris has also held a number of Instructional Technology positions supporting faculty and students with their coursework. He currently manages the public computer classrooms and clusters and is responsible for the design, implementation, and maintenance of both the physical spaces and the more than 500 computers and associated resources across the campus.
Speaker:
Devindra Hardawar
Devindra Hardawar has been working in desktop computing support since 2001 when she was a first-year student at Amherst College. She originally aimed for a computer science degree, but quickly reneged that field when she realized she had no coding skills whatsoever. Devindra realized then that she was far more interested in the way people use their computers, as well as how technology affects our lives. As a student IT worker she supervised the College's computer center and interned in varying capacities during the school year and summer. She was also part of an elite group of student workers ("Computer Specialists") who visited students in their dorm rooms to tackle advanced computer issues.
Devindra graduated in 2005 with a Philosophy degree, which is less impressive than it sounds. Since then, she has worked in Amherst College's Desktop Computing department focusing on student support, web documentation, and many other projects. Devindra currently manages the "Student Computer Specialists", which is a fitting, but no-less ironic, turn of events.
Speaker:
Janet Hill
Janet Hill is an Applications Project Leader in the Administrative Informations Systems department at Brandeis University. Current projects include implementing an online course evaluation system. She has worked for over 10 years in academic libraries before transitioning into information technology. Janet is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Information Technology Management through the Rabb School of Graduate Professional Studies at Brandeis University.
Speaker:
Janet Jeddry
Janet Jeddry is the Web Manager for Information Technology Services (ITS) at Yale University. She is responsible for supporting the ITS Web presence at Yale and to enhance the understanding of IT services available through the website. Janet has spent her professional career in the areas of business, website production, and communications. She has a unique balance of technical, people, and communication skills. As a core member of the IT Communication’s team, with strong writing and editing abilities, she edits and helps produce online newsletters, posters, and mass email messages targeted internal and external audiences.
Speaker:
Josh Wilson
Josh Wilson, an Associate Director in Library & Technology Services at Brandeis University, manages strategic projects in the areas of assessment, communication, emergency management, planning, and policy. He also leads the Staff Meeting Agenda Working Group, which seeks to improve communication across Brandeis’; merged library & technology organization. Prior to his work at Brandeis, Josh managed an array of IT training programs and classroom technology implementation projects at Tufts University and worked in library technology at Bowdoin College.
Josh is a member of the management team for the Merged Information Services Organization (MISO) Survey. He has been active for many years in communities of practice sponsored by the Boston Consortium for Higher Education, including the IT Training Group and the Project Facilitation Network. Josh has been named by the Boston Consortium as a Susan Vogt Leadership Fellow for 2007-2008. He is an experienced facilitator, instructor, and coach.
Speaker:
Margaret Stancer
Margaret Stancer manages the Desktop Computing Services department at Amherst College. We create, maintain, and support the desktop computing infrastructure for the college and one of our primary challenges is having dual roles as technologists and service providers. Figuring out how to get ahead of the curve in technology while putting out daily fires, how to collaborate and communicate both within and outside of the IT organization, and how to have fun and survive are what keep me coming back for more.
Speaker:
Maya Satmary
Maya Satmary, Executive Coordinator, is responsible for executing special projects for the Chief Information Officer, Deputy Director and Director of Finance & Administration of Information Technology Services (ITS) at Yale University. In addition, Maya manages the ITS Director’s budget and serves as a point of initial contact for ITS.
Prior to working in ITS, she worked in Personnel & Staff Relations at Yale. Maya has spent over six years working in an academic environment. Before coming to Yale, Maya excelled in sales at Pitney Bowes.
Maya holds a bachelor’s degree in both Psychology and Sociology from the University of Connecticut. She is currently completing her Master’s thesis in Sociology at Southern Connecticut State University with an emphasis in Criminology.
Related Media Files:
Contact Information:
Lisa DiMauro
860-345-2081
ldimauro@nercomp.org
Hotel Information:
Rooms are available at the Sheration Norwood, the conference location, for $125 per night, standard queen guest room.
To make reservations contact the Sheraton Norwood at 781-769-7900 and request the "NERCOMP Room Block". The room block will be released on September 17th.
Technical Requirements:
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NERCOMP reserves the right to use any photographs or other mechanical recordings taken at NERCOMP events in promotional materials.
No mechanical recordings of any kind may be used at NERCOMP events without the prior written consent of NERCOMP organizers and presenters.
The views and opinions expressed at NERCOMP events do not necessarily reflect those of NERCOMP, nor does NERCOMP make any representation regarding the information presented at NERCOMP events.
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