Office of the CIO Annual Achievement Report

2007 Achievements

eLearning Initiative
Part 1  Successfully meet the eLearning needs of students, Ohio citizens and others. Provide targeted instructional technology support and resources to the academic community by establishing a support organization with a sustainable funding strategy to ensure manageable growth.
Part 2  Collaboratively revise existing and initiate new eLearning policies, procedures and guidelines to assure that Ohio State can provide quality education competitive with peer institutions that meets the needs of its growing learner population. Communicate these policies in a clear and timely manner.
Part 3  Select and implement an enterprise-level Course Management System.

Since 2004

Implemented the Carmen course management system successfully: integrated rosters and grades, temporary accounts, and a communication tool; established distributed administration through Carmen Affiliates; founded two Desire2Learn advisory boards with focuses on ADA and usability and on course management issues for large universities; and established eReserves in Carmen, with a new link for library resources, an expanded librarian role, and authentication workarounds. Improved eLearning organization and support: repurposed approximately $700,000 annual funding; built tiered help services; administered a faculty loan and investment program; created the Professional Development Grant program; defined distance education course designations through a faculty committee; established three communities of practice; secured a favorable contract for a standardized campus “clicker”; established a mobile learning resource web site to support the wireless project; collaborated on CIC open source software and Apple Digital Campus; created the online Digital Language Lab; established Ohio State as a mirror site for the Annenberg online library; moved Ohio State’s membership on the New Media Consortium to the Digital Union; and wrote a case study on the Digital Union as a chapter in Learning Spaces, an EDUCAUSE eBook.

Since 2007

• Selected a permanent director of the Digital Union after a national search attracting 80 applicants.


• Conducted the fourth annual Research on Research Grants program that pairs undergraduate students with faculty to develop a multimedia research portfolio during summer quarter. Nine teams from 14 departments and six colleges took part; subject matter ranged from assistive walking devices to polar Earth observation.


• Completed the Carmen 8.1 Upgrade Project on time and on budget, which improved ADA compliance, course download processes, and reporting capabilities; installed new hardware for better performance and stability; and updated the instructor help resources to offer improved accessibility and search features. Implemented the Respondus LockDown browser as a secure quizzing option for Carmen and developed workshops on secure quizzing.


• Piloted a new Carmen-Library link that allows subject-area librarians to customize library content within Carmen for instructors or students at the course or department level. Nine librarians and 345 courses participated during autumn quarter.


• Presented customized Carmen workshops for the colleges of Social Work; Veterinary Medicine; and Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; and for Lima, Newark, and Wooster campuses.


• Created the Expertise Grant program to support faculty’s innovative ideas for teaching with technology.


• Sponsored interest group meetings to explore use of Carmen Competency and Rubric tools to support outcome assessment for colleges and departments.


• Initiated projects on Second Life and wiki systems involving approximately 60 faculty and staff to explore uses for instruction, research, and outreach.


• Supported two College of Education and Human Ecology courses using the Ohio Learning Network’s test Sakai course management server during the Carmen upgrade. Ohio State participates in the Sakai project, an international community-source approach to developing an online collaboration and learning environment. 


• Obtained a grant from the Ohio Learning Network Central Ohio Regional Center to form a learning community to explore ways to integrate research into teaching and learning and to use technology to bridge the gap between research, teaching, and outreach.


• Hosted the series, Scholarly Communication in the Digital Age featuring expert guest speakers.


• Held intensive digital storytelling workshops for participants from departments and units across campus.


• Sponsored campus events on learning technologies, including SMART Boards, clickers, mobile technology, and multimedia lecture recording systems.