UWSON TIER - Grant Support - Boilerplate

The following text is provided for inclusion in grant applications. All grant proposals that require TIER services must be discussed with TIER during the grant proposal development process to ensure project feasibility and accurate costing.

TIER Overview

• SON Technology Innovations in Education & Research (TIER). Responsible for the SON's web presence and technology-enhanced distance learning (TEDL). Provides support services for SON academic programs. The Associate Dean for TIER oversees the division. A web manager, instructional designers and media specialists are available to provide technical and administrative services, training, and coaching to faculty in developing Web-based and Virtual Classroom instruction systems for courses. They receive some state-support to maintain TEDL; however, external funds are required if they are to assist with new initiatives.
  
  TIER manages approximately 60 course web sites per quarter. Over 10 of these courses feature lectures streamed digitally over the Web. Many of these courses make use of TIER supported software for on-line discussions, evaluations, testing, and collaborative interactions. Technology Seminars, hands-on software training and practical demonstrations are provided for faculty and staff.
  
  A more detailed list of the services provided by TIER are available on our Services page.

Distance Learning Methodologies

• HRSA grant Distance Learning section (December 9, 2005) - Word document

Computing Resources within the School of Nursing

• SoN Technology Innovations in Education & Research (TIER): A program manager, Web Manager, Instructional Designer, server administrator and two media/web specialists are available to provide technical and administrative services, training, and coaching to faculty in developing Web-based and Video Conferencing instruction systems for courses. They receive state support to maintain TEDL; however, external funds are required to assist with new initiatives.
  
  
• Computing Facilities within SON Each faculty named in the grant has a personal computer with high-speed Internet access and local area network via the school's Windows Server 2003 active directory domain. This is a network for file, printing and database sharing. There are over 600 personal computers & more than 100 laser printers in the school. The SoN Information Systems Office has 4.5 FTE staff to provide support to all SoN faculty, staff and students. SonIS offers a base level of connectivity and network support unless the grant needs extend beyond the requirements of a basic computing environment.
  
  
• SoN Electronic Classrooms. The SoN has 2 electronic classrooms equipped with remote controlled, broadcast quality television cameras. Video connections include satellite, microwave and phone lines. Instructional materials for videoconferencing (VC) and videostreaming are viewed via document cameras, slide-to-video converters and computer-based scan converters. Audio-only connections supplement the TIER programs and have proven useful not only for transmission of classes but for student conferences and routine committee work.
  
  
• Distance Learning Infrastructure - Light Version TIER has a highly available and data secure server environment. Three MS Windows Server 2003 server clusters support streaming video, Web, application, and database initiatives. All server clusters are configured in a fail-over cluster and assume roles and data of failed services and report status changes to an administrator system.
  
  
• Distance Learning Infrastructure - Detailed Version TIER has a highly redundant and data secure infrastructure that supports its services and development initiatives. The infrastructure is comprised of a three tier architecture of clustered servers. The tiers are Application Services, File Services, and Data Services. The Application Cluster is a Network Load Balancing cluster that is optimized for throughput, application availability and session management. The File Cluster is a Fail-Over cluster that is configured for network file services. The Data Cluster is a MSSQL Fail-Over cluster that is optimized for data availability and security. All nodes in each of the above clusters are high-end Dell server which have redundant CPUs, power, Gigabit internet connections, RAID-1 OS images, RAID-5 data stores, Hot-Spare/Hot-Swap drives for autonomous hardware failure correction and are monitored by MS Clustering technologies. Each cluster is imaged for rapid rebuild and its data stores are backed up to tape in two different off site seismically separate facilities, and to redundant TeraByte NAS appliances. All clusters are on redundant networks and maintain intranode communications over a separate private network. All cluster hardware is located in an enterprise level co-location facility with secure access, monitoring, Halon fire suppression, local Network Operations teams, redundant UPS, redundant power source and backup generators.
  
  Security on the TIER Infrastructure includes HTTPS secure connections, Application Services Level Security, IISv6, IPSEC, Firewalls, Virtual Names for all services with cluster separation of service and interface from data [no direct connections to data], machine accounts for intra cluster communication rather than user accounts. Services provided on the TIER infrastructure include Windows 2003 Server, IISv6 Web Server, CFMX Cold Fusion Application Server, .NET Application Services, SOAP based Web Services, WebBoard, Perception, Windows Media Server, and MS Sequel Server Enterprise. SONEI can support development projects that utilize the following technologies: HTML, ASP, .NET, FlashMX2004, CFMX, C#, SQL, Access, VB, VBScript, JavaScript, Director, Video Streaming/Production via Premier, Information Architecture, Design, Interface Development, Data Structure Design and Project Management.

Campus-Wide Computer Resources

• Computer Resources. Computing and Communications (C&C) has primary administrative responsibility in computing for instruction and research. C&C facilities include a campus-wide communications network linking terminals, computers, and local area networks to a central C&C site. Basic ISP services are provided free to students, faculty, and staff. C&C offers the Catalyst Toolkit, a set of Web-based tools specifically developed to enable faculty to independently use Web Tools to enhance student learning. Catalyst tools allow faculty to quickly and easily place content on to the Web.

Personnel

• Contact TIER for details.

Technical Support for Students

• Support of distance learning students is a challenge that has become increasingly complicated by anti-virus software, pop-up blockers and firewalls that can cause undesired interactions with Distance Learning technologies. SON TIER staff currently provide technical support via email or phone correspondence but this can be time consuming and ineffective. With the use of Breeze Meeting SON TIER staff will be able to schedule a live technical support meeting with the student and using Breeze Meeting's desktop sharing feature will be able to take control of the student's computer in order to provide hands on technical support. We will also be able to visually demonstrate the use of Distance Learning technologies to students as opposed to providing written instructions. Not all issues can be resolved using this method but it will speed up the diagnosis of the student's computer issue.