Work Session Meeting Minutes - September 07, 2008
By Matthew Lord | September 7, 2008
SAC Work Session Minutes Monday, September 7th, 2008
In attendance: Brandin Watson, Matthew Lord
Start Time: 11:00am
End Time: 1:30pm
SUMMARY IN REVIEW
The first hour of this meeting we discussed various technology which is available for our use as well as the desire to create a position for a software developer who would be available for advice and implementation of software tools for our organization. In theory, these tools would be utilized to increase productivity and maintain organization. Some suggestions are:
- Organizational Charts/Institutional Mapping
- At this point we have received copies of these for the 2008-2009 organization of North Seattle Community College and shared them within the Student Administrative Council using Google Documents. These documents include name and title for every position on campus. Brandin discussed having a “mind map” of the organization which would include very detailed and interconnected information in the form of a web based application, possibly using Flash (a fluid and animated web design programming application).
We also discussed other organizations and contacts which we may be able to seek assistance from aside from having a technology/software developer/advisor as a part of our team. Some of these resources include:
- Michael Vellines
- He is a very reputable source for information about technology and the internet, as well as associated fields. We have identified that due to the current work load in the re-design and implementation of a new website for NSCC and in order to be considerate with our information requests, that at this time, we will review such requests with Jeffrey Vasquez prior to dispatch of Mr. Vellines.
- SCCtv
- Located on North Seattle’s campus we should identify the relationship of this organization with the Seattle Community College District and associated schools. They do offer assistance (for a fee) in the realm of media production.
- Dennis Schaffer
- Faculty in Computer Sciences at North Seattle Community College.
- Six Hour Startup - http://www.sixhourstartup.com/
- Having come into contact with an individual who works for this organization, it sounds quite interesting and may be a point of great resources for technology. “Focused on rapid development of a full product, from idea to completion in 6 hours. Great code, really fast.”
- Meetup.com
- Local meet-ups in ALL fields
- Taproot Foundation - http://www.taprootfoundation.org/
- An organization whose goal is to provide pro bono services with local area professionals
The second half of this meeting we discussed the Book Exchange application. Matthew approached Brandin last week about gaining some assistance with it’s organization and path to it’s implementation. We discussed whether there would be a conflict or breach of contract with the current on-campus book store. The relationship between the school, Barnes & Noble, and the student body is not clear. As it turns out, the student body and student government haven’t readily had any involvement in this matter.
We discussed the option of using the service provided by The Book Xchange Network (http://www.tbxn.com/) which is related to the website RCampus (http://www.rcampus.com/). This service is FREE and allows consideration for limited branding of our institution.
The decision reached is that this would be a great option as opposed to creating an application from the ground up where there would be many long-term implementation and maintenance issues. These include and are not limited to:
- security
- information privacy
- ease of use
- longevity
- continually structured organization
- adaptability to future technologies.
Other benefits of using the TBXN service are:
- it can tie into students’ books on other campus’ across the country
- provides a window which concurrently displays price information of requested books from online retailers such as amazon.com.
- allows students to post books for sale as well as books wanted.
- a student can create a list of books they are selling or are looking for and create a coded flyer allowing for simple look-up of books listed on the physical flyer
- it’s free!
- low maintanence
ACTION ITEMS
Develop a plan for successful implementation
This will include distribution of fliers, web visibility, word of mouth, and email lists
Create or define what we will consider to be “success” for the initial stages of this service
please read the following article and take it into consideration:
- View article here (note the initial 60 student usage)
UPDATE
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
After contacting Tom Griffith in regards to potential for a breach of contract, we were given approval to move forward with the TBXN service. Currently we are waiting to hear back from support at TBXN.com to learn more about the implementation process and time-frame.
Download the PDF here: