Lab Management Quarterly Report

Second Quarter (10/1/98 - 12/31/98)

Lab Management successfully completed major upgrades of several computer facilities and the creation of one new facility during Summer 98. In addition, Lab Management completed standard hardware and operating system upgrades during this first quarter of the 98-99 year and created a new service for faculty. These projects were completed in a timely manner and under budget while successfully minimizing the impact to the campus.

Second Quarter Goals

1. Establish The Station as a new open access facility

Status: Completed

The new open access facility, the Station, opened its doors to the campus at the start of the Fall 98 academic quarter. Lab Management worked with several campus publications to promote the new facility through news articiles. In addition, numerous fliers and handouts were created and distributed to publicize the computer lounge located in the Memorial Union complex. During the quarter, over 5000 people used the 19 PC and 15 Mac computers. The system tracked over 68,000 logins. The 5,010 students logging on to the Station represented a little over 20 percent of the undergraduate and graduate student population. Waiting list data revealed that as many as 12 people can be expected waiting in line during peak hours. The Station's high utilization has shown that this new facility is a success.

2. Complete designs and project plans and begin work to change 301B Surge IV into an open access facility

Status:Completed

As part of an ongiong effort to meet the demand for open access computing, Lab Managment completed initial designs and plans to renovate the 301B Surge IV room into an open access facility. The new designs include plans for extensive modification to the ventilation system, installation of new furniture, electrical systems, and alarm systems. Plans also included relocating the consultant's station from 301A Surge IV into this adjoining room to allow for more seating in the 301A computer classroom. A mixture of newly purchased and currently owned machines will be installed in the room which will offer Mac and PC stations. Work began during the quarter and is expected to be completed by early March. Vacated by the Advanced Network and Scientific Applications (ANSA) group, the room used to be the site of the Visualization Lab.

3. Create a video catalog library for faculty

Status: Completed

Lab Management established a video catalog library at the Hart Media Distribution Lab this past quarter. Initial consultation between the Teaching Resources Center and faculty resulted in identifying an unmet need on campus. The catalogs are intended to help faculty find appropriate videos for academic use. Lab Management ordered video catalogs and compiled video information obtained from the web regarding educational videos. Lab Management staff will continue to gather video catalogs, keep catalogs up to date, and assist faculty in locating videos. Faculty may then determine a vendor and purchase the video which will be stored at the Playback Center for playback in classrooms. Videos may also be stored at the Hart Media Distribution Lab for faculty and students to view. The TRC can assist faculty with purchasing videos through mini-grants.

4. Establish regular training classes for student staff

Status:Completed

Over 80 students represent the Lab Management consulting, administrative, and hardware support staff. To increase their effectiveness and improve operations, Lab Management began offering regular training classes to be attended on a volunteer basis by student staff. The classes, offered in the early evenings once a week, are taught by veteran student staff and full time career staff at Lab Managment. Class topics ranged from intermediate UNIX to how to do public presentations to intermediate Microsoft Word. Student attendance has averaged between 15 to 20 people per class depending on the subject. Training classes will continue next quarter.

5. Upgrade 1154 Meyer

Status: Completed

After upgrading the New Media Production Lab's Mac and PC hardware over the previous three quarters, Lab Management completed the software upgrades during the second quarter. The most recent multimedia software suite is now installed on both the Mac and PC computers and includes software for image digitizing, image manipulation, video editing and 3D rendering. The quarter also saw the completion of the operating system upgrades, made difficult by the large assortment of high end hardware and specialized multimedia equipment. Future upgrades of 1154 Meyer include the creation of a sound editing booth.

Lab Management successfully completed all five goals set for Fall 98. The student and faculty community has expressed their appreciation over the added services. With the first academic quarter, Lab Management took the opportunity to work on long term goals such as improving computing access and improving the student staff training process.

Lab Management intends to complete all work towards the 301B Surge IV facility and open it for campus use next quarter. Efforts will also be made towards opening a new facility in Olson Hall and on planning for summer upgrades and renovations.

Comments: pgblando@ucdavis.edu  URL: http://lm.ucdavis.edu/pubs/labrep/fall98/  Last updated: Feb 22, 1999