EduTex 2001

By Claudia Lynch, Benchmarks Online Editor

EduTex 2001, which took place February 21-23 in San Antonio, was a big success. The success was due, in large part, to the efforts of Dr. Maurice Leatherbury, Senior Director of Academic Computing Services, who was one of the conference organizers. This was the first year for the EduTex Conference, a new EDUCAUSE regional conference for information technology professionals in higher education, and UNT was well represented. Dr. Leatherbury gave a talk entitled "A federated Model of Computing Support at a Large State University." Jenny Jopling, Associate Director, Center for Distributed Learning, gave two presentations: "Faculty Support for Teaching with Technology" and "Texas Computer-Based Testing Collaborative (TCTC)." Duane Gustavus, ACS UNIX Research Analyst, spoke on "Free Software on Campus: Something for Nothing?" and Dr. Philip Baczewski, Associate Director, Academic Computing Services, spoke on "LDAP at the University of North Texas: Implementation and Uses." Also presenting was Mark Wilcox, barely former UNT Campus Web Administrator. He spoke on "Back End Support for a Course Management System," and participated in the corporate session "WebCT & Campus Pipeline -- From Integration to Transformation."

If you're interested in viewing the texts of the various presentations, they should be on-line some time soon. Check the EduTex 2001 program page, http://www.educause.edu/conference/edutex/2001/, to see if they have been posted. Duane Gustavus' paper appeared in last month's Benchmarks Online at http://www.unt.edu/benchmarks/archives/2001/february01/freesw2.htm.

EduTex 2002?

Planning is already underway for EduTex 20002. It will be in Austin. Requests for proposals for presentations will be sent out next October, so be on the lookout for them. This is a great chance to meet with Texas educators and others involved, in some way, with information technology. This year, under the theme "Shaping IT in the Southwest," the conference featured four tracks: Technology & Applications, Infrastructure, E-Learning, and Management Skills. There will probably be a similar scheme followed next year.

EDUCAUSE

According to their Website, "The mission of EDUCAUSE is to help shape and enable transformational change in higher education through the introduction, use, and management of information resources and technologies in teaching, learning, scholarship, research, and institutional management." UNT is a member of EDUCAUSE, so anyone affiliated with the University is eligible for membership benefits. Additional information on all EDUCAUSE conferences can be found at http://www.educause.edu/conference/conf.html