Agriculture Information Technology

Advisory Group (AITAG)

Ag IT Advisory Group – 1:00 p.m. CDT, Friday, Sept. 1, 2006

Morrill 5A – Rosi Kloberdanz, Les Backer, Becky Koch, Jeff Gerst, Cindy Selstedt, Jim Hammond, Debb Pankow, Jerry Ranum, Vern Anderson
Langdon – Randy Mehlhoff
Williston – Gordy Bradbury
Grand Forks – Margaret Tweten

Randy opened the meeting and asked each person to introduce themselves. Randy said AITAG’s goal is to represent Ag users and make recommendations. Randy relies on Ag Communication and Information Technology Services for input on the agenda for AITAG meetings.

E-mail Switch

Becky said Ag Administration has asked Ag to move from @ndsuext.nodak.edu to firstname.lastname@ndsu.edu e-mail.

Jim expressed concern about ndsuext going away too soon. The tentative plan is to do away with it by Dec. 31, 2007. ITS doesn’t support automatic replies because it creates loops of e-mail. Rosi said maybe this needs to be studied more. Debb pointed out that in eXtension, experts will be expected to reply within 48 hours so others need to know when folks are gone.

Jerry said they’re working with staff to make the switch as new computers are going out. The majority of Ag staff use Pegasus. Sept. 15 is the deadline for security authentication, so a group will meet Tuesday to discuss NDSU and ndsuext security.

Jerry said people who want to switch first go to the Enroll page to see if they really have ndsu.edu service. If you use Pegasus and want to stick with Pegasus, there aren’t many changes. Data must be transferred to Outlook if a user wants to switch to that client. Pegasus can be kept for archived messages. Pegasus works with IMAP.

Rosi said the IT Communications Liaisons have discussed trying to narrow down the number of clients and versions to simplify support, but it’s a challenge. Rosi said Outlook comes free with Microsoft Suite. Outlook XP has security issues.

Becky said Lorna Olsen suggested using WebEx and/or Captivate to train people on how to make the switch. Jerry said the technicians still need to do some hands-on work. The first step is to check for NDSU accounts.

Margaret said she’s been telling staff they’ll need to enroll soon. Jim pointed out they almost must request NDSU e-mail.

Becky suggested having specific instructions written out for people to follow. Rosi said the Sept. 15 deadline for security may lead to calls to the help desk so they may not have time for other calls.

Rosi said it would be tough to get everyone switched by Sept. 15 so instead we should probably wait on the e-mail switch until the security issue is calmed down. Jim said the security change communicated from ITS doesn’t work on ndsuext.nodak.edu.

Items to clarify:
If I use ndsuext, what security authentication instructions do I follow?
Encourage folks to enroll in ndsu.edu for e-mail.
Check to make sure all staff, including those not paid by NDSU, are enrolled. Do they need EMPLIDs? Linda Hammen in Oct. ‘05 filled out a non-employee data form, but she never received anything back from Theresa Semmons.

Margaret said new staff might now have EMPLIDs. She said a new secretary received an e-mail said ndsuext.nodak.edu e-mail would only be forwarded for 90 days.

Rosi said NDSU e-mail quota has expanded to 300 megabytes for the mailbox.

Put your new e-mail address in your signature.

Gordy reminded that ndsuext.nodak.edu also has location e-mails in addition to personal names.

Baselines

The goal is to get the Ag and ITS software baselines more in synch. Jerry said ITS policy is supporting the current version and one version back. When Ag moved to Novell, fewer than 50 computers had Windows 2000. Jerry walked through the software baseline with the technicians’ recommendations. These recommendations need to be discussed more and voted on at the next AITAG meeting.

Training

Becky, Dave Rice, Lorna Olsen, CJ Johnson and Jerry Ranum have met a couple times to discuss IT training. Ag has just received a new training bank of 20 laptops. Lorna and CJ want to help train in locations across the state using WebEx and videoconferencing at the same time with a helper in the room. She also suggested using Captivate to train on e-mail. Margaret pointed out the Ag Econ faculty use the computer labs in offices across the state.

The group suggested that training is needed on Web page development, primarily more advanced functions; Web page design; and Access.

Becky said Ag is talking with ITS about moving all Web pages to the content management system TYPO3. This group should have a demonstration soon.

Meeting adjourned 2:30 p.m. CST.

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