Agriculture Information Technology

Advisory Group (AITAG)

Ag IT Advisory Group – May 14, 2008

Christine Hargiss, School of Natural Resources graduate student; Cindy Selstedt, Food Systems/Rural Leadership; Gordy Bradbury, Williston REC; Jim Hammond, Plant Sciences; Les Backer, Ag and Biosystems Engineering; Margaret Tweten, Northeast District, chair; Randy Grueneich, Barnes County; Becky Koch, Ag Communication; Jeff Gerst, ITS

Hardware Baseline

Jerry Ranum shared the hardware baseline and recommended Dells and HPs for the upcoming Extension cost share purchases. We can get HPs cheaper on state contract. Also, the Dell prices have come down. ITS probably will continue with Dell – now $100 difference on desktops and at least $100 difference on laptops. Does Windows XP void the warranty on HPs?  No problem on corporate agreement.  For cost share, list that both Dells and HPs are available and recommend Extension pay half of the HP cost. If people want a Dell, they pay the difference.

Content Management System

The ag.ndsu.edu and other URLs have been heavily marketed, so with a move to the CMS, many redirects will need to be developed. The goal is a very flat hierarchy and short URLs.

Web Conferencing

Most people don’t have Webcams to use with Wimba so discussions suffer compared to videoconferencing since you can’t read faces.

NDSU IT Committee System Overview

Jeff said Bonnie Neas is now vice president of IT and on the President’s Cabinet. The proposed IT committee structure is flatter with fewer ITAGs. AITAG members pointed out that the public missing from the committee structure, not just Ag Outreach. County offices and RECs are not represented. Jeff will take this concern to Bonnie and VP Coston.

NDSU Events Calendar

Becky represented Ag and University Extension on the campus events calendar committee. Major Ag events may go on the university calendar, and https://www.ndsu.edu/eventcalendar will link to the Ag and University Extension calendar, which will continue to be used for events across the state.

Web Guidelines and Policies

Ag Administration has not yet voiced support on the Web guidelines and policies recommended by AITAG. “Support our troops” is another example of a statement that’s not educational, but rather a personal opinion. At least one faculty person has a link to a University of Phoenix link since it provides a free hit counter.

Next Meeting

AITAG won’t meet again until the new group is formed.

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