edACCESS 2008: Roundtable and Focus Groups

Roundtable: On the first day of every edACCESS conference, all attendees join a facilitated roundtable discussion. Each participant has the opportunity to briefly introduce themselves, their institution, their experience, and their hopes for the conference. Our roundtable provides an opportunity early in the conference to discover other attendees with similar interests or relevant experience, and helps to determine focus group topics, the heart of our conference program.

Focus Groups: At edACCESS the participants generate the focus groups! Using the roundtable discussion, attendees create a list of focus session topics, and conference organizers find attendees qualified to lead the discussions. This process allows the conference to meet the expressed needs of participants, and it helps attendees to get to know each other through informal discussion. edACCESS focus groups are widely acclaimed and a perennial highlight of the conference. Here are some examples of focus group topics from recent conferences:

• Google Earth & Sketchup • Tablet PCs • Blogging • Technology & pedagogy; proactive integration • Wikis • Moodle • Locking down the network • Strategic planning • Podcasting • Detecting spyware with Snort • Digital Asset Management • Malware/Spyware • Student registration • Smart Boards • School leadership issues • 1 to 1 computing • IT Policies • Getting Things Done • Wireless networking • Tiger/Windows integration • Dealing with spam • Portals • Digital Language Labs • VOIP & IM • Streaming Media • Technology successes with faculty • Campus wide backup solutions • Prism • Citrix/Thin Client • Wired Authentication with 802.1X • Using students for repairs & support • Employee retention • Monitoring versus filtering • Mixed platform environments • SIF and administrative systems • Technology committees • IT professional development • Disaster planning • Security and firewalls • Project management • LDAP directory services • Laptop programs • Support of students computers • Grant writing • Service request tracking • Using consultants • Remote administration products • Telephone systems • Technical staffing models • E-mail systems • End user support and help desks • Creating/Editing videos with students •

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