Page 6 - 2021 OIT Progress Report

SUPPORTING INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS AND FACULTY NEEDS
Our ATSDs participated in several efforts to help support individual courses or programs. Dr. Culver partnered with Dr. Kiersten Ferguson, head of the M.Ed program in Education Policy and Leadership, and other school staff, in creating “Mustang University,” a fictional university where students in the Simmons program can access simulations, collect data, and meet in a mixed-reality environment with university leadership. This work involved the creation of a website, mock student social media accounts and records, and
technical, political, and logistical hurdles.” As the Guildhall program relocated from the Plano campus to their new home in the Gerald J. Ford Hall for Research and Innovation, Levi continued to partner with faculty to adapt various technologies to ensure all program participants could collaborate and communicate throughout the game development lifecycle.
In the Perkins School of Theology, Professor Andy Keck contacted ATSD James Pan for assistance
pre-recorded simulation conversations to be placed in delivery tools like PlayPosit so students could choose how to respond and see the impact of their choices in real-time.
OIT exceeded my expectations in terms of dedicating the time of our ATSD
on a major research project. James quickly identified the right solution for his needs. “OIT exceeded my expectations in terms of dedicating the time of
our ATSD, James Pan, to
The travel restrictions during COVID introduced another complexity for instruction, particularly for our graduate game design program in the SMU Guildhall. Several students residing in China needed to continue their studies with
the same experience and rigor of on-campus learning. Guildhall ATSD Levi Sterling developed solutions that would meet student needs effectively as well as securely. Levi states that
his “biggest accomplishment of this year was
the design, implementation, and maintenance
of our Hong Kong Perforce server instance, which enabled students from opposite sides
of the world to collaborate in a synchronous development environment, despite complex
the Wesley Works Project. What seemingly began as what I thought to be a straightforward request for server/webspace
ended up involving considerable effort by our ATSD to sort out the security/permissions issues to enable the smooth operation of the Strophe open-source publishing app. He has been an invaluable partner in this work.”
These stories showcase the versatility, expertise, and commitment of our ATSDs. We continue
to work towards improving Canvas adoption, enhancing student learning experiences, supporting the increased use of technology for research and data science, and ensuring that OIT serves each respective school in alignment with their individual strategies.
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