canheit 2012 building the digital university crowd sourcing the technology support centre wayne...
TRANSCRIPT
CANHEIT 2012
Building the Digital University
Crowd Sourcing the Technology Support Centre
Wayne Hansen – UNB Saint John
Contact Info
Twitter: @WayneDHansenEmail: whansen(at)unb.ca
Web: waynehansen.ca
Images Obtained Through Creative Commons License
Todays Presentation
• Discuss technology trends• Examine ‘crowdsourcing’ and how it works
• Learn about the UNB Saint John model• Discover if the the implementation works
• Discuss what can be learned
What this presentation will not be
• It will not be a sales pitch or full blown demo of our hosted solution
The Argument
I intend to argue that the proliferation of information technology has had a profound
effect on all aspect of our lives including the way we do our jobs.
Crowdsourcing can be a useful tool to help combat shrinking budgets, relieve overwhelmed staff, and provide comprehensive support in a
new way.
What is crowdsourcing … and what is mass intelligence ?
What is crowdsourcing … and what is mass intelligence ?
Crowdsourcing is an action that produces a tangible result
Mass intelligence or wisdom of crowds is the aggregation of information in groups
Mass Intelligence
… is achieved through the following
•Diversity of Opinion•Independence
•Decentralization•Aggregation
Crowdsourcing IT Support
Asking for community participation to create mass intelligence.
Does anyone know the story behind GoldCorp and crowdscourcing?
Changing IT Landscape
Changing more rapidly
than ever
IT departments
not gatekeepers
Embracing BYOD
ICT and knowledge
commodified democratized
Experiencing ‘future shock’
What We Are Seeing
Democratization of knowledge and the ‘death
of the expert’
As a Result
IT support staff are simply overwhelmed by the volume and
variety of hardware, software, and dynamic
needs of our clients.
My Last AUCTC/CANHEIT Presentation
• Focussed support. One on one service. Dedicated staff.
• I still believe there is a place for this model though a hybrid solution may work better.
Don Tapscott
Collaborative innovation is revolutionizing the way we work, live, learn, create, and govern
What Can We Learn From Tapscott ?
• I would argue that his model is too simplistic (deterministic ideas that technology solves
everything)BUT
• He does make some very relevant points that if true in larger society surely we can apply
them to IT Support
UNB Saint John
STC Challenges
Mixture of FTE/Student Employees, Downsizing
iMacs, PC’s, Multiple Buildings, infinite software
Personal Devices, BYOD, cell, tablets, PC’s
GetSatisfaction
Social Media Integration
Web Integration
Integration
It has become our knowledge repository. We can email, tweet, or like our solutions to students.
The Bigger Picture
We have embraced
students helping student and this is a logical extension
of that model.
The Bigger Picture
It is part of our solution – not the
only solution.
Larger Community Buy-In
Rolling out to recruitment and registrars office
Conclusions
Why This Will Work
• The support centre cannot be open 24x7x365 but this can
• Student are ‘tech savvy’ and anxious to help each other• It a logical extension to
prevailing trends not just within Higher Education
• Transparent open data
Why This Will NOT Work
• Student wants the the problem solved .. Not the
answers• Students are not tech savvy
will not be active participants
• We overestimate the relevance of IT in our
students lives
Interested ?• There are some leaders out
there.• Check out Indiana University, Ohio State
• James Surowiecki. Wisdom of Crowds.
Contact me. We can talk.
Questions/Discussion