Opening Letter

As a graphic designer, mentor, friend, and gentle soul, Ira Yarbrough has left
an impeccable legacy on CATS.

Having respect for each and 

every component of CATS, Ira offered his friendship, time, and wisdom to Directors and a plethora of former student 

workers. Unknowingly, Ira’s time and efforts have helped cultivate leaders and define what CATS is today. Ira has set an atmosphere conducive to hopefulness and creativity within each of our 

departments. 

So in honor of such a legacy, we dedicate this newsletter to Ira. Ira, your wisdom, warmth, and kindness will always be 

remembered. 

We aspire to continually use Ira’s legacy as a basis of motivation and 

diligence within our organization.

We love you Ira, 

You will never be forgotten.

Sincerely,

The Center for Academic Technology Support 

IHEC and CATS Multimedia Collab for The Motivational Intervention

David Closson filming on set in WEIU's green room.

Over the summer, CATS Multimedia and IHEC (Illinois Higher Education Center) had the chance to 

collaborate on The Motivational Interventions for College Drinkers  DVD. This project composed of an introduction, first section, and second section. The premise of this project is an interaction between a college counselor and a student seeking help with his drinking habit. 

The directors of this project, Cameron Craig and Pete Grant,  were grateful to receive their second grant-based project together.  Excited about the collaboration, Craig and Grant turned this project into a integrative learning project.  Altogether, there was a team of two graduate assistants from CATS, David Mitchell and Kyle Workman, one student worker, Rebecca Hunt, and students from Tempestas et Caelum Productions, Kole Rushmore and Drenen Martin.

Approached in May 2015 by David Closson, Assistant Director of IHEC, Grant and Craig were eager to allow this project to be completely produced by the students. Previous collaborations with the Multimedia team left Closson very eager and ready to work with CATS again.

Including both video production and captioning, this project allowed the students to have a real experience as 

videographers and captioners; they worked very closely with clients and allowed them to interact with them more. Their main objective, according to Grant, was to satisfy the request of the client. 

Grant believes that doing this project magnifies the talent of the students and helps build their technical skills as well as relationships with faculty on EIU’s campus. He believes for students, the IHEC project was an opportunity to flourish and grow as leaders.

Peter Grant on set training David Mitchell

A month after production had commenced, the project had been completed in entirety. Utilizing Canon XF300s, WEIU’s green room, and various post-production software enhanced the knowledge needed for future clients. 

Even though this project only included the captioning team and multimedia (videography) team, Grant hopes to include other departments in CATS to help with future projects. 

In light of it all, Grant and Craig continually aspire to provide 

students with opportunities to expand on captioning skills, 

videography skills, and graphic design skills. In the future, they want to obtain more grants to provide more networking and growth opportunities for the students.

Grant also states that this project made him knowledgeable about the grant-writing process, along with things to look for when searching for grants.

For more information regarding this story, contact: Pagrant@eiu.edu or cdcraig@eiu.edu

Reflections of Ira By Michael Babcock

 I had the privilege of sharing an office with Ira for eight years. We shared a lot. We shared stories, thoughts and feelings about everything from the disheveled squirrel outside our office window to confidences I have only shared with a handful of good friends in my life.  

Ira had a pleasant calm about him, a warmth and ease. He had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh. If i were to do the math (and i just did), I probably spent close to 20,000 hours with Ira. I would guess we spent about 10,000 of those laughing, hard. It’s how we started most of our days. Over coffee, we shared stories about life, art, love, children, parents, and occasionally even work. We laughed about all of it.

Ira had the respect and admiration of the entire office. He was the foundation of CATS and the glue that held it together. He was a mentor, a friend, and a refuge on stressful days. No matter what the circumstance, everyone wanted to hear his perspective. He always gave an honest opinion and presented it with tact and respect. He understood and valued the thoughts and perspectives of everyone around him, whether he agreed with them or not. I would guess Ira’s advice was sought after by everyone in CATS at one point or another.  

Sunday Morning Smile, 2001, mixed media.
Acquired by Booth Library. 

Ira was a hard worker who always had the best interests   and future of CATS in mind. This newsletter was his creation and an example of his desire for CATS to succeed in serving the EIU community. With every individual CATS hired, Ira was looking ahead. He had a real gift for understanding the dynamics of an office. Several of us are here right now because Ira saw something in us. I am absolutely certain i wouldn’t have the good fortune of working here if it weren’t for him.  

I’m not sure everyone knew how talented of an artist he was. He had been, and 

continued to be, a successful and prolific painter. His 

portfolio speaks volumes of his work ethic and his view of the world. His landscapes tend to focus on the warmth and beauty that surround us. Through color and light, he brought out all that was good. I think he was able to see that sort of potential with all those around him. 

Ira was truly an asset to EIU, and I feel blessed to have had him as a colleague, a mentor -- and most of all, 

a great friend.     

For information regarding this story, please contact: mwbabcock@eiu.edu

Tempestas and CATS Multimedia Rejoin for Expedition Taiwan

This past summer, CATS Multimedia and Tempestas et Caelum production team once again collaborated for 

Expedition Taiwan. The expedition lasted 15 days and was lead by Mr. Cameron Craig, documentarian and 

instructor within the Geology-Geography department. The intention for this trip was to document and capture intimate moments in hopes of exposing raw, true experiences while in Taiwan.

Mr. Craig and Tempestas Production Team

Before leaving from Charleston, the team loaded up DSLRs, tablets, smartphones, and a GoPro to capture all that they could about the 

landscape. Unsure of what Taiwan had to offer, the team was ready to once again make a footprint on new land. 

Once in Taiwan, the team documented their daily experiences.  Mr. Craig added, “The one thing I made them do is keep a diary on Facebook. So not only were they experiencing Taiwan, but they were also teaching people back at home. And the responses we got were so amazing.”  

Nathan Page, a student worker in Multimedia, stated he utilized both the Canon 60D DSLR and his personal tablet to document his adventures. Adding to this, he also used Adobe Photoshop to edit photos used for the Tempestas Facebook page.  His colleague and Graduate Assistant, Scott Wilkinson, used his cellular device and Adobe Premiere Pro to 

produce short videos, which he posted to Facebook. 

While using Adobe Software greatly aided in the production of Photos and Videos captured, the team looks forward to using more technology to help capture more “vivid” experiences.

Capturing this trip was merely one component of the expedition; the other was the growth and appreciation of Taiwanese culture.  One of the hurdles for the team was the language barrier. In the midst of learning a new culture, learning the native language was essential. Scott Wilkinson stated that to help with learning, he utilized a Google Translate App but also relied on hand gestures and prior knowledge to understand the  Mandarin language. 

Tapei, Taiwan-May 2015- by Nate Page

Wilkinson also added, “When talking with the natives, it helped me learn. Other times, I used my Google Translate App.”

Craig also mentioned that the trips not only heightened interest and exposure to the Tempestas Facebook page but to Eastern Illinois University as well. In his opinion, the video blogs, posts, and photos showcased another aspect of students at EIU. It provided parents and Facebook users access to the activism of the university around the world.  

In the future, Craig aspires to continue traveling with the Tempestas Production team and collaborate with the CATS 

Multimedia team. 

The Tempestas et Caelum’s Facebook page can be found at (https://www.facebook.com/tempestasfilms).

or more information regarding this story please contact: cdcraig@eiu.edu

Web Office Gives EIU Homepage a Facelift

The Fall 2015 semester brings with it a new look for Eastern Illinois University’s website as the Web Office launches the latest iteration of its homepage.

“A redesign is necessary to keep things modern and continue to meet the ever-changing expectations of our prospective students,” explains Ryan Gibson, CATS director of web services. The university website’s last

 redesign came in 2012.

“We’re also using all the most recent analytics data to make sure our site is best serving the needs of all users,” says Gibson, referring to research on users’ habits and tendencies when accessing Eastern’s web space.

Jamie Kemp, graphic designer in the Web Office, said the biggest goal for this redesign was to make the site responsive, meaning it will have the same quality and appearance across all different screen sizes.

“We wanted the user to have the same EIU web experience regardless of whether they are exploring our site on an iPhone or a 27-inch HD display,” says Kemp. “With so many other websites becoming responsive and so many web users becoming accustomed to the mobile site being identical to the full site, it was imperative that we bring Eastern up to date.“

“We also wanted to take our homepage and build on the concept to create a space to really sell 

Eastern Illinois University to potential students. Now, the homepage will have a good amount of initial 

information for that potential student who hasn’t been previously introduced to EIU.”

Along those same lines, increased prominence of “call-to-action” links for applying now and 

scheduling a campus visit were an area of emphasis.  

Screenshot of trending section on EIU's new homepage

“I wanted those buttons to be one of the first things a new student would see when coming to the site,” says Kemp. “We also wanted to make the 

homepage a little more interactive for the viewer; we wanted to have a space for visitors to get a ‘first taste’ of Eastern through the Explore EIU section of the 

homepage. 

“We have also created a slide-out section that will give users a sense of personal customization by showing them their recently visited pages and recent searches.”

Secondary pages will also see revamping in an effort to make the most sought-after information readily 

available and easiest to find for users.

“In the university web world, the more ways you have of finding something, the better your user experience will be,” says Kemp. She adds that not everything will change; prominent homepage links to the A-to-Z Index, PAWS and Panthermail will remain.

“Both our click statistics from last year and our beta testing this year showed there is a large percentage of EIU website users who rely on those links,” said Kemp. “There are some boundaries that should be pushed when designing or updating a website, but at other times, you have to recognize those things that still work and why it’s important to keep them.”

Kemp mentioned beta testing; in the days leading up to the new website’s launch, 

prospective students, current students, and faculty members were brought in to give the new site a “dry run” with Web Specialist III Jay Grabiec  moderating the proceedings. Grabiec asked each participant to complete various tasks on the website, and their 

interaction with the new layout was observed and recorded for the purposes of fine-tuning. 

Jay Grabeic with student during beta-testing for the website

 “So much of Eastern’s potential student base has grown up using the InternTet; it has become imperative to catch their attention with the website. For many, their first impression of Eastern will be made online. It’s not just about having a nice flyer in a high school counselor’s office anymore. It’s about connecting with them on a digital and personal level and giving them a real reason to visit out campus. 

“They may not be able to tell you why a website is bad -- only that it IS bad -- but that is more than enough to turn someone away before they’ve even started exploring. We, at the very least, have to provide them with the same quality they experience through the rest of their web lives in order to stay competitive as a university.”

At the end of the process, Kemp is happy with how the new site has turned out.

“There were a few compromises I’ve had to make along the way, but in the end most of my ‘compromises’ ended up working out better for the overall design and user experience. I think more than anything we have done a better job of telling Eastern’s story and conveying why someone would want to call Eastern Illinois University home.” 

For more information regarding this story, please contact: wdwhite@eiu.edu or jlkemp@eiu.edu

Michael Babcock: A Man With a Vision by Dustin White

There’s no such thing as “downtime” for CATS videographer Michael Babcock; his work is always in demand, and the past few months have been no exception. 

“Over the last two years, we’ve averaged over a video per week out of this office,” said Babcock, whose 

award-winning work is featured all over EIU’s website and is also used for

 recruiting purposes when prospective students are on

 campus for visits.

Babcock captures footage of band students at
Mattoon Middle School

Throughout the summer, one of Babcock’s projects has been to film nearly 50 short interviews with faculty 

members from all four of EIU’s colleges to get their 

perspectives on being educators.

“The whole thought was to have short little glimpses into their personalities,” said Babcock of his faculty subjects, “to give a prospective student an idea of who they’ll someday have in a classroom.”

Babcock says the short pieces have an intentionally low production value in order to make them feel as candid and relaxed as possible. If they’re well-received and the university’s colleges and academic departments find them effective and useful, additional faculty members will be approached.

“This was kind of a test,” said Babcock. “If we feel like they work, we’ll do more of them when more faculty are around.”

In an effort to secure footage for several outcome pieces to be featured on EIU 360, Babcock also made a quick trip to Nashville along with student assistant Chris Boswell and Jay Grabiec, whose photos will also be used online and in recruiting pieces.

The team caught up with five successful Eastern alumni during that two-day, one-night trip, procuring enough material for at least as many videos. Babcock says the scheduling for such a quick trip is definitely a challenge but totally worthwhile.

“Logistics are tough when scheduling, but the end result is a ton of good content that can be useful in a variety of ways,” Babcock said, adding that the experience is particularly invaluable to Boswell as he sharpens his skills. A similar trip was taken to Chicago in Fall 2014, and Babcock says the hope is to head back north for a second time this semester.

Aside from Boswell, Babcock has received extensive help from Frank Lanham, an unpaid summer intern and a junior film major at the University of Notre Dame but hails from Charleston and is home for the summer months. In exchange for some credit hours, he has provided an extra pair of capable hands on many of Babcock’s 

summer projects.

“Frank picks things up really quickly,” said Babcock. “When I communicate an idea or concept, he understands immediately.”

Said Lanham, “For me, it’s been great to interact with the equipment here and get some time working with all the editing software – just logging time. I’m getting ready to take some more advanced production classes at Notre Dame, and this’ll give me a good head start.”

It remains to be seen, but Lanham may very well have lent a hand on some award-winning work. Babcock’s videos have been entered in many competitions over the past few years, bringing home some impressive hardware. Take the Case V Awards, for example: his video for the “An Appetite For Change” story on EIU 360 beat out 47 other entries from prestigious universities (like Harvard, for instance) from all across the nation. Here’s what the judges had to say about it:

“This video did a fantastic job of taking a subject and topic that wouldn’t normally be visual and made it so. We liked that the video bridged teaching and research effectively and made the research relevant. The story connected academics and the classroom to the research, and it connected the students to the teacher. The artistic opening shots (such as panning the mailbox) were beautiful. These subtle artistic effects throughout the video brought out an emotional reaction to the piece. Technically, this video was well-edited and produced, and had a compelling aesthetic style. It fell in line closest to good cinematography (different frame rates, matching to the music). This can be a difficult subject to capture on video, but they delivered the message perfectly.”

For Information regarding this story, please contact: wdwhite@eiu.edu

CATS Alumni Spotlight: Jamie Kemp

Coming from Springfield, Ill., Jamie Kemp has proven herself to be a valuable component of the Center for Academic Technology Support for quite some time.  Beginning her student worker position in 2009, Jamie worked for Michael Babcock. With Babcock, she engaged with the world of video editing  along with minor graphic design projects. Through the close relationship with Babcock, she then was introduced to Antoine Thomas, the former Training Specialist for the COL, the Center for Online Learning, where she began doing minor web design work.

Working for Thomas, Jamie gained a valuable relationship with former graphic designer Pete Taylor. She worked closely with Taylor, learning new skills and advice for future endeavors. She stated, “Through this task, I got the chance to learn from PeteTaylor about web designing, and because of that relationship, I was awarded the graphic designer position within the web office.”

Once in the web office, Kemp was able to get her hands dirty: from web designing for the Doudna, to web designing for the Whiteside Gardens, and finally, her most recent work, the home page for Eastern Illinois University’s website. In the web office, with the collaboration of University’s Marketing and Communication team, Jamie’s work has expanded to all of Eastern’s benefit. Doing minor work outside of CATS, Kemp has proclaimed herself exclusively a graphic designer for EIU.

Even with all the success, she says she would not have the fortune of being a great graphic designer without the help CATS.  At CATS, Kemp has learned the importance of the levels of communication. Once a graphic design major, keeping her work exclusively for her eyes was key, but she now works and collaborates with her team within the web office. Providing input on her designs, she claims it has helped make her a better graphic designer and still gladly accepts feedback.

She states “We collaborate as a team within the web office—I created the design and I hand it off to Ryan.”

In the future, Kemp intends to continually grow as an artist and ambitiously pursue projects that  challenge her creativity. 

Role of CATS in Cooperation with High School

One of the most satisfying projects that one can accomplish is when we face a new, exciting situation while stretching our skills to deliver quality work. Mr. Mark F. Johnson, assistant to the Dean for 

Academic Technology for the College of Sciences, talks about his experience of taking photos and filming in the chemistry lab at EIU. 

The "Chemistry: The Central Science" textbook
Customized Edition for EIU

The project began in July 2014 following an idea by Daniel J. Sheeran, associate professor and General Chemistry Coordinator. Sheeran asked Johnson to record a few high school lab experiments, 

something that couldn’t be done in a high school due to safety concerns. However, using a chemistry lab at EIU equipped with the necessary safety 

measures, the team was able to safely document the experiments to show to high school students.

“It was for the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE); they wanted this for all the high schools,” says Johnson. “They are going to add in teachers’ 

interviews… we were shooting just the experiment part.”

One of the photographs taken by Johnson has since been published on the cover of EIU’s custom 

chemistry textbook Chemistry: The Central Science. The photograph displays the reaction of potassium when dropped into water. This reaction is visually explosive due to the chemical reaction of potassium causing water molecules to become unstable, 

releasing hydrogen extraordinarily quickly. Because of results of the chemical reactions, videotaping and photography were difficult; however, Johnson worked around these difficulties during the experiments. Photos of this and other experiments, such as the observation of the reaction of wire and acid, can be found at the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eiucos/sets/72157657121391508

Johnson used various technology resources to produce different results, some of which was provided by CATS Multimedia: a Canon 60D DSLR with a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 lens and Canon 5D MkIII with a Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 lens were utilized for videography and photography respectively.

Johnson is eager to do these kinds of projects more, seeing them as opportunities to promote EIU.  He is already working with members of the Multimedia team on a documentary, and he would like to shoot more videos and photos with different experiments in chemistry and physics.

For more information regarding this story, please contact: mfjohnson@eiu.edu

CATS Digital & Multimedia Team: Update on Kaltura

Kaltura is a media delivery system that has been used by CATS Digital and Multimedia Services for the past two years. Last year, the team beta tested the system; this year, they’ve been implementing it at EIU. Faculty members who teach D2L-oriented courses now have a Kaltura widget available for use.

A recent trend amongst instructors is adding media to their online environment and Kaltura can help with this. For example, if a lecture is taking place, teachers can use the media delivery system to show something in class. “I’m noticing this trend because we are getting more requests to make sure these things are captioned as well for hearing-impaired students,” says Pete Grant, Director of Digital and Multimedia Services.

The process begins with filling out a project request form (eiu.edu/cats/home/media_project_request_form.php). The CATS educational media graduate assistant, along with Grant and a captioning graduate assistant, then meet with the faculty member. Next, Chad Elliott, Director of the Gregg Technology Center, will establish a new Kaltura account. This account is linked to their EIU account. The faculty members provide media to the captioning graduate assistant and, once it’s uploaded, the faculty member is shown how to upload media themselves.

If faculty members want to upload any media independently, the Digital and Multimedia teams asks that the faculty member come to them first. “A generic account will be generated, which is hard for us if we need to search for media or upload more later on,” Grant said. “But we also want to make sure their Panther account is associated with their Kaltura account.”

Screenshot of Kaltura in D2L

Using the Kaltura widget within D2L seems to be the easiest way to use the system. “I don’t recommended using media for the sake of media or technology for the sake of technology,” Grant said. “What is happening is change and, if they need to incorporate media, the online environment is a great place, especially since many classes are going online.”

Most people are watching media on their phones and Kaltura does support playback on mobile devices. EIU and its faculty need to be aware of the trend; this generation of students almost exclusively uses laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. “You have to look at the trend of students. You have to adapt the technology with the generation you are working with,” said Grant.

So far, Kaltura has been flexible and open to changes. It is also getting ready to release a lecture capture tool. Currently, we are using Panapto, which is great, but Lecture Capture will be better because it will be a one-stop shop. Grant is hoping EIU can become a beta tester for the Lecture Capture tool as well.

For more information contact Pete Grant via email: pagrant@eiu.edu.

Center for Online Learning Hires Instructional Design Specialist

Christine Stricker

The Center for Online Learning at CATS provides training, support and services for faculty, staff and students that are involved in technology-enhanced courses. The Center for Online Learning’s new Instructional Design Specialist for Online Learning, Christine Stricker, is doing just that by assisting faculty and staff with their online courses.

Stricker explains: “I look at their course, see where improvements need to be made and then I train them on how to implement those changes.” Offering a good quality online course is a great way to attract more students to Eastern Illinois University, and that’s what the Center for Online Learning is here to help ensure. Online courses are beneficial to a variety of groups, whether it’s student athletes or the non-traditional adult students.

“If a class is able to be offered online, then we want to provide that to students and make it more accessible,” she stresses.

Aside from reviewing online courses, Stricker is also working on providing helpful materials for COL. Currently, she is creating a series of ‘tips and tricks’ that will be posted on COL’s website, eiu.edu/col, where instructors can pick up little bits of information to add to their courses.

Stricker is also working on designing course templates in Desire2Learn, which will help to make the setup of online classes less painful. “They can drag and drop the template into another course and fill in their information so they don’t have to start from scratch,” explains Stricker. She is very keen on stressing the importance of faculty to alter their courses from face-to-face to online. “Instructors may already have a structure they go by, but there are more elements they need for online courses that they may not have in their face-to-face ones,” she stated.

Since it is sometimes difficult for faculty members to change their organizational system to fit the online structure, Stricker does the organizing, which allows them to focus more on the content of their course. Stricker hopes to make all of these new features available online so faculty and staff can access the information whenever they need it. “So much work is done after hours, and I want them to be able to do it easily,” she added.

Faculty and staff can visit the Center for Online Learning offices in 1125 McAfee to receive assistance with their online courses; however, an appointment is recommended and can be made via the website (eiu.edu/col/solution_center.php).

For more information contact Christine Stricker via email: clstricker@eiu.edu.

Communications Studies Graduate Student and CATS Employee Receives Award

The L.E. Norton Higher Education Student Award is named in recognition of Dr. Norton, who was a professor of communication studies at Bradley University and a founder of Bradley’s speech and debate team for collegiate competition. Clinton Brown, graduate research assistant for CATS and a communication studies major, was the recipient of this year’s award.

The L.E. Norton Higher Education Student Award is given to students who demonstrate commitment to their discipline and commitment to their university through service. A student has to be nominated by a faculty or staff member and is then chosen by a panel in order to receive the award. Any student within communication arts discipline in higher education in Illinois was eligible for nomination of the award.

Dr. Richard Jones, assistant professor, nominated Brown towards the end of the spring semester. Brown then had to provide his vitae, supporting documentation, and letters of support to be reviewed by the panel. Brown found out in July that he was the recipient of the award and was asked to give an acceptance speech at the Illinois Communication and Theatre Association (ICTA) conference in Naperville, Ill. in September.

Brown also noted that one of the individuals who is a member of the organization and is on the executive board of the panel was Brown’s high school English teacher and speech coach. He stated, “She was part of my past, Dr. Jones is my present, and this award is me making my own future.”

Dr. Richard Jones presenting award
to Clinton Brown

Clinton stated that his experiences, not only throughout school, but also at his current job have helped him to achieve greatness. “I was in the department honors program, which gave me opportunities to go to conferences and present that I may not have had otherwise,” Brown said, “and to be able to do my own research through my position at CATS has just enhanced it.”

Brown’s job at CATS also enables him to be able to provide service, such as working one-on-one with faculty on their projects and initiatives. “It has allowed me to create a great deal of contacts,” stated Brown. His graduate studies also indirectly involve his experiences at work by completing assessments for different departments and running statistics and compiling the information for them.

Outside of his studies and work, Brown also tries to reach out to students and the community by completing service projects. Brown recently organized a trip for students to go and complete the march for marriage equality. “To do service, you have to see there is an opportunity to do something and you have to take that initiative,” added Brown.

“There were many students who were equally deserving and I just happened to have received this award, and I am very thankful for it,” he said. “But I wanted to communicate to them … there’s no way I could have imagined that 20 years later I would be standing here recalling the ICTA conference, and accepting the L.E. Norton Higher Education Student Award. However, my own story, I believe, raises an important question. That is, what if we strive to ensure that every student has such positive experiences within the communication arts?”

For more information contact Clinton Brown via email: clbrown3@eiu.edu.

Web Office Finding New SiteImprove Tool Quite Useful

A new tool is helping the CATS Web Office greatly enhance the user experience of Eastern Illinois University’s website by dramatically reducing instances of broken links and typos/misspellings across the site.

Late in the Fall 2014 semester, the office began using SiteImprove, a web-based web governance software that periodically scans each page of the university’s website. From each scan, a database is compiled with the location of each non-working link on each page of the site along with misspelled – or potentially misspelled – words.

Additionally, administrators of EIU’s SiteImprove account can enter specific words or terms it would like the software to flag down; for example, the software can find all instances of the word “dorm” and allows users to quickly locate them and change them to “residence hall”.

Certain “top level” pages on Eastern’s site that have proven to draw the most user traffic can also be designated so that a quick check of the software’s web interface can verify that none of these pages contains any major problems.

Screenshot of SiteImprove

“Since we first began working with the SiteImprove software in mid-October, we’ve been able to cut the dead links on Eastern’s website by over 80 percent,” said Dustin White, the web specialist doing a bulk of the work with the new software. “In addition, we’ve found and fixed nearly half of the misspelled words on the site.”

White says there are well over 8,000 pages on Eastern’s site, so tracking down and fixing such a huge percentage of these errors in such a short period of time would have been more or less impossible without SiteImprove.

“We’re continuing to work toward shrinking that number even more, although you’re always going to have a handful of dead links,” added White. “That’s just the nature of having such a massive site. The important thing is now we have a good way to find and fix them in a timely manner.”

In the future, individual offices and departments should be able to begin receiving reports on just their own websites. With this, they can either be assured of the quality of their site’s content or be aware of pages that need immediate attention.

“This tool has proven to be quite valuable,” said Web Office Director Ryan Gibson. “It creates a better experience for users and saves our office a tremendous amount of time tracking down dead links.”

For more information contact Ryan Gibson via email: rwgibson@eiu.edu.

CATS Multimedia and Tempestas Team Up for IPA Grant Project

Over the summer, Mark Johnson, Assistant to the Dean for Academic Technology for the College of Sciences, was approached by an Illinois high school to produce films on some chemistry experiments. Little did he know this would lead to an extensive first-time grant project opportunity for CATS.

The high school was thankful and ecstatic about the work produced. Around the time of its completion the Illinois Principals Association (IPA) was seeking a university to assist with producing a series of videos for core curriculums new model math and English Language Arts (ELA). The chemistry group that Johnson worked with earlier in the year referred the CATS Digital and Multimedia team to the IPA and in return, the IPA contacted Johnson about interest in the grant project.

Johnson collaborated with Pete Grant, Director of Digital and Multimedia Services, and Cameron Craig, Geographer and Professor in the Department of Geology/Geography, to write up the ultimately accepted proposal. Craig serves as the project lead, Grant is the administrative lead, Johnson takes photos of the events, and Rhonda Brotherton, Administrative Aide for CATS, is the budget administrator. Johnson, Grant and Craig then selected a group of Tempestas et Caelum (Craig’s film company) students and Digital and Multimedia graduate assistants and students to create an IPA project team.

The team began filming in September and has visited about 10 Illinois locations. During filming, Craig is teaching students how to shoot properly as Johnson photographs the event. The students film class lectures, pre- and post-interviews with instructors, interviews with principals, and interviews with students about their teachers and how they are dealing with model math.

Once filming is finished, footage is brought back for Grant to make available for review by IPA members. Then the students, who are each assigned a video, will begin editing the 2-3 hours of footage down to 10-minute pieces. Each school will have its own 10-minute segment. The whole project will wrap up around April 2015.

This project provides the students with great real world experience on how things get done on a project. It has also allowed the team to purchase some new equipment to assist them with the project. “We have had some great collaboration and team building with traveling and staying at hotels with the students learning about each other,” Grant added.

After the grant project is completed, they are hoping to continue more grant work by turning it into a documentary. If they are able to complete big projects in the fall and spring, they can hopefully use it to finance the expedition projects.

“This is all about integrative and applied learning for the students”, Grant added. “Ultimately, Mark, Cameron, and myself wouldn’t do this if there was no benefit for the students.”

For more information contact Pete Grant via email: pagrant@eiu.edu. 

CATS Alumni Feature – Will Barrett; By Will Barrett

Will Barrett

My name is Will Barrett. I am 26 years old, from Waukegan, Ill., and I had the pleasure and honor of working for the Center for Academic Technology and Support from 2012-2014. I received both my Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies – Communication Theory Practice and my Master of Sciences – Training & Development from Eastern Illinois University.

I began working at CATS as a student worker doing transcription for various CATS multimedia projects as well as numerous WEIU productions. I eventually earned a graduate assistant position for the Campus-Wide Media Events section of the department. It was my responsibility to document and record a wide array of events that would take place on campus. Additionally, I was responsible for editing, publishing and uploading these videos to various social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook, along with the Eastern Illinois University website.

Since graduating in May 2014, I have relocated to Houston, Texas where I am currently working as an Executive Team Leader of Human Resources in the Greater Houston metropolitan area for the Target Corporation. As a Human Resources Manager some of my core roles are to control and monitor staffing needs, screen and conduct applicant interviews, manage employee payroll and benefits, and ensure that Target is in compliance with various state and federal labor laws.

The position I held at CATS adequately prepared me for my role as a young professional and gave me the necessary tools to be successful in starting my career. The responsibilities I had while working for CATS, such as conducting and leading meetings with faculty members as well as my colleagues, interviewing interested applicants, managing multiple student workers, and completing projects to meet specific deadlines are no different than what I am currently doing now professionally. I also gained a wealth of knowledge from Pete Grant, my supervisor and mentor, who helped to mold me and impart important knowledge and advice that has helped me greatly to make that transition to my current position.

My advice for any current or prospective graduate assistant and/or student is to take full advantage of the opportunities and resources around you. Envision where you want to be months from now, and make the necessary moves to ensure that they happen. Get in contact with individuals that are currently in positions you desire to be in, and take notes on how they obtained their roles. Do not fall in the mindset that after graduation you will enter the so-called “real world”. The world that you are currently in is very much as real as life after college, as long as you prepare yourself and approach it as such. Lastly, I encourage you to set short term and long-term goals for yourself and keep track of your progress. This will help your transition from student to professional an even more enjoyable experience.

Web Team Snags Honors in National Competitions

The CATS Web Office is gearing up for another busy academic year and it does so after learning this summer that it was the recent recipient of some impressive awards from the University and College Designers Association (UCDA).

Three projects submitted by the office garnered recognition, including two videos and one website. Going up against submissions from much larger universities like Harvard, Northwestern, Auburn, and the University of Illinois, EIU had two of the 11 recognized videos and one of eight websites receiving honors.

While the office as a unit collaborated on these award-winning projects in various ways, a bulk of the load was shouldered by Michael Babcock, the office’s videographer, and Jamie Kemp, the office’s graphic designer.

One video was produced for the university’s Autism Center in an effort to support the center’s crowdfunding campaign, while the other is a powerful recruitment piece that was originally created for one of the university’s Admitted Student Day functions in February and has since been utilized for many other recruitment purposes.

The website to receive honors was built and designed to highlight Eastern’s 2013 Annual Report.

Ryan Gibson, Director of Web Services, believes it is important to note the effort to get student workers involved in these projects.

“A cool thing about these projects is that each had undergraduate students on the production teams,” said Ryan Gibson in a recent university press release. “At EIU, we talk a lot about hands-on experience.  (Our students) now have award-winning videos/websites to include in their portfolio.  In our industry, having these types of items in a portfolio gives our students a huge step up against other applicants.”

Babcock’s previously mentioned recruitment piece also recently brought home Award of Distinction honors at the 18th Annual Videographer Awards Video Competition. Entered into the Educational Institution category, the EIU entry went up against work from all over the country and was one of eight videos in its classification to garner Distinction status.

According to the awards website (www.videoawards.com/) this is “one of the oldest and most respected awards programs in the industry” with an aim at “honoring talented individuals and companies in the video production field.”

New Center for Online Learning Integrates CATS Training Services

The goal for Training Services at the Center for Academic Technology Support (CATS) has always been to provide technology-related professional development and support through training to all faculty, staff and students. With that in mind, a new center has been developed to keep the campus up to date with technology training while adding some additional new services. 

The idea behind a Center for Online Learning originated from a 2012 report to the Provost from the Online Learning Committee. The committee recommended that EIU expand its online learning, but until now there was never any subsequent action taken. Julie Lockett, Director of the Center for Online Learning, states: “The purpose of the COL is to assist the university in ensuring the quality of online learning, education, and instruction at Eastern Illinois University.”

The COL will include Training and Development Specialist, Kim Ervin, as well as a new Instructional Design Specialist for Online Learning, and graduate assistants. Faculty representatives from the College of Education and Professional Studies (CEPS), College of Arts and Humanities (CAH), College of Sciences (COS), and Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences (LCBAS) will be added over time.  Ervin will continue to provide training and D2L support. The Instructional Designer will provide training in areas of best practices in teaching online and consultations.  The graduate assistants will no longer be conducting faculty training, but will instead provide support for training and D2L via phone, email or one-on-one appointments.  They will also be available by request if a faculty member wants to train an entire class on an instructional technology.  The four faculty representatives will be available for consultations, but will also review courses and help recommend policies and guidelines.

In essence, the COL is a combination of all the current services offered by CATS Training Services including training and online course development, and provides additional services related to online learning.  Regularly scheduled training workshops will no longer be offered for students, but support services and online tutorials for different technologies, such as Lynda.com, will still be available.

The new COL main office will be located in McAfee Gymnasium Room 1125. The COL Solution Center, located in McAfee 1210 (previously known as the CATS Training Services Center) will be the work area for the graduate assistants and other COL staff that will be providing support. The COL Lab (formerly known as the Training Services Lab) is located in McAfee 1214.

“Center for Online Learning is not just a new name; we are combining training services with the services we already provide for online teaching and learning and then adding some additional services,” Lockett said. Ultimately our goal is to help promote quality online teaching at Eastern so that we can increase the number of online course offerings and hopefully boost enrollment.”

For more information on the Center for Online Learning, visit: eiu.edu/col, or contact the Director of COL, Julie Lockett via email: jalockett@eiu.edu.