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Lately there has been some discussion about saving energy by shutting down computers at night. Some have said that computers go into “Sleep Mode” or “Hibernation” and thereby save lots of energy. This is a good thing right? That depends upon whom you ask. According to a website called greendaily.com, if every device was left in sleep mode it would still be a huge drain of wasted energy. Millions of devices on standby, ready at a moment’s notice to jump into action when needed sounds like a good thing no longer. I personally have several devices at home that are in “standby” mode, things such as the battery charger for my 18 volt power saw, the charger for the AAA batteries for my wireless mouse and digital camera. I once had a set of under counter lights that even when shut off would still have a very warm transformer, hours later. It could only shut off if it was unplugged. Wasted electricity and more coal burned to keep that transformer at the ready.

Green Daily goes on to say that by the year 2010, 20% of every American’s electricity bill will go towards paying for this wasted energy.  Let’s see, if I could pay 20 percent less to the power company, I might be able to afford that trip to Finland next year to see those relatives I’ve never met, but number into the hundreds. And Finland is an expensive place to visit.

So by all means, turn off those computers and monitors when you leave work (unless they are University servers: Don’t touch that switch!). Turn off anything that has an LED light still glowing and isnt’ being used except for a little bit each day. Or even better, unplug the device completely if the glowing eye won’t shut off. It actually takes less energy to start them up again next morning than leaving them on all night in “Sleep Mode”.

But there is debate about how much to shut off and if it takes too long to catch up to all those updates that take place on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. But first thing, turn it on and go get a cuppa joe or catch up with your buds and before you know it, your machine will be ready to tackle the day.

Tags: Administrative, Policies, Uncategorized by Jace Laakso
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I recently read an article detailing the savings of right turns. UPS estimates saving three million gallons of fuel last year by providing their drivers with right-turn routes.

The article got me thinking. At first I remembered a news article from my youth in NW Ohio about a man stopped by our local sheriff deputy who claimed to be driving around the United States by only making right turns on orders from the Lord. While this does not seem like a way to save gas, it was also 30+ years ago when the price of gasoline was not an obstacle to seeing the USA in the auto of your choosing.

Upon returning to present-day Missoula after a detour to my childhood, my thoughts turned to ways of examining everyday practices to make a difference. I believe by taking small steps to chance our routine we can make major changes. I first started this process by turning of my computer at the end of the workday. Then I began turning off my office light while attending meetings, and taking the bus to work several days a week. Small changes to my routine which over the course of a year will add up to real savings in electricity and fuel.

Kermit the Frog argues it is not easy being green, but I would have to disagree. As we celebrate Earth Day let us think of the ‘right turns’ we can take to make a better world for all.

Tags: Administrative, Innovation, Leadership and Management, People, Strategy by Randy Gottfried
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The gap between college students and those who teach, administer and serve them is deep and wide when it comes to technology. That disconnect was discussed extensively last year during two days of web strategic planning at UM.  It seems critical that we reconcile the discomfort with technology among us aging Baby Boomers with the growing and changing expectations of the Net Generation. But how do we do that?

Educause has an e-book available on its site called Educating the Net Generation that might be worth a read. You can download the entire 264-page book in PDF format, or you can read it chapter-by-chapter in PDF or HTML format.

J. James Wagner, assistant provost for enrollment management and university registrar at The Pennsylvania State University contributed a chapter titled “Support Services for the Net Generation.”  In a section subtitled “It’s not about technology” Wagner says more or less what the UM web strategic planning group attempted to articulate: that campus leaders (all of us) need to do a better job of aligning our investment in technology with broad strategic goals of the University.

Here’s what Wagner had to say:

“The Net Generation cares about the activity technology enables, not the technol­ogy, per se. The use of technology to improve student services will be critical to the academy. Yet, it’s not about technology. Technology is a tool—it represents the means, not the desired outcome. Students will use technology; in fact, they will expect services delivered through technology. But before focusing on technology, student service professionals must articulate a clear and unambiguous vision that provides the framework for the technology. IT staff are important contributors to the desired outcome and must be part of the process; however, the leadership for improved student services should not be expected to come from within the technology ranks. Rather, it must come from those charged with advising and registering students, administering student aid, admitting students, collecting tuition and fees, and so on.”

Tags: Academic, Administrative, Innovation, Leadership and Management, Strategy, Web by Gordy Pace
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An inventory of IT policies is available on the web at http://www.umt.edu/it/inventories/policies.

This “work in progress” attempts to aggregate IT policies and policies with IT implications in one place. It includes Board of Regents policies, official UM policies, and a few departmental operating procedures that have broad impact.

If you have comments, questions or suggestions for improvement, please leave a comment below, or email Gordy Pace.

The policy inventory is one of several IT inventories available at http://www.umt.edu/it/inventories.

Tags: Administrative, Governance, Leadership and Management, Policies by Gordy Pace
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