Osgoode Hall Law School - York University

Technology and the Law School Learning Experience
The members of the Information Technology Committee with approval from the Dean
have proposed a technology oriented theme for this year’s Osgoode Course Design
Institute (OCDI) to encourage engagement by faculty members with technology
issues arising in and around the learning experience at Osgoode.
Proposed topics include
• addressing the role that technology plays in learning (not only informing faculty
about available technology, but also highlighting actual faculty experience on a
variety of topics),
• learning assistance outside the classroom (websites, blogs, podcasts,
chatrooms, email),
• evaluation methods (including new possibilities associated with technology),
• the changing role of course materials (including issues about online and webbased
materials).
The goal is to allow a range of faculty experiences and experiments with technology
to be included so that nobody is excluded and because often broader engagement
may coalesce around more moderate or considered uses of technology.
E. Other Initiatives
Helpdesk Ticketing System / Inventory Tracking System
For a number of years Osgoode has utilized a CRM application, Maximizer, for
tracking service requests and related correspondence. While Maximizer has indeed
been beneficial, greater flexibility, inventory integration and reporting are needed in
order to further enhance the quality of service (QoS) to the Osgoode Community.
Several new Help Services software are being tested to determine the ideal solution.
We expect to commit to the successor of Maximizer during the summer of 2008.
Desktop Deployment and Maintenance
Osgoode continues to extend the functionality and efficiency of its desktop computer
deployment techniques. The universal image process will be further enhanced by
integrating this method with Novell’s ZenWorks. The universal image allows us to
create a standard, brand independent, software image that, when combined with
sysprep, significantly reduced deployment time to multi-brand/model computing
environments. Additional techniques will be developed and tested to automate the
initial configuration of the Lotus Notes client on new machines.
Tivoli Systems Management
A project team will evaluate the feasibility of integrating IBM Tivoli systems and
storage management solutions with Osgoode’s existing IBM Director environment. If
testing proves successful it will be used for the proactive management of the health
and availability of the server infrastructure, including operating systems, databases
and servers. Systems status reports could also be published and maintained in real
time to a web page for easy reference. The storage add-on provides intelligent tiered
storage management and automated archiving capabilities.
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