Faculty and student communication amps up

Brandon Crane speaks with passion and enthusiasm about the wonders of the Connect project. 

“For me, it’s a wonderful tool. This semester all WSU students will be able to access the campuswide Microsoft Exchange service through phase 2 of the Connect project. I expect this to spread like wildfire,” said Crane, a senior in mechanical engineering who works as the faculty service consultant at Student Computing Services.

Through Connect, students can track and manage homework, schedule meetings for group projects, communicate easily through e-mail distribution lists and active directory groups, track progress of class projects, and interface with available software. 

“We know students will be using this to schedule their next Friday night adventure, so we need to focus on the academic benefits,” Crane said. “The Connect project will enhance the instructional process for the faculty who use this new technology in their classrooms.”

Crane cited several benefits to faculty from using Connect:

• Easy to use, effective and familiar means of communication with students;

• Quick scheduling;

• Simplified tracking of student projects through journaling;

• Direct tasking of student to-do lists; and

• Improved accessibility to all of these features through Outlook Web access.

Faculty who are interested in using the Connect Project to enhance their teaching are encouraged to contact Crane directly at bscrane@wsu.edu. He can provide support documentation and training classes to help faculty and students use this service.
Connect is part of the SIMPATICO (Student Instructor Media Partnership ­­— Advancing Technology Innovations through Collaboration) program. 

Visit  www.scs.wsu.edu/simpatico for more information.