Instructional Support Services (ISS)

Helping Create LSA's Best Teaching and Learning Experiences

FAQ

About Us Business Office	Instructional Classroom Database	Equipment Loan Centers	Classroom & Instructional Support	Media Center
Instructional Consulting	Design & Engineering	Instructional Technology Committee	Employment with ISS	Misc.

About Us

Q. What is the LSA Instructional Equipment Fund, and what can it be used for?
A. The College provides a limited amount of funding (on the order of $225K per year in FY08 for the entire College) through the Instructional Equipment Fund to support LSA units’ instructional requests. These funds are requested through the budget process. Departments typically use Instructional Equipment Funds to upgrade or replace installed media or instructional technology equipment. In the vast majority of cases, funding for the outfitting or replacement of equipment in departmentally assigned classrooms, outside of the Instructional Equipment Fund request process, is the responsibility of the LSA unit that is assigned the space.

Q. How can I apply for LSA Instructional Equipment Funding?
A. LSA Departments may apply for LSA Instructional Equipment Funds during the regular annual departmental budget submission. See instructions on the budget submission form for details or contact your departmental analyst in LSA Finance.

Q. Who are the mysterious students who go from classroom to classroom late at night and early in the morning with large backpacks, a phone, and a clipboard, who check the equipment, and then vanish? Are they associated with the custodial staff?
A. No. As a matter of fact, they are part of our team of ROVERs (Routine Observation of Vital Equipment and Resources). To ensure that all classroom equipment functions properly when you need it most, we test all classroom equipment and make sure that every LSA classroom is equipped with two acetate rolls and functioning acetate overhead projectors. They are an important reason why faculty and students can rely on LSA classrooms. If you have any questions about the room or about LSA ISS, don’t hesitate to ask one of the ROVERs.

Instructional Classroom Database

Q. How do I know what type of equipment is in the classrooms?
A. LSA Instructional Support Services maintains a website that provides information about all LSA centrally-scheduled classrooms. You can search for a room that best meets the needs of your class or event, and also access support information such as printable operating instructions for the A/V equipment and contact information for additional help. The link to the database can be found at the ISS website by clicking on Instructional Classroom Database. You will need to authenticate with your Kerberos password.

Q. Where can I find instructions for how to use the equipment found in an LSA classroom?
A. Instructions for all classroom A/V equipment is available on the LSA ISS Classroom Database. You will need to authenticate with your Kerberos password. Once in the Classroom Database, click on “Browse by Building” to find your classroom. At each classroom site, instructions for the classroom equipment is found under “Printable room instructions (pdf).”

Equipment Loan Centers

Q. Do you loan out adapters so I can connect my computer to a data projector or digital monitor?
A. We do not loan out individual adaptors by themselves. Most PC laptops have the appropriate VGA connections in the classrooms that will connect directly to ISS cables for data projectors and digital monitors. People with Mac laptops need to bring the appropriate VGA adapter that came with the computer from the manufacturer.

If you need a Mac laptop with an adapter, we can check out an ISS computer with the appropriate adapter that fits our computers.

Q. Why can’t I check out a Mac adapter to connect my Mac to a data projector?
A. This is a very frequently asked question. Unfortunately, manufacturers do not have consistent VGA adapters across product lines. We are unable to stock every type of adapter for all of the different laptops on the market, or for all of the different types of computers faculty, students, and guests bring with them from all over the world.

ISS staff members are trained to support ISS computers and are able to work with the specific peripherals appropriate for ISS computers. There are far too many types of adapters for ISS staff to know specifically which adapter you would need for your personal computer.
Unfortunately, in the past, VGA adapters were regularly not returned to ISS Loan centers. ISS is not sufficiently budgeted to subsidize personal computer peripherals for every patron who comes through LSA classrooms.

Every personal computer came from the manufacturer with the appropriate adaptor. If you bought your Mac computer, it came with a VGA adapter. If you do not have a VGA adapter that connects your computer to our data projectors and monitors, you will need to contact your computer manufacturer or a local or online distributor. Here are some links:

UM Computer Showcase: http://showcase.itcs.umich.edu/
Apple Store: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/mac_accessories/displays

Q. Do you deliver equipment to classrooms?
A. No. LSA ISS does not deliver equipment to classrooms. There are two equipment loan centers to serve you located in Mason Hall and Dennison Hall.

Please Note: If you need assistance moving equipment from a loan center to your classroom, when you make your equipment reservation you may coordinate with ISS loan center staff to have a reliable student from your class pick up and drop off your equipment. You may also speak with the Manager of ISS Operations if you face special circumstances and are unable to pick up equipment for your classes.

Q. How long can I check out equipment for?
A. Length of time for which you can check out equipment varies by equipment. Most AV equipment can be checked out from ISS’ Mason and Dennison Loan Centers for five days. Computers and some high-end equipment can only be checked out for less than 24 hours. Some high-end video equipment requires completion of special training in advance.

However, if you have a special need requiring equipment for a longer loan period, you may submit a special request to the Mason Hall Loan Center. Please call our office at 615-0100 or email us at lsa-iss-reservations@umich.edu for more information.

Q. What if I am unable to pick up the equipment from the Loan Center myself?
A. You may make arrangements in advance to send someone to pick up reserved equipment for you, but please let the Loan Center know in advance that you will be sending someone other than yourself. Without advance arrangements, we cannot let equipment go with someone other than the person who made the reservation.

Please Note: the person who made the equipment reservation, and thus the person to whom the equipment is checked out, is ultimately responsible for the equipment. Please choose a responsible party if you are delegating someone to pick up or drop off equipment.

Q. Do I have to sign the equipment loan agreement EVERY time I pick up equipment?
A. Yes. We aim to ensure the safety of our equipment every time you have a new checkout. The signed loan agreement also verifies that you are aware of due dates, the type of equipment you are receiving, and any special information for the equipment.

Q. Who can checkout equipment from Instructional Support Services?
A. All LSA faculty, staff and students are able to checkout equipment. Non-LSA students who are enrolled in LSA courses may checkout equipment to complete projects for those LSA courses. Non-LSA students may be asked to verify enrollment in an LSA course. Rackham students whose home department is an LSA department or program may also checkout equipment, after verification of the home department.

Q. Where are your equipment loan centers located?
A. ISS operates two loan centers on Central Campus where LSA faculty and UM students enrolled in LSA courses may checkout a wide variety of AV equipment for classroom use and for short-term loans:

         Mason Checkout Center
         G340 Mason Hall
         (734) 615-0100
         lsa-iss-reservations@umich.edu

          Dennison Checkout Center
         (open Fall and Summer semesters only)
         267 Dennison Hall
         (734) 615-0100
         lsa-iss-reservations@umich.edu

Instructional Support Services’ third checkout center provides professional grade video and audio equipment to LSA students, faculty and staff:

         Media Center Video & Audio Equipment Loan
         330 East Liberty, 4th Floor
         (734) 763-1104

Q. What do I need to bring with me in order to pick up equipment from an ISS loan desk?
A. To checkout equipment, you must provide a University of Michigan I.D. along with a course title and number to support your student, staff or faculty status.

Q. My information is blocked on the U of M Online Directory for personal reasons. Can I still checkout equipment from ISS?
A. To make a checkout in our computer system complete, we need the information that UMOD provides. If you are unable to unblock your information for personal or security reasons, you may request a departmental secretary or a faculty member call in the reservation for you. We will put your name and Uniqname in the order notes so that you can pick up the equipment. Please note, however, the equipment will be checked out under your sponsor’s name. That will be the person to whom we come for fines and/or damages. That person must be aware of the responsibility he or she takes on as a sponsor.

Q. May I make a recurring reservation throughout the semester?
A. Yes, recurring reservations can be made. To make a reservation, please call 615-0100, stop into a loan center, or email us at lsa-iss-reservations@umich.edu.

Q. May I borrow equipment for an organizational meeting or event?
A. Yes. You will need one person, who will be responsible for the equipment and is affiliated with LSA, to check out the equipment. That person will be the one to whom we come for fines and/or damages. That person must be aware of the responsibility he or she takes on as a sponsor.

Q. What type of equipment does ISS have available for loan?
A. From the two loan offices located on Central Campus (G340 Mason Hall and 267 Dennison Hall), LSA faculty and UM students enrolled in LSA courses may checkout a wide variety of AV equipment for classroom use and for short-term loan including:

Laptop computers (Mac and Windows)
DV/HDV video cameras
Digital photographic cameras
Digital audio recorders
LCD projectors
TV carts
Overhead projectors

From our Media Center loan office (330 E. Liberty, 4th Floor Suite), LSA faculty, staff and UM students enrolled in LSA courses my checkout a wide variety of professional and semi-professional equipment for short-term loan including:

High Definition video cameras with tapeless Direct To Edit (DTE) recording systems
Standard Definition DV video cameras in both professional and semi-professional kits
Portable video editing systems
Digital SLR photographic cameras
Lighting kits specialized for video production
Wide array of digital recorders and analog-to-digital converters
Professional hand-held, shotgun and digital microphones

Classroom & Instructional Support

Q. What is the LSA Space Policy and why is it important?
A. The LSA Space Policy sets who is in charge of what space in LSA and who has responsibility to maintain, support and replace equipment and facilities in a space. It is important as it sets standards for departmentally managed classrooms, conference rooms, and other meeting spaces. Click here to view the LSA Space Policy.

Q. If my department is responsible to support, maintain, and replace equipment in departmental classrooms, how can I get help? Are there funds available for this?
A. As stated in the LSA Space Policy: Departments may request funds for upgrades or replacement of installed media or instructional technology equipment from the LSA Instructional Equipment fund managed by LSA Instructional Support Services (LSA ISS). The College provides a limited amount of funding (on the order of $225K per year in FY09 for the entire College) through the Instructional Equipment Fund to support LSA units’ instructional requests. These funds are requested through the annual budget submission. In the vast majority of cases funding for the outfitting or replacement of equipment in departmentally assigned classrooms, outside of the Instructional Equipment Fund request process, is the responsibility of the LSA unit that is assigned the space. In many cases major improvements will only be considered if the space is converted into an LSA centrally scheduled classroom.

Q. Why won’t LSA ISS support the equipment in our departmental classroom?
A. The primary mission of LSA Instructional Support Services is to support teaching and learning in LSA centrally scheduled classrooms. These classrooms can be found in the Instructional Classroom Database. According to the LSA Space Policy, departments are responsible to maintain, support and replace equipment and facilities in their departmental spaces. This includes departmentally managed classrooms, conference rooms, and other meeting spaces, identified in the Space Survey as belonging to the department. To view the LSA Space Policy click here.

Q. My department is interested in converting departmental space into an LSA centrally scheduled classroom and having LSA Instructional Support Services take over support and maintenance of the space. Whom do we contact?
A. Please contact Dr. Monika Dressler, Senior Manager of LSA Instructional Support Services, mdressle@umich.edu.

Q. What is involved in turning a departmentally managed classroom over to LSA to become a centrally scheduled classroom?
A. The process for turning a departmentally managed classroom over to LSA to become a centrally scheduled classroom typically involves:

ISS works with the department to identify departmental priorities
From those conversations, ISS would send the Registrar’s Room Scheduling Office staff the priority times your department would need blocked off for weekly scheduled departmental activities (brown bags, faculty meetings, staff meetings, etc) for the entire semester. This is typically between 2-6 hours per week per room.
ISS and the department would also identify any significant annual events which might need to be blocked off (for the sciences, these include week-long or month-long camps and outreach activities in the Spring/Summer sessions).
Together with the departmental Undergraduate Secretary, ISS would communicate to the Registrar’s Room Scheduling Office that the particular department should have priority to schedule courses for Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer sessions. ISS would also confirm with the Undergraduate Secretary the regular process by which she/he would communicate directly with Room Scheduling about any changes to priority courses in future (specific numbers, specific faculty, etc.).
After Room Scheduling places departmental weekly activities and departmental priority courses, the Registrar’s Office would schedule all other courses (LSA and non-LSA courses) that fit the room attributes.
All non-recurring events (one-time events, interviews, job talks, faculty-student meetings, one-time presentations) would need to be scheduled directly with the Registrar’s Office Room Scheduling. Any free times would be filled on a first-come first-served basis.

Q. What are the advantages of turning a departmental room over to the College to become a centrally scheduled classroom?
A. The advantages of having a room turned over to the College to become centrally scheduled are:

The room would be added to the LSA ISS schedule for room upgrades.
LSA ISS would maintain, troubleshoot and repair any equipment in the room.
LSA ISS staff would be available to train faculty how to use the equipment in the room
LSA ISS Help Desk Staff would be available for basic technical assistance/support calls between the hours of 8am-10pm M-Th, and 8am-5pm Fr.

Q. The classroom I’m teaching in is equipped with a TV cart. Can I hook up my laptop to the TV?
A. Unfortunately you cannot. A laptop uses a VGA cable to connect to a projection device. The TV has RCA inputs that will allow for a VHS or DVD connection but not a laptop. Our TV carts do not have a VGA input so a video projector must be used.

Q. I don’t know how to use the equipment I need for my class. Do you offer services to help me learn how to use the equipment?
A. Yes, our Loan Centers are staffed and maintained by a highly-trained and knowledgeable team of students. We can quickly teach you how to use any of our equipment and answer any of your questions. If you would like assistance for using the equipment with any of our classrooms, we ask that you call 615-0100 or come to a loan center so we can process a request for training. If you encounter problems during your class, please feel free to give us a call and we will assist you.

Q. The room I’m in does not have a video projector. Can you schedule a different classroom for me?
A. Unfortunately, ISS does not handle room scheduling. Your departmental secretary can help you with that through the Registrar’s Room Scheduling Office. LSA ISS does, however, have video projectors and laptops that you can borrow during your class time. Please call 615-0100, email lsa-iss-reservations@umich.edu or stop into either of our loan centers to make a reservation.

Q. What equipment comes standard in a classroom?
A. Every LSA classroom is equipped with a VCR, DVD player, and an overhead projector. Some classrooms are more enhanced and contain equipment such as video projectors and built in computers. To learn what is in your classroom, please visit the ISS website and click on Instructional Classroom Database. By visiting this website, you can take a virtual tour of the LSA classroom you will be teaching in and get a complete listing of the AV equipment in that room.

Q. Whom do I contact when I am having a technical difficulty with the equipment in my classroom?
A. For all LSA owned centrally scheduled classrooms, you may contact Instructional Support Services at 615-0100 and someone will be able to assist you immediately.

Q. What services am I receiving if I schedule an event to have a technician on site for the duration of the event versus having a technician simply setup my event?
A. When a technician is on site for the duration of an event, the technician will be on hand to assist in the event that there are technical difficulties. The technicians are also available to help orchestrate lights, audio, and any video needs during the event. This allows you to focus on your event and have the technician handle all equipment and A/V needs. Please Note: Departments and University Groups will be charged for staffing for special events (ie: all non-class events).

Q. What should I expect when I request assistance from the ISS Help Desk regarding issues with the technology in a classroom (615-0100)?
A. When calling our help desk, the representative answering your call will first ask all the identifying information about the situation: the building and room number and the professor, GSI, or student’s uniqname. The representative will then inquire about the nature of the problem. They may suggest certain “quick fixes” that may solve the issue without further assistance. If this does not solve the problem and it is an urgent issue requiring immediate attention, the representative will visit the classroom during the class time to attempt a solution.

USB (Undergraduate Science Building)

Q. I’m scheduled to teach a class in the Undergraduate Science Building. I know there’s a computer there, but whom do I contact for help?
A. Requests for help in the USB classrooms should be emailed to: usbtech@umich.edu. If you have other concerns about the building, e.g., access to locked rooms, lights/heat, etc., you should contact usbadmins@umich.edu.

Miscellaneous

Q. My room is too hot/cold. Whom should I contact?
A. Although we are not directly in charge of heat and other facilities problems, we are happy to forward the information along to the proper authorities. Please contact LSA Instructional Support Services at 615-0100. We will contact the appropriate individuals at Plant Operations with your concerns.

Q. Whom do I contact for furniture needs, in case I need extra chairs and tables?
A. Please email lsa-classmaint@umich.edu with all of your classroom furniture needs.

Q. Where can I check my class’ room assignment?
A. Schedule of classes can be found at http://www.umich.edu/~regoff/schedule/

Q. I have media that I need transferred to a different format (VHS tapes to DVD, and so on). Whom do I contact?
A. There are three locations on campus that will assist with transferring your media:

         ISS Media Center (Central Campus)
         Language Resource Center (Central Campus)
         Duderstadt Center (North Campus)

If you are a faculty member with a large project requiring materials to be digitized, please contact the ISS Instructional Technology Consultants for assistance. They will be able to connect you to funding needs, personnel to help on the project, and other University partners (BlueStream, University Library, etc.).

Q. Can the wireless connections in the classrooms be turned off (to prevent students from playing on their computers during class)?
A. Unfortunately not. Due to the way the University wireless network is setup, we are unable to turn it off without disrupting service.

Q. How do I know which LSA Buildings have wireless?
A. Thanks to a major initiative from LSA Dean Terry McDonald, all LSA Buildings have wireless. Please click here for more information and a building map.