NCRTM Retools Infrastructure, Expands Capacity

Wednesday, September 3

We have made considerable progress in upgrading the computing facilities of the Clearinghouse. Truly, it can be said that we are down to the "short strokes". Some of the features of the site will alternately function and not be available, but these are becoming fewer and fewer and we will soon be able to declare that the conversion is completed. If you need access to any of these items, or have any other information needs that are not being met, contact Jennifer Robinson at the Clearinghouse. Her email is jennifer.robinson@usu.edu and her telephone number is 1-866-821-5355 or 1-435-797-3416.

If you are looking for information about the ASD Project (Accomodating Students with Disabilities in Higher Education) the packets are available for $5.00 for shipping and handling. Please call Jennifer Robinson at 1-866-821-5355 or 1-435-797-3416 to order.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

The Clearinghouse has signed a service level agreement with Utah State University Instructional Technology Department (USU IT), marking the beginning of a summer-long upgrade of its' technological infrastructure. Over the next few weeks, we will be transitioning our local servers into a virtual hosting environment. In this set up, USU IT maintains a matrix of servers and provides access to space and processors on demand. This will maximize speed, scalability, security, and stability of the system while resolving some intransigent IT problems. It will also free up in-house resources to focus on the development of content and delivery. In the short term, we have disabled the credit card feature in the continuing education portal and will not be offering CRC credits until further notice. It is possible that we will experience some temporary "glitches" as we sort out any broken links or errant code. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience. In the long term however, this move to professional grade infrastructure provides the foundation for service innovations that have been on our minds, but beyond our resources to implement. As an added bonus, virtual hosting will free up approximately 5-7 terabytes of local server space for special projects. We are already revising our strategic plans to make use of this massively expanded capacity. We are calling it NCRTM 3.0. Stay tuned.

NCRTM Resources

• Digital Library
  

  An online archive of rehabilitation counseling training materials and related educational resources. The collection includes historical and current products digitized from every media format. Search by author, title, or subject. All items are available for free download or can be ordered for a small processing fee by emailing us at ncrtm@usu.edu, or by calling toll-free, 1-866-821-5355. Please include your mailing information.

• RSA Webinar Resources
  

  Providing Webinar Services for virtual meetings, conferences, or trainings.

• RehabJobs

  A virtual one-stop center for employers and job seekers in the rehabilitation counseling profession. Employers can post jobs for direct service providers, managers, educators, researchers, and staff. Recruitment materials are available in our on-line store. The recruitment workshop offers marketing advice from colleagues and more. Job seekers can view openings, and post their own resumes.
• Community Portals
  

  Special interest webpages hosted by NCRTM, but administered and populated by stakeholders. Current webpages are dedicated to Assistive Technology, the Community Legacy Project, Wyoming DVR CARN training. Interested parties are encouraged to set up new pages on topics of interest.

• Curriculum Collection
  

  A resource for rehabilitation counselor educators. Webpages are organized around standard course topics and include curricula, reading lists, powerpoint slides, notes, quiz items, and student activities.

• Newsletter
  

  A resource for rehabilitation counselor educators. Webpages are organized around standard course topics and include curricula, reading lists, powerpoint slides, notes, quiz items, and student activities.

• New Acquisitions
  

  A resource for rehabilitation counselor educators. Webpages are organized around standard course topics and include curricula, reading lists, powerpoint slides, notes, quiz items, and student activities.