The kinds of impact highlighted in the case studies highlighted here are illustrative, and showcase what can be done through collaboration, through trust, through clarity of purpose, and through resourceful problem-solving. Centers that do this are going to be crucial to the continued growth and progression of any organization. The successes of campus and museum-based New Media Centers are many, but the challenges that have had to be met and overcome have been many as well. The work we do is hard, but we do it because it is deeply meaningful, with profound potential to change peoples’ lives.

For that reason, we hope that you will find the straightforward strategies presented here and the real stories that accompany them to be useful in maximizing your own success. They are lessons hard won, from people who learned them in the trenches of teaching and learning.

For the authors and contributors, the joy of this project has been in discovering and discussing these lessons, which members have encountered over and over on campuses large and small. May they be as helpful to you as they have been to us.

• Abbe Altman, The California State University
• Jared Bendis, Case Western Reserve University
• Vincent Doogan, New York University
• Victor Edmonds, University of California, Berkeley
• Jurgen Faust, Cleveland Institute of Art
• Jim Ferolo, Bradley University
• Vince Friedewald, Notre Dame
• Lucia Gilbert, University of Texas at Austin
• Lorah Gough, Houston Community College System
• Larry Hatch, Bowling Green State University
• Joeann Humbert, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Todd Jensen, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Larry Johnson, The New Media Consortium
• Helen Just, St. Edward's University
• Robert Kaleta, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Diane Keller, Union College
• Coco Kishi, University of Texas at Austin
• Barbara Knauff, Dartmouth College
• Anne Leonard
• Mace Mentch, Case Western Reserve University
• Tamrat Mereba, North Carolina Agricultural &
• Technical State University
• Larry Miller, University of Tennessee
• Paul Mireault, HEC Montréal
• Wayne Morse, Emory University
• Paula Nichols, Lamar University
• Terry Patterson, Art Center College of Design
• Leah Perlman, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Kathleen Plinske, McHenry County College
• Nick Pumilia, Marquette University
• Mike Reese, John's Hopkins University
• Jason Rosenblum, St. Edward's University
• Alicia K. Russell, Northeastern University
• Ruth Sabean, University of California, Los Angeles
• Esther Schooler, Maryland Institute College of Art
• Cynthia Scott, San Diego Community College
• Kevin Shanley, Edmonds Community College
• Wendy Shapiro, Case Western Reserve University
• William Shewbridge, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
• Rachel S. Smith, The New Media Consortium
• Krista Terry, Radford University
• Derek Toten, Tulane University
• John Weber, Tang Museum at Skidmore College
• Jim Williamson, University of California, Los Angeles
• Holly Witchey, Cleveland Museum of Art
• Lou Zweier, The California State University

The Situation
The Community of Academic Technology Staff (CATS) was created in 1998 in response to a need for CSU campuses to provide cost-effective professional development and training for their academic technology personnel. Also, campuses were losing experienced techs during the dot-com boom. Developing CATS programs was seen as one answer to staff retention.

The Action Taken
We began with a conference and sponsored attendance of 4 staff from each campus to participate in a 3-day conference. The event was put on “for and by the staff,” meaning that CSU personnel both developed the conference program and presented the sessions. At the conference, staff had the rare opportunity to network with peers from other campuses to share knowledge and expertise. In subsequent years, additional programs, including a small grants program, listservs, and domain-specific Communities of Practice were launched to continue leveraging the networking that took place at conferences, and CATS became a year- round professional development program. In addition, some campuses have created “local CATS” groups that meet regularly to discuss their particular campus’ issues, network with one another, and share their expertise.

The Effect on Campus
Conference attendees evaluated the conference and declared it a huge success. The staff stayed in touch with the people they’d met from other campuses in order to perpetuate the conference experience. Attendees returned to their campuses with new tools and growing expertise in their fields – not to mention boosted morale – and campus administrators began to see the value of such a program. The conference is now an annual event.

Tips for Other Centers
Identify academic technology leaders on the campus(es) and bring them together for a planning session where they can identify common problems. Based on the information gathered, they can begin to shape a conference. Ask the campuses to support the effort by identifying personnel that can present on the selected topics. Provide lots of opportunity for networking—some CATS members have said that although they learn a great deal from conference sessions, they get more out of connecting with other participants. Get financial backing to sponsor attendees, at least for the first event. Fund and dedicate at least one staff person whose job is to coordinate CATS-like events and programs as well as logistics. Do lots and lots of marketing.

Establishing a reputation of being part of the solution builds on other strategies previously discussed. Because your center has formed allies, you have the ability to reach out to other units on campus and bring them in. Because your center is productive in effective ways, the community is aware of what you have to offer and thinks of your organization when something comes up. Because you are known to be adaptable, people have confidence that you can meet any challenge creatively. And because you make your boss look good, he or she naturally wants you to be part of anything big that goes on.

Cultivating the skills of collaboration, cooperation, and creative thinking in your staff will move your center forward. In addition to possessing technical competence, being good team players will secure your people a seat at the table.

How to Get There: Suggestions from Directors

Be a credible, positive force for solutions and good decisions. Do your homework; a little research, prepared in a way that is easy to read and presented to the major decision makers, will help establish your center as a source of valuable, unbiased information. Make recommendations based on research. To build credibility, spend a little extra time to make your printed materials attractive and usable – not necessarily four-color glossy pieces, but clean and well-formatted.

• Provide problem-solving, not just implementation. Look for opportunities to apply the expertise of your staff to meet challenges on campus. When you approach a project, consider the larger picture and see if there is a strategic solution rather than a stop-gap one. Be known for your ability to solve problems, not just your ability to install software or create multimedia presentations.
• Work with faculty so they become your advocates. Training, support, and relationship- building will turn clients into loyal supporters. Nurture your relationships with your allies and they will recommend you when things come up. Be available when faculty need you.
• Volunteer. Pay attention to what's going on around campus and speak up when there is something your center can help with. Let people know that you think you might add. When you sign up to do something, deliver – and deliver bigger and better than you promised. Be part of the planning as well as the implementation.
• Build a track record. Become known for being a team player, and for helping people to create high-quality solutions, and your campus leadership will think of you right at the start. As you market your center, highlight those areas where you were part of designing a larger solution.

The Situation
At the University of Texas, Austin, it was perceived that research materials for undergraduate students were underused. Since one of the provost’s initiatives is to support undergraduate research, we perceived a need for a resource to help students learn about and find research opportunities.

The Action Taken
This was a collaborative effort with several colleges and the highest levels of administration. CIT worked with stakeholders, conducted a needs survey, and organized an advisory committee. This work informed a proposal for an Undergraduate Research Clearinghouse website that clearly identified the goal of the project, described the development and maintenance needs and timeline, identified the specific promotional activities needed to ensure use and success of the website, and listed the functions and features of the proposed site.

The Effect on Campus
EUREKA! features an online directory of faculty research interests for the more than 1800 faculty members and research scientists at UT Austin. Visitors to the site are able to search by keyword and find faculty from a wide range of fields working on a variety of topics. Students use EUREKA! to find tips on getting started in research, information on funding and publication, and postings by UT faculty for research positions on campus.

The system has had a very positive effect, especially on changing the culture of undergraduate research. Students now understand what undergraduate research is, have a vision of themselves as researchers, and understand that research occurs in areas outside the natural sciences and includes the humanities. Something we hadn't anticipated is that faculty are getting linked to each other and working collaboratively and across disciplines in research and in areas such as networking grant proposals. The University of Texas system has asked us to create a similar program system-wide.

Tips for Other Centers
It really helped to identify stakeholders from all around campus early on, so as to approach this problem using both grassroots and top-down efforts to generate interest and solicit input. We were fortunate that all stakeholders were keenly interested in the success of this project, and that it aligned with an important initiative of the provost's. Once we received initial input, the team worked with a smaller group of primary stakeholders. Like any website, this system requires frequent updating as faculty come and go, and the key to its success is advisors who match faculty research needs with students of appropriate backgrounds and interests.

Finding out what your boss's goals are can be daunting, especially within the hierarchical system of a university. For those who are able to, the most straightforward course is to sit down with your boss and talk about his or her goals. If that is not possible, look for clues wherever they may be; listen carefully in meetings, ask clarifying questions, and keep abreast of decisions made in your boss's arena. When you begin a project, meet with your boss and talk about how you plan to approach it. Lay out the goals as you see them, giving your boss a chance to respond by validating or clarifying what you have said.

The idea is to put yourself in the position of helping your boss look good to his or her superiors by framing your unit's objectives in the context of the larger goals of the institution. The point is not to flatter or ingratiate yourself with your boss, but to align your part of the organization with the greater direction of the college, school, campus, or university as a whole. Doing so will ensure that what you are doing is part of the larger picture.

If your relationship with your boss is not on a footing that makes it possible to have such a frank conversation, or if you are not blessed with a focused boss, the situation becomes a little more difficult. You may need to look further up the hierarchy for guidance: what are your boss's boss's goals? Look to where leadership is coming from, and align your goals with those goals. Knowing the larger picture, whether or not you know your what boss's goals are, can only help you position your organization to maximum effect.

How to Get There: Suggestions from Directors

Once you are aware of your boss's goals, the next step is to place your organization in a position to support and advance those goals. For that to happen, you need to understand, respect, and support your boss's objectives. Translate these into goals that your unit can meet, make sure that your focus aligns with these goals, and document your progress and successes.

• Manage your boss's expectations so that your goals are achievable. As with any other client, setting expectations early will reduce misunderstandings and disappointment later. Make sure your boss understands what your organization does and what the skills and strengths of your staff are, especially if he or she is new to the position or to the campus. Outline your focus, share past success stories, and talk about projects you plan or hope to be able to do in the future. Listen carefully to pick up any clues about objectives your boss may also have.
• Make sure that your boss mentions your organization in his or her self-evaluation. If your center's accomplishments support your boss's goals, those accomplishments will be included in reports by your boss. For this to happen, you need to demonstrate to your boss that your organization is meeting his or her goals. Market yourself not only to potential clients, but to your boss as well. Report milestones and outcomes that illustrate your, and therefore your boss's, success.
• Give your boss good things to say about you that directly support his or her goals. When your boss gives a speech, offer to write part of it – the part that talks about your organization. Share testimonials from clients who matter to your boss. Construct your annual report so that your boss can draw from it when he or she makes presentations.

The New Media Studio at UMBC established an Advisory Board to offer guidance – and ties to the campus community – as the Studio redefined itself as a self-supporting organization. Here is the story in their own words.

The Situation
Three years ago UMBC’s New Media Studio moved to a self-support cost recovery model. Our production services have typically been used by a small group of core clients. These were largely grant-funded centers who contract with the Studio for web programming, design and multimedia components of larger projects.

While the Studio has consistently operated in the black, we felt that we had a visibility problem. Beyond our core client group we were not connecting effectively with the larger campus community. By reaching out to additional areas we hope to enrich the mix for future projects.

The Action Taken
This year, at the suggestion of our CIO, we invited ten faculty members and administrators to serve on an internal advisory board. In choosing the membership we were careful to strike a balance of current and potential stakeholders. We hope that this mix will help stimulate new ideas for projects and possible collaborations within the group.

The process of inviting participation on the board was in itself a surprisingly fruitful one. Each potential member was individually invited to lunch to talk about the Studio and their participation on the board. This one-on-one interaction gave us a rare chance to really focus on the individual needs and interests of our constituents in a personal and informal setting. Several of these occasions resulted in identifying potential projects.

In order to make membership on the board more attractive we have intentionally kept the commitment of time very minimal. We meet twice a year. The fall meeting includes a brief report on the Studio’s activities in the previous academic year and is more of a portfolio review than a fiscal report. A more extensive formal annual report is also provided to the board. The meeting also includes a discussion of New Media trends and how they relate to UMBC’s needs. The NMC’s Horizon Report, which is also provided to the board, offers a great springboard for this discussion. The spring meeting focuses more on ideas from the board itself. This is designed to be a productive brainstorming opportunity that will inform future directions for the Studio. Lunch is provided at both meetings.

Beyond the formal commitment of the board meetings, we hope that membership will increase the faculty’s sense of being stakeholders and advocates for the Studio. Through ongoing projects and informal discussions, board members are becoming true partners in the Studio’s operation.

The Effect on Campus
This is the first year we have convened the board so it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of this effort. One project has developed in part through the process of forming the board. In January 2006 we are hosting a workshop for faculty interested in integrating digital storytelling into their teaching. Board members from several disciplines, including history, intercultural communications and visual arts, actively supported this idea, enabling us to find the resources to bring trainers from the Center for Digital Storytelling to campus.

Tips for Other Centers

• If you decide that an Advisory Board is for you, choose your board carefully.
• Find a mix that reflects where you are and where you want to be.
• Keep the size manageable. It was hard to limit our number to ten, but more would have reduced the sense of involvement for the members.
• Keep it personal. I think this is the real value of the board in that it presents an opportunity to interact in a positive and collegial way with your constituents.
• Everyone likes a free lunch.

When your staff understand your organization's mission and the scope of services offered, and when these are communicated clearly to potential clients and stakeholders, there will be a strong match between the proposals you receive and the goals of your organization. Simply by being clear about what your center can and cannot do, you can reduce misunderstandings and create an atmosphere of trust between your clients and your staff.

It is not uncommon for a new media center to offer a variety of services or to work on very different projects, and it can be difficult for staff to explain to newcomers exactly what it is that the center can do. Time invested in defining your organization's focus – and in making sure that staff understand and agree with it, and can explain it clearly – will avoid time wasted in unproductive meetings where you are asked for services you cannot provide.

A new media center needs to set expectations on several levels, from individual interactions with clients all the way up to the organization's presence within your institution. With each client, and for each project, there will be expectations about who will do the work and what work will actually be done. Even before a client walks in your door, he or she may have expectations about your center based on what has been said by previous clients, or what appears in your marketing materials. Make sure that what is being said about your organization is what you want others to hear.

How to Get There: Suggestions from Directors

Start from within; work from your focus. Develop an "elevator speech" about your organization – a two-breath description of what you do that can be delivered, if necessary, on a short elevator ride (hence the name). Encourage your staff to learn a version of the elevator speech so that whenever any of you describes the organization, you are essentially using the same description.

When you meet with clients, listen to what they have to say, and let them know up front how your staff can help. Define the deliverables right at the beginning so that both parties know what to expect when the project is finished. Sometimes a problem that seems to be outside the scope of what you can do can be reframed; sometimes not. If you really are not able to help, suggest alternatives, but don't promise what you can't deliver. Be consistent from client to client; word gets around, and playing favorites can undermine trust.

Set expectations across the campus or institution by marketing your organization in terms that clarify your services. When you write reports or prepare brochures and flyers, emphasize what you want the campus to know about your center. Provide your boss with ammunition so that he or she can speak confidently about what you offer to the institution.

As you and your staff prepare these materials, consider the following questions:

• What basic services do you offer? What about specialized services? When a client comes to your door, what can he or she expect? Specify whether you can accommodate drop-ins or whether appointments are required; what equipment may be used freely and what requires a staff person's assistance; whether clients must bring their own storage media or whether your center provides storage space, and so on. Outline the process for requesting training: do you require a minimum number of attendees? Do you only offer classes at fixed times, or will you do informal trainings? Do you make office calls? And so on.
• Who are your clientele? Some centers are restricted to certain departments, some serve an entire campus or institution, and some serve multiple campuses. Some serve faculty but not staff, or faculty and staff but not students, or all three. Be clear about who has access to your services.
• What is your fee schedule? If you offer some services for free, and others on a cost-recovery basis, specify this.
• What is your process for selecting projects? It may be helpful to articulate, at least internally, the criteria that your organization uses to select projects. For example, some centers may only support projects that involve two or more faculty, or projects that come with grant support.

The Situation
Faculty at RIT do not always know where to turn when they are interested in learning how to integrate technology into their teaching. Online Learning needed a way to expose faculty to the myriad of services we provide to all faculty – not just distance learning faculty. Online Learning has a Teaching and Learning Technology Lab (TLT) which is a resource for faculty to develop their skills in online instructional techniques, to learn to create digital instructional materials, and to receive comprehensive training on a variety of educational technologies. We wanted to create a non-threatening, low stakes event to expose faculty to the variety of hardware and software solutions we had. More importantly, we wanted to expose them to the strong team of instructional designers and technologists that are here to guide them and assist in transforming their teaching.

The Action Taken In
2001, Online Learning offered its first "Tech n’ Treat." The week of Halloween, we picked one day and extended an invitation to all faculty to attend an open house of Online Learning and the TLT Lab. At each workstation in the lab, faculty could learn a variety of software tools from PowerPoint to Photoshop. Faculty could create and manipulate digital images or create short streaming video clips. Some hands-on activities were light – the first year, we demonstrated instant messaging as a way to communicate with students, or other faculty and staff. Last year, Online Learning staff did two stand-up presentations on our most popular tool: Clipboard, a versatile and robust survey tool. The tool was created internally by Online Learning technologists and co-op students and has seen widespread adoption since presentations began.

This year, we will increase the choices for faculty, allowing them to work in our self-serve studio and capture digital audio and video clips and create annotated presentations. The workstations will provide hands-on training in RIT's course management system – myCourses (Desire2Learn), RoboHelp, Captivate, the Clipboard survey tool, streaming video, and Macromedia Breeze. In addition, stand-up presentations will be given to demonstrate student response systems, Breeze web conferencing and the Clipboard survey tool.

The Effect on Campus
Each year we see an increase in the number of attendees and we anticipate this year to be our largest ever. An exciting example was the presentation of Macromedia Breeze last fall. The single presentation brought in over 25 faculty; as a result, we had more faculty wanting to use the tool in creative and innovative ways than we could support, since fall was a pilot time for us. It was the first time we had to turn faculty away from a pilot. The Tech n’ Treat workshops have aided Online Learning in steering our distance learning faculty away from recreating the stand-up lecture online and have demonstrated ways for them to create digital learning objects that can be used in many dynamic ways in the distance and on-campus environment. The attendees were also surveyed and over 90% of the faculty attendees rated their experience at Tech n’ Treat as "Very Satisfied" or "Satisfied."

Tips for Other Centers
Make it fun and non-threatening, and provide lots of support for faculty to actually create or work with a tool. Use the opportunity to make connections for potential projects. Offer and provide follow-up support. Attempt to reach out and personally invite the unusual suspects!

Be prepared for requests from non-academic units to use your tools. A constant challenge for RIT Online Learning has been to prioritize our limited resources to support both academic and non-academic use of tools. For example, an administrator wanted to use Breeze to conduct job interviews. This required training, support and dedicated licenses. We are a service unit and we try to accommodate all users but we do need to define policies internally to assist our team in knowing how to prioritize requests.

As is true with any form of relationship-building, creating alliances with faculty takes time; but the time you invest will be worth it when you have a strong community of support for your services. With a supportive pool of clients supplying word-of-mouth advertising, your unit will be in a better position to be productive. Marketing will be easier, the campus community will know what you offer, and your organization's value to the campus will be demonstrated daily.

Although they are an important resource, faculty are not the only allies you should cultivate. Make a point of being familiar with departments like computer science, arts, media, and communications: students in these departments, both graduate and undergraduate, might be interested in internships or contract work. They can connect you with events and news that might not come your way from other sources.

You may also find it helpful to connect with other campus departments that offer services that complement yours. Printing centers, A/V departments, photo and sound studios, and the like are useful allies, not only for work your department may need, but also as a way to meet clients' needs that your unit cannot otherwise fill. Alliances can also be formed with groups outside the immediate university; look to local art and technology centers for interesting partnerships. And of course, other NMC members may already have a solution to a problem you are just beginning to encounter.

How to Get There: Suggestions from Directors

The surest way to create faculty allies is to consistently deliver products and services that meet their needs. Focus on customer service, keeping in mind that most faculty want to go about their teaching and research with technology helping rather than getting in the way. When you work on faculty projects, involve the faculty in ways that take advantage of their domain expertise, without requiring them to learn technology for its own sake. Don't "dumb it down," and certainly offer as much training and support as may be needed or wanted; but remember that faculty are experts at teaching and in their subject areas, and their interest in technology is usually secondary to those pursuits.

• Make it easy for faculty to take advantage of your center's services. Like everyone else, faculty have constraints on their time. Offer flexible hours that allow them to come in when it is most convenient for them. Consider the way your space is set up; some faculty will prefer to work privately, especially when they are getting help, while others may be more gregarious. Make it easy to make appointments or get drop-in access. If possible, meet faculty in their offices. Tailor your offerings to faculty needs; faculty may want help writing the technical needs section of grants or disseminating their research effectively. Make a point of inviting new faculty to visit your center so that you are on their minds as they settle in.
• Listen to what faculty have to say. When faculty come to you with a request, ask questions, and really listen to the answers. They may not be able to clearly articulate the technical aspects of a problem, but they can probably tell you the effect they want. Be open to suggestion. Faculty value technical staff who are able to hear and address pedagogical or research concerns. Involve them in the solution; faculty are natural content experts. You will not only gain a better understanding of the problem by delving deeper into the subject – you might find possibilities for solutions that would not have occurred to you otherwise.
• When you talk to faculty, speak a common language. Speak naturally and avoid technical jargon. This seems obvious, but when technical people get excited about a project, they naturally begin thinking about interesting technical solutions. Those conversations are better for staff to have together; when you are meeting with faculty, use terminology from the faculty's domain and avoid overly technical references. If you have to turn down a technically unfeasible request, explain briefly and suggest an alternative without getting too technical. Respond promptly to email and inquiries; everyone likes to be called back.
• Have faculty train other faculty. You can cultivate your relationship with faculty by arranging training sessions where faculty train other faculty. The faculty trainers will enjoy showing off their projects and skills, and the faculty learners will see that you don't have to be a "techie" to succeed. It's also excellent public relations; when someone else toots your horn, the music's sweeter.
• Acknowledge faculty work to their deans. When you showcase your center's projects, showcase the faculty as well. Emphasize the part faculty have played in developing the idea and carrying out the work. After each project is completed, consider writing up a brief announcement for the campus newsletter or sending an illustrated letter to the dean(s) of the faculty who were involved. When you host an open house, set up kiosks showcasing your projects and invite faculty to run them. Make sure your invitation list includes the deans, and include a personal note on their invitations mentioning which of their faculty will be part of the open house.
• Cultivate other allies as well. When forging non-faculty allies, consider personal visits. Drop by and introduce yourself, and be sure to have copies of your marketing materials on hand. Ask questions; find out what each department is especially proud of, and what each is best at. Share the same information about your unit and invite their staff to visit your center. When you host an open house, make a point of including staff from campus and outside organizations on your invitation list. When a client has a problem that you can't help with, make sure you know who can help and how to reach them. Be a point of contact so that faculty can come to you, no matter what they need, and get an answer. Don't overlook academic departments that can augment your services; interns from computer science, arts, and business may be able to contribute to projects to supplement your regular staff.

The Situation
UCLA has a distributed set of independent IT resources and the Office of Instructional Development (OID) sought a means to assist the campus by providing resources in the form of equipment and personnel to augment local resources or offer assistance where resources were scarce. The distributed campus works to locate and balance expertise, resources, and approaches across many disciplines and departments, resulting in a dynamic environment, a strong community of varied support and experience, and a situation where best-of-breed solutions are able to flourish.

In addition, OID administers the campus TA training program, course evaluation, faculty development, classroom services, media production and the media library, and these complimentary services enable OID to approach instruction and technology in a holistic manner.

The Action Taken
OID created the Teaching Enhancement Center, a drop-in center designed to embrace the use of technology in teaching. Not only has OID equipped TEC with scanners, video decks, recording equipment and other technologies, they hired a TEC staff with broad experience in teaching and technology. The center staff work closely with the Faculty Development Coordinator, creating a one-stop, drop-in facility where faculty can not only learn about new technologies, but gain an appreciation of their pedagogical application.

The Effect on Campus
In the 16 months since TEC has been opened, our impact on campus may best be measured by our accomplishments. In addition to holding over 400 individual appointments with clients in our Center, we have developed and shared our resources and materials with the campus through our website and participation in a number of cross-campus committees, such as a Digital Learning Objects Taskforce with the library, three Blended Instruction Initiatives with three different departments, and active participation in UCLA’s Sakai pilot project. Thus, the scope of TEC’s work runs the gamut from individual, project-based assistance to larger-scale course redesign.

Tips for Other Centers
Build a staff with great, curious people; provide guidance and direction based on sound instructional technology philosophies and principles; and encourage an environment of sharing and community. We have found that working closely with the IT resources in the various departments helps keep all sides of a project informed and on target regarding both pedagogy and the technology of choice.

Additionally, although it may require more experimenting and dedication, we have found that using open source software has helped the center develop at a lower cost-risk than if we had chosen commercial software. We have seen an associated growth in staff expertise with the need to understand technology in a more comprehensive way.