IRT: News & Events: TechUpdates: Wednesday, March 12, 2008

1. eLearning 2.0 Conference
The 6th annual eLearning conference will take place on Thursday, March 20, in Behrakis Grand Hall from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Dr. Stephen Director, Drexel’s Provost, will address the group at lunch. The Keynote Speaker is Dr. Mark Milliron, an award-winning leader, author, speaker, and consultant best known for exploring leadership development, future trends, learning strategies, and the human side of technology change.

There will be 20+ presentations in morning and afternoon sessions where attendees can learn what technologies and strategies their peers are using in teaching, training, and learning environments.

Register today. To access all of the latest information, visit http://www.drexel.edu/irt/eLearningConf2008/

2. AskDrexel as an Information Opportunity for Students
IRT at Drexel would like to encourage students, parents, staff, and faculty to utilize AskDrexel for questions regarding administration and technology. Much of the technical information from Help Central has been added. The information has been condensed into concise information clips to provide fast answers to commonly asked questions.

At AskDrexel, there are two question sections: One for parents and prospective students, and one for current students, faculty, and staff. Topics contain frequently asked questions on a wide range of general and Drexel specific technical and computer questions. Students, faculty, or staff who would like to submit a new question must sign in with their DrexelOne log in information. Prospective students use the credentials included in their acceptance letters. AskDrexel can be used for information pertaining to Information Resources and Technology; the Office of Student Accounts, Bursar; and the Student Resource Center/Financial Aid.

The AskDrexel Web site can be found at https://ask.drexel.edu.

3. New version of RMCP is scheduled to be released this June
A new version of the Rich Media Conversion Project (RMCP) is scheduled to be released this June. Re-branded as "DragonDrop," the new version will contain a number of new features. They include (but are not limited to) :

• Drag and Drop and Web 2.0 based interface
• Output formats:

• Selection of up to six predefined output formats, or
• Selection of user defined template which can contain up to six predefined output formats).

• Drop up to six files to be encoded using the same template or output formats
• Drop a file "package" (.zip) to be expanded and accessed by HTML page (pass through only -- no encoding)
• Content authors can define surrogates (other users who can act in the author's behalf)
• Session control -- access to all content now goes through a security gateway which controls access by user and time.
• Improved security model with includes securing RSS feeds
• Ability to "brand" client (by institution only)

Changes from RMCP1 to RMCP2:

• Channels will be removed and will be converted to playlists. Playlists are much more flexible and have all of the features of channels such as content reordering, enhanced metadata, enhanced security, and more
• New encoding hardware and software with significantly improved through-put
• Improved metadata including user definable "tags"
• All playlists are "virtual"
• Author-selectable playlist style sheets to control playlist look-and-feel

If you are interested in receiving more information on this new version, email the RMCP group at richmedia@drexel.edu.

4. Microsoft Windows Vista Operating System
Since Microsoft launched Windows Vista operating system in January 2007, IRT, throughout the year, has been unofficially supporting students and faculty who have chosen to upgrade or on whose new computers Vista was pre-installed. As Drexel’s primary software vendors are nearing the completion of certifying the University’s Enterprise systems for Windows Vista, IRT and Procurement are processing orders for computers with the Windows Vista operating system. Most users will experience success using Microsoft’s newest operating system.

However, in this period of transition between operating systems, some Enterprise systems are not certified by their vendors. IRT can provide limited support for anyone who has difficulties. It is recommended that users contact the IRT desktop support representative through IRT’s help desk at 215-895-2020 before proceeding with any plans to upgrade to Windows Vista. It is also recommended that users view the Vista Guidelines website at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/support/winvista for more information and an up-to-date chart of compatibility with Drexel’s Enterprise systems.

5. The DMCA and Potential Costs for Violation
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act is designed to cover the copyrights of books, music, movies, and software.

According to the RIAA, a disproportionately high number of college students engage in illegal downloading through P2P software. It is therefore important that universities provide information about copyright laws and the risk of using P2P software-- the risk of sharing sensitive material unintentionally or the risk of downloading malicious code or viruses and, perhaps more significantly, the financial risks of lawsuits. These risks could impose civil and criminal penalties including fines, jail time, and lawyer’s fees. Note that the minimal per instance fine associated with copyright infringement for civil penalties is $750 and criminal penalties can go as high as $250,000 per instance. Many students in violation of the DMCA Act have faced steep fines and have incurred large legal fees that require settlement. These are not idle “threats” but realities with significant and expensive consequences.

Visit http://www.riaa.org/for more information about the DMCA and the risks of illegal downloading. The RIAA has established a Web site describing its early settlement process at http://www.p2plawsuits.com and a hotline for information (913-234-8181).

In response to the RIAA, Drexel University offers options for the legal download of music. Through Drexel, students may sign up each academic year for MusicSelect and choose from a variety of music providers for legal music downloads. Students living in residence halls are automatically eligible to enroll, while students living off-campus pay $24 per academic year. Providers include eMusic and Napster.

For more information about MusicSelect, visit https://www.musicselect.org/

6. Enhanced Wi-Fi in Philadelphia: Feather by EarthLink for the Drexel Community
EarthLink's Feather Wi-Fi service is available to the current students, faculty, and staff of Drexel University. Feather is a wireless service that can be freely accessed in Philadelphia, provided that users log in to the service with their DrexelOne UserID and password. Access can be gained by searching for and connecting to the network called FeatherbyEarthLink and then by visiting any website to prompt the log in screen for the DrexelOne account. Feather is also available at Earthlink wireless hotspots around the country.

Feather is free for 5 hours a month for each account. These hours are intended for use when users are not on campus. (Unlimited wireless is available on campus with Drexel’s DragonFly service.) When the allotted 5 hours expire, Feather will either request that users sign up for additional hours for a fee, or it will request that users wait until the beginning of the next month to resume free use.

Since Feather is an open and unencrypted network, some users may have security concerns. If so, it is recommended that Drexel's Cisco VPN client be downloaded at: http://www.drexel.edu/irt/services/comp_mark/software.html

7. Drexel's LinkEdu now offers Students New Email Options
Drexel's new LinkEdu mail service is now live and offers students the opportunity to use their favorite e-mail providers as their school e-mail.

Students may choose to create an e-mail account from any of these three associated providers: MSN's Hotmail, Google's Gmail, and Microsoft's Exchange Labs. Each email account offers unique features. For example, Drexel's Gmail service offers calendars, Wiki creation, and Google Docs, a storage utility for sharable documents and presentations while Microsoft’s Live environment offers messenger, sharing folders, online spaces as well as SkyDrive for remote storage. All three of these services are offered in conjunction with Drexel's normal university email (the email automatically assigned to all incoming students). Students may choose to sign up for one of these new email services, or all three if they choose. To date over 600 accounts have been activated.

When LinkEdu went live, an event demonstrating its services and features took place in the lobby of the Creese Student Center (32nd and Chestnut Streets) on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 10 a.m. Aside from the new email account demonstrations, Google Apps was also demonstrated. For more information about LinkEdu and to set up new accounts, visit http://www.drexel.edu/irt/LinkEdu/.

8. IRT Introduces new Staff Members in Instructional Technology Support
IRT’s Instructional Technology Support Group welcomes three new staff members:

Cynthia Schaffer, IRT’s new Desktop Support Consultant, is already busy making site visits to offices and helping faculty and staff with technology problems.

Charlotte Lenox, Electronic Publications Specialist, will be editing the Tech Update and all IRT publications as well as working on the mass email team.

Dan Allen, Content Management Specialist, will be helping departments develop their websites in IRT’s new content management system, Site Studio.
More great staff to provide more great service!

News & Notes on Online Learning

9. Wimba Classroom
Recent challenges in using this application have manifested in a few cases where instructors and students have multiple versions of Java installed on their computers. The staff at IRT have consulted with the vendor and have learned that multiple versions of Java may cause problems when using Wimba Classroom. Users should have the latest version of Java installed on their computers with all other versions uninstalled. For more advice or assistance in this area, email the Online Learning Team at olt@drexel.edu.

10. Trouble Opening Impatica?
If users have downloaded Impatica (from IRT's Computer Marketplace or https://software.drexel.edu ) and are having trouble opening the application, an upgrade of the QuickTime application is required. Visit http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/ to download the latest free version. If, after installing the QuickTime upgrade, users still cannot run Impatica, call IRT at x2020.

11. Online Live Classroom Training
Live Classroom is a versatile, robust, live online classroom session that mirrors a traditional classroom environment and is a Power Link that is available to all persons developing Bb Vista4 classes.

While the Online Learning Team periodically offers training on Live Classroom (the next session is a Brown Bag on Tuesday, March 18, from noon to 1 p.m.), participants may enroll in any of Horizon Wimba’s weekly online training sessions. Live Classroom: Presenter Training 101 is available through http://tinyurl.com/agk8a. Live Classroom: Advanced Presenter Training can be accessed at http://tinyurl.com/7b8rb and Wimba Audio/Voice Tools Training through http://tinyurl.com/ocnjj . The Online Learning Team offers support Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For after hours or on weekends, there is also 24/7 phone and email support for faculty and students at technicalsupport@horizonwimba.com and 866-350-4978.

12. End of Term Suggestions
As the end of another term approaches, it is a good time for instructors to create an archive of important information from the course section. By having a local copy of documents, such as the grade book or student assignments, instructors will have a personal record of course activities on their PCs for later reference. As an example, instructors can create a folder on their computers with the course number, section, and term in the title, then store information from their Bb Vista section as described below.
Grade Book
The Bb Vista grade book is easily exported to an Excel file. How to:

• In Teach mode, go to the Grade Book and hide columns that you do not use with the Reorder Columns Button
• Next, click the “Export to Spreadsheet” button. Accepting the default selections will export visible columns to a comma delimited text file
• After clicking the Export button, a prompt to save the file will appear. Select the course folder and rename the file to “gradebook” from the default “exportedcourse” name
• The exported text file can be opened in Excel or any other spreadsheet software

Assignments
How to:

• In Teach mode, navigate to the Assignment Drop Box
• Click on the “Graded” tab (assuming submitted assignments have been graded)
• Select one assignment from the “View by:” selection box (upper right of screen)
• Check mark individual students or check mark all by clicking check box in the list header
• Click “Create Printable View” button at the bottom of the page
• Click “Save to File.” After a few minutes, a message appears saying that a ZIP archive has been created and saved to the “My Files” area
• Click on the name of the zip file, which is a hyperlink, and choose “Save” and add to the course folder. In the ZIP file are folders for each student, containing student and teacher comments and any submitted attachments

Other course elements can be saved to the computer in similar ways. For more information, email the Online learning Team in Korman 109 at olt@drexel.edu.

To read previous issues of the IRT Technology Update, go to http://www.drexel.edu/irt/news/technews/
To manage your subscription options to the IRT Technology Update and other Drexel Announcements, go to http://www.drexel.edu/irt/subscriptions. If you prefer to receive a plain text version, please email your request to mailreq@drexel.edu.

Modified: February 25, 2008

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