IRT: News & Events: TechUpdates: July 10 2006

More than 3,400 Drexel students made the transition last month from students to alumni. In the midst of congratulations for a job well done, and best wishes for the rest of their lives, the question of "keeping in touch" may have slipped through a crack or two. Here are some pointers.

Drexel email addresses are still valid. Graduates may keep their email accounts for up to two years. They may read email directly, or forward it to another account. They may request long-term forwarding beyond the two years. On the other hand, they are no longer required to read Drexel email and have the option to close their accounts early. So, Drexel email is worth a try but is not a guaranteed way to keep in touch.

For a summary of electronic services after graduation, see http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/policies/email.html#continue.

The Alumni Association offers Drexel graduates permanent email forwarding through DragoNet, the online alumni directory. Additionally, you may register for inCircle, Drexel's new online alumni networking tool. Through inCircle, alumni can build their own network of classmates and friends, post blogs, search for jobs, upload resumes, and much more.

For registration instructions for DragoNet and inCircle, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 1.888.DU.GRADS or alumrel@drexel.edu.

A combination of Drexel and Drexel alumni accounts may be a useful tool for Drexel grads to keep in touch ... not only with friends but also with potential employers.

2. The Up(date)s and Down(load)s of Drexel Software

The following updated applications have just been uploaded to the software download server:

EndNote - updated to EndNote X
Matlab - updated to R2006a (PC_32bit, PC_64bit, Unix/Linux, Mac)

The software download page is updated continuously. So do check periodically at http://www.drexel.edu/IRT, click on Computer Marketplace (the direct link is http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/services/comp_mark/index.html); click on Get Software to see what is new or updated.

3. Privacy: Mind Your Manners and Think Ahead

Issues of personal privacy have been much in the news of late.

With today's search engines, your youthful indiscretions may be damnably persistent. That oh-so-funny web page you put up when you were a college freshman may come back to haunt you years later when you're interviewing for your dream job. It may live on in caches at Google, Yahoo, and other web repositories, not to mention Tom-Dick-and-Harry's personal computers, long after you have purged it from your Drexel account.

For a thoughtful treatment of this dilemma, see an essay on the Cornell University IT website at http://www.cit.cornell.edu/policy/memos/facebook.html.

As an interesting test, try googling your own name.

4. What's New in Rich Media Conversion?

One of the format conversion types available in the RMC application is Text-to-Speech. The initial release had one synthetic voice - a U.S.-English speaking male named Mike. The RMC team has now released additional voices, both male and female, speaking U.S. and UK versions of English, as well as French, German and Spanish voices for text that is not in English.

Also new is the addition of Playlists, which enables you to pick the items you want to be aggregated, set the order of the items, and select items from other Channels (folders/courses). This new functionality was released on Monday, July 10, 2006.

To promote reuse of content among colleagues, the content of Channels can now be shared at the discretion of the content creator to create Playlists. There is no limit to the number of Playlists a content creator can have, and no limit to the number of items a Playlist can contain. Playlists and Channels can be edited and republished; Playlists can also be deleted.

These enhancements to the Rich Media Syndication System (digital drop box) will be the focus of the August Brown Bag Lunch (date and place to be announced, watch for it at http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/services/workshops/ or in a future IRT Technology Update).

The web-based Rich Media Conversion application is available to faculty and staff in the Drexel community. For more information, contact richmedia@drexel.edu.

5. Beware the ... Phish

Once again, phishing expeditions are finding their way into Drexel users' mailboxes.

The most recent example pretends to be from "Drexel Abuse Department," and threatens to suspend the account unless the user confirms within 24 hours. The link given for confirmation, which purports to be from Drexel, in fact goes to a server in Thailand.

It is, of course, a fake, and is "phishing" for your personal information. If you comply, we can guarantee you won't like the result.

Do not reply! Rather, report the incident by forwarding the email, with all its headers, to spamreports@drexel.edu.

6. Libraries Simplify Off-Campus Access

The Drexel libraries have simplified the process for accessing library electronic resources from off campus. Under the new procedure, you will provide your DrexelOne user-id (e.g., abc123) and password for authentication.

This is made possible by some new software the library has installed to ensure the privacy of library accounts. It no longer requires use of the eight-digit University ID number.

For questions, call Hagerty (215-895-2755) or Hahnemann (215-762-7184) or email library@drexel.edu. If you do not know your Drexel email or DrexelOne user-id and password, contact the IRT accounts staff at 215-895-2698 for help.

7. It's Time to Verify Your Information

Have you checked your Banner information lately?

Every member of the Drexel community is responsible for keeping personal information in the University's databases up to date. At least once every term - and more often if you know you have changes to report - look under the Employee/Faculty/Student Services tab in DrexelOne (http://one.drexel.edu) and verify that your information is correct.

Follow the directions on the web pages if you need to make corrections. Where you go and what you do depends on your status at the university.

While you're at it, check what comes up for your name in the Drexel Directories (click next to the dragon logo on the Drexel web page). Please make sure your university telephone number is up to date.

8. Reserve Computer Classrooms for Fall Term

The Korman Computing Center at the Drexel University City Main Campus has eight (8) specialized computer classrooms that may be reserved by faculty members for single sessions or an entire term. Reserve rooms now for Fall term.

Faculty members reserve classrooms at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/classrooms - first come, first served.

Special software requests must be renewed each term. Media, licenses and activation codes must be submitted to IRT for testing and installation, and instructors should themselves test the functionality of the special software before the start of their classes.

For fall term, the deadline is Wednesday, August 30, 2006.

9. Dreamweaver Trainings Scheduled

Training workshops in Dreamweaver, a high-end web-authoring tool, have been scheduled in Korman room 116 at the following times:

Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - 2-4 p.m.
Thursday, July 20, 2006 - 2-4 p.m.

Dreamweaver training is open to Drexel faculty and staff members, who receive a free copy of Dreamweaver software at the session.

To register for one of these workshops, email dreamweaver@drexel.edu. If these times are not good for you but you do want to take Dreamweaver training, please email dreamweaver@drexel.edu so we will know to schedule additional sessions.

WebCT Vista News

10. Replicating "The Classroom Experience" - Online

Horizon-Wimba's "Live Classroom" product, built in to WebCT Vista, enables instructors and students (or trainers and trainees) to:

Talk to each other and to the group synchronously.
Do "polling" for instant feedback on topics or issues.
Share applications in real time, as the instructor/trainer deems appropriate (e.g., a student could give a live PowerPoint presentation to online colleagues, with voiceover, in real time).
Enable individuals to phone in if they cannot get online.

A Demo of several Horizon-Wimba products is available in the DES-101 course in WebCT, in which all faculty members should be enrolled.

If you would like to watch a 20-minute Demo of Live Classroom, go to http://www.drexel.edu/irt/services/webct/video/Horizon-Wimba_Live_Classroom_Demo.html. This is Flash format. If you need to download the free Flash player, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/.

"Live Classroom" will be the topic of the Brown Bag Lunch on Thursday, July 27, 2006 at noon in Korman Center room 116. Email webct@drexel.edu to sign up.

11. Training for WebCT Vista

The schedule for WebCT Vista trainings is given below. As always, register early (webct@drexel.edu) since capacity is limited; watch for schedule updates and possible additional sessions at http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/services/workshops/index.html.

* For New Users: WebCT Vista Boot Camps
WebCT Vista Boot Camps, held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in room 116 of the Korman Computing Center, provide an introduction to the most essential WebCT tools for novice users. Boot Camps are scheduled quarterly at the following times:

Friday, September 15 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Friday, December 15, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Laptops are provided for use in the workshop as well as lunch. Reserve your slot at webct@drexel.edu.

* WebCT Vista Modularized Training
Based on participant feedback, the Technology Support Team will offer short, highly-focused workshops on WebCT Vista tools and features (as well as other emerging technologies) during the second half of 2006. These Modularized Training sessions, in Korman room 116, will be held as follows:

Thursday, July 13, 2-4 p.m. - Introduction to WebCT
Wednesday, July 19, 1-3 p.m. - Organization and File Management
Thursday, July 27, 2-4 p.m. - Organization and File Management

Wednesday, August 2, 1-3 p.m. - Managing the Course
Thursday, August 10, 2-4 p.m. - Managing the Course
Wednesday, August 16, 1-3 p.m. - Communication Tools
Thursday, August 24, 2-4 p.m. - Communication Tools
Wednesday, August 30, 9-11 a.m. - Evaluating Students

Thursday, September 7, 2-4 p.m. - Evaluating Students
Wednesday, September 13, 9-11 a.m. - Misc.: Media Library, Reports, Tracking
Thursday, September 21, 2-4 p.m. - Misc.: Media Library, Reports, Tracking

For workshop details, see http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/services/workshops. To sign up, email webct@drexel.edu.

* Departmental Training
If you would prefer to have a WebCT Vista training session just for your department, let us know. We'll provide the same information at a time convenient for your group. We can, if you wish, break it into shorter segments spread over several days. We can do it in Korman or in your own lab. Contact us at webct@drexel.edu.

12. Camtasia and Impatica Training

Licenses are available for both Impatica and Camtasia, software packages that enable you to record voiceover and other elements for lectures. When you attend a one-hour session on either application, we make arrangements for you to get the software. There are some limits on the number of licenses for faculty and staff.

Here are the sessions scheduled currently:

Wednesday, July 19, 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Korman 116 - Impatica
Wednesday, July 19, 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Korman 116 - Camtasia

To sign up, email webct@drexel.edu.

13. Saturday Coverage in the Faculty Development Center

The Technology Support Team provided coverage for faculty, TAs and administrators in the FDC on most Saturdays during winter and spring terms. Some of you took advantage of this coverage, but the usage did not warrant continuing it in the summer term.

This issue will be reviewed before the beginning of fall quarter. If enough users express a need for this service (at webct@drexel.edu), we will consider providing Saturday service during next academic year.

14. Tips for This Month

* To navigate from section to section, you do not need to log out of WebCT, close your browser, fire up another browser session, and log back in. Simply use the MyWebCT link in the top right corner of your screen. This returns you to your MyWebCT Page, in the center column of which is your Course List. Click on the hyperlinked name of the next Section you would like to enter.

* The Grade Book is a popular feature in WebCT Vista sections, for faculty and students alike. But a student cannot see her or his individual line item in your Grade Book unless you add the My Grades tool to the Course Toolbar area in your section.

* Granularity is, perhaps, one of WebCT Vista's strongest features. With tools like Discussions, Assignments and Assessments, you can provide universal or global access by adding the tool to the Course Toolbar in your Section. If you want to link your students only to individual Discussion categories or topics, separate Assignments, or particular Assessments, do not add the tool to the Course Toolbar. Instead, add separate elements to an Organizer Page or Learning Module. This enables the students to navigate directly to the area they need.

* Add voice to your course. Horizon-Wimba is an integral part of your WebCT Vista section. Features currently available include:

-- Voice Recorder (add a voice message to content pages)
-- Voice Board (voice-enabled Discussions)
-- Voice Direct (voice-enabled Chat)
-- Live Classroom (voice-enabled Chat with hand-raising, polling, call-in and application sharing features)

Stop by the FDC to learn more, or give us a call at 215-895-1224. Or watch the Demos in your DES-101 course.

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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