IRT: News & Events: TechUpdates: October 26 2005

How software is distributed depends on the conditions attached to the licensing. Here is a summary of what is available at Drexel - how and for whom - during Fall 2005.

* Site licenses for everyone

The university has a site license for Microsoft Office Professional, that is, Office 2003 for Windows and Office 2004 for Macintosh OSX. These suites include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Internet Explorer for both platforms. For Windows, it includes also Access, Outlook, and Visual Studio.net. For Macintosh, it includes Entourage.

These industry standard productivity tools, plus anti-virus software, are available for all students, faculty, and staff. It is assumed that all members of the Drexel community have and use these products.

* Additional programs available for download or purchase

In addition, various special programs are also available for download or purchase from IRT's Computer Marketplace (see item 2 below). These range from ACDChemSketch and Bentley Microstation through SPSS, SSH, and VisualStudio.

A full list of what is available to you is given after you log in at http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/services/comp_mark/software.html.

In a few instances, due to the vendor's licensing restrictions, software is accessible only to faculty and staff or only for use on university-owned machines or only for a limited number of users. Since you are authenticated when you log in, the Computer Marketplace web page shows you the list that is appropriate to your status.

* Software available in labs

The standard suite of software programs is available in the computer laboratories in the Korman Center.

Additional programs are available for institutional use and are installed in Korman or departmental labs. These include Autocad, Maple, MatLab, a variety of Adobe products, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Flash.

Faculty members who need a particular product for instructional purposes may reserve a lab and request that the package be installed for use. The request, including the media and license for the product, must be received by IRT by the last week of the previous term.

Many university departments manage their own computer labs, with special software needed for their discipline. Information about these facilities is available from the appropriate colleges and departments. The web site at http://www.drexel.edu/IMS, managed by Instructional Media Services, summarizes facilities available in media classrooms and lecture halls on campus.

* Lists of software available for Fall 2005

Lists of the standard software programs available in Korman labs, or licensed for download or purchase by the Drexel community as of Fall 2005, are given at http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/services/facultyguide/guide_05.html#licsoft.

New software needs are determined through faculty surveys, through consultation with the Computer Advisory Committee, and through informal inputs at faculty workshops and seminars.

2. How to Get Drexel's Site-Licensed Software

To download Drexel's site-licensed software, go to http://www.drexel.edu/IRT and click on the Computer Marketplace link in the left-hand panel; then click on the Get Software link. Use your Drexel Domain username and password for authentication as needed.

This site gives you the choice to download the software, or in some cases to purchase the media from e-Academy. The cost of purchasing the media is extremely modest.

The direct link to the software page is http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/services/comp_mark/software.html.

3. Spam-a-Lot Less - We Hope

IRT has installed new spam filtering software on its email servers. We hope this will significantly reduce the amount of this ever-increasing nuisance that gets through to Drexel users.

How does it work?

1) Messages entering both basic email (your @drexel.edu email account) and Exchange email are tested and receive a "Spam score".

2) Messages with a spam score of 70 or higher (on a scale of 100) are tagged with [SPAM:XXXXXXX] in the subject line and filtered into your Junk E-mail folder. The number of X'es designates the score's percentile.

3) The Junk E-mail folder can be viewed from most IMAP email clients. Or, go to http://webmail.drexel.edu and log in; the Junk E-mail folder is in the list of Folders in the upper left-hand section of the webmail header.

Messages in the Junk E-mail folder are held for 28 days. If you feel you are missing an email message, you can check there any time before the expiration date.

For more information, go to http://www.drexel.edu/irt/support/spamreport.html.

4. Video Conferencing Expands, So Think Creatively

How would you use video conferencing?

There are many possibilities: Classes, of course. Students like it when they can listen to a lecture as often as they wish; faculty members can benefit from the ability to review and critique their own teaching. Some classes are taught synchronously between Drexel and other universities such as Lehigh, Carnegie Mellon and Florida State ... to the enrichment of all.

Beyond classes, there is the whole range of professional activities. Are you chairing a program committee for an academic conference? Are you working on collaborative research with colleagues from other labs and campuses?

IRT presently has one dedicated video classroom in the Korman Center, set up in "turn key" fashion for easy use. Its built-in cameras, microphones, speakers, and a Polycom VS4000 video conferencing appliance are managed by a Radvision ViaIP MCU to support both IP and ISDN end points encompassing multiple locations.

A second classroom will be installed by the beginning of Winter term 2006.

So think creatively. Contact the Faculty Development Center (215-895-1224) or stop by Korman 109 to explore possibilities.

WebCT Vista News

5. WebCT Vista Event: Faculty Showcase

The next WebCT Vista Faculty Showcase will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday, November 14, 2005 in the Living Arts Lounge, adjacent to Mandell Theater in the Creese Student Center (32nd and Chestnut Streets).

Faculty members, administrators and teaching assistants are invited to show off new approaches that incorporate WebCT Vista into their learning environments. Unique pedagogical approaches and uses of technology are especially meaningful. Send your proposal to webct@drexel.edu. And encourage your colleagues to submit proposals.

6. Getting Started with WebCT Vista

Every student is enrolled in the Student Orientation section in WebCT Vista. Faculty members have three additional training environments: Getting Started, Interactive Demos, and Course Designers Forum (DES-101).

Taking the time to go through these short tutorials will make the WebCT Vista experience better for all.

7. Navigating in WebCT Vista

It is not necessary to log out of WebCT Vista in order to access a different section. To move from one section to another, click on the MyWebCT hyperlink in the top right-hand corner of your window. This returns you to your MyWebCT page where you can make another selection.

It is important to use the navigation provided within the WebCT Vista application. Do not, for example, use the Back button of your browser.

Also, when completing your work on WebCT Vista, be sure you actually Log Out (the link is at the upper right-hand of the window). This terminates your session on the server. Simply closing the browser window does not terminate your session.

Finally, if you need assistance, use the context-sensitive Help feature. By clicking on Help when you are actually in the section that is giving you trouble, you will be presented with advice relevant to that section or function without having to sort through a whole encyclopedia of trouble topics.

8. Brown Bag Lunch Sessions for Faculty Members

Bring your lunch, share your experiences, and learn more about WebCT Vista and other academic technologies in informal sessions with fellow faculty members.

Brown Bag Lunches for faculty and staff are scheduled for noon-1 p.m. in Korman room 116 as follows:

Thursday, October 27
Wednesday, November 30
Tuesday, December 20

To reserve a spot, complete with a soda and a dessert, send email to webct@drexel.edu.

Topics are invited. Use the same email address to suggest topics for future brown baggers.

9. Training for WebCT Vista for Faculty

IRT offers faculty members two kinds of WebCT Vista training - Boot Camps for new users and Workshops for current users. As sessions fill up, more may be added, so watch for schedule updates on the IRT Web site 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 for the following dates:

Friday, November 4
Friday, November 18
Friday, December 16

Laptops are provided as well as lunch. Reserve your slot at webct@drexel.edu.

* For Current Users: WebCT Vista Workshops
These are four-hour workshops to enhance your knowledge in selected areas, for experienced users of WebCT Vista. These workshops will be held in room 116 Korman Center on the following dates and times:

Friday, November 11, noon-4 p.m.
Friday, December 9, noon-4 p.m.

To sign up, email webct@drexel.edu.

* Departmental Training
If you would prefer to have a WebCT workshop or boot camp 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.

10. WebCT Vista Tips for This Month

* No content in your WebCT Vista section? Contact your instructor. It is possible that s/he has not yet assigned a Template for your section, or may not be using WebCT in conjunction with your class. Even if your instructor has not chosen to use WebCT Vista, it may still be set up to facilitate student dialogue within the class.

* Submitting files for Assignments. This is a two-step process. First, upload file(s) to your My Files area in WebCT Vista; second, attach the file(s) to the actual Assignment, Mail or Discussion. Note that faculty members do not have access to the student's My Files area. The student uploads to My Files, and then makes the material available to the instructor by attaching it to an Assignment, Mail, or Discussion.

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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