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IRT Technology Update

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Contents:

01. Reminder: Virus/Phishing Protection and Prevention
02. Wireless Network Access Using Dragonfly
03. Longer Passwords Now Possible
04. Office 2008 Service Pack 2 Now Available

Tips & Tricks

News & Notes from the Online Learning Team

10. Use the Bb Vista Repository!
11. Turnitin Announces New Features
12. Enhance Your Courses with Twitter
13. Safari 4 Not Validated for Bb Vista
14. Firefox 3.5 Not Validated for Bb Vista on Macs
15. Wimba Classroom Not Supported in Internet Explorer 8

1. Reminder: Virus/Phishing Protection and Prevention

As if often the case with the Internet, malicious individuals are constantly developing new viruses and phishing schemes. Just recently, a new email scam has been circulating among Webmail users. The email states that unless the user provides their email account information, their Webmail account will be closed. Though this email appears to have approval and states that it is not a scam, it is a scam and should be deleted immediately. Neither Webmail nor Drexel will ever request such information through a non-secure format such as email.

Computer users must remain vigilant and incorporate basic prevention measures. Here are some tips to keep your computer virus-free and avoid falling prey to phishing schemes:

  1. NEVER open an attachment to an email that appears to be spam or is sent from an unknown source. Email attachments can contain Trojan viruses or install malware that can steal your personal information or cause your computer to function abnormally.
  2. NEVER give out your passwords to anyone, including friends, relatives, and even members of the IRT staff. And remember that legitimate organizations will never ask for your passwords via email or similarly insecure methods.
  3. Don't blindly click on hyperlinks, particularly in emails of unknown origin. A common scam is to redirect a legitimate link to a webpage that installs a Trojan or other malware. Always check URLs to make sure they go where they say they go. Another good practice is to copy and paste URLs into your browser's address bar instead of clicking the link.
  4. As viruses change, so do the definitions needed for protection against those viruses. Keep your anti-virus software up to date with the latest updates and virus definitions. Symantec and Norton are popular brands of anti-virus software. We recommend downloading Symantec (for PC) and Norton (for Mac), which are available at no cost to the Drexel community at http://software.drexel.edu.
  5. Scan your computer for viruses regularly. Many anti-virus programs can be configured to scan automatically at a given frequency. Also, many programs offer a "smart" or "quick" scan option along with the full scan option. Be sure to occasionally select the full scan. Scanning at least once a week is recommended.
  6. Scan your computer using spyware or malware removal software. Casual browsing on the Internet will often cause unwanted spyware or malware to accumulate, and can slow down computers—or worse, steal personal information. Be sure to scan for spyware and malware along with using anti-virus software to perform regular scans of your machine. Common spyware/malware removal programs include Spybot Search & Destroy, Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, and Malwarebytes. These applications are available for free download at their Web sites, or at http://www.download.com.
  7. Be wary of suspicious-looking Web sites. If the site doesn't appear trustworthy or is poorly maintained, avoid clicking links or downloading content from that site. Also, avoid downloading content from peer-to-peer software such as LimeWire, Soulseek, BitTorrent, and others.
  8. Delete spam immediately. Don't respond to it, and never, ever give out personal information.

2. Wireless Network Access Using Dragonfly

IRT has posted instructions online for accessing our wireless DragonFly networks. Most students and faculty are able to configure their computers for wireless without assistance from the IRT help desk. Although IRT is happy to provide assistance, this online information is intended to be more convenient for you. Our help desk is staffed when the Korman Center is open (for Korman's hours, visit http://www.drexel.edu/irt/facilities/korman). If you need help when Korman is closed, here's what you need to know:

  1. There are multiple wireless networks at Drexel. DragonFly3, where available on the University City campus, is the preferred network for all users. For DragonFly3, follow the instructions at http://www.drexel.edu/dragonfly.

  2. However, cell phones, game consoles, and handhelds might lack the security protocols needed for DragonFly3. Those devices may use DragonFly or the more secure DragonFly2. For both of these networks, register your wireless card in DrexelOne and provide your computer the the WEP key security password provided on the registration completion page. Log into DrexelOne, view the "Drexel" tab, and find the page under the "Technology Services" section.

  3. Students living in Drexel's residence halls should first activate their wired port (using an Ethernet cable). During the Ethernet registration procedure, students will be asked to secure their computers with anti-virus and operating system updates - this step is crucial for a shared network such as ours and helps reduce future computer problems. Once the computer is online using the wired port, you can follow the instructions for any or all of the DragonFly networks at http://www.drexel.edu/dragonfly.
  1. DragonFly is the only wireless network available on the Center City campus at this time. To use DragonFly, see #2 above. (NOTE: students who frequent University City campus can also set their computers to receive DragonFly3 for times when they are on the University City campus).

  2. People visiting College of Medicine facilities may use the Draco network. It uses the DragonFly security key. To find that key, log in to DrexelOne, view the "Drexel" tab, find the page under the "Technology Services" section, and scroll to the bottom.


3. Longer Passwords Now Possible

Good security practice includes routinely changing your password for your computer accounts. Thanks to a recent enhancement in the online computer accounts system, passwords with a maximum of 16 characters are now permitted (up from eight characters). You can take advantage of this added flexibility the next time you change your password at http://accounts.drexel.edu. The system enforces the following guidelines to help you choose a good, strong password:

  1. It must be at least six characters in length but no more than 16 characters.
  2. It should contain both alphabetical and non-alphabetical characters, and at least two of the non-alphabetic characters must be digits or special characters.
  3. At least one non-alphabetical character should fall somewhere within the new password (not just at the beginning or the end).
  4. It should not match any word found in an unabridged dictionary or the "most cracked passwords" file.

Additionally, you should avoid using your name, nickname, birth date, or Social Security number, or any combinations thereof.

For questions or concerns, please contact the IRT Help Desk at consult@drexel.edu or call 215-895-2020.


4. Office 2008 Service Pack 2 Now Available

Service Pack 2 for Microsoft Office 2008 for Macs is now available for download via IRT's Computer Software Service at https://software.drexel.edu. Students, faculty and staff will find it at Macintoshsoftware > Office2008 > Office2008-SP2.dmg.

This service pack contains a number of bug fixes and includes a new tool, Document Connection for Mac, that allows for easier collaboration on SharePoint and Windows Live Workspace.

If you have any difficulty accessing, downloading, or installing Service Pack 2 for MS Office 2008, contact the IRT Help Desk at consult@drexel.edu or 215-895-2020.

Tips & Tricks

Tips & Tricks are helpful articles that address a variety of Windows and Mac applications. Click on one of the links below to view the full article:

Identify Duplicate Values in Excel 2007
Saving a Search in Windows Vista
Enter PowerPoint Slide Show Mode from Any Slide
Customize the Placement of Building Blocks in Word 2007
Compare Documents in Word 2007

News & Notes from the Online Learning Team


10. Use the Bb Vista Repository!

If you have used Bb Vista for more than one term, you probably know that it is easy to copy a course section from one term to the next. The first time you enter a new section, choose "Copy content from another course," and it's done! If you coordinate several sections of the same course with multiple instructors, you can also copy a course section to multiple instances of that section.

But how do you share materials with several instructors who will be copying their own past courses?

Use the Bb Vista Repository! The Repository allows course designers and site administrators to store files and make them available to instructors at the section level.

A word about levels: In Bb Vista, teaching takes place at the section level (e.g., PSY-101-001). Sections are grouped into courses (e.g., General Psychology); courses into groups; groups into divisions; and divisions into the Drexel institution.

Files can be stored at any level of the repository. Files stored at the course level can only be used by sections of that course, whereas files stored at the group level are available to all sections in that group. For instance, a document stored in the General Psychology course Repository could be used by instructors in the PSY-101-001 or PSY-101-002 sections, but not by the instructors in any of the COM (Communications) or ENGL (English) sections. Files stored in the Repository at the institution level can be used by all sections of all courses.

Most instructors have "design" (Build) rights only at the section level, and they can see and download "public" documents in the Repository at the course level. However, an instructor who coordinates content in multiple sections taught by other instructors can be given design rights at the course level. Through the Content Manager, a course-level designer can not only see files stored in the Repository, but can also use the options "Create File," "Get Files," and "Create Folder." So, just as a section-level designer can upload files in the "Build" tab, the course-level designer can upload files to the course-level Repository for use by instructors in any of the sections.

By default, files uploaded to any Repository are set as "private" for the file "owner," the user who uploaded it. By clicking the "Manage Permissions" option in the drop-down ActionLinks menu for each file, the owner can make the file "public" so that anyone with access to the Repository can see it. This option must be configured separately for each shared file.

When a section designer selects a Repository file to add to a course, Bb Vista will ask whether or not to "subscribe" or "copy" the file. If the section designer plans to make changes to the file (for instance, to personalize a syllabus), then the file should be copied. Subscribed files must be "unsubscribed" before they can be edited. However, if the section instructor/designer does not need to make changes to the file, there is an advantage to subscribing: when the course level designer makes changes to a subscribed file, the changes will automatically appear in the file at the section level.

To access the Repository, click the "Content Manager" tab on the Bb Vista home page, and then click the "Repository" button. If you do not see the "Repository" button, contact the Online Learning Team for assistance at olt@drexel.edu or 215-895-1224.


11. Turnitin Announces New Features

Turnitin has announced several new enhancements that simplify the use of its originality-checking and GradeMark services for faculty members:

  1. Default setting for all new assignments now excludes bibliographic and quoted material from the similarity index

    Prior to this change, Turnitin's default setting included bibliographic and quoted material in the similarity index within an individual originality report. Since this material is generally identical to material in appropriately referenced sources, most instructors opted to exclude it. Now, it is excluded by default. Note that originality reports generated prior to June 30 remain unaffected (the exclusion preference that was set for each individual original report will be maintained).
  2. Intra-course access to QuickMarks and rubrics saved in GradeMark

    QuickMarks (comments) and rubrics saved in GradeMark in one course are now available in other courses! The ability to access QuickMarks and rubrics created in other courses is a huge timesaver, especially for instructors who teach multiple sections of the same course.

  3. Optional exclusion of small matches in the originality report

    Turnitin has always used specific criteria to exclude very small matches. Now, instructors are able to adjust the size of the matches to exclude.

  4. Expanded similarity index shows sources of matches

    In the past, only one source for a match was shown in the originality report. With this improvement, an expanded similarity index displays the percentage of the paper's content that matches each of the following sources: (1) other student papers, (2) the Web, and (3) periodicals, journals, and publications.

  5. Summary reports for GradeMark assignments

    A new summary report in GradeMark now lists all of the graded papers in an assignment, how many times each QuickMark was used on each one, and every rubric criterion rating.

  6. Optional poll for comparing time spent grading papers with GradeMark vs. other methods

    Instructors can now choose to track and report the time they spent grading papers for the assignment using GradeMark, the number of papers represented by that time, and their estimate of how long it would have taken to grade those papers by other methods.

  7. Auto-check of user's system capabilities with Turnitin system requirements

    When a user logs in, Turnitin now compares the user's system capabilities to the minimum system requirements, and provides information on how to address any issues that arise.

  8. Improved handling of document submissions and multiple file uploads

    Various improvements have been implemented, including an increase in the maximum file size to 20 MB, an increase in the size of zip files to 200 MB, simpler procedures for uploading zipped files and multiple files, better error reporting, and a progress bar that indicates the status of uploads.

  9. System-wide font upgrade

    Arial is now used as the default display font instead of Verdana.
  1. Turnitin has also announced that Turnitin and GradeMark are now available in Spanish. Additional languages made available in July 2009 include Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Korean, Thai, and Malay.

The complete text of Turnitin's announcement is available at http://turnitin.com/static/new_tii_features_090630.html.

12. Enhance Your Courses with Twitter

Instructors can use Twitter, a social networking micro-blog, as a teaching and learning tool. Twitter is free to use, and students can access Twitter on their smart phones as well as on their computers.

What is Twitter? Click the following link to view a two-minute video introduction to Twitter: http://www.commoncraft.com/twitter.

What are seven things you should know about Twitter? Click the following link for an informative article from Educause: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7027.pdf.

Here are five ways you can use the 140-character postings (or "tweets") to communicate with your students and augment their learning:

  1. Reminders or Announcements: Students can miss time-sensitive information if they do not frequently check their University email account or log into the learning management system (Bb Vista or Blackboard). Instructors can quickly communicate with students by sending tweets to announce course-related events, assignment deadlines, course changes, or other information.

  2. Resources: Instructors or students can post URLs for newly-discovered Web sites, blogs, applications, or other resources that are related to the course.

  3. Daily Terminology or Problem of the Day: For courses where students need to learn new vocabulary and field-related terminology, instructors can send a Word of the Day tweet. For math and science courses, instructors can send a Problem of the Day tweet for students to ponder and solve before coming to class.

  4. Discussion Questions: After completing homework assignments, students might have questions they want the instructor to answer during class. Twitter is a great tool for communicating these questions to the instructor prior to the next class session. Based on the questions they receive via Twitter, instructors might want to adjust the emphasis of the next lecture or spend time responding to these questions at the beginning of class.

  5. Reflection or Reaction: After reading an article, watching a video, or completing a lab assignment, instructors can ask for opinions, reactions, or reflections.

Instructors might also wish to create a "twibe" for their classes. A twibe is a group of Twitter users who have something in common. For more information about twibes, visit http://www.twibes.com.

13. Safari 4 Not Validated for Bb Vista

On June 8, 2009, Apple released a new version of its Safari browser (version 4). At this time, Safari users should NOT upgrade to version 4 because it is not validated for Bb Vista. In addition to Safari 4's lack of validation, we have identified a problem with the way it renders the left-hand navigation bar in Bb Vista sections. Further details of this issue can be found at http://rmcp.dcollege.net/playlists.aspx/827/16705/827_16705_194059.pdf.

If you have any problems or questions, please contact the Online Learning Team at olt@drexel.edu or 215-895-1224.

14. Firefox 3.5 Not Validated for Bb Vista on Macs

Mozilla has officially released Firefox 3.5. Major upgrades in this version include support for HTML 5, improved JavaScript performance, and better control over private data. Although Firefox 3.5 has been certified for use with Bb Vista on computers running Windows XP and Vista, it has not yet been validated for use with Bb Vista on Macs.

As in previous versions of Firefox, the absence of the HTML Creator on Mac OS X computers continues to be the most significant issue in Firefox 3.5.

15. Wimba Classroom Not Supported in Internet Explorer 8

Internet Explorer 8 does not support Wimba Classroom. Instead, use Internet Explorer 6/7, or Firefox 1.5 - 2.0. (Firefox 3, the latest version of Firefox, is also not recommended for use with Wimba Classroom.) For Macs, the following browsers are supported: Safari 1.2 - 3.2 and Firefox 1.5 - 2.0.