IRT: News & Events: TechUpdates: July 16 2003

July is the month when new students get their first real taste of Drexel. Mondays and Tuesdays, and Thursdays and Fridays are the days when students and their parents are visiting departments, staying in residence halls, and experiencing an intensive introduction to their next four or five years.

This year, even more of the orientation is being conducted on line. Placement exams are being offered via WebCT, so many students arrive for orientation with that step complete. To accomplish this, they have already picked up their computer accounts via the Computer Accounts Management Service, and learned how to log in using DrexelOne. The LeBow College of Business is even conducting freshman registration on line.

So far, after the first week of orientation, questions and problems have been minimal. Programs are working smoothly and students are adapting well to eServices. That's good news for the future at Drexel!

2. COMING SOON - A NEW WEBMAIL

For those who were dismayed by the departure of Drexel's webmail program, a replacement is almost ready!

A new product is being tested now - those previewing and testing it think it is a big improvement. It has many of the user-friendly features of the old webmail, many attractive new features, and is - our technicians believe - likely to prove far more robust.

So keep tuned to this location. Unless unexpected glitches are found, we hope to have good news for fans of web-based email within the next couple of weeks.

3. APPLETALK - COLOR IT GONE

The university's AppleTalk network protocol was turned off on Wed, July 9, after almost twenty years of service. This was originally installed with LocalTalk wiring to serve Drexel's then-all-Macintosh campus.

LocalTalk networks were replaced in the early '90s by fast Ethernet. This was later supplemented by the wireless network. The AppleTalk protocol was retained to serve Macs. However, Macintosh computers now function with the TCP/IP protocol as do Windows computers.

IRT's network engineers were happy to pull the plug on AppleTalk, because its operation (unlike more modern protocols) involves a constant chatter that uses up network resources.

The only function that will require a new procedure is accessing Drexel servers such as the Files Server. You can do this on the Mac through the Chooser, click on Server IP Address, and fill in "Files.IRT.drexel.edu" (without the quotes) as the requested URL. For detailed directions, see http://www.drexel.edu/IRT/support/MacTCPIP.html

4. WEAVING A TANGLED WEB WITH DREAMWEAVER

Dreamweaver MX is one of the most versatile of the family of web authoring tools, and it writes cleaner code than most of the alternatives. Drexel has a limited number of licenses for Dreamweaver MX for faculty and staff members to use on Drexel-owned computers.

So how do you get it? You kill two birds with one stone. Attend an IRT workshop to learn to use the product, and take away a CD with the program for your own use.

Dreamweaver MX workshops will be offered at the following times in Room 116 Korman Center:

Thursday, Aug 7, 10 am to noon - Basic
Tuesday, Aug 12, 1:30 to 3:30 pm - Basic
Wednesday, Aug 13, 10 am to noon - Intermediate
Monday, Aug 18, 1:30 to 3:30 pm - Advanced
Thursday, Aug 21, 10 am to noon - Basic
Monday, Aug 25, 10 am to noon - Intermediate/Advanced

The workshops will cover such topics as Dreamweaver basics, creating a basic web page, designing a web site, working with text, working with links, working with images, working with tables, building a site with frames, and uploading a web site.

Email irtweb@drexel.edu to reserve a spot.

5. FOLIO ORGANIZES YOUR PORTFOLIO

Do you have research projects to keep track of, senior presentations to organize, resumes to customize?

You may want to think of Folio by ePortaro, a relatively new program at Drexel that many are finding helps with their tasks. You can share all or parts of the electronic artifacts stored in the portfolio with colleagues, professors, parents, present or prospective employers. It has an easy-to-use web interface, and each user has full security control over his/her own artifacts. It's especially useful for advising.

Interested? Contact eportfolio@drexel.edu by email, and be sure to include your name,
phone number, department, and any questions you have.

6. KORMAN WIRELESS LAB NOW HAS TABLETS

Korman's Classroom A, the original wireless laptop room, is being upgraded to include tablet computers as well. The tablets enable users to enter data with a stylus or with a keyboard.

By the end of summer, the lab will be outfitted with 38 Dell Centrino laptops and 28 Toshiba Tablet PCs, all with wireless connectivity. Instructors will choose which computers they want to use. For example, the stylus mode of entry is especially useful for entering math formulas.

7. EXCHANGE SERVER SWITCH-OVER

By reader request, let us bring you up to date about the upgrade in Drexel's Exchange mail system.

This entailed the installation of a newer, bigger, faster server, and required IRT technicians to move all mailboxes from the old server to the new server. Unfortunately, the old server crashed in the middle of the process. Cleaning up the situation took several days, and we thank you all for your patience.

As of now, everything should be back to normal. The upgrade was to hardware rather than software, so users should see no difference in how they use the system - except, of course, for better performance and reliability. No changes to software settings are required.

Please note that some users are receiving error messages saying mail they sent cannot be delivered because of "congestion". If you see that, contact the IRT Accounts staff (accounts@drexel.edu). It's a clue that there's something wrong with your addressee's mailbox. Often it means that the addressee's account has been dormant for an extended period of time.

------------WebCT News----------------

8. WebCT SHOWCASE - CALL FOR PRESENTERS

We continue to solicit your proposals for this Showcase! Last year we saw some innovative, interesting, and informative presentations by faculty and colleagues demonstrating how they were using WebCT.

Have you been doing some exciting things with your WebCT course? Please think about sending in a proposal for the July 30 event to share how you have been using various WebCT features and functions to help your learners.

To get a flavor from last year's showcase, see http://www.drexel.edu/irt/services/webct/webctshowcase.html

To submit a proposal or ask questions, send email to webct@drexel.edu.

9. BOOT CAMPS

WebCT Boot Camps are now scheduled for the balance of the calendar year. We added more in August to help you prepare for the fall term!

Friday, July 25 (full)
* Friday, Aug 1
* Wednesday, Aug 6
* Friday, Aug 15
Friday, Aug 22 (one slot left)
Friday, Sept 26
Friday, Oct 24 (just added)
Friday, Nov 21 (just added)
Friday, Dec 19 (just added)

* Note: First priority for registration on marked dates is given to faculty who will be teaching sections of the University Seminar in the fall term.

The Boot Camps are all held in the Korman Computing Center, Room 116. Email webct@drexel.edu to reserve your spot. This is primarily a hands-on activity, right in WebCT. We begin at 9 am and go until 3:30 pm. Laptops are provided.

10. TIPS FOR THIS MONTH

* Save server space! When you upload .zip files and unzip them, go back and delete the .zip file from your My Files area. You save half the space by doing that!

* Real estate is expensive! Conserve space on your Course Menu. Use Content Modules and/or Organizer Pages. For every single link on your Course Menu, you can make multiple files available to your students by using these tools.

* Avoid problems with quizzes! Ask us to create a demo student account for you and enroll that account in your course. With it, you can log into your course and take the quiz ahead of time - looking for errors, typos, incorrect answers, awkward verbiage, and the like.

* Remember! WebCT courses that show up in DrexelOne when you and your students click the My Courses tab are only those courses that you are teaching or taking in Banner. WebCT users who are in "non-Banner-generated" courses need to click the blue text MyWebCT Page that appears above your course listings in DrexelOne. It's at the end of this sentence: "Don't see all your courses? Check your MyWebCT Page".

Modified: August 20, 2008

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