Electronic Grade Submission to be available this spring
by M. Nielsen, Registrars Office, and E. Unger, Vice Provost for Academic Services and Technology
published Jan. 31, 2006
In May, faculty will have the option to submit grades electronically.
The process involves signing in to a secure website in which the faculty will have a
link to the reference numbers for full-semester courses. Faculty will either
have a drop-down menu for assigning grades, or they will import letter grades
directly from the K-State Online Gradebook. Faculty will be able to access the system
May 8-17 for full-semester courses and will have the options of using
the Electronic Grade Submission system or submitting the paper grade forms.
The Electronic Grade Submission system was pilot-tested during fall 2005 with 25
faculty submitting 1,600 grades for 71 course sections. According to Elizabeth
Unger, vice provost for academic services and technology, "This is an academic
service that is provided to faculty to save their valuable time and also
eliminate errors that might occur in the manual system. This is one more effort
to provide better services to our faculty wherever they may be when grades are
due." A faculty member in the pilot test commented, "The process is very
user-friendly, and takes only a few moments to understand and begin using."
Submitting grades for short courses and all Division of Continuing Education
courses is not currently possible through the Electronic Grade Submission
system. The required training will be available beginning in April, and faculty will
be required to take either the online or the face-to-face training before access
to Electronic Grade Submission will be granted. More information will be
forthcoming.
Status of proposed K-State antivirus software switch
by S. Coulson, SIRT Antivirus Committee chair
published Jan. 31, 2006
(This is the first in a series of reports on a proposed
change in antivirus software at K-State.)
Last summer, after several months of study and on-campus
presentations by four major antivirus software companies,
K-State's Security Incident Response Team (SIRT) Antivirus
Committee recommended that K-State switch from Symantec
AntiVirus Corporate Edition to another product -- Trend Micro's
OfficeScan Suite -- because it offered better antivirus
protection, antispyware capabilities, superior manageability,
a remotely manageable firewall, and significant cost reductions.
(See the July 26, 2005 article.)
The recommendation was favorably received by CNS, but as there
was insufficient time to switch before the fall 2005 semester,
CNS Director Harvard Townsend decided to continue with Symantec
for one more year, with a view to making a final decision
this spring.
(See the Aug. 2, 2005 article.)
To prepare for that decision, CNS recently purchased 70
licenses of Trend Micro OfficeScan Suite for testing by SIRT
members from all areas of campus. Many of these
licenses will be used on production
servers, office desktops, and student lab computers to gather
real-world experience with Trend Micro's
performance in regular, day-to-day use. Other licenses will be
used in special test environments
to check out features and experiment with management and
deployment options. These tests will be the most critical
element in the decision-making process.
Initial test results will be evaluated in mid-February, and
testing will continue through mid-March. The SIRT Antivirus
Committee plans to issue a report March 15 on these tests and its
final recommendation. CNS plans to
make a final decision shortly thereafter, in order to allow
plenty of time to switch before the fall semester.
eID password deadline is one week away
by B. Edwards, Computing and Network Services
published Jan. 31, 2006
Wednesday, Feb. 8, is the deadline for all K-Staters to change the password on their eID for spring semester.
To change it, sign in at eid.k-state.edu and select the password "change" link
on your eProfile page. For security purposes, passwords cannot be reused within a two-year period.
See the Password FAQs for more details.
TechBytes series begins Feb. 8 with Wimba
by C. Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 31, 2006
The TechBytes series for the spring semester will begin
Wednesday, Feb. 8. The first session topic will be Wimba, a
web-based collaboration tool used for online education. The
complete line-up for the semester is below.
- Feb. 8: Collaboration Tools: Wimba
- March 8: Listserv Management
- April 12: Acrobat Basics
All sessions will be at 1:15 p.m. Wednesdays in 501 Hale
Library and are open to the K-State community.
See the TechBytes website for more information.
February training from iTAC
by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Jan. 31, 2006. updated 9:20 a.m. Feb. 1, 2006
Training is being offered by iTAC in February on web design and
a couple of new sessions on Excel. Check out the
February IT training calendar
and sign up! All classes are free for K-State faculty and staff, but require pre-registration.
CNS service center expands services, seeks staff
by A. Phillips, Computing and Network Services
published Jan. 31, 2006
The CNS Technology Service Center is planning to hire additional staff to help cover its
expanding workload. With several new rooms scheduled for technology installation in the
coming months, the need for additional support staff has become critical. Other initiatives
are also contributing to the center's expanding workload, including offering computer repair
services to students and employees through the K-State Student Union Computer Store. Plans are also
under way to become an authorized Dell service center (in addition to Apple and Gateway).
At least one full-time position will be added to address the need for more technology-classroom support
people and to expand the hours that support staff are available beyond the current 8 a.m.-10 p.m. timeframe.
Additional student staff will be added as part of this expansion, and another full-time position may be needed
as the computer-repair work ramps up. Qualified people looking for a job in technology-classroom
support or computer repair should watch K-State Human Resources'
employment opportunities page for these positions.
First-ever Macs with Intel processors
by C. Loehr, K-State Student Union Computer Store
published Jan. 31, 2006
On Jan. 10, Apple introduced the first-ever Macs running
on Intel processors -- the iMac and the
MacBook Pro (which will be replacing the PowerBook)
run on the new Intel Core Duo processor.
The new iMacs are shipping now and are already in demand by K-Staters. Apple expects to begin shipping the
MacBook Pro in February.
One of the new Intel iMacs is
set up and running as a demo model at the K-State Student Union Computer Store. K-Staters are invited to stop by the
store and take the 20-inch model for a test drive.
Education pricing:
The 20-inch iMac starts at $1,599, and the 17-inch iMac starts at $1,199.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro begins at $1,799 for the 1.67GHz model, and $2,299 for the 1.83GHz model.
Shipments of new iMac are already in transit, and the store is taking pre-orders for the MacBook Pro.
See the computer store's website for store hours, and stop
by for more information.
Union Computer Store garage sale this week
by C. Loehr, K-State Student Union Computer Store
published Jan. 31, 2006
The Union Computer Store is having a garage sale 10 a.m.-4 p.m. today through Friday, across from
the Union Food Court. Selected items are marked 10 percent to 90 percent off retail. Items include video
cards, Internet cables, discontinued iPod accessories, software, and more.
IT by the numbers: university computing labs
by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Jan. 31, 2006
These are usage stats for the weekdays of Dec. 5-9, 2005, for
seven university computing labs, including those in the Union and the Athletic Learning Center:
- 161 computers in use
- 6,015 log-ins
- 54 minutes average use per log-in
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