• Nov. 20, 2007

Faculty forum Nov. 27 on e-mail and IT issues

by Michael North, Faculty Senate Committee on Technology
published Nov. 20, 2007

The Faculty Senate Committee on University Planning (FSCOUP) and the Faculty Senate Committee on Technology (FSCOT) are sponsoring a Faculty Forum on Campus E-mail and IT-related Issues. This forum will provide an opportunity for faculty and unclassified professionals to voice their concerns and experiences pertaining to e-mail and IT issues, or other hardware/software/support issues. It will provide input to the IT Assessment Committee and the E-mail Needs Committee. Both Lynn Carlin, vice provost for Information Technology Services, and James Lyall, associate vice provost for Information Technology Services, will be in attendance to listen and document the concerns of the attending faculty.

Join us 10-11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, in the Big 12 Room of the K-State Student Union and share your IT concerns, needs, and vision for K-State.

Faculty/staff: Download QuickTime to view upcoming video

by Ashley Rhodes, University Research Compliance Office
published Nov. 20, 2007

In order to comply with federal regulatory guidelines, a new training initiative has been mandated by the provost. This initiative requires that all faculty and staff view a short, 90-second streaming video, which will be accessed by a link sent via e-mail Nov. 30 or later. In order to view the video and record your participation, you must have at least version 7.2 of QuickTime or better on your computer. Follow the links below to get the latest version for your PC or Mac. Quicktime is a free, safe, and secure download.

Thanksgiving-break hours for IT Help Desk, labs, MDC

by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 20, 2007

IT Help Desk (212 Hale Library) hours during Thanksgiving break:

Tue, Nov. 20Open 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; 6 p.m.-midnight e-mail/phone only
Wed, Nov. 21Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Thu, Nov. 22Closed
Fri, Nov. 23Closed
Sat, Nov. 24Open 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun, Nov. 25Open 1 p.m.-10 p.m.

The Media Development Center (213 Hale Library) will be closed Nov. 22-24.

The university computing labs in Dickens, Seaton, Nichols, and Justin halls will be closed over the Thanksgiving break. The labs will close at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21, and reopen by 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25. If you are in need of a computer during the break, the 24-hour study area in Hale Library will remain open throughout the break.

eTips reminder: Google Tools, 3 p.m. today (Nov. 20)

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 20, 2007

The eTips registration deadline has been extended to 1 p.m. today, Nov. 20, and is open to all K-Staters.

Today's 3-3:30 p.m. eTips session (online at your desktop via Wimba) will focus on how to collaborate with others through the power of Google Docs, Google Chat, and Google Calendar. Google Docs is a free, web-based suite of office applications that allows you to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and then share and collaborate online.

Preliminary results from IT newsletter survey

by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 20, 2007

As of Nov. 19, 114 readers have responded to the IT newsletter survey that's available online through Nov. 27. Preliminary results show the top categories readers would like added to the newsletter are

  • New technology tools and trends (82% of respondents)
  • Computer crimes on campus, including how to prevent it from happening to others (72% of respondents)
  • K-State IT planning, goals, and directions (69% of respondents)

Fifty percent of respondents indicate they would use an RSS feed; 43 percent a readers' blog; and 32 percent a wiki. Full results will be posted after the survey closes Nov. 27.

Electronic Grade Submission system reminder

by Sarah Silva, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 20, 2007

Instructors and their designates who want to use the Electronic Grade Submission system to submit full-semester final grades this fall can still sign up to get access to the online tutorial. The tutorial will be available until noon Friday, Dec. 7. After that time, no more training will be offered this semester, access to the Electronic Grade Submission system will not be granted, and instructors will need to use the paper form for submitting grades. Those who have participated in Electronic Grade Submission system training in past semesters are not required to complete training again. Those wanting to use the system can enroll in the training via the Electronic Grade Submission System training enrollment page.

eTips Nov. 28: Refresher on Electronic Grade Submission

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 20, 2007

Sarah Silva will present an eTips session on "Electronic Grade Submission Refresher" at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28. This session is for instructors who have previously been trained to use the system, but would like a refresher before it becomes available Dec. 10. The session is not a substitute for taking the online training required of anyone new to the system.

eTips registration is required at least 24 hours in advance to allow time to add instructors to the session and ensure their workstation is configured properly for accessing the session.

Axio Quarterly (K-State Online newsletter) Issue 5 available

by Amanda Tross, Office of Mediated Education
published Nov. 20, 2007

The Axio Quarterly provides K-Staters and Axio members with in-depth articles about new developments with K-State Online, the community members, and e-learning topics. The newsletter is produced four times per year by Axio Learning at the Office of Mediated Education (OME). Visit the newsletter site to download a PDF copy, or e-mail info@online.ksu.edu for a personal printed copy.

Readers can explore in-depth articles plus staff profiles, tips to better use Axio, and information from OME's instructional designers. This fifth issue includes:

  • Full coverage of the 2007 Axio Conference
  • Tips & Tricks: Adding Sound to Your Course
  • Instructional Design: Active Learning
  • Axio Best Practices
  • Wimba Quick Reference Guide
Course accessibility

Tips for making webpages accessible

by Sarah Silva, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 20, 2007
  1. Include a DOCTYPE statement on each page. The DOCTYPE statement is the first line of a web document and identifies for the browser which Document Type Definition version (DTD) to use.
  2. Add alternative text descriptions. You should include an alternative text description (called "alt text") for such things as images, Flash, and video and audio files, to describe the purpose of the object. When images are used as links, their alt text should be descriptive of the link destination. If an image is purely decorative, it's alt-text description should be empty (alt="").
  3. Foreground and background color should have good contrast. There should be enough contrast between foreground and background colors on pages and images to ensure text is readable by someone who doesn't see color well.
  4. Create descriptive hyperlinks. Make sure the target of every hyperlink is clear. Using "Click here" or "Link" to describe a hyperlink is not accessible. Consider the content you are linking to when writing hyperlink text. A hyperlink should be descriptive and should make sense on its own.
  5. Avoid pop-up windows. To avoid confusing users with vision impairments, avoid using pop-ups or causing other windows to open or change without advance notice.

For examples and tips on making your webpages accessible, see K-State's Web Content Accessibility site and the K-Access site.

Security tip of the week

Patch 1.1 for Trend Micro OfficeScan

by Harvard Townsend, IT security
published Nov. 20, 2007

In October, Trend Micro released patch 1.1 for Trend Micro OfficeScan that fixes many bugs and a few security vulnerabilities. Information about this important patch was sent to campus system administrators, so they are in the process of applying the patch to campus computers. If the following message popped up on your computer, you have already had the patch applied -- assuming you followed the instructions and rebooted your computer:

Computer Restart Required screen message by Trend Micro OfficeScan

K-Staters who installed OfficeScan for home users must download and manually run the OfficeScan update program on their home computer as soon as possible to get the patch. The update program for 64-bit versions of Windows is also available from the K-State antivirus website.

As always, contact your IT support person or the IT Help Desk if you need assistance.

K-State Online

Viewing statistics and reports

by Sarah Silva, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 20, 2007

K-State Online has a variety of statistical reports available to instructors. The Course Statistics tool offers statistics about course visits, file access, frequently used tools, as well as daily and weekly individual student usage activity. In addition, reports are available from both the Assignments and Gradebook tools.

  • Assignment reports provide a wealth of information about student completion times; distribution and frequency of letter grades and scores; and also question item analysis.
  • Gradebook reports include course-level statistics that can be viewed by section to compare one section to another, and also a Student Progress Report that allows you to see all current scores in one easy-to-view table.

Why e-mail message unexpectedly went to others?

by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 20, 2007

I just e-mailed someone and copied myself, but the copy went to two other addresses instead. They were eIDs with my first name and last name (for example: Jan@ksu.edu, Smith@ksu.edu). How did that happen? How can I prevent it from happening again?

This kind of error usually happens when someone types a name, instead of an e-mail address, into an e-mail address field. Since e-mail addresses can't contain spaces, any e-mail client will try to send the message to two people. When it doesn't find a domain name, it will add the local one -- hence the resulting addresses of Jan@ksu.edu and Smith@ksu.edu.

To prevent this from happening again, simply add yourself to your address book. For example: Jan Smith <jansmith@ksu.edu>. But this can happen whenever anything is typed into an address field -- To, From, Cc, Bcc, etc. -- so it might be a good idea to add all of your regular correspondents to your address book as well.

This also solves a puzzle for people on the receiving end. Some K-Staters who use their first name as their e-mail address have reported getting out-of-the-blue e-mails like this without a clue why. It's even more puzzling when your address is in a BCC field and doesn't show up anywhere in the e-mail header.

Spotlight

Holiday gift-giving ideas from IT staff

by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Nov. 20, 2007

This is the first installment of tech-related tools and gadgets suggested by K-State IT staff for holiday gifts. Stay tuned for more in the next few weeks.

  • iPod nano 3rd generation video. "I know it's not new, but it's pretty awesome. Available everywhere, including the Union Computer Store."
  • Clocky. "The alarm clock that runs away and hides when you don't wake up. Clocky gives you one chance to get up. But if you snooze, Clocky will jump off your nightstand and wheel around your room looking for a place to hide. Clocky is kind of like a misbehaving pet, only he will get up at the right time. Might help us lazy college students get out of bed on time. :)"
  • FLY Fusion Pentop Computer (digital-image pen). "A pen that takes a digital image of everything you write and can later transfer it to your laptop as a note or convert into text."
  • Griffin's Evolve wireless iPod speakers. For anyone who has an iPod, this may be the next stop for accessories.
  • eStarling E-Mail Enabled Wi-Fi Photo Frame. This perennial favorite, a digital photo frame, lets users take photos and display them fast. This latest version connects to a Wi-Fi network so you can send photos via e-mail or RSS feed.
  • SRV-1 Mobile Surveillance Robot. According to ThinkGeek.com, this "palm-sized bot packs tank-like treads, a 32-bit ARM processor and a mini video camera. The included wireless transmitter interfaces via USB with any PC up to 300 feet away. The Java based host software supports Windows, Mac or Linux OS and features a built-in web server to monitor and control the SRV-1 Robot with a web browser anywhere in the world."
  • CyberTool 41. Another ThinkGeek.com product, this Victorinox pocket knife has a "total of 41 different functions in a single tool" for those doing computer repairs, including a DIP switch setter, torx bits, 4 double-head hex bits, and various screwdrivers.
  • IronKey is "designed to be the world's most secure USB flash drive" according to the product website, because it "locks down your sensitive files and passwords with some of today's most advanced security technologies... And even if your IronKey is lost or stolen, not only is your data still protected, but you can restore it from an encrypted backup to a new IronKey and be up and running again in no time."
  • USB Missile Launcher - Computer-Controlled Desktop Rocket Launcher. "Defend your office or cubicle," says KlearGear.com.
  • Electronic meat thermometer. More feedback is better, whether it's just your basic tool with a battery (~$15), an All-in-One Grill Fork with Meat and Fish Thermometer ($30), or a deluxe Grill Alert Talking Remote Thermometer ($75).