• Jan. 29, 2008

Emergency Text Messaging Service now available to K-Staters

by Aimee Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center,
and Stephen Broccolo, Environmental Health & Safety
published Jan. 29, 2008

Starting last week, all K-State students, faculty, and staff with an active eID are eligible to sign up for the K-State Emergency Text Messaging Service (ETMS) powered by Leader Alert. With this service, campus authorities will be able to dispatch alerts and information directly to you in the event of an emergency. Text messages, e-mail, and postings to the K-State homepage will all be used to keep students, faculty, and staff updated during crisis situations.

To sign up for ETMS:

  1. Go to eid.k-state.edu and sign in with your eID and password.
  2. Click the Manage your emergency contact settings link.
  3. Follow the instructions to enter your cellphone number and enable the ETMS.

By Monday morning, 2,779 individuals had signed up for the service. K-Staters may sign up for ETMS at any time, as well as disable and re-enable the service. The university is not responsible for messaging charges that K-Staters may incur when sending messages through the ETMS. It is the responsibility of the person receiving the emergency text messages to maintain their ETMS contact information and ensure that it is correct at all times.

For more information about ETMS, see Emergency Text Messaging Service FAQs.

K-State employees: Feb. 1 deadline for mandatory online training

by Jerry Jaax, University Research Compliance Office
published Jan. 29, 2008

K-State launched a mandatory institutional training program regarding Export Control Regulations on Dec. 6. At that time, all faculty and staff received an e-mail from Provost Nellis with instructions for completing the required online program. The deadline for completion is Feb. 1. You must have QuickTime 7.2 or later in order to participate. If you do not currently have this program on your computer, you may use any of the following university computing labs to complete the mandatory training:

  • K-State InfoCommons (in Hale Library)
  • Dickens 1-1A
  • Justin 325
  • Nichols 21
  • Seaton 22
  • Union Copy Center
  • Union Station (ground floor of the K-State Student Union)

Any questions regarding this training program or the use of QuickTime can be directed to the University Research Compliance Office at 785-532-3224.

February IT training calendar now online

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 29, 2008

iTAC's February IT training calendar is now online. All classes are free for K-State faculty, staff, and graduate students, but require pre-registration. Details are on the specific registration pages. Courses include:

  • Various eTips
  • Introduction to HTML
  • Introduction to Dreamweaver
  • Introduction to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
  • Dreamweaver and CSS

Video conferences explore K-State collaboration with Mexican university

by Rosanna Vail, Division of Continuing Education
published Jan. 29, 2008

On Dec. 19, representatives from K-State's College of Human Ecology, Graduate School, and the Division of Continuing Education met with the provost of the Universidad Popular Autonoma del Estado de Puebla and other representatives via video conferencing to discuss possible collaborations between the Mexican university and K-State's College of Human Ecology.

Representatives from the K-State College of Engineering also held a video conference with the Puebla staff Nov. 21. Participants discussed the possibilities of study abroad, internships, and the sharing of distance education graduate courses in engineering. Follow-up meetings will continue this year.

eTips webinar series starts Feb. 5 with "What's an RSS feed?"

Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 29, 2008

The eTips webinar series provides short tips and overviews on a variety of technology topics. Each session has a brief demonstration of a tip or tool (15-20 minutes) followed by question-and-answer. The best part is you don't have to leave your desk! The sessions will be held via K-State Online's Wimba tool, which allows online collaboration and sharing through any networked or wireless computer.

The first session, "What's an RSS feed and why would I want one?" is 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, and the webinar will be presented by Cathy Rodriguez. eTips registration is required at least 24 hours in advance.

TechBytes series begins Thursday, Feb. 7, with password security

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 29, 2008

Mark your calendars for the TechBytes series for spring semester. Presentations are scheduled 1:15-2:15 p.m. every Thursday from Feb. 7 through April 17 in 501 Hale Library (Hemisphere Room). The full semester lineup will be announced soon.

"Password Security" is 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, in 501 Hale Library, and is presented by Harvard Townsend, K-State's IT security officer. The Feb. 13 deadline for changing your eID password is fast approaching and your blood pressure is going up because you came up with a great password the last time around and now you have to come up with a new one again. Plus, you're anticipating another battle with the seemingly nonsensical eID profile system that rejects every eID password you try. To reduce your frustration when choosing a new eID password and to learn how to effectively manage the growing number of accounts and passwords you have to keep track of, join us for this TechBytes session. Topics include:

  • Tips for choosing a good eID password (i.e., a strong password you can remember)
  • Why we have to change the eID password twice per year
  • Threats to your passwords
  • Other policies concerning your eID password
  • Managing multiple accounts and multiple passwords
  • Can you write down your password?
  • Should you let Windows or your browser store your passwords?

TechBytes seminars are free and open to the K-State community. The series is also video-streamed live for off-campus viewers and others who wish to view it from their desktop. See the TechBytes site for a link to the next live video, plus handouts, videos, and resources from previous seminars.

TELENET 2 has enhanced video conferencing

by Sue Barton, Kansas Regents Network/TELENET 2
published Jan. 29, 2008

Telenet 2 and the University of Nebraska are using video standard H.239 to enhance the video connection linking the two sites for horticulture and statistics courses in spring semester 2008. Standard H.239, patented as People + Content, allows two simultaneous channels of video in a single conference: one for the instructor, and a second for course content. The content can be anything displayed on a standard PC.

The viewer’s experience is enhanced as they can see, for example, a PowerPoint presentation while maintaining a view of the instructor and a small picture-in-picture of the local site. Thus, the video conference becomes more personal and more effective for distance education.

For more information or to schedule a video conference for educational, administrative, research, or other meetings, contact Sue White, 785-532-5995, t2net@k-state.edu.

Security tip of the week

K-State purchases Microsoft Windows Server CALs

by Harvard Townsend, IT security
published Jan. 29, 2008

K-State has purchased a campus agreement for Windows Server Client Access Licenses (CAL) to support the use of Microsoft's Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) for managing security patches on computers running Microsoft Windows. A campus agreement is, in effect, an annually renewable site license, so this covers all computers owned by K-State. Additional licenses have been purchased to cover student computers in the residence halls since it is likewise critically important that those computers stay up-to-date with security patches.

This purchase, funded by the office of the Vice Provost for IT Services, was made necessary when Microsoft discontinued its free Software Update Services (SUS) software in July 2007 and replaced it with WSUS that requires the CAL. WSUS does provide additional features over SUS, such as patching Microsoft applications like the Office Suite instead of just the Windows operating system, so at least we are getting more functionality with the change to WSUS.

K-State-owned computers should be configured to use WSUS to ensure that patches for Microsoft Windows operating system and applications are applied properly and in a timely manner -- an important part of K-State's IT security strategy. If your department or college does not already provide this service, Computing and Telecommunications Services provides centrally supported WSUS that any university-owned computer can use. Check with your IT support staff or the IT Help Desk to determine if your computer needs to be updated to use WSUS.

In addition to supporting WSUS, a Windows Server CAL is required for any user or device to connect to a Microsoft Windows Server for things like file and print services, so this campus agreement has the added benefit of providing licenses for K-State units to expand their Windows environments without having to buy additional CALs.

Note that the Microsoft campus agreement does NOT cover personally owned computers. Those should be configured to use Microsoft's free Windows Update service and apply updates automatically.

K-State Online

Scantron resources

by Sarah Silva, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 29, 2008

With the ever-increasing use of the scanning machine to grade Scantron forms over the next few months, here's some resources to help make your use easier and safer:

Remember, the IT Help Desk is adjacent to the scanner if you need help.

Change font sizes in web browsers?

by Ernie Perez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 29, 2008

How do I change the font size in a web browser?

  • In Firefox, press Ctrl and the + key or - key to increase or decrease the font size.
  • In Internet Explorer, in the tool menu at the top, select View and then Text Size. There you will be able to make the font larger or smaller.
Spotlight

K-State's "Magic of Painting" broadcast on DISH Network

by Susan Jagerson, Educational Communications Center
published Jan. 29, 2008

"The Magic of Painting" production featuring Jim Rigg, art director in the Educational Communications Center, is being nationally distributed through Northern Arizona University's The Universityhouse Channel on DISH Network.

Image of 'The Magic of Painting with Jim Rigg' logo for ECC website
The Magic of Painting logo on ECC's website

This ECC original series consists of four 30-minute, how-to programs designed to be both instructional and entertaining. Jim explains step-by-step how to create beautiful watercolor paintings using acrylic paints. Various elements of the painting process are shown, from choosing a subject, mixing paints, properly using and caring for brushes, developing composition, and applying different tools and techniques to make a painting come alive. Jim shows viewers how to create a stunning country bridge landscape and a vibrant iris blossom during the series.

The programs have aired on The Universityhouse Channel since November and will continue to be shown through February. Since the series began televising on DISH Network, ECC has received orders for "The Magic of Painting" DVD ($24.95) and the paint kits ($64.99) from points across the nation, including Alabama, Tennessee, California, Texas, Virginia, Florida, and Montana.

If you want to learn to paint with a renowned watercolor artist, tune into DISH Network channel 9411 at noon Central Time on Saturdays and Sundays. "The Magic of Painting" series will also appear again in March on K-State TV channel 8 on Cox Communications and Wildcat Cable. For more information, see www.themagicofpainting.org.