• Feb. 12, 2008

Deadline for eID password change is Wednesday, Feb. 13

by Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008

Wednesday, Feb. 13, is the deadline for all K-Staters to change the password on their eIDs for spring semester. This includes individual eIDs as well as group accounts. To change your eID password, go to the eid.k-state.edu site, sign in to your eProfile, and under Password Settings, click "Change your eID password or password-reset options." For security purposes, passwords cannot be reused within a two-year period. For more information:


Transition to new student information system begins

by Aimee Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008

image of KATS/iSIS link on K-State homepage

This week K-Staters may have noticed the KATS link on the university homepage has changed to KATS/iSIS. The reason for the wording change is to prepare users for the transition to the new student information system known as iSIS.

Now when K-Staters attempt to visit KATS, they will be taken to an informational page that directs them to where they need to go to complete their financial- and academic-related tasks. Once iSIS has been fully implemented this informational page will no longer be needed. For a full list of important dates related to the iSIS implementation visit the transition schedule.

Degree Audit Reporting System unavailable Feb. 15-21

by Aimee Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008

Beginning at 5 p.m. Feb. 15, the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) will be shut down in KATS through Feb. 21 to complete the conversion to the new student information system known as iSIS. DARS will be available in iSIS starting Feb. 22. If you will need a DARS report during this down time, run a report before 5 p.m. Feb. 15.

"Deploying and Managing Dual-Boot Macs" seminar Feb. 14

by Chris Loehr, K-State Student Union Computer Store
published Feb. 12, 2008

Due to campus demand, a seminar on "Deploying and Managing Dual-Boot Macs" has been scheduled 3-5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, in Room 207 of the K-State Student Union. IT professionals and lab managers are encouraged to attend, as well as individuals interested in providing computers that support two or more operating systems.

This free event is presented by Apple and sponsored by the Union Computer Store. To register, go to the Apple Education seminar page. According to the registration page, tech staff will learn:

  • Technologies that make dual-booting possible on Macs
  • Boot Camp vs. Parallels and VMWare Fusion
  • How to deploy a dual-boot lab
  • Management with Apple Remote Desktop

TechBytes Feb. 14: Adobe Connect

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008

Gerry Snyder will present "Adobe Connect" at 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, in 501 Hale Library. Adobe Connect is a web-based tool that allows you to conduct webinars. It brings a whole new aspect to video conferencing. With full audio and video support, conferencing could never be easier over the Web. Connect provides the ability to chat (via voice or text), share Powerpoint presentations, view webcams, and even conduct polls.

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. Use the "View live video" link on the TechBytes homepage to watch the next live video as it's being recorded. The TechBytes archives contains a wealth of information on IT tools and topics. It includes programs, handouts, videos, and resources from seminars in 2003 to the present.

IDT Roundtable Feb. 19: Popcorn! Popcorn! Popcorn!

by Swasati Mukherjee, Office of Mediated Education
published Feb. 12, 2008 (Note: New article added 2:52 p.m. Feb. 12, 2008)

The next Instructional Design and Technology roundtable topic is "Popcorn! Popcorn! Popcorn!" presented by Ben Ward, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, in Room 212 of the K-State Student Union. Come join us for our first-ever video festival featuring instructor-made, educational videos. We will be sharing brief clips from the best of the best, and we look forward to seeing you there for conversation and popcorn. We will bring the popcorn.

Registration and refreshments start at 10:45 a.m. RSVP by contacting the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, 785-532-7828, catl@k-state.edu. Coffee, tea, and water will be available, and you are welcome to bring your lunch.

eTips Feb. 20: InDesign

by Cathy Rodriguez, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008

Sarah Silva will present an eTips session on "Creating multi-level lists in InDesign" at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, desktop webinar via Wimba. Do you find you spend a lot of time renumbering lists in InDesign? Adobe has improved the ability to create and maintain bulleted and numbered lists in InDesign CS3. According to the Community MX website, "Multi-level lists, such as outlines, technical reference numbering, and quizzes are easily formatted." Join this session to see the process for creating lists in CS3.

Reminder: Marty Courtois will present an eTips session on "Tips for creating lengthy documents in Word" at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 13, desktop webinar via Wimba.

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

ETDR Open Forum Feb. 28 for graduate students

by Marty Courtois, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008

An Electronic Theses, Dissertations, and Reports (ETDR) Open Forum is scheduled 4-5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28; in Room 212 of the K-State Student Union. This session will include a demonstration of how to download the ETDR Word template and how to take advantage of Microsoft Word's special features to save time and effort. Even if graduate students haven't started working on their thesis or dissertation, they can attend this session now to ensure they get started on the right track. No registation necessary.

SMART Board training course Feb. 29-March 1 in Lee's Summit

by Kevin Shippy and Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008

A hands-on course, "Technology Tools for the Classroom: Using the SMART Board and Airliner for Effective Instruction", is scheduled 5-9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 29, and all day Saturday, March 1, in Lee's Summit, Mo., at $125 per person. The Airliner is a handheld wireless slate that allows instructors and/or students to remotely interact with SMART Boards. According to the course flier, attendees will learn the basics of set-up, operation, and integrating SMART tools into the curriculum, and "each participant will receive a flash drive with ideas and lesson templates to use in the classroom."

Register by Friday, Feb. 15, to reserve a spot. See the course PDF flier for details on topics and the registration process.

Resources for electronic theses, dissertations, and reports

by Marty Courtois, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008

K-State's Electronic Theses, Dissertations, and Reports (ETDRs) program achieved full implementation last semester, with all graduating masters and doctoral students required to submit their papers electronically. During fall semester, 135 ETDRs were submitted and archived in the K-State Research Exchange (K-REx).

Here are the resources available to assist in formatting and submitting your ETDR:

  • ETDR website (www.ksu.edu/grad/etdr). The site provides details on all aspects of preparing your ETDR, including copyright, using a previously published article as part of your ETDR, and formatting guidelines. It also includes a step-by-step checklist for submitting your ETDR.
  • Word template. Writing a long document in Microsoft Word can be frustrating, but this template makes the process much easier. The template comes pre-set with required margins and page numbering; has pre-defined styles; and will automatically generate your table of contents, list of figures, and list of tables. Be sure to read the instructions before you download the template from the ETDR website.
  • Videos and tutorials. When writing a long document in Word, it's essential to use "Styles" to ensure a consistent appearance throughout your document and to take advantage of features such as automatically creating a table of contents. Review Using Word to Create Your Thesis, Dissertation or Report to become familiar with Styles. Short videos are available to illustrate how to download the template, transfer your content into the template, and troubleshoot page numbering.
  • Individual Assistance. ETDR consultants are available to meet with you to troubleshoot problems with formatting your ETDR. Contact the IT Help Desk to schedule an appointment.
  • Class visits. ETDR consultants are available to speak with your class or graduate student association about using Word to write your ETDR. Contact Marty Courtois (courtois@k-state.edu, 785-532-4428) to schedule a session.
Security tip of the week

Hints for creating a strong password

by Harvard Townsend, IT security
published Feb. 12, 2008

With the password deadline just one day away, help with choosing a good password is in order. The strongest, most complex password would be a random sequence of letters, numbers, and special characters, but that would be difficult to remember. The following information will help you choose a strong, easy-to-remember password.

Because of the important information and services protected by your eID and password, K-State policy sets certain requirements on passwords to make them harder to guess or crack. Knowing these requirements BEFORE you change your password will help you choose one that will be accepted by the eID Profile system. Use the following suggestions to create a password.

  • Think of a familiar phrase or sentence and take the first letter of each word.
  • Capitalize letters where it makes sense, like a proper name in the phrase.
  • Substitute numbers and letters for words or parts of words -- 2 (for "to" or "too"), 4 ("for"), 4t ("fort"), L8 ("late"), R ("are"), U ("you"), etc.
  • Add punctuation where it makes sense, like a comma inside a sentence, or a period, semicolon, question mark, or exclamation point at the end.
  • Use custom auto license plates for creative abbreviations and phrases. Then apply the substitutions listed above to add complexity.

If you travel overseas, beware of characters that may not be available on keyboards in other countries, such as the U.S. dollar symbol.

These suggestions work for other accounts that protect private information, such as your online banking accounts.

K-State's eID password FAQs have similar suggestions for choosing a password, and Microsoft provides helpful information on how to create and use strong passwords. Helpful hints are also on a Feb.  7 video of the TechBytes session on K-State password security and the associated Powerpoint slides.

K-State Online

Running advising reports

by Sarah Silva, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008. updated 1 p.m. Feb. 12, 2008

Advisors at K-State may want to run Advising Reports in K-State Online before they are unavailable Feb. 15-21.

In order to run the reports, the Advising Reports column needs to be displayed in the Advisor's Roster. To display this column, do the following:

  1. Under the User Management section of your course Tools page, click the Roster link.
  2. In the upper right corner, click the Preferences link.
  3. Under User Information, click the Advising Reports check box and then click the Save button.

Once the Advising Report column is displayed, Advising Reports can be run.

  1. Click the check box next to the advisee(s) for whom you want to run an advising report. (Note: Running an advising report for all your advisees could take a long time. It is suggested that if you choose to do this, you do it late in the day, sign out of K-State Online, and let the reports run over night.)
  2. Click the Run Advising Report link and then click OK.
  3. Click the Refresh button on your browser after a few moments (depending upon how many advisees you are running reports for).
  4. Click OK.

After you run advising reports, two reports are displayed in the Advising Reports column of the Roster: a printable advising report and a DARS Report.

A way to print separate newsletter items?

by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Feb. 12, 2008

To make InfoTech Tuesday more user friendly, would it be possible for each of the news items to have a toggle that pulls that piece up into a separate format for easy printing? Many times I would like to print just one or two items.

Thank you for your suggestion. We are exploring several interactive features for the next upgrade of the InfoTech Tuesday newsletter this year. The ability to print selected articles is one of the options to be explored, as well as forwarding an article to others and/or sending a link to an article.

Spotlight

Features of new MacBook Air portable computer

by Chris Loehr, K-State Student Union Computer Store,
and Betsy Edwards, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Feb. 12, 2008

photo of one hand holding Macbook Air
The MacBook Air is significantly lighter than other models.

A MacBook Air computer arrived recently and is on display at the K-State Student Union Computer Store.

Advertised as "the world's thinnest notebook computer", the MacBook Air includes these features:

  • Weight: 3 pounds
  • Height: .76 inches
    (when closed)
  • Full-size, backlit keyboard
  • 13.3-inch LED screen
  • Larger trackpad to accommodate multi-touch technology (pinch, rotate, swipe)
  • Flip-down port that includes USB, micro-DVI, and audio out
  • Software installs wirelessly from another computer
  • Built-in iSight camera

photo of thin Macbook Air on top of standard MacBook
A thin MacBook Air notebook computer sits atop a standard MacBook.

The emphasis is on portability and wireless connectivity, so the MacBook Air has no optical drive (DVD/CD), firewire, audio-in, modem, or Ethernet. You can attach an optional DVD drive, external USB Ethernet, or USB modem.

This computer provides ample power and features to be a primary computer for many users. With an optional DVD drive, it exceeds K-State's current recommendations for buying a computer for college.

Education pricing on the MacBook Air starts at $1,699. For more information, stop by the Union Computer Store and/or visit www.apple.com/macbookair.