Tuesday, 28 Mar 2006
ITS Newsletter
goes Blog!
The ITS newsletter has
previously been published in a web page format once a semester and announced to
students, faculty, and staff by email. In order to bring the most up-to-date
news about technology to the campus community, ITS has decided to create this
Technology Blog. Here you will find all of the information previously found in
the old newsletter format, but now posted at any time of the semester--news
when it happens.
To keep up with changes and updates in ITS, make sure to check back frequently
or subscribe to this blog's RSS feed. There are many free programs or
aggregators that help you subscribe and read your favorite blogs.
Google Reader or
Newsgator.com are online
sites that assist you with organizing your feeds or try
Attensa Online
for free or Attensa
for Outlook, which has a 60-day free trial.
We hope you enjoy the ITS Technology blog!
Wednesday, 29 Mar 2006
After a month long search I
am pleased to announce that a new campus webmaster, working within the
Information Technology Services department, has been chosen. The new webmaster
is Tim Todd. You may know him from his roll in the Office of Extended Learning
and the time and dedication he has shown in implementing and supporting the
BlackBoard online course management system for the past six years. I know that
he will be missed there but you can rest assured that OEL and ITS will continue
to support BlackBoard and that there will not be a change in service you have
come to expect from us.
Tim will assume his new responsibilities starting April 11th. Until that time,
you can continue to send me your departmental web site updates.
I would like to personally thank the search committee, Ken Heiser, Harvey
Sherman, Scott Hoover, Debi Rowden and Jennifer Hogan for their time and
commitment as well as all the ITS staff that took the time out of their day to
interview each applicant and provide their feedback to me.
Please take a moment and welcome the newest member of the ITS team.
Scott Arnst
Director of ITS
University of
Michigan
-
Flint
Thursday, 30 Mar 2006
ITS announces new software
at a significant discount. Now available are Microsoft Project 2003 Standard
for only $52.00 (retails for $599.00) and Microsoft Visio 2003 Standard for
only $26.00 (retails for $199.00). Students, faculty, and staff may sign the
license agreement and purchase one copy of either or both
software. Microsoft Project aids in the planning and managing of projects. With
Project, you can set up a project quickly and efficiently track and analyze it.
Microsoft Visio assists in the creation of business and technical diagrams to
organize and better understand complex ideas, processes, and systems.
Just a reminder that only check or credit card are accepted in the ITS office,
207 MSB; if you prefer to pay with cash, it must be taken to the Cashier's
office, 261 UPAV and the receipt returned to ITS.
You can find the entire list of software offered to UM-Flint students, faculty
and staff at discounted prices and the license agreement at
http://ww2.umflint.edu/its/sales/shop.html.
Thursday, 30 Mar 2006
Calling the Helpdesk to
place a workticket? Then you may see a new face visiting your office to fix
your computer. Please welcome a new student employee in our Desktop Computer
Support (DCS) division, Galen Booth, who has been working as a Lab Consultant
for several semesters.
For computer issues that DCS fixed in the past, it is now possible that the
Helpdesk could take care of it in a shorter period of time and without
requiring a technican to visit your office. The HelpDesk is now using Altiris
remote tools which have the capability to remotely control your computer,
pending your permission, to assist in solving your computer problem.
DCS has been testing the Windows operating system,
Vista,
which Microsoft plans to launch in November 2006.
Vista
shows promising functionality with new technology and has new features such as
a "Spotlight Like" search functionality and built-in full voice
recognition capabilities. For a closer look at Vista, please visit the
Windows Vista site.
You may have heard the buzz about Apple moving away from the PowerPC brand
CPU's and adopting an Intel architecture for its laptops and iMacs. For more
information on the improved functionality and performance of the Intel CPU,
please visit the Apple
Intel site. DCS has an Intel Mac and can provide full support for
University-owned Intel Macs. In the future, we may see more innovations from
Apple; perhaps one day your Windows applications will run on a Mac.
Speaking of Mac, DCS is fully prepared for the new Apple viruses that have
arrived on the scene. It's rare to see a virus written to attack a Mac, but with
Apple gaining in popularity, the viruses are multiplying! We have added a Mac
virus-scanning utility to the Mac image for any new Macs that departments
purchase. This will help keep technology safe to use on every platform.
Friday, 31 Mar 2006
ITCS at the
University of
Michigan
-
Ann Arbor has
recommended that university employees do not use
Google
Desktop. Google Desktop's "Search Across Computers" feature
places potentially sensitive information in a situation where it may be
vulnerable to theft. If you feel that you need to use Google Desktop, please
make sure that you
configure it appropriately to minimize the risk of information
theft.
Friday, 31 Mar 2006
ITS is pleased to announce
the newest addition to the multitude of technologies available to
University of
Michigan
-
Flint
students: the ability to create a personal homepage. Using their H: drive
space, students now have the ability to create a webpage that will be available
online at homepages.umflint.edu/~your_uniqname. For information on what
an H: drive is, check out the
“What is the Personal Directory?” flyer. If you’re interested
in creating your own personal webpage make sure to take a look at the
Quicknote
and
“What is…” flyer for homepages. Once you've made your
homepage, you may register it in the
Homepage Gallery so your fellow students can check it out!
Wednesday, 26 Apr 2006
COLORFUL POWERPOINT
SLIDES AND OTHER VISUALS MAY ENHANCE MEMORY
Color may influence the way students see and process information, improving
their ability to remember both words and pictures. Studies done by Pantone®
indicate that students “…are up to 78% more likely to remember a word or
phrase printed in color than in black and white…When color is combined with the
written word, it impacts audiences with the triple whammy of greater recall,
recognition and attention.” For more information about the psychology of
color and how it affects us, please view this article by the
Pantone Color Think Tank.
COLOR DOs and DON'Ts
Consider your audience and purpose when selecting colors. Chunk information in
a meaningful way by grouping ideas by color, and use color associations to help
students make connections and remember ideas. Color selection shouldn't
overwhelm or distract students from learning. Avoid using oddly-colored images
of common objects, such as a yellow lake. When displaying charts and graphs use
different textures so that viewers don't have to rely on color alone. According
to this
Boston Globe story, "teachers should consider using
purple instead of red when correcting and commenting on papers."
Wednesday, 26 Apr 2006
ITS is responding to a
request made by students at the Student Concerns Forum that we sell old
computers to students. Working in conjunction with Property Disposition and
Student Services and Enrollment Management (SSEM), I am happy to announce that
once the computer lab upgrades are completed this summer and the computers are
redistributed, we will compile a list of computers that will be offered at a
very low price to needy students. SSEM will identify the needy students, and we
will contact them about their eligibility.
Stay tuned for further details coming later this summer.
Scott Arnst
Director of ITS
Wednesday, 26 Apr 2006
All ITS Computer Labs will
be CLOSED from Wednesday, May 3rd, through Sunday, May 7th, for the semester
changeover. For more information, please consult
http://www.umflint.edu/labs/.
For Library lab hours, please consult:
http://lib.umflint.edu/hours.html.
