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September 30, 2009
CIRC Software Workshop Schedule
The workshops last for one hour and are held during Free Hour (12 noon - 01 pm) in ENGR 122, an instructional computer lab in the Engineering Building at UMBC.
Though the seating is limited, no sign-up is required; we will accommodate as many people as possible.
http://www.umbc.edu/circ/workshops/
Posted by anna at 12:53 PM | TrackBack
Peer Instruction Workshop
Peer Instruction Workshop
Thurs, Nov. 12, 2009, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., UC 312
Limited to 30 participants
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The basic goals of Peer Instruction are to encourage and make use of student interaction during lectures, while focusing students' attention on underlying concepts and techniques. The method has been assessed in many studies using standardized, diagnostic tests and shown to be considerably more effective than the conventional lecture approach to teaching. Peer Instruction is now used in a wide range of science and math courses at the college and secondary level.
In this two hour workshop, participants will learn about Peer Instruction, serve as the “class” in which Peer Instruction is demonstrated, discuss several models for implementing the technique into the classroom, and learn about available teaching resources.
Limited to 30 participants. For more information and to register, please visit www.umbc.edu/training/fdc.
Posted by darnold at 11:10 AM | TrackBack
Confessions of a Converted Lecturer
Lecture: Confessions of a Converted Lecturer
Wed, Nov. 11, 2009, 6-7 p.m. LHV (Engineering Bldg.)
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I thought I was a good teacher until I discovered my students were just memorizing information rather than learning to understand the material. Who was to blame? The students? The material? I will explain how I came to the agonizing conclusion that the culprit was neither of these. It was my teaching that caused students to fail! I will show how I have adjusted my approach to teaching and how it has improved my students' performance significantly.
For more information and to register, please visit www.umbc.edu/training/fdc.
Posted by darnold at 11:04 AM | TrackBack
DoIT Staff Will Never Ask to Send Your Username and Password by E-mail
DoIT would never ask you to send details of your username and password through email or any other means.
Occasionally DoIT detect emails sent to staff and students asking them to confirm their username and password. These emails are always fraudulent: the practice is known as "phishing". Despite their appearance, a closer look at the emails will show that they will not have been sent by DoIT but by someone fraudulently posing as DoIT. DoIT would never ask you for your password, for any purpose. Remember, your password is your secret. DoIT do not keep records of passwords.
The University's Regulations forbid you from sharing your password with anyone, including DoIT staff. DoIT will not ask you for your password over the phone, by email, or by any other means.
If you ever receive a request for your username and password details via email, NEVER RESPOND to it. Instead, just delete the email.
Unfortunately, a few individuals have responded to phishing attempts, and in one case the account details were used in an attempt to perpetrate financial fraud.Please protect yourself:
1. If you think you may have responded to a phishing email, change your password immediately using myUMBC.
2. Never disclose your password to anyone.
3. Avoid using the same password on different systems (external to the University).
In particular, be very careful with your University password, and with passwords that you use for financial systems, and for email systems.
Posted by anna at 8:30 AM | TrackBack
September 29, 2009
Webinar - Clickers and Peer Instruction: A Powerful Way to Improve Student Engagement and Learning, but Only If You Do It Right
Clickers and Peer Instruction: A Powerful Way to Improve Student Engagement and Learning, but Only If You Do It Right
ELI Web Seminar, October 5, 2009, 1-2 p.m.(joint viewing available in ECS 023)
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Duncan is the author of “Clickers in the Classroom,” a guide to the powerful new technology that enables teachers to know what all their students are thinking, not just those who raise their hands. He has served as national education coordinator for the American Astronomical Society and has led efforts for better teaching and public communication for astronomers throughout the United States. From 1997 to 2002 he did science commentary on the Chicago public radio station WBEZ. He has authored over 50 refereed publications and his work has been funded by NSF, NASA, the Smithsonian, and the National Geographic Society. Duncan is now part of the University of Colorado group, founded by Nobel Prize winner Carl Wieman, which researches better ways of teaching science.
If you'd like to join us for a joint viewing of this webinar, please register at www.umbc.edu/training. For additional information, please visit https://net.educause.edu/content.asp?SECTION_ID=468&bhcp=1
Posted by darnold at 8:46 AM | TrackBack
September 25, 2009
Using a clicker in multiple classes
A number of students have complained recently that their clicker that works in one class, but does not work in another. More than once it has been found that the student only registered it once, thinking it would apply to all their classes that semester.
Students should be aware that a clicker has to be registered separately for each class through that class' Blackboard CPS Connection.
They will only be charged a registration fee once per semester (for a maximum of 3 semesters), no matter how many of their classes use clickers that semester.
Another common error is entering the serial number incorrectly upon registration. This can be rectified by the student going back to the CPS Connection and updating the serial number.
After a student goes through either process, they must contact the instructor so the database can synchronized prior to class. The instructor will then be able to verify that they now appear in the CPS roster.
Posted by sanderso at 11:10 AM | TrackBack
September 16, 2009
Changes to E2Campus Emergency Text Messaging
A recent change to the authentication system for E2Campus means that all members of the UMBC community need to re-register for emergency campus text messages. If you registered your phone prior to August 26, 2009 you MUST login through myUMBC under your personal profile and notifications or directly at:
https://my.umbc.edu/personal/notifications/
Users who have not re-registered by October 31, 2009 will no longer receive UMBC alerts.
FAQs
I already registered for E2Campus, can I migrate my old account?
Unfortunately, existing accounts cannot be migrated. All existing users will need to re-register with E2Campus. Since we now know who the person is relative to UMBC's identity management system we will not need to do future re-registrations.
How long before my existing E2Campus account is deleted?
Existing E2Campus accounts will remain functional through October 31, 2009. UMBC will purge the old accounts after this date, thus leaving the new accounts in place.
If I re-register now will I get two text messages sent to my phone?
Users that have re-registered but still have an old account (i.e. until Oct 31st) will not receive duplicate text messages. E2campus can tell if the same phone number is in their system for more than one account, and will only send one message to that phone number. After October 31, 2009, old UMBC accounts that have the same phone number as new accounts will be deleted.
Why is UMBC changing the system?
Background:
E2Campus was initially setup to use external, non-UMBC accounts. This meant that users had to create a user name and password that was hosted at E2Campus. This presented a few challenges for UMBC.
-There was no way to know a user’s affiliation (Faculty, Staff or Student)
-We can't tell if a user is still affiliated with the university (e.g. graduated, quit, terminated etc.)
-Users forgot both user name and password but UMBC DoIT Help Desk could not assist.
Solution:
DoIT worked with E2Campus to be the first campus nationally to use the Shibboleth authentication standard to provide single sign on (SSO) ability. This means that users will no longer need to create an external account with E2campus. Instead UMBC is the identity provider and passes this information to E2Campus.
Benefits of New Authentication System:
- We know who the person is and their affiliation (e.g. student, staff, faculty, grad student etc.)
- We know the person’s status (graduated, quit etc.)
- There is no password to remember since the login is done via SSO from myUMBC.
- We can purge/delete old accounts of people who have left the University
Posted by mikec at 12:59 PM | TrackBack
September 15, 2009
CPS Clicker Student Help
Please remind students to contact eInstruction first if they have problems with their CPS clickers. If they do not get satisfaction within 24 hours (Mon-Fri) they may enter a Help Desk request (RT ticket). This request must contain documentation of their correspondence with eInstruction, and their clicker serial number.
Student Support (CPS™ Products Only!)
Phone 888-333-4988 (option 1, then 3, then 2)
Monday - Friday 8am-8pm EST
Sunday 3:30pm-9pm EST
Go to http://www.einstruction.com/support_downloads/index.html# for chat support options and trouble shooting tips.
Posted by souder at 1:57 PM | TrackBack
September 12, 2009
Summer 2009 IT Projects & Updates
Residential Housing WiFi Project:
This summer, Susquehanna, Patapsco and Potomac Halls were fully upgraded with campus WiFi. With support from the office of residential life, DoIT completed Phase II of the WiFi initiative in residential life installing 200 Cisco wireless access points. Last summer Erickson, Harbor and Chesapeake Halls were upgraded with campus WiFi. In total six buildings are now fully supported by the campus wireless infrastructure. Currently UMBC has over 800 individual wireless access points installed throughout the campus. Support requests or questions should be directed to the UMBC helpdesk via myUMBC under the ‘Help’ link.
New Operating Systems (Apple’s Snow Leopard; Microsoft’s Windows 7)
Apple Snow Leopard
Apple will be released their newest operating system, Snow Leopard, on August 28th. UMBC owned machines can be upgraded to new versions of the Mac operating system using the UMBC site license for OS upgrades. Please contact the DoIT help desk to borrow a copy. Contact the UMBC bookstore to get your personal copy of Snow Leopard at competitive discounts. More information about new features and changes found in Snow Leopard can be found at: http://www.apple.com/macosx/refinements/
Windows 7
Microsoft will release Windows 7 on October 22, 2009. DoIT staff have been actively testing the Beta versions of Windows 7. Initial results from the testing are promising. The new interface is more streamlined, the boot times are faster and many features that worked just barely under Vista now work flawlessly. While testing has gone reasonably well DoIT will not officially support Windows 7 until February 2010.
NOTE: DoIT will officially support Snow Leopard and Windows 7 in February 2010. Early adopters of these new operating systems may encounter software issues that cannot be supported by DoIT. This is especially true of the campus VPN (i.e. Juniper) which will likely not support new operating systems until Spring 2010.
New Feature Allows Users to Reset Their Own Passwords
Earlier this summer DoIT released a new feature that allows customers to reset their own passwords. If you have not already done so we strongly encourage you to complete your security questions online. More information can be found at: http://www.umbc.edu/blogs/oit-news/archives/2009/07/create_your_acc.html
Lab Replacements
This summer DoIT replaced just over 100 lab machines. This year presented some fiscal challenges which limited the number of machines that would normally have been replaced. However, there were targeted replacements and existing machines that still had a service life were moved to other labs and locations on campus.
• English Labs (FA001 and 002) Replaced with New 20inch iMacs
• DoIT Lab (ENG 122A) Replaced with 26 New Dell Desktops
• DoIT Lab (ACIV ) Replaced with 25 New Dell Desktops
• VART Lab (ENG 005) Replaced with 18 New MacPros Including 24inch Monitors
Computer Replacement Initiative
This summer, under the Provost computer replacement initiative, 104 new computer subsidies were approved across the campus. DoIT staff completed installation of all centrally ordered machines during the summer months. The new machines replaced many significantly out dated machines which did not meet the minimum requirements for campus computing. The replacement of these older machines will aid in the transition to use of important applications such as document imaging.
Windows Terminal Servers Upgraded
UMBC has a terminal server environment that allows customers to access their network drive resources when using a non-UMBC machine (e.g. home PC). While not identical to the machine in your office it does provide access to your network drives from off campus. This month the terminal server environment was virtualized and upgraded. Virtualization allows us to run multiple servers on a single physical machine. The benefits are numerous including the ability to save on power and cooling thus making it a Green solution. It also allows UMBC to scale this resource in the event of disaster and to assist in continuity of business planning. Specifically if faculty and staff need to work from off campus due to the effects of H1N1 we can increase the required backend resources with relative ease. More information on using UMBC’s terminal server can be found at: https://spaces.umbc.edu/display/hd2/Access+Files+Off-Campus+Using+a+Non+UMBC+Machine
E2Campus Emergency Text Messaging Changes
UMBC recently worked with E2Campus to update our login process. The old version required users to create a separate account which was managed by E2Campus. This created some confusion, especially when a user name or password was forgotten. The new system provides single sign on via the myUMBC portal. This seamless integration makes account creation and management easier while providing new management features for campus personnel. The only down side is that E2Campus users that were registered prior to August 26, 2009 will need to Re-Register. You can do this by going to myUMBC>Profile>Notifications or by clicking here https://my.umbc.edu/personal/notifications/
NOTE: It is important that you register under the new system soon. Existing accounts created prior to August 26, 2009 will be purged from the system after October 30, 2009. If you have not re-registered by this date you will not receive E2Campus messages.
Windows Lab Profile Changes
In an effort to decrease login times and address continuing windows profile quota issues DoIT changed the lab environment to use standard windows profiles. This change occurred on June 7th, 2009. Our peer institutions have been using standard profiles for many years. Since the inception of our Windows lab environment UMBC had been using roaming custom profiles to enhance the user experience. However, as software installs have grown in size so have the windows profiles. DoIT changed to standard windows profiles earlier this summer to address the ongoing support issues. More information on these changes can be found at:
http://www.umbc.edu/blogs/oit-news/archives/2009/05/windows_lab_pro.html
Posted by mikec at 11:05 AM | TrackBack
September 10, 2009
Deepening Student Literacy with Visual Assignments
TLT Brown Bag Presentation by Nicole King
Thursday, October 15, 2009
12:00 PM, ECS 023
Who doesn't like a good show and tell? Now, this favorite grade school assignment is finding its way into more UMBC classrooms as digital stories: short (3-5 minute) digital movies based on personal photos, artifacts and a vivid memory of the students who produce them. In addition to assigning digital stories to develop or harness student media skills, many faculty are finding visual assignments deepen textual literacy, too. Starting with a 300-word focused narrative that students share in a story circle, Nicole King, Assistant Professor of American Studies, and a digital story telling peer faculty trainer, will share how and why she offers visual assignments, how she evaluates them, and what she and her students are learning from the process.
You may register for this TLT Brown Bag at http://www.umbc.edu/brownbag
Posted by shewbrid at 2:27 PM | TrackBack
September 4, 2009
Start of Semester Glitches
Blackboard Update Issues:
Blackboard utilizes a data feed from UMBC’s PeopleSoft student administration system which updates student enrollments in classes and changes in official course instructors. These changes are batched to Blackboard 4 times a day (2AM, 8AM, 2PM & 8PM). A corrupted file from our PeopleSoft system resulted in this process breaking on Sunday, August 30th. The problem was identified on Thursday, September 3rd and was fixed by 10AM. Unfortunately, this problem resulted in some students not being able to see classes in Blackboard that they were registered for. We have addressed the problem and implemented an automated system to check for this error condition in the future.
Campus Router Issue:
On Monday, August 31st around 11AM there was a brief network outage on campus lasting approximately 5-10 minutes. The router failed over to a redundant internal system as it was designed to do. We worked with the vendor and identified a bug in the current version of code that will need to be updated to fix this condition. In order to provide as much stability as possible during the start of the semester we will delay updating the code until after September 15th. New versions of code can create collateral problems that are unexpected. Therefore, we will monitor the existing condition and reassess when to apply the new code if it occurs again.
Campus Phone Switch Problem
There was a problem with the uninterruptable power supply (UPS) that provides battery backup to the phone switch located in the TRC building. This phone switch provides service to Potomac, Patapsco, Facilities Management and the Warehouse. The problem occurred when a brief power outage or brown out would cause the faulty transformer on the UPS to trip the master electric breaker. A temporary UPS was installed on Wednesday night at 7PM to prevent this from occurring again. The UPS vendor will be replacing the faulty component sometime in the next two weeks.
Posted by mikec at 3:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Virtual Brown Bag: Using Online Tools for Remote Instruction
UPDATE:
Online video archive is available here.
Jeanette Campos
Monday, September 28, 2009, 12:00 p.m. (joint viewing available in ECS 023)
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Using Wimba Classroom from her home in New England, Campos will show how she's using Blackboard, wikis, and screen casting (short, narrated video tutorials) to organize and energize her online class, which routinely ranks in UMBC's top 50 Most Active Blackboard courses. In fact, if you want a sneak peek at all the online bells & whistles she'll demonstrate live, check out Campos' introductory course overview video all students see when they login to her Blackboard course: http://www.screencast.com/t/02KrrBJNns.
Note: Wimba will be hosting this virtual brown bag, which you can tune into from your own computer when the event starts (be sure to run the one-time "setup wizard" first). But if you'd like to attend a "joint viewing" with colleagues in ECS 023, please register at www.umbc.edu/brownbag. Light refreshments will be provided.
Posted by darnold at 12:47 PM | TrackBack
September 3, 2009
DoIT Extends Informal 60 minute Technology "Drop-In" Sessions
Now that the semester is well under way, DoIT wants to continue helping faculty during this busy time by extending drop in sessions for Blackboard and Wimba. AV Services will continue to offer sessions upon request.
| DateBlackboard | Wimba | |
|---|---|---|
| 9/8 | ECS025 (10 am) | *IMC (1 pm) |
| 9/9 | ECS025 (9 am) | IMC (1:30 pm) |
| 9/10 | IMC (11:30 am) | |
| 9/11 | IMC (1 pm) | |
| 9/14 | ECS025 (12 pm) | IMC (12 pm) |
| 9/15 | ECS025 (10 am) | IMC (1 pm) |
| 9/16 | IMC (12 pm) | |
| 9/17 | ECS025 (2 pm) | IMC (10 am) |
| 9/18 | ECS025 (12 pm) | IMC (12 pm) |
| *IMC - International Media Center, Academic IV B Wing, Room 219 | ||
BLACKBOARD DROP-INS | Support Site
DoIT will be hosting drop in sessions for Blackboard so that faculty can have their questions answered and work with someone to resolve any issues.
WIMBA DROP-INS | Support Site
Wimba Classroom is a real-time, virtual classroom environment designed for distance education, hybrid classes and collaboration and supports audio, video, application sharing, and archiving. Faculty can conduct class, hold office hours or set up group work spaces. Voice Tools include:
• Voice Board - a recorder tool
• Voice Direct - an aural chat
• Voice Presentation - describe slides
• Podcaster
AUDIO VISUAL SERVICES | Support Site
As always, AV Services will schedule individual tutorials on an as needed/by
appointment basis. Please call X52461 to make arrangements.