OIT News

Name Change for UMBC's Wireless Network

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:35:10 -0500

The Division of Information Technology is upgrading UMBC's wireless infrastructure to better improve performance for the campus community. Beginning on July 8, 2008 we will begin migrating buildings that contain OIT managed wireless access points. Each building will take approximately 15 minutes to migrate. IMPORTANT: New Wireless Network Names - 'UMBC Campus' Replaces the old 'Tsunami' network - 'UMBC Visitor' New Network for Visitors and Wireless Devices (e.g. iPhones) One important change to note is there will be two new wireless network names (i.e. SSID). The first one is called ‘UMBC Campus’ which will be replacing the old ‘Tsunami’ name. The majority of our campus wireless users will use the new ‘UMBC Campus’ wireless network. This network will require a myUMBC Account. The second wireless network is named ‘UMBC Visitor’. This network does not require a myUMBC Account. This new wireless network should be used by customers that have wireless devices (e.g. iPhone, iPod Touch etc.) which don’t typically work well with the UMBC wireless authentication page. The ‘UMBC Visitor’ network will not allow access to campus resources such as Active Directory. We recommend that customers use the ‘UMBC Campus’ network, which requires a login, to access these type of resources. Access to the old ‘Tsunami’ network will be removed from service on Monday, July 14, 2008. At that time all wireless users should be using the new ‘UMBC Campus’ or ‘UMBC Visitor’ wireless networks. Help in configuring your wireless can be found on the wireless support site.. Migration Time Line Tuesday July 8th: Engineering Building as the initial test Wednesday July 9th: ITE Physics Library Sondheim University Center The RAC Chemistry Central Plant Alumni House Thursday July 10th: ACIV Administration AcServ Fine Arts Math/Phy PPlant Stadium Friday July 11th: Biology PPolicy SouthCampus TRC Multitenant

New Media Studio Wins 2008 Center of Excellence Award

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:32:55 -0500

UMBC's New Media Studio (NMS) has won a prestigious Centers of Excellence Award, presented annually by the New Media Consortium (NMC) during its summer conference.

End of UMBC Modem Services June 2009

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:06:27 -0500

UMBC was an early pioneer in offering modem service for Internet connectivity and we are currently among the last universities in Maryland still offering this. Next year, June 30, 2009 will mark the end of UMBC’s dial-up modem service for the campus community. After June 30, 2009 UMBC will no longer provide any dial-up Internet modem service for UMBC faculty, staff or students. UMBC has offered this free service for more than 15 years. Over that time we have seen modem use decrease dramatically, especially as faster alternate methods such as Cable modems and DSL became commonly available. Unfortunately, as time has passed our modem infrastructure has also aged making them more expensive to maintain. We are now at a point where we would need to make substantial new investments to maintain modem service. There a number of extremely cost effective alternatives, including a number that support high-speed access. We have listed a number of these options below. NOTE: These options are only recommendations and are in no way affiliated or supported by the University. It is up to individuals to assess their needs and work with the vendor they feel is appropriate for their situation. Modems: www.netzero.net www.earthlink.net DSL: www.verizon.com/dsl Broadband:www.comcast.com/highspeedoffer www.verizon.com/fios

OIT Publishes SP2008 Most Active Blackboard Courses

Tue, 20 May 2008 11:09:33 -0500

OIT has again published UMBC's "Most Active Blackboard" courses reports for the Spring 2008 semester, based on an "average hits per user" approach. For the second straight semester, one department (Information Systems) and one class (PSYC 100 "Introduction to Psychology) have taken the top spot for most active discipline and undergraduate course, respectively. For more information, visit www.umbc.edu/blackboard/reports.

Matlab 2008a is now available.

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:35:02 -0500

Matlab 2008a has been made available on OIT's GL and Research Systems (both Linux and Solaris). The license has also been renewed and updated for another year. The default 'matlab' is still 2007a on these systems until the end of the semester, but you can use 2007b or 2008a directly as follows: 2007b can be run directly out of AFS via - /afs/umbc.edu/software/matlab/r2007b/bin/matlab 2008a can be run directly out of AFS via - /afs/umbc.edu/software/matlab/r2008a/bin/matlab The Windows version of 2007b is installed in OIT supported labs and the software is available via MyUMBC. The Windows version of 2008a will be available in the labs after this semester wraps up. It should be available via MyUMBC in the next week or so.

Using Blackboard for Job Search or RFP Committees

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:45:56 -0500

When the 20-member Provost Search Committee identified its four finalists, it did so using a Blackboard community to review AND rank all applicants online before meeting face-to-face to discuss their differences. Similarly, the Alternate Delivery Program has frequently used Blackboard to review faculty proposals to receive a one-time course development stipend to redesign an existing course for hybrid delivery in summer or winter sessions.

SP2008 UMBC Blackboard Update

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:42:04 -0500

UMBC Blackboard update is provided by the Office of Information Technology for students, faculty and staff using Blackboard at UMBC. If you have questions or suggestions, contact John Fritz (fritz@umbc.edu or 410.455.6596) or Bob Armstrong (rarmstro@umbc.edu or 410.455.3885). For more information about using Blackboard, login via myUMBC or visit http://blackboard.umbc.edu.

Job Opening: Blackboard Graduate Assistant

Fri, 02 May 2008 12:15:39 -0500

OIT’s Instructional Technology & New Media unit seeks a graduate assistant to provide Blackboard support to students, faculty and staff. The person will assist with routine Bb system administration functions (e.g., course & community site creation), and development of Blackboard user support procedures and documentation. Candidates will be expected to work well in a collaborative team environment and to communicate effectively with customers from a variety of academic and administrative departments. In the past, special projects have included design and development of the following: UMBC Blackboard Reports UMBC Blackboard Help

OIT to Upgrade Labs to MS Office 2007 (PC) & 2008 (Mac)

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:50:10 -0500

This summer, OIT will be upgrading the Microsoft Office suite in all labs for the start of the Fall 2008 semester. Windows XP machines will be upgraded to Office 2007, and Apple machines will be upgraded to Office 2008. Microsoft Vista is tentatively scheduled to be installed in the OIT labs beginning in Fall 2009.

CS Major Wins "Students & IT" Focus Group Drawing

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:08:24 -0500

Junior Computer Science major Andrew Winder won the iPod Touch "door prize" drawing at yesterday's UMBC student focus group sessions for the 2008 "Undergraduates and IT" study sponsored by the Educause Center for Applied Research (ECAR). Pictured with Andrew is Judy Caruso, principal investigator of the 2008 ECAR study, and Director of Policy and Planning in the CIO's office at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Thanks to all of the students who participated.

Students Provide Insight Through Fall Blackboard Survey

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:55:37 -0500

As we've done in the past, OIT again conducted it's Undergraduate student survey in Fall 2007 with 759 students participating. The survey was divided into several sections including general demographics, an open-ended section for students to recommend instructors that they perceive to be strong users of BlackBoard, tool usage and functionality, and suggestions for improvements. The most original comments were received when students were asked to recommend an instructor who they viewed as a strong user of Blackboard. Respondents listed numerous faculty members with the following faculty receiving the highest number of positive comments:

Phil Sokolove (Biology)
Lili Cui (Physics)
Clayton Laurie (History)
Tara Carpenter (Chemistry)
Eileen O’Brien (Psychology)

Lili Cui and Clayton Laurie have also been highlighted in the Interviews section of the Blackboard Best Practices site as faculty who use Blackboard well.

Course Shells Created for Summer 2008

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:34:43 -0500

Today, May 1, 2008 OIT created an empty Blackboard course shell for all Summer 2008 courses listed in the UMBC Schedule of Classes with assigned instructors. Courses that don’t have assigned instructors will be created as they are added to the Schedule of Classes by the Registrar’s office. Only officially registered students should be automatically enrolled in all Bb courses. Students who have dropped will be "disabled" in the course once they have completed the process in myUMBC. Students that have been disabled will be clearly noted in the roster inside each course shell. All courses for both summer 2008 sessions will be conducted on the Blackboard production server.

Spring 2008 Course Shells Expire on 6/15

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:33:30 -0500

Spring 2008 Bb course "shells" are set to expire on June 15, 2008 after grades are due. This means the course will automatically revert to being unavailable to students, but faculty will still see the course link. This will help students who frequently complain about having numerous links to old courses in Blackboard. They can request ongoing access from the instructor, who can override the duration settings manually. This may be helpful for processing incompletes, but the majority of students will not have to request to be un-enrolled from old courses. If you don’t need your old Bb course site, please consider deleting it by completing the “Bb Course Delete” request form on the Bb Blackboard Help tab.

FYI: BbWorld'08 World Conference is July 15-17 in Las Vegas

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:00:36 -0500

Registration for the BbWorld '08 conference has begun. The conference is being held in sunny Las Vegas from July 15-17, 2008 and is described as a "client-centered program built on client feedback, innovation and success." To register for the conference, just complete the form on the Blackboard website. Several staff from OIT will be attending the conference and we look forward to seeing you there.

Bogus E-mails From UMBC.EDU

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:13:51 -0500

Recently UMBC e-mail users have been receiving bogus e-mail messages, From: UMBC.EDU ONLINE SERVICE, requesting sensitive information. A sample fraudulent e-mail message is below. E-mails such as these are known as Phishing (Click HERE for more information on Phishing). These e-mails are fraudulent and have not originated from the Office of Information Technology at UMBC. Under no circumstances should you reply to these or other similarly worded e-mails. The fraudulent e-mails are requesting information such as: Email Username : EMAIL Password : Address : City : The Office of Information Technology Will NOT: • Request Your Username in Unsolicited E-mails • Request Your Password • Send You an Unsolicited Attachment • Request Other Sensitive Information (e.g. SSN, Banking Information, Date of Birth, Address etc.) Under no circumstances should you respond to unsolicited e-mails, web links or attachments. If in doubt don’t open it and contact the OIT Help Desk for assistance. helpdesk@umbc.edu 410-455-3838 Sincerely, Michael Carlin Assistant VP, Infrastructure and Support Office of Information Technology ------BEGIN BOGUS EMAIL SAMPLE---------------- From: UMBC. EDU ONLINE SERVICE [mailto:sjmain@btinternet.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 1:53 PM To: pe_doggezzidik@yahoo.com Subject: Dear UMBC.EDU Email Account Owner: ACCOUNT VERIFICATION NOTICE!!! Dear UMBC.EDU Email Account Owner, This message is from UMBC.EDU messaging center to all UMBC.EDU email account owners. We are currently upgrading our data base and e-mail account center. We are deleting all unused UMBC.EDU email account to create more space for new accounts. To prevent your account from closing you will have to update it below so that we will know that it's a present used account. CONFIRM YOUR EMAIL IDENTITY BELOW Email Username : EMAIL Password : Address : City : Attention!!! Account owner that refuses to update his or her account within Seven days of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently. Thank you for using UMBC.EDU! Warning Code:VX2G99AAJ Sandra Andrews ONLINE SERVICES --------END BOGUS EMAIL SAMPLE---------