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FEATURES
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| UMBC Professors Colin Ives and Preminda Jacob discuss their TLT Mini Grant projects. |
More than 35 people attended
the Teaching, Learning and Technology (TLT) Fair on January 17.
Co-sponsored by OIT and the Faculty Development Center, highlights
included a luncheon keynote presentation by English Department Chair
Jim McKusick, Blackboard workshops and a first-time poster
session of faculty innovations using mini-grants from the FaCT (Faculty
Empowerment through Common Tools) grant. Poster session topics and
presentations included results of the English Department's TLT workshop
this past summer (attended by more than 15 faculty), "Putting
Art History on the Web," and "Teaching Interactive Programming
to Artists."After a short break, more than 30 people attended
an evening reception and orientation for part-time faculty. For
more information including links to these presentations and a scrapbook
of the day, visit http://www.umbc.edu/tltfair.
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New
Media Studio Produces Homepage "Window" Video Profile
OIT's New Media Studio produced the online video that accompanied
"Mapping
the Patapsco," a UMBChomepage "window" profile
of Tom Rabenhorst (Geography and Environmental Systems) in
early January. New Media Studio producers Bill Shewbridge
and Bob Kuhlmann collaborated on the project with Media Relations
Director Charlie Melichar to capture Rabenhorst's work, which
involves using Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to
give hikers "the most comprehensive maps in the park’s
history." For more information on the New Media Studio, visit
http://www.umbc.edu/oit/NewMedia/production.html.
2/13 TLT Brown Bag Workshop Focuses on Student Engagement
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Jack
Prostko
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Following Harvard University Professor Richard Light's Feb. 7 campus presentation on Student Engagement, UMBC Faculty Development Center Director Jack Prostko will lead a faculty panel discussion on "Student Engagement at UMBC." Refreshments will be provided. The Teaching, Learning & Technology (TLT) Brown Bag workshops are jointly sponsored by OIT and the Faculty Development Center. For more information and to register for this event online, visit www.umbc.edu/brownbag.
Computing Labs Now Running Windows 2000
During the winter break OIT changed the operating system and servers of the OIT labs from Windows NT using Novell to Windows 2000 using Microsoft's Active Directory. The change to a Windows 2000 environment in the labs has allowd us to improve login time, provide better security and better scalibility. This is also preparing us for the campus' future migration from Novell to Microsoft's Active Directory for faculty and staff.
You may notice a few changes in the lab environment. First the login screen has changed to look like a typical Windows login screen, and we are now using MS Office XP instead of MS Office 2000. In addition we have also added Netscape Version 6.2.1. When logging into a Windows 2000 lab machine for the first time you may want to copy the bookmarks from your old Windows NT Profile. If you need help doing this please visit the OIT Help Desk in ECS 020, call x-53838 or send mail to helpdesk@umbc.edu. The drive letters and files will be the same as they were under the Windows NT environment so there is no need to worry about this.
OIT
Staff Moonlight a Unix Unleashed Authors
When they're not battling nasty viruses and standing "on the
wall" protecting us from evil hackers, OIT security specialists
Anderson Johnston and Robin Anderson have been burning
the midnight oil as co-authors of the recently published Unix
Unleashed (SAMS Publishing, 2002). They add to OIT's literary
pantheon--former staffer Jon Lasser authored Think Unix
(QUE Publishing, 2000). "UMBC
is very fortunate to have such talented, energetic (and articulate)
professionals working for OIT," says CIO Jack Suess.
IT
Security Unit Helps Defend Users from Viruses
By Jeremy Bowman (English & IFSM, '03)
It is the nightmare of any computer user. One minute you're browsing your email, opening attachments. Suddenly, a seemingly innocent file causes your operating system to crash, forcing you to restart. However, after restarting, you notice something isn't right: programs take much too long to load, and some of your files turn out to be corrupt or missing. After a quick call to the tech people, your worst fears are confirmed; your system has been infected by a computer virus.
In today's technical world, computer security is becoming increasingly important. With the successful infection of some of the biggest, and well protected, websites, it seems that no system is really safe.
At UMBC, it is the Office of Information Technology's job to protect the UMBC community from the threat of computer viruses and other cyber threats. Specifically, Anderson Johnson and Robin Anderson of IT Security are in charge of identifying threats and figuring out ways to protect the UMBC network.
The main line of defense against viruses at UMBC is the McAfee anti-virus software that is offered free students, faculty, and staff through myUMBC. By loading the software, as well as using the auto-setup feature to download the latest virus updates, users at UMBC can protect themselves from most common infections. In fact, according to Anderson Johnson, most people who call the UMBC Help Desk with a possible virus problem are told to simply install, update, and run McAfee to solve their problem.
IT Security also keeps track of new computer virus outbreaks and warns the UMBC community through a virus alert sent via email. "It is very important to update your anti-virus software when you receive a virus alert," says Mr. Johnson. Running auto-setup allows McAfee to automatically update its list of known viruses, which allows the software to recognize new viruses, which it otherwise might not.
However, despite these defenses, some things do get through to infect the UMBC community. The infamous Code Red, for example, managed to reach the campus because some computer users were running Internet service software that allowed the program in. Code Red also paved the way for its successor, NIMDA, to enter systems and cause even more damage.
Furthermore, viruses like Code Red and NIMDA show how the line between computer viruses and hacking programs is becoming blurred. This is because viruses like Code Red and NIMDA will not only spread to other systems, but will also make an infected system more vulnerable to hackers and other viruses. For example, the NIMDA virus would actually try and weaken a computer's anti-virus software, either interfering with the program or trying to prevent anti-virus software from being installed. According to Robin Anderson, "if you are having trouble updating or installing your anti-virus software, contact the [UMBC] Help Desk immediately."
It is also important for students and faculty at UMBC to realize how important it is to keep their computer safe from computer viruses and hacking. "There is no such thing as an unimportant computer," says Ms. Anderson, "people often say, 'it doesn't matter if my system is hacked, there is nothing important on it,' but your computer can be used as a platform to hack other computers."
Referring to a recent case involving a UMBC computer, Mr. Johnson adds, "How would you like to receive a call from a military base and told that your computer was used to probe their system?"
In the end, according to Mr. Johnson, the most important steps that students and faculty at UMBC can take to protect themselves is "install McAfee and update McAfee regularly using auto-setup, as well as keeping updated with Microsoft patches and updates."
Related Links
McAfee/Virex
Download (myUMBC login required)
McAfee -
Comprehensive
Microsoft Security
Bulletins
Symantec AntiVirus Research
Center
Virus Bulletin's
WildList
Assured Access Changes How Faculty Teach Computer Class
Last semester, CS/EE faculty members Anupam Joshi and Gary Burt changed the way they taught CMSC 421 "Operating Systems." Instead of meeting in a lab to tinker with code, they required students to install operating systems on their own personal computers. The result was a more challenging and rewarding course for faculty and students.
John Fritz: Can you tell us more about your course and the key concepts you wanted students to learn?
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Anupam
Joshi
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Anupam Joshi: We teach students about the principles of computer operating systems (OS) as well as how to troubleshoot and fix them. But because operating systems interact closely with hardware and software, you really need to get your hands on the actual code.
Why did you need students to all have their own PCs?
Gary Burt: When it comes to learning OS, the research and pedagogy tells us students learn best by doing. Working at the OS level, you sometimes make mistakes, which often requires "root access" to the computer to fix. Working on a personal computer localizes the impact of mistakes and also gives students the access they need to fix the problems they've created.
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Gary
Burt
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AJ: Understandably, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) couldn't dedicate an entire public computing lab just to our course, so requiring students to use their own computer made the most sense, especially since most IFSM and CS/EE students seem to have computers these days.
What worked (or didn't) by having the students do their work in this way?
AJ: It did make the course more difficult because the standard Linux operating system contains 10k to 15k lines of code. That's daunting for students at first and difficult for us to troubleshoot because they may not all have "improved" the code the same way. However, it gave the students a lot of confidence to know they could get in there.
GB: I used to be a defense contractor, and would have given preference to hiring someone with this kind of real-world problem-solving experience. Overall, they were more excited by their projects and enthusiasm was higher.
AJ: One of the projects required putting a layer of encryption on the standard Linux OS. You could tell who was getting started early on the project by the nature of the questions they were asking. I got a lot more sophisticated comments.
How might your experience change the way you teach this class-or others--in the future?
GB: Most students in 300-400 level courses could probably do this. But what if a freshman comes in and installs Linux incorrectly. Who's responsible for helping him or her fix it? As for future courses, we're also thinking about making changes to CSMC 104 "Problem Solving & Introduction to Programming" & CSMC 201 "Computer Science 1."
AJ: If faculty knew they didn't have to worry about installation of software or fixing students' computers, etc., they might do this more broadly. But you need the right support. OIT worked with us all the way and really helped us.
For more information
on UMBC's Assured Access Program, visit http://www.umbc.edu/access
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Jack
Suess
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I've had the opportunity to speak to a number of different campus groups the past two months about the Delta Initiative. For those that don't know, the Delta initiative is a effort to modernize the software running our business systems. In talking with the campus community there is often surprise to learn that these business systems are approaching twenty years of age. Looking back twenty years ago UMBC was approaching 7,000 students, had a very small graduate population in a few programs, and grant funding of under 2 million dollars a year. It is no wonder that the Research Task Force identified these systems as a major problem that needed to be improved.
During the spring semester we will be putting into place campus advisory committees to work with the Delta project teams. These committees will help make certain that the project team and campus have a shared vision and expectations for the project. I want to make certain that everyone has an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback on the project. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. I can be reached at jack@umbc.edu or 410.455.2582.
For more information
on the Delta Initiative I have put together a quick powerpoint presentation
you can view on the web: http://userpages.umbc.edu/~jack/delta-intro.html.
In the near future we'll be releasing a frequently asked questions
web site and other documents related to the project.
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MS Office for Mac OSX Available in the Bookstore
The UMBC Bookstore has received MS Office for Mac OS X. It consists of (1CD) for $9.95 and is available on myUMBC for faculty, staff and students under the USM Microsoft site license.
Check Your "Remedy" Work Requests Online
For customer convenience OIT has implemented an online application that allows customers to view new and old trouble tickets submitted to OIT's call tracking system known as "Remedy." You can now view all tickets submitted to OIT by visiting http://remedy.umbc.edu. To submit an OIT Work Order Request, call x53838, send email to helpdesk@umbc.edu or visit the online request form on OIT's homepage.
Blackboard Update: Requesting Courses, Linking to myUMBC, Managing Enrollment
With
more than 7,000 students, faculty and staff now using the UMBC Blackboard
online course management system, support becomes even more important.
To help, OIT's New Media Learning & Development unit has updated
the Blackboard login page with UMBC-specific helpsheets on such
topics as creating, copying & deleting courses, linking courses
to myUMBC and managing enrollment in current (and past) courses.
A new Blackboard "tab" has even been added to myUMBC
to make it easier for campus users to login directly from the homepage.
Finally, a monthly Blackboard update will be posted at the Blackboard
login page, and inside the UMBC Blackboard environment. For more
information, visit myUMBC or http://blackboard.umbc.edu.
2003
UMBC Internet CD Planning is Underway
During the spring semester, OIT will be developing it's fifth annual
UMBC Internet CD. This popular
collection of software, Internet connection guidelines and UMBC
resources is scheduled for release in early June, in time for the
annual summer orientation for incoming students. OIT specialist
Charles Myers has spearheaded this project from the start,
and has already been meeting with campus users to discuss additional
content or improvements. For more information, contact Myers at
x53806 or charles@umbc.edu.
The OIT Newsletter is provided as a service to UMBC students, faculty and staff, and to help keep OIT staff updated on the work and interests of their colleagues. For more information or to suggest a story idea, contact John Fritz (410.455.6596 or fritz@umbc.edu).
Office of Information Technology (www.umbc.edu/oit)
| Jack Suess Chief Information Officer 410.455.2585 or jack@umbc.edu |
| Victor Aulestia Director of Classroom Technology and Support 410.455.3809 or aulestia@umbc.edu |
| Mike
Carlin Director of Infrastructure and Support Services 410.455.2578 or mikec@umbc.edu |
| John Fritz Director of New Media Learning & Development 410.455.6596 or fritz@umbc.edu |
| Joe Kirby Director of Business Systems 410.455.3020 or kirby@umbc.edu |
|
OIT Help Desk |
