ITS Newsletter Vol. 3, Issue 2 SPECIALIZING IN FUTURES HISTORICALLY AMERICAN. UNIQUELY CARIBBEAN. GLOBALLY INTERACTIVE. Information & Technology Services PROVIDING THE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AND THE INFORMATION RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE VISION 2012 U V I niversity of the irgin slands Greetings to the UVI commu- nity. ITS is very pleased that students, faculty and staff are all seeing a much improved technology environment this semester. Although we realize that we still have much to do, I believe the differences are no- table and signifi cant. I would like to recognize the student staff of the UVI Voice. We in ITS would like to applaud them for the awards received for their hard work on the stu- dent newspaper. Particularly, we commend them for the awards earned from the Octo- ber 2007 technology Issue. We are pleased that students achieved greatness through such a trying time. It is our hope that the next award-winning articles in the UVI Voice refl ect the technol- ogy advances yet to come. Tina M. Koopmans Chief Information Offi cer tina.koopmans@uvi.edu 693-1540 February 2008 Technology Changes ....COMING SOON • New Audio Conferencing Solution • Changes in managing grants online • Campus wide wireless access • Updates to Bookstore systems • Online OTS reporting • Library renovations • Cell phone communication for students • PC replacement plan roll out Offi ce 2007 • New VC rooms for VIUCEED • New Computers! With the New Year comes new computers in the B-204E computer lab! We are happy to provide these new Dell 700 series computers. Users will fi nd the new machines are faster and more powerful than the previous Dell GX260 units. There are a to- tal of twenty one (21) new computers including an instructors’ computer. The GX260 computers were moved to the CA-101A computer lab to replace old- er computers there while replacing the CRT monitors Web 2.0: Tools and Training By now you have probably heard the phrase “Web 2.0” in a variety of contexts. “Web 2.0” is commonly used to reference the second wave of the Internet. More specifi cally, online tools that include: web logs (blogs), social networking sites, wikis, aggregators, and RSS feeds. While the names of these applications might sound a bit impractical, Web 2.0 tools can be used not only for entertainment purposes, but also to support and enhance teaching, learning, and collaboration. For example, students may use a wiki to share information about resources that they are using for a group assignment. Instructors may suggest students subscribe to RSS feeds to keep current with information in a specifi c subject area. Blogs can be used to share ob- servations about activities, assignments, and issues relating to a course or course topic. There Letter from the CIO with power saving LCD monitors. ITS has also been working closely with the UVI Commu- nications program to improve their technology resources. New, faster and more powerful computers have been added to the Communications computer labs in CA-304 on St. Thomas and EC-304 on St. Croix. With computer labs in such high demand these days, we know that the University community will appreciate these upgraded facilities. are even web-based productivity tools (documents and spreadsheets) that allow users to collaborate on shared products. Podcasts are particularly useful for instructors, for podcasts can be made available through a Course Management System (CMS) like Blackboard allowing students to listen to lectures online. This gives students the option to pause the speaker and review parts of a lecture they may have missed. Over the summer, Information and Technology Services staff members participated in Web 2.0 training, which included discussions about how these tools can be used in the Information Technology and Library environments. To check out some of the staff members’ work, go to the Summer 2.0 blog at: http://www.summer2-0.blogspot.com/. Ways in which ITS is currently using Web 2.0 tools include: new books blogs (http://sttnewtitles.blogspot.com amd http:// stxnewtitles.blogspot.com) and an ITS FAQ wiki (http://uviits.wiki.zoho.com/). If you would like to learn more about how to use Web 2.0 tools to support your teaching, please contact Su- zanne Darrow or Bethany Wilkes. Also, look for faculty and staff training in Web 2.0 coming this summer! For further reading on Web 2.0 see: Alexander, B. (2006). Web 2.0: A New Wave of Innovation for Teaching and Learning? EDUCAUSE Review, 41. Retrieved January 31, 2008, from http:// connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Review/Web20ANewWaveofInnovation/40615?ti me=1201813003. Internet Capacity Changes St. Croix: As of January 3, we have 22.5 Mbps of bandwidth capacity on the St. Croix campus from our Internet Service Provider, BroadbandVI. This is one of the fi rst steps in our strides to bring Internet2 to UVI. St. Thomas: As of February 1, the St. Thomas Campus bandwidth was increased from 4.5 Mbps to 8.5 Mbps of capacity. We continue to partner with Choice Communications, our St. Thomas ISP, to further increase the bandwidth there. Addi- tional capacity will be added in the Fall to facilitate Internet2. Internet2: UVI and the Research and Technology Park continue to work together on the INternet2 connection. Many de- lays have occurred between Florida International university and Global Crossing. Most of these have been resolved and FIU believes that we are currently looking at an April 1st connection. EPSCoR continues to work on ways to maximize our upcoming connection through teaching and research. What happens to mail in the old student mail system? How is mail in the old mail system transferred to the new Google mail system? If it is decided to move all students to this new system, stu- dents can choose to migrate mail from the current UVI sys- tem to Google Mail. There is an option from Google Mail on the migration process. How does the new mail system work with Blackboard? At the beginning of the semester, the student e-mail ad- dress in Banner is written into Blackboard during the student and course load process. If a student changes their e-mail in Blackboard, this change is not to be overwritten by sub- sequent Banner updates within the respective semester. Students are encouraged to update their Blackboard ac- counts with their preferred e-mail address. Is this change temporary or permanent? This is a temporary solution that will be brought to the aca- demic technology committee for input on permanence. ITS Newsletter Vol. 3, Issue 2 Student E-mail In an effort to remedy current UVI student e-mail creation is- sues, ITS has created student e-mail accounts with Google Mail. This will allow students to have access to a more reli- able e-mail system and give ITS the ability to properly add new student users. This service is available for all students, at their discretion. ITS will be working with input from the relevant fac- ulty committees to determine what permanent student e-mail solution will meet teaching and communication needs. With Google Mail, students can communicate using Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk. They are also able to col- laborate and publish documents with Google Docs where they will be able to share fi les and collaborate in real-time. ITS is working on implementing a single sign-on interface for all UVI systems. Towards that end, user IDs will change. Student access to the Google e-mail system will refl ect this change. Students can access e-mail at http://myuvi.net. Username = fi rst initial, middle initial, last name up to 14 char- acters Example: John James Doe = jjdoe@myuvi.net Initial password = fi rst initial, fi rst six letters of last name, last 4 numbers of UVI ID Upon initial login, the student will be prompted to change his/ her password. NOTE: If no middle initial is reported to UVI, none will be used in the username creation. Frequently Asked Questions Is the old student mail system going to be phased out and if so, what is the time frame? The old system will be left up at least through the end of the summer. A decision on maintenance of the legacy system will be made based on input of the Academic Technology Com- mittee. Page 2 The following are instructions for Outlook 2003. The instruc- tions may vary slightly if you have Outlook 2007. 1. Click on “Tools” 2. Select “Rule and Alerts” 3. Click on “New Rule” then check “Start from a blank rule” 4. Select “Check messages when they arrive” 5. Click “Next” 6. Then select “Where My Name Is in the TO or CC box” 7. Click “Next” 8. Select “Forward it to People or Distribution List” 9. In the Step 2 box click on the highlighted area that says “People or Distribution List” 10. In the “Specify Who To Forward The Messages To” enter the e-mail address where you would like to receive your e- mail 11. Then click “Ok” Banner User Group A user group has been created for administrative users of UVI’s ERP database, Banner. This group will meet monthly and will be the forum through which Banner users can express needs to the ITS programmers and database staff as well as receive information and feedback on related issues. The fi rst meeting of the User Group was held November 30, 2007 for which min- utes are available on the ITS Blackboard site. Instructions on forwarding your uvi.edu e-mail to another e-mail address St. Croix Campus: RR 1, Box 10000 Kingshill St. Croix, Virgin Islands 00850-9781 St. Thomas Campus: #2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802-9990 The University of the Virgin Islands is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadel- phia, PA 19104, 215-662-5606. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation. Send E-mail to: pr@uvi.edu Banner/Blackboard Integration Update The Fall 2007 upgrade to Blackboard Version 7.2 was the beginning of a major initiative to achieve greater functionality of the course delivery system. The project continued with the Banner/Blackboard integration project which was completed over the holiday break. Each Course Registration Number (CRN) listed in Banner is being provided with a corresponding Blackboard course shell with all students auto-enrolled. Kudos to everyone who coordinated system processes to support the integration. In response to requests from so many of you, ITS is pleased that the option of automatic enrollment of students in Blackboard is now a reality. Like all new technology developments, the Banner/Blackboard integration had its share of hiccups, including the retention of dropped/withdrawn students in Blackboard rosters. Although this issue has been resolved, instructors should pay close atten- tion to their Banner rosters as course drops and withdrawals may not occur automatically in Blackboard. Such students may need to be manually removed by instructors. Adds to courses will continue to be processed. Another integration challenge involved course combinations. By request, video conference classes containing St. Thomas/St. Croix sections were placed into a single Blackboard course even though multiple CRNs existed. There were other instances where faculty wanted to combine CRNs to moderate multiple sections from one central location. We will continue to inves- tigate solutions for cross-listed courses and VC courses that require a single Blackboard course shell. This semester, requests were processed for instructors requiring course roll overs (moving course content from one course shell to another). Instructors will be able to roll over their own course material into future Blackboard course shells and restore their saved archives. Notifi cation, directions and support will be forthcoming prior to the start of the next semester. Remaining tasks include the clean reload of the Blackboard user database to ensure that only one account exists for each user. We encourage feedback to assist in the continued development of Blackboard features to support effective teach- ing and learning. Blackboard training is available on both campuses and by request. For more information, please contact Suzanne Darrow, X1214 or sdarrow@uvi.edu. ITS Newsletter Vol. 3, Issue 2 Page 3 VPN Remote Access Update VPN is short for virtual private network, a network that uses a number of systems that enable the creation of private networks using the Internet as the medium for transporting or tunneling the data. These systems use encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the UVI network for example, and that the data cannot be intercepted. The VPN project was slated to be ready for faculty and staff to take full advantage of in Spring ‘08. However, since the network challenges experienced in the Fall ‘07 semester, the project time line has been pushed back to Fall ’08. At that time, ITS will roll out the implementation of the VPN service which will allow any UVI faculty and staff employee, with high speed internet connectivity and a computer, to be able to access the UVI network through a secure VPN tunnel The new Administration & Conference Center includes two new smart conference rooms and one video conference room. The second and third fl oor conference rooms are equipped with ceiling mounted LCD projectors, document cameras (for showing paper or transparencies) and DVD/VHS players. The third fl oor conference room includes a desktop computer, LCD monitor, and the technology to plug in a laptop computer for guest presenters. The second fl oor conference room can also accommodate presentations with any laptop computer. These facilities were designed to be professional, feature rich, and easy to use making them perfect for presentations and meetings. Administration and Conference Center Technology Update The fi rst fl oor conference room is equipped with the latest Polycom video conference hardware. This large conference room is designed to allow a guest speaker to be seen and heard clearly in any UVI video conference facility. Equipment has also been installed to allow the display of laptop computers, DVD or VHS videos and paper or transparencies. This room would normally be matched to the Northwest Wing Great Hall on the St. Croix campus to bring the inter-island university community together. The facilities in ACC can be reserved by contacting Denisa Jordan at x1504. First and third fl oor con- ference rooms, ACC St. Thomas Improving Access to Library Records... Enhancing bibliographic records is an example of how ITS is working “behind the scenes” to improve access to our resourc- es. Users can identify library books in the libraries’ online catalog by a variety of ways, including: author, title, keyword, and subject. ITS staff members are currently working on projects that enable users to access the records for books that they need through the catalog more effi ciently by adding descriptive information to book records in both the Special Collec- tions (which include books in the Caribbean and Melchior collections) and in the areas of American and English literature. By adding Content Notes and Subject Headings to the books’ records, staff provides users of the catalog with additional search terms that they can use to identify books that they need. For example, after the enhancement to a book’s record, the record of a title in the Caribbean Collection will include the book’s table of contents. This added information will enable users to identify books on their selected topics more easily. ITS Newsletter Vol. 3, Issue 2 Page 4 In a continuing effort to expand curriculum and technology support, Information and Technology Services (ITS) invited fac- ulty to participate in a project to promote integration of technology in teaching and to enhance faculty development. Faculty willing to collaborate with ITS on this project received a Tablet PC to replace their desktop workstation. Funding for the equipment was received through a Title III award. A call for participation was issued at the beginning of the Fall Semester 2007. Ten faculty responded to the call and were awarded Tablet PCs to encourage innovation and to expand options for increasing integration of technology in teaching. Nine of the ten recipients have already taken delivery of the equipment and have begun the partnership with ITS staff. The faculty have agreed to partner with ITS for two years and to build their own technology skills and offer support to peers to address technology needs. For further information contact: Suzanne Darrow x1214 or Judith Rogers x4132. The ten faculty selected for the project are: Alex Randall, Humanities & Social Sciences (STT) Christy Vineyard, Business (STT) Kimarie Engerman, (STT) Rosalie Dane, Science & Math (STT) Sophie Gelaw, Humanities & Social Science (STT) Tablet-PC Distribution Project: ITS/Faculty Collaboration to Increase Technology support John Munro, Business (STX) Kathy Sheats, Nursing (STX) Karen Cooper, Nursing (STX) Stuart Ketcham, Science & Math (STX) Valerie Combie, Humanities & Social Science (STX) Information Literacy and Technology Instruction... Throughout the semester members of the Information and Technology Services component offer a variety of instruction ses- sions to students, staff, and faculty. At the beginning of semesters, in particular, we are heavily involved in providing infor- mation literacy and research instruction to students. Librarians work with faculty members to provide instruction for a variety of courses in areas such as: developing a research topic, identifying and locating books and articles for research purposes, evaluating resources, and more. During the Spring semester, 2008, Information and Technology Services collaborated with FDS coordinators and instructors to offer technology training to incoming students as part of the FDS curriculum. Through this training students were introduced to the variety of technology tools which can contribute to their success at UVI: logging on to University computers, accessing student e-mail, utilizing Blackboard, and an overview of library resources. ITS will continue to work with faculty to insure that students receive the instruction and support necessary for their success. New Network Maintenance Schedule The Enterprise Network Services division announces a new network maintenance schedule. On Sundays from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, the Enterprise Network Services unit will perform both network and server maintenance for the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses. UVI users off and on campus may not be able to access some or all of UVI network resources during the scheduled maintenance time. If you have any questions, please call the Help Desk at x1466. St. Croix Campus: RR 1, Box 10000 Kingshill St. Croix, Virgin Islands 00850-9781 St. Thomas Campus: #2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802-9990 The University of the Virgin Islands is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadel- phia, PA 19104, 215-662-5606. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation. Send E-mail to: pr@uvi.edu Who’s Happening in Information & Technology Services To enroll in the Information & Technology Services Blackboard Course: •Access the Blackboard site: http://blackboard.uvi.edu/Login •Click on the “Courses” tab in the upper right-hand corner of the screen •In the “Course Search” box enter information technology services ITS Newsletter Vol. 3, Issue 2 Supplement Welcome to ITS... •Click on the “Enroll” button next to the Information & Technology Services class •Click “Submit” •Click “Okay,” and the user will be directed to the course Phoebe Smith-Charles: Mrs. Charles joins ITS as the new Offi ce Manager. Mrs. Charles obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from DeVry University in Decatur, Georgia. Mrs. Charles brings to the ITS component, more than eight years of experience in web design, computer instruction, computer programming, and offi ce management. Sandra Liddie Gumbs: Ms. Gumbs has joined the ITS staff as an Intern in the Enterprise Network Services offi ce. Ms. Gumbs was employed at D-3 Enterprises Ltd. as an insurance underwriter. Over the course of her employment, she was transferred to the accounting department as a junior accountant. This experience sparked her interest in pursuing a degree in Accounting Infor- mation Systems. For this reason, and because of her lifelong dream, she enrolled at UVI in the Fall of 2004 and is currently a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Computer Information Systems. Christine Freeland: A warm welcome is extended to our new Call Center Agent, Ms. Freeland, who answers the ITS Help Desk phone at 693-1466, coordinating and solving issues. Her pleasant attitude is a real asset to our team. Oliver Gray: Mr. Gray joins us as an Information Technology Specialist working to resolve many types of technical problems for the university community. You’ll fi nd him around campus keeping our systems running smoothly. Debra Pennington: Mrs. Pennington joins ITS as a Programmer Analyst III in the Enterprise Data & User Services offi ce. Debra comes to us from West Virginia where she worked as an IT Develop- ment Manager. Working with the Banner database, she will be assigned primarily to the Financial Aid Offi ce, assisting them with their processes and reporting needs. Carey Galdo: Ms. Galdo joined the staff of the St. Thomas campus library on October 17th, 2007. Carey is a 2004 graduate of Eckerd College, and is working on her Master’s in Library and Infor- mation Science. As a Library Specialist I (Materials Processing), Carey is responsible for ordering, processing, and cataloging new books for the library. She also assists faculty, students, and staff with their interlibrary loan requests. Additionally, Carey provides customer service and reference assistance at the circulation and reference desks. ITS Newsletter Vol. 3, Issue 2 Supplement Burt Chesterfi eld: Mr. Chesterfi eld began working as a student technician at UVI. Burt joined ITS as a full-time staff member in January 2007 as an Information Technology Specialist I. Burt applied for and has been promoted to an Informa- tion Technology Specialist II. Moving up in the ranks.... Information & Technology Services will recognize the service of staff in future newsletter issues. In this issue, we recognize the outstanding job performance of Celia Prince and Erik Pattison. Celia is the Administra- tive Assistant for the ITS Component on St. Croix. She exemplifi es good customer service as she helps all in the UVI community on that campus. Erik, is the videoconference guru for UVI and is known for going the extra mile to assist ITS customers. Congratulations to Erik Pattison and Celia Prince for winning the Employee Recognition Award! Keep up the good work! And the Winners Are... Dawn Matthew: Many of you already know Ms. Dawn Mat- thew from the ITS Help Desk. Recently she was promoted to Information Technology Specialist joining our other technicians in solving computer and technology problems around campus. Ms. Matthew has been part of the UVI family for over six years. Daryl Petersen: Daryl has worked for the Information & Technology Department since 2000 as a student worker. Mr. Petersen was recently promoted to Infor- mation Technology Specialist II continuing his service to the University community. His future goals include obtaining a master’s degree in Information Technol- ogy, along with acquiring a CCNA certifi cation. UVI Librarian to be recognized as “Librarian of the Year” Cynthia Richards, Public Services Librarian at the Ralph M. Paiewonsky Library, will be honored this month by the St. Thomas-St. John Library Association (STSJLA) as Librarian of the Year. Mrs. Richards has worked in both public and public school libraries in addition to the Ralph M. Paiewonsky Library, where she has been a full-time Librarian for 8 years and a part-time Librarian for over 20 years. Mrs. Richards will be recognized for the contributions that she has made to libraries in the territory at the STSJLA’s fi rst annual Women’s and USVI History Month Luncheon on Sunday, March 16, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at Pilgrim Terrace. ITS 2007 Retreat... The ITS staff embarked on an R&R on the St. Croix campus on December 10, 2007. The St. Thomas and St. Croix staff were involved in a review of services and accomplishments, stress management exercises, and toured the St. Croix facilities. When the St. Thomas airport closed, the St. Thomas staff was also treated to a night on St. Croix to enjoy Cruzan hospital- ity. Lesson learned: “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people”.