Receive Helpful Information, Outage & Maintenance Details, and Support Tips by Following the Technical Support Center on Twitter and Facebook

The Technical Support Center (TSC) has a few important updates we have made to improve our support options.   To expand our support options we are now using Facebook and Twitter to deliver helpful information, outage & maintenance details and support tips. Our Facebook page can be found by searching for UNC Tech Support within Facebook or by going directly to www.facebook.com/UNCTechSupport.  Once you have accessed the Facebook you will need to select the “Like” option to receive our posts.  You can also follow our updates on Twitter by navigating to http://Twitter.com/UNC_TSC and selecting the follow option.

InSight News Listserv

The InSight News Listserv has been created in effort to inform you of what is happening with the InSight Reporting Portal.  Through this listserv you will be informed when new reports are available, reports have been modified, and when reports are ready for review, as well as other information about InSight and reporting.

Attempt will be made to keep the number of emails you receive to a minimum.

If you would like to join this listserv, please subscribe by sending an email to listserv@listserv.unco.edu.  Do not put anything in the subject line and delete your email signature if you have one.  Type in the body of the email, "subscribe INSIGHT-NEWS" (without quotations).  You will receive information about how to send to the list, how to contact the list owner, and how to unsubscribe from the list.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Come join IM&T in their second annual shred fest, happening TODAY from 11-1 on the East side of Kepner/Carter Hall Parking Lot. This would be a great chance to get rid of any outdated or sensitive personal of office paperwork in a secure way, at no cost to you!


Not only will you be able to get rid of sensitive documents that have been taking up too much space in your office or home, but you will also be entered into a raffle to win a prize! IM&T is giving away an IPod Nano, ITunes gift card, laptop accessory kits, t-shirts, mugs, hats, shoulder bags AND MORE!

We’ll see you TODAY from 11am-1pm!



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2nd Annual Shred Fest!!!

Information Management and Technology and College Credit Union are proud to present the second annual Shred Fest 2011! Next Friday the 22nd, Earth Day, bring your documents to Kepner parking lot during our mass shredding event! Enter in a raffle to win one of several amazing giveaways!

No amount is too big or too small! Please ensure that items you would like to shred follow the your team and the state's document retention guidelines:

http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/rm/rmman/sch8.pdf  

We hope to see you there!

Course Evaluations & EvaluationKIT Reminder

Almost one year ago the UNC IM&T department implemented another method to gather Course Evaluations. EvaluationKIT is an exciting, online method of capturing Course Evaluation responses that is also easier on our environment. Did you know that each year, the colleges and departments of UNC purchase and use approximately 60,000 forms? That’s a lot of paper. Not to mention, someone has to take all of those 60,000 forms and get them scanned… labor intensive and bad for the environment.

A few years ago, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CETL) responded to faculty requests and put together a pilot using EvaluationKIT. The pilot proved to be successful and compatible with Banner and Blackboard. Extended Studies, CETL and IM&T are hoping that colleges and departments will voluntarily adopt the use of this new technology.

Colleges and departments who voluntarily use EvaluationKIT will have a lot of benefits. They will no longer have to pay for the OMR forms (bubble sheets), they will receive technical support and pedagogical evaluation assistance by request, they will be assured that only one evaluation will be accepted per enrolled student per course, they will be able to manage their own survey and get direct access to their college and department results only, and also be able to provide their students with a common experience. If you are having trouble with students filling out evaluations, you might want to think about offering extra points for them if they do it online, or book a lab during the last week of class and require students to fill them out while there.

If you would like to use EvaluationKIT or you need help using EvaluationKIT, please call the Technical Support Center at (970)351-4357(HELP).

The Rumors are TRUE!!! New MacBook Pros are Arriving on Campus SOON!

Have you heard the rumors about the new MacBook Pro? Well, IM&T is excited to bring you this exclusive update about their availability to purchase RIGHT HERE ON CAMPUS! Yesterday, Apple confirmed the rumors and released its new line of MacBook Pros and they will be available for purchase at BearLogic in the University Center sometime next week. This year marks a significant revamping of MacBook Pro, especially in the 15 and 17 inch computers. The new MacBook Pro boasts its sleek, compact design and usual speeds and feeds along with many new features. The biggest “upgrades” that you will notice are the addition of Intel’s Sandy Bridge processor, Facetime-enabled HD camera, high-speed Thurnderbolt I/O port (reportedly 12 times faster than Firewire) and AMD graphics.


Here’s some in depth information of the fantastic feautures, add-ons and upgrades you will find with the new MacBook Pros.

The Facetime camera was launched by Apple last October, but the latest MacBook Pros are equipped with even better HD cameras for video chat. This camera has, reportedly, three times the resolution of last year’s models. The new MacBook Pros boast better basic specs than their predecessors.

The I/O technology known as Thurderbolt can support transfer speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second and also supports PCI Express, Firewire, USB and gigabit Ethernet using adapters. The jack itself resembles a DisplayPort and can connect to external monitors. Don’t forget that adapters are required for HDMI, DVI and VGA formats. The goal for Apple and Intel is to have other devices implement Thunderbolt to take advantage of those fast speeds

The new MacBook Pro is also including an SDXC memory card slot. Although the cards are extremely expensive, the SDXC slot can support existing SD memory cards as well.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro has exchanged the previous Intel's Core 2 Duo processor in favor of either a 2.3 GHz Core i5 or 2.7 GHz Core i7 on Intel's Sandy Bridge platform. Hard drives start at 320 GB instead of 250 GB. You will still get 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, which is the same as last year’s models, but it's even a little faster at 1333 MHz instead of 1066 MHz.

The basic 15-inch model changed from last year's dual-core Intel Core i5 processor to a quad-core 2.0 GHz Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor. The smallest available hard drive is now 500 GB instead of 320 GB. As with the 13-inch model, the base RAM is only slightly differs.

The 17-inch model also uses a new quad-core with a 2.2 GHz Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor in the standard configuration. Basic storage capacity has increased from 500 GB to 750 GB. The RAM will be the same as the other models that are available.

(See Apple’s website for a full spec comparison.)

Even with all of these awesome add-ons and upgrades, the new MacBook Pros have not gone up in pricing, and remember that you will get a special higher education pricing if you purchase from BearLogic on campus!

For further questions or to “test drive” a new MacBook Pro when they make their debut in the store next week, head over to the University Center and speak with one of their knowledgeable employees.

Technical Support- You Asked, We Listened.

You have asked, and we have listened. The Technical Support Center has expanded its on-campus staffing and hours of operation. When you dial 970-351-HELP (4357) you will speak with an on-campus representative during the following hours:

Monday-Thursday: 7am-10pm

Friday: 7am-5pm

Saturday-Sunday: 10am-7pm

*Holidays and University closures excluded

The updated hours of operation, previously supported in part by an off-campus company, have been identified as critical to the support needs of the campus community. Based on your feedback, we found that the service of the off-campus organization was not meeting your needs. These results indicated that our on-campus student and full-time staff better understand and meet your technical needs and expectations. To ensure we capitalize on this success our on-campus services will be staffed mainly by UNC students. This will allow more UNC students the opportunity to learn important professional skills such as customer service, technical troubleshooting and problem solving skills.

The campus community also identified that it was critical to the academic mission that we maintain the availability of technical support representatives 24/7/365. To achieve this, the remaining hours not staffed by on-campus UNC personnel will be facilitated by an answering service. This group will document your support request and notify on-site staff for troubleshooting and resolution. We have limited the use of this group to hours were less than 3% of our total telephone contact is made. An additional benefit of this updated support model is that we will be able to avoid any increase to our existing cost model.

We want to ensure that our services align with your needs and believe that our updated on-campus model will bring us closer to this goal. By utilizing our students as a primary resource and expanding our on-campus hours we will improve your technical support experience while decreasing the cost of continuous support to the institution.

Have you got your shopping fix for the holidays? Gift cards burning a hole in your pocket?

The holidays have come and gone. It’s the New Year now! One of your resolutions may be to get back in shape after partaking in some serious holiday binge eating (but wait… isn’t round a shape?). Or maybe your resolution is to rein in on your spending; after all, Christmas shopping has a strange way of draining checking accounts. Now that all the “day-after” shopping sprees are over, like Black Friday, where can you find the flying-off-the-shelf deals? Maybe you were just naughty this year and Santa found out and didn’t get you that sweet techie device that you wanted for Christmas. Well we know of a friendly little store in the UC where you can spend the gift cards and cash that your family gave you for the holidays: Bear Logic! If you don’t have any money to spend, at least come in and check out the new renovations. Bear Logic is supported by the UNC Information and Management Technology department and is the not-for-profit resource for the tech tools you need to succeed in the University setting. You will find a great variety of computers, software, printers, and accessories all at special academic pricing. Translation: MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK and you can justify the big purchase to your parents or significant other. Bear Logic accepts cash, check, Visa, MasterCard and Discover. They also offer great payment deferral options so you can pay over the next six months, interest free. Below is just a small sampling of some of the great techie devices and accessories that they have in stock and ready to be put to use by YOU this semester!
iPod
2GB iPod Shuffle $49
8GB iPod Nano $149
16GB iPod Nano $179
iPod Classic $249
8GB iPod Touch $229
32BG iPod Touch $299
64GB iPod Touch $399

Wi-Fi iPad
16GB $499
32GB $599
64GB $699

Wi-Fi + 3G iPad
16GB $629
32GB $729
64GB $829

Accessories for your iPad
Keyboard Dock $69
Case $39
Dock $29
USB Power Adaptor $29
Dock Connector to VGA $29

Gaming Consoles
Wii $199
Xbox 360 $199

Software
Acrobat 10 $55
Endnote $199
Finale 2011 $279

Adobe Creative Suite starts at just $199 for student and teacher licensing.

If you have any questions, you can visit Bear Logic’s website at http://www.unco.edu/bearlogic/index.html. The staff at Bear Logic is knowledgeable and ready and willing to help you will all of your tech needs.

Xtender- What is it and What's New?

On December 18th, Information Management and Technology upgraded to the newest version of EMC ApplicationXtender, more commonly known as Xtender throughout campus.


Not sure what Xtender is? Xtender is an instant document management solution that minimizes the costs and risks of paper while increasing productivity by streamlining the capture and management of documents. Xtender scans, stores, retrieves, and preserves information, while providing role-based access from either a desktop interface or web browser.

For those of you who are “technologically challenged” and still aren’t quite sure as to what I am talking about, Xtender is the application that a number of the departments here at UNC use to scan documents. Currently, Accounts Payable, Human Resources, Financial Services, the President’s Office, Financial Aid, Admissions, Graduate School, Academic Support & Advising, Center for International Education, Register/Records, Accounts Receivable, Card Office, Health Center, Department of Teacher Education, Academic Support & Advising, Payroll Services, and Institutional Reporting and Analysis (among others) are actively using Xtender.

The recent upgrade took our version of Xtender from 5.4 to the new major release of 6.50. This upgrade was necessary to provide all the new features that they have to offer as well as receive extended support. This upgrade is part of our annual maintenance agreement and came at no extra cost to the University.



Xtender is now certified to run with Windows 7, while WebXtender can run with Internet Explorer 8.0. Xtender will also now display PDF documents created with Adobe version 9.0 or 9.1

Some exciting new features that come with the upgrade are that you will be able to:

• Rotate Pages and Save Rotated Image

• Reorder pages within a document

• Copy or Move Pages to New Batch

• See That Page Thumbnails have been redesigned

One of the most exciting features that the upgrade has to offer is that Xtender will be accessible from URSA with Single-Signon! Beginning with this release, Xtender users will be able to sign on to URSA, and launch Xtender without having to sign in again. This direct link will perform in the same way Banner can be launched from URSA without having to authenticate again.

You may be asking yourself, “will this new version require any retraining or change the way I scan, index or view documents?” You will be thrilled to know that Xtender users will find no major changes to methods of document scanning, indexing or retrieval. However, this new version includes new features outlined in this document that provide significant improvement in the functionality of Xtender.

Xtender is available for all faculty and staff to use on campus, and if you would like to get it set up on your computer or throughout your department, just submit a work order through the Technical Support Center at 351-HELP.

Happy Holidays, or are they….?

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), approximately ten million Americans have their identity stolen each year, with the majority of these thefts taking place over the holiday season. As more business is being done online and sensitive data being stored on personal computers, the risk of fraud has increased exponentially. The holiday shopping season makes the risks even higher as online retailers provide large discounts to attract buyers who are searching for the best deals. While shoppers look forward to these bargains, identity thieves are even more eager to steal the plethora of personal information that will be shared between consumers and businesses. While technology can help these buyers reach potential purchases and find those great bargains, it also makes them more vulnerable to identity theft and scams.

Unfortunately, no one is immune to these types of crimes and they can have a tremendous impact on your finances long after the holidays are over. The rush of the holiday season can make it a busy time for identity thieves but shoppers can take simple steps to help guard their personal information. If you see any suspicious activity or feel you have become the victim of identity theft, you should report it as soon as possible.

Most of the time people don't realize their passwords or credit card numbers have been stolen until it is too late. The information is harvested by spyware, viruses, phishing attacks, and other malicious programs and then shared with other hackers or sold online through underground websites. Here are 10 tips on protecting your identity during the holidays, written by Jessica L. Behunin, CISSP ®, IT Security Analyst in the Information Management and Technology Department at UNC.

Shop smart - When shopping, limit the credit cards you carry and don't take extras. Leave your Social Security card, birth certificate and passport at home.

Keep receipts and check your statements - For post-holiday statements; be sure to examine every charge on your statement before paying. Your receipts provide a great cross-reference check and guard against suspicious activity. Remember, by law, you have 30 days from the date of your statement to notify your financial institution of any discrepancies, otherwise you can be liable for any purchases made.
Protect computer prior to online shopping - Make sure your security patch and antivirus software is updated regularly. Consider purchasing technology that protects against potential viruses that threaten your identity.

Watch where you shop online - Always check for the lock icon on the website's browser status bar, which signals a secure site that is safe for transactions. If you have never heard of a website before, check to make sure it has security precautions in place and that it is not a fake website set up by identity thieves.

Don't write a check - give cash or a gift card. All of the information on a check, such as your name, signature, address and other information, can be used by thieves to steal your identity.

Shred documents with personally identifiable information, preferably using a security micro-cut shredder.

Strengthen passwords - so that they will not be easily cracked by hackers. Use strong passwords with at least eight characters, including a combination of letters, numbers and symbols that are easy for you to remember, but difficult for predators to pounce upon.

Watch your purse/wallet at parties - restaurants, fitness clubs, shopping carts or your car.

Don't take the bait on phishing scams - and beware of shoulder surfing (when a thief looks over your shoulder while you're at an ATM, either directly or via a camera).

Stop mail, newspaper delivery if traveling during the holidays.

These are just a few simple steps you can take to protect yourself over this holiday season and make sure that it is a good one!

Employee Spotlight: Sam Penn

Sam Penn, a Colorado Native, was originally born in Englewood, Colorado. He attended college, right here, at the University of Northern Colorado. Sam graduated with his B.A. in 1996 and his M.A. in 2002. He is currently the Manager for the Learning Management System (Blackboard) and the Technical Support Center. He began working for the IM&T department as a student in 1997 and has been here ever since.

He is married with twins. Their names are Abby and Luke and they are 2 years old.

His favorite thing about working for IM&T is the people that he works with, from the clients to our staff. If he could trade jobs with anyone in the world, it would be Tim Tebow because he will spend two years getting paid a ton to hold a clipboard and learn.

His advice to the readers is to have fun!

Employee Spotlight: Ben Jenkins

Ben Jenkins is originally from Golden, Colorado and works as a University Aide in Network Communications in the IM&T department. Ben graduated from UNC in May with a double major in accounting and CIS. He also played basketball at UNC last year. He was the Vice President of Beta Alpha Psi, a professional accounting organization. He has worked for IM&T for a total of almost two years.

Ben’s girlfriend Austyn, pictured with him above, also goes to UNC and will graduate in December. He has a step brother and two step sisters that live in California. Some of his hobbies include basketball and hunting. Ben is currently studying for the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate). He hopes to use this to expand his knowledge in networking and to use it for his future career. He hopes that he can use it to help the networking team here at UNC.

Ben has two French Brittany dogs, Chance who is 7 months old and Maggie who is 10.

He says that his favorite thing about working for IM&T is the people. He says that he works with a great group of guys who all have a good sense of humor. He loves the team atmosphere.

If he could trade jobs with anyone in the world, it would be Pat Riley- the Miami Heat coach. He would want to coach the kind of talent on his team like Lebron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade.

Employee Spotlight: Jeanette VanGalder

Jeanette VanGalder is a Colorado native, originally from Trinidad. She is the Chief Information Officer of the Information Management and Technology department. She started in the IM&T department in August of 1980. She is married and has a son, Kevin, and a daughter in law, Erin, who live in Denver. She also has a boxer grand-dog named Diesel.

Jeanette’s favorite hobbies are work, work, work and occasionally she plays golf. She was practically born with a golf club in her hand. Her favorite thing about working in the IM&T department is the staff! She says that she can’t think of anyone she’d like to trade jobs with and that it really scares her because that must mean that she really must like her job!

Employee Spotlight: John Schafluetzel

John Schafluetzel is a Greeley native where he attended University High School in 1970. The summer after he graduated high school, he began his work here in the I.M.T. department as a student lab assistant. John went to college here at UNC and graduated in 74’ with a degree in business administration & CIS. After graduating college, he went to work for the state division of ADP (their department of I.T.) for a year and a half. He has been back at the UNC I.M.T. department ever since.


John is currently a half time IT Programmer/Analyst, but before that he was an assistant director for I.M.T. John has spent most of his time at work managing operating systems, database administration and operations, and systems programming. He started out as a programmer and his position evolved over 30 years of working for this department. John retired in 2005 with 30 years under his belt… and then came back!


John is married to Sandi and they have been married for 38 years. They have 4 kids, a golden retriever, 3 maltese and a cat…. But he doesn’t acknowledge the cat.


John said that his favorite thing about working for I.M.T. is the challenges. He also really enjoys working with the other people in the department as well as our customers. When asked if he would trade jobs with anyone in the world, he simply said “No, I’m retired.”

Ashley Hubbard

Ashley is the fourth person from the right. This is a photo of her and her family during an ugly sweater contest... she lost.


Ashley Hubbard is originally from Stockton, California and has one more year left to complete her bachelor’s degree in organismal biology with a minor in environmental studies. She plans to go for her wildlife conservation master’s degree once she graduates.


Ashley is currently the computer lab manager with Information Management and Technology and has been working for this department for the past two years. She likes working with her co-workers because they are all funny. She says that they are good people to joke around with.


Ashley is currently single and has 2 dogs and one EVIL, demon cat.


IF she could trade jobs with anyone in the world, it would be anyone whose job is taste testing beer or ice cream. She loves both, but thinks she would end up being huge if she had one or both of these jobs.

Did you know that our own, Scott Moellmer, has ridden more than 50,000 miles on his bicycle?



He is originally from Seattle, Washington and went to college at CSU to study Physical Science.


Scott is an I.M.T Professional I, where he works in exam scanning, evaluation processing, monitoring application works, insight, and security access. He gets a lot of face time with the professors and TA’s of the university in the basement of Carter hall. Scott has been working with UNC I.M.T for 29 years and throughout those years, he has really enjoyed working with most of the professors and all of his coworkers.


Scott is married to Patricia and has 2 children. His daughter, Jennifer, is 21 and his son, Michael, is 18. He has two maltee-poo (maltese and poodle mix) and a rotweiler mix dog. He also has a cat and a corn snake. Scott got the corn snake for his 50th birthday and says that it will grow to be 5 feet long in a few short years.


If Scott could trade jobs with anyone in the world, it would be the guy in the goofy suit at Disney World. Except for the humidity and hot suit, it seems like the perfect job to Scott. He wants to let all of the readers know that it is important to learn everything that you can in life, and to be flexible.


Scott wanted to leave you with these words: “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean the cars aren't trying to kill you (words for a bicyclist).”

Employee Spotlight: Jordan Novak

Did you know that Jordan Novak is originally from Minot, North Dakota, eh?



After growing up and spending his first year of high school in North Dakota, Jordan moved to Loveland and finished high school at Loveland High. After that, he decided to come to UNC for college. Jordan graduated from UNC in 2005 with a degree in business administration with an emphasis on computer information systems.


He currently works for the Information Management Technology department on the URSA team as a web developer. Jordan spends most of his time at work fixing and updating web applications, but he also looks at current applications and where to add to their functionality and fixes account issues. Jordan’s favorite thing about working here is being able to work with his coworkers in achieving high level goals. He really likes the program and the people who work here.


If he could trade jobs with anyone else in the world, he would be a private jet tester because he would just want to fly in private jets all day long and travel the world in luxury. Jordan’s girlfriend is named Kimberli and they live North of Greeley in Nunn. They have two pet mules, (half horse half donkey) names Bert and Ernie. Jordan recently purchased a house in Evans and will be moving in June 3rd! CONGRATS JORDAN!!!


Jordan enjoys four wheeling, playing video games, camping, swimming and pretty much any type of outdoor activity. Some advice that Jordan wants to give everyone reading this article is to “always eat your vegetables!”

Employee Spotlight: Nicki Hessler

         

          Nicki Hessler is the administrative assistant in the Information Management Technology department and has been working here for one and a half years. She is also a recent graduate in dietetics. Nicki is originally from Sterling, Colorado but lives in Greeley now. She plans on moving to Sterling in July where she will start her internship rotations. Her internship rotations will be in the areas of community, food service and a clinicals. She will be doing this internship in Greeley, Fort Collins, Sterling, Fort Morgan and she must complete 1200 hours. Nicki said that her favorite part of working in IMT is that she gets to work with lots of fun people. If she could trade jobs with anyone in the world (Paul Sharp- sorry, it’s not you…) it would be Jillian off of the biggest Loser because she thinks that Jillian makes a really big difference in people’s lives. Nicki really wants to impact lives like Jillian does. A little known fact about Nicki is that her food can’t touch on her plate or she won’t eat it. Her last day working in IMT will be May 28th and we will all miss her dearly when she leaves for her internship. Her work has been excellent and much appreciated. We all wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors!

Exam Scanning Hours Extended for Finals Week!

Good news for professors out there who are planning on doing final exams on bubble sheets: The exam scanning hours have been extended during finals week!


Hours for exam scanning while you wait will be extended to 8 am.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, May 3-6, and 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday, May 7. Hours will also be extended to 8 a.m.-5 p.m. the following week Monday-Wednesday, May 10-12, to assist faculty with final grade preparation. Hours will return to 8-9 a.m., 11a.m.-1p.m. and 3-4 p.m. starting Thursday, May 13.

We sincerely hope that the extended hours will help professors here at UNC.

iPads @ BearLogic

Did you know that you can buy the new and highly coveted Apple iPad right here on campus?


The iPad is a revolutionary product at an unbelievable price! The iPad is the best way to experience the web, email, photos, and video. There are three demo iPads on display at Bear Logic in the University Center.

During a press conference just 6 days after iPad’s release, the CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs announced that approximately 450,000 iPads had been sold to date. This product is moving off the shelves faster than stores can get hold of them

Their first shipment of iPad’s came in at Bear Logic last Monday and by Tuesday, they were completely sold out.

You can still make it into the store to check out their new renovations to the retail space and the iPad demos. BearLogic is currently waiting for a shipment from Apple that will bring more iPads. They are taking preorders.

Sydney Specht, a senior elementary education major said that she think’s the iPad’s are really cool. “I’d buy one right now if I could!”

Specht also said that she liked the new layout of the store. “It’s organized, clean, and the staff is really knowledgeable.”

If you’re looking to get a great discount on a Mac computer, BearLogic is featuring a Tax Day Sale. Bear Logic will discount in stock Macbooks by more than 6%! The Tax Day Sale will be taking place on April 15th and 16th and includes all in stock Apple computers, Apple Protection Plan and displays. With the purchase of a Mac computer, you will also receive a free HP printer.

Bear Logic is also excited for the release of Adobe Creative Suite CS5 which is expected to be announced later this month.

Certified Apple Sales Associate, Jordan Metcalf, said that the iPad is a great tool for students to use, but feels that it’s important to check the product out before you buy it to make sure it’s the solution for you.

Jordan and the rest of the staff at BearLogic invite students, faculty members and staff to come into the store and check out the new iPads and store layout.

PUT AWAY THE NO. 2 PENCILS, INSTRUCTOR COURSE EVALUATIONS ARE GOING ONLINE!

Students, are you sick and tired of completely filling out the bubbles on the sheets used to get and give instructor feedback? Don’t worry about sharpening that No. 2 pencil because many of the instructor evaluation sheets can now be accomplished online, if your instructor chooses to use the new system. UNC’s IT department will be updating the archaic procedure formally called optical mark recognition, more commonly known as bubble sheets, this spring to a new web technology called EvaluationKIT.

Not all classes will be using this new technology this spring, but it is hoped that by the fall many faculty will begin voluntarily using the online course evaluation application. Not only is this a new and exciting technology, but it is also easier on our environment. Did you know that each year, the colleges and departments of UNC purchase and use approximately 60,000 forms? That’s a lot of paper. Not to mention, someone has to take all of those 60,000 forms and get them scanned… labor intensive and bad for the environment

About two years ago, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CETL) responded to faculty requests and put together a pilot using EvaluationKIT. The pilot proved to be successful and compatible with Banner and Blackboard. Extended Studies, CETL and I.T. are hoping that colleges and departments will voluntarily adopt the use of this new technology.

The majority of the funding for activity this came from the technology fee assessed to students and partially from the Center for Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL).

If you’re a faculty member who is interested in using EvaluationKIT, please contact the representative from your college as listed below:

Clinton Harris                                  College of Education & Behavioral Sciences

Deborah Borelli                               Humanities & Social Sciences

Chris Vegter & Janie Voris              Monfort School of Business

Rebecca Croissant                          Natural & Health Sciences

Monica Coverdale                           Performing & Visual Arts

Colleges and departments who voluntarily use EvaluationKIT will have a lot of benefits. They will no longer have to pay for the OMR forms (bubble sheets), they will receive technical support and pedagogical evaluation assistance by request, they will be assured that only one evaluation will be accepted per enrolled student per course, they will be able to manage their own survey and get direct access to their college and department results only and also be able to provide their students with a common experience.

Let’s simplify things and lend a hand to our environment!

UNC I.T. Helps to Bring Internet to Rural Schools

University of Northern Colorado IT department only supports internet services at UNC, right?


WRONG!

Last year, UNC partnered with CBOCES (the Centennial Board of Cooperative Educational Services) to bring internet to rural school communities such as Kersey, Ault and Gilcrest. CBOCES is an organization which provides cost effective, shared educational services and programs for 15 member school districts located in the Northern Colorado counties of Larimer, Weld, Morgan and Boulder. Their mission is to provide value-added resources that enrich educational opportunities for all students though collaboration.

One of the reasons that UNC’s IT department and Enrollment Management area partnered with CBOCES for this project was to get publicity into schools, promoting UNC and getting their name out to students so it is at the top of their mind as a choice for higher education. The internet service that UNC provides for these schools is called EAGLE-Net and it provides K-12 schools access to Internet 2 which is an education and research network. EAGLE-Net is short for the Educational Access Gateway Learning Environment Network and is a Colorado cost-sharing, non-profit consortium. EAGLE-Net provides educational benefits and services to connected Colorado school districts. UNC’s IT department is enabling the access for a technology-rich and quality education to students in Kersey, Ault and Gilcrest. These students would not be able to connect to Internet 2 without the collaboration and help of UNC and CBOCES.

Antivirus and Firewall Protection for UNC Faculty, Staff and Students at NO ADDITIONAL COST!

Do your personal computer a favor and not only read this blog, but put the information to action! Malware such as viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, adware, bots, zero-day threats and rootkits are just waiting for the opportune moment to strike your personal computer and crash it. Well, don’t worry because UNC’s Information Technology department has your back! You can forget about paying the $49.95 (give or take) to renew the AntiVirus software on your computer and take advantage of the Symantec download that the University is offering at NO ADDITIONAL COST!


UNC’s IT department has recently made Symantec available for download to your personal computer, which will help ward away attacks from nasty malware. Symantec is new AntiVirus software that is now available to faculty, staff and students at UNC on URSA. This new software integrates essential technologies such as antivirus, antispyware, firewall, intrusion prevention, device and application control.

It is important to download this software because it will help protect your personal computer as well as protecting UNC’s network.

To download Symatec to your personal computer, just log into URSA, go to either the employee or student tab, and you will find a link to download this protective software. It gives you a choice to download either 32 or 64 bit, depending on the architecture of your computer. If you are unsure of the artitecture of your computer, go to “My Computer” and then click on“Properties.” It should tell you what type of operating system you have, either 32 or 64 bit.

Be sure to take advantage of Symantec to protect your investment!

Employee Spotlight: Paul Sharp

This week the Information Technology department is spotlighting Paul Sharp. He is the director of client services and his office in the University Center, although he is often found in many other parts of the University of Northern Colorado’s campus. Paul has been working at UNC for more than 25 years. He really enjoys working for IT because he gets to work on a lot of different types of technology. If he could trade jobs with anyone in the world, he would trade with his father because he is retired.



Paul is happily married with 2 kids.

Being a Pilot: A Small Headache for the Greater Good

Chances are that you have been asked to be part of a pilot group at one point or another during your professional career. You may have even refused to take part because you didn’t want to deal with the inconveniences and headaches that participating in a pilot group can bring.

For those of you reading who might not know what a pilot group is, I will explain it now. A pilot group is also referred to as a pilot experiment, a pilot study, or just a pilot. According to Wikipedia, it is basically a small-scale preliminary study conducted before the main research in order to check the feasibility or to improve the design of the research. They are usually put together to avoid time and money being wasted on an inadequately designed project. A pilot is often used to test the design of the full-scale experiment so that adjustments can be made before rolling out the new project. The pilot participants have a vital role in critiquing the design so the design group can then make the changes necessary to make the change as painless as possible.

The IT department is often looking for people to test out new applications or changes to the ones that are already in use. Some of the applications that have been tested in a pilot group before being introduced to the rest of the UNC community include Windows 7, Office 2010, Apple 10.6OS, Internet Explorer 8, Thinapp Software Virtualizations, Grader, Academic Alert, Banner 8 and most recently MidTerm Grades and HP Thin-Clients.

On Friday, it was agreed upon that I would be a part of the HP Thin-Client pilot group. When I came into work this morning, I noticed that something giant and archaic was missing from my desk: my CPU (central processing unit). It was replaced by a smaller piece of equipment that was hiding behind my computer screen and was about the size of a Cheese-It box (regular, not family sized). Excited to be a part of cutting edge technology I tried to log on to my computer. It didn’t work the way that it normally did. Was I frustrated? Not really… Inconvenienced? Maybe just a little. So, I called tech support and they literally came running to my office to show me how it worked. After a two minute tutorial, things began to run smoothly. The tech support group asked me to keep a log of things that I noticed were different or more difficult. They want to know the bad things about Thin-Clients so that they can analyze and fix the problems before they are rolled out to a larger group. At the end of the day, I guess I don’t mind having a couple inconveniencing minutes to help improve a process and save other people from experiencing the same problems. I also really enjoy getting personalized support and learning the system a step ahead of everyone else.

If you’re a person who usually has trouble adapting to new technology, you are the perfect person to participate in a pilot. If you are a person who likes to be a step ahead of your colleagues, you are the perfect person to participate in a pilot. If you are uber-critical about new processes, you are the perfect person to participate in a pilot.

So, next time you are asked to participate in a pilot, say yes! Change can be difficult, but if you participate in a pilot you can help make change a positive thing.