Information Management Newsletter for Block 7, 2006
The Information Management Newsletter is a periodic publication during the academic year to keep the community informed about developments in information technology on campus.

We will announce publication of a new issue via divisional listservs and campus digests. If you aren't subscribed to one of these lists and would like to receive an e-mail notifying you when a new issue is published, please send your request to mbrenceaustin@coloradocollege.edu

Related Links

Password policy
Help Desk web site

In this Issue:

Listserv Changes

You may have noticed that we implemented an upgrade to our listserv software which enabled us to send out Digests in a much improved HTML format with clickable headlines!  Many folks with Outlook 2003 are happily using this new format.  However, it does not work very well with older versions of Outlook or other email clients you may be using. 

The Help Desk would be happy to upgrade you to Outlook 2003 if you wish. Simply give them a call at x6449. The differencein email clients is not substantial and your respective technology specialist or your friendly Help Desk staff would be happy to show you what is different and help you through the small adjustments.

Alternately, here is a link to a detailed instruction page for switching your Digest settings so that you may view it in the "old" format:  http://helpdesk.coloradocollege.edu/index.php/tips-and-how-to/listservs/switching-digests-back-to-the-old-format/.

Sensitive Data Usage Guidelines

Many of you may already be aware of the growing number of data security breaches at other higher educational institutions around the country. These institutions have had the unpleasant experience of having to recover from unwanted publicity as a result of lost personal identity information. To support the mission of the college, we work with and retain computerized information relating to our employees and students. Some of this information is private and confidential and considered to be sensitive data. Examples of sensitive data include but are not limited to social security numbers, credit card numbers, passwords, or other private personal information. To help prevent a similar type of incident from happening at Colorado College, there are some simple guidelines that everyone should follow:

  1. Understand the nature of the data you are working with. If you are unclear as to whether the data you are working with should be considered confidential, ask your supervisor or department chair.
  2. Sensitive or confidential information should ONLY be stored on central ITS managed server systems. Sensitive or confidential information should not be stored on departmental servers, desktops, laptops, USB memory sticks, or other removable media. These other computers/devices tend to reside in less secure locations, and can easily be lost or stolen. The only exception to this should be if you have a business case to use the data in this way, with the expressed consent of the department supervisor/chair and the VP of Information Management. In such cases, the user is encouraged to work with ITS to encrypt all data so that in the event of loss, the data will be unreadable.
  3. Access to the computers that retrieve this data should be restricted (i.e., automatic screensavers that lock the workstation, locked offices).
  4. Access to this sensitive data stored on servers should be restricted to only those individuals with an official need to access the data.
  5. Sensitive data should be transmitted across the network in a secure manner (i.e., encrypted using SSL).
  6. Copies of sensitive or confidential data should be limited to as few servers as possible.
  7. Any accidental disclosure or suspected misuse of sensitive or confidential data should be reported immediately to your supervisor or department chair.

It is crucial that everyone take a moment to evaluate what electronic data they work with in their role at the college and understand the ramifications of lost or stolen confidential data. If you have any questions, or would like to find out more about how to better protect the data you work with, click on the resource links below, or call the Help Desk at x6449.

Resource Links:
http://www.sans.org
http://www.cert.org http://helpdesk.coloradocollege.edu

Farewell, CC Modem Pool

We've discussed the aging (and failing) CC modem pool in previous newsletters, but with its retirement date looming (May 23, 2006), we wanted to share a reminder with the CC community. As we review the modem pool usage logs, we can see that fewer and fewer people are relying on the modem pool, but we wanted to encourage the remaining dial-up subscribers to make alternate plans before commencement.  We know how very difficult it is to retire a service that some still find valuable, but we hope you will understand that we cannot sustain a dial-up service nearly as well as a dedicated commercial Internet Service Provider can.

If you'd like to review more detailed information about this decision, and see some information about alternatives to the CC modem pool, please review our newsletter articles from March 2005 and November 2005. ITS colleagues will be happy to consult with you about viable alternatives based upon your home networking needs.  And one no-cost option (advertisements subsidize this service) is NetZero; scroll down to the bottom of this link for a more detailed description of this free service: http://account.netzero.net/s/landing?action=viewCategory&categoryId=iso.

Printing Costs Spiraling Upwards

The printers in the libraries, in the residence halls, and in the public computer labs have been working overtime this year; some public printers have seen a 50% increase in printing volume compared to last year.  Students have been collectively averaging over 200,000 printed pages per block!  While it's true that many more resources are available electronically, and that many students print responsibly, it's also true that there are a tremendous number of unclaimed print jobs, and that funding is very limited for replacing printers, wear and tear, toner cartridges, and paper.

For the past two years, the Information Technology Policy Board, in collaboration with colleagues from the Business Office, Tutt Library, and Information Management, has been studying this issue.  Particularly when faced with tight fiscal constraints and the ethos of our core value for campus sustainability, it seems wise to explore print-monitoring or pay-for-printing options to reduce waste and control costs.  Stay tuned for more information, as the Information Technology Policy Board hopes to prepare a recommendation by its Block 8 meeting.

CC's First Faculty Showcase - A Success!


On March 10th, the Dean's Office, the Faculty Crown Center, and Academic Technology Services held CC's first-ever Faculty Instructional Technology Showcase.  The event was a huge success!

The event opened with an intriguing lunch presentation by Paul Hagner from the Educause Learning Initiative on the challenges of teaching the “net generation” of students.  Then 29 CC faculty presented posters about how they have integrated instructional technology into their teaching and learning strategies (see the faculty roster below). Information about each presentation can be found on the ATS website at: http://acad.coloradocollege.edu/ats/showcase/index.php.

We look forward to expanding and enhancing the Faculty Showcase event for 2008!

Faculty Poster Presentations:

Chris Alstrin - Student Digital Video
Ofer Ben-Amots - Digital Music Composition
Nate Bower - Climate & Facilities Data Analysis
Jonathan Bredin - Wikis
Shane Burns - Computational Physics Lab
George Butte - Analyzing Film Scenes
Lief Carter/Jonathan Lee - Multimedia DVD Textbook Emily Chan - Internet Surveys for Student Research
Lori Driscoll - Scripting Language for Lab Experiments
Joan Ericson - PDAs for Learning Japanese
Aju Fenn - Teaching with Tablets PCs
John Horner - SPSS & Student Research Design
Dan Johnson - Analyzing Patent Data with GIS
Keith Kester - Using PROWL
Kristine Lang - Classroom Performance System
Eric Leonard - GIS Student and Research Projects
Bob Loevy - Online Photo Tutorials
Charlotte Mendoza - TaskStream
Sally Meyer - Energy 10
Mario Montano - Multimedia Web Portfolios
Esther Redmount - Classroom Management Software
Wade Roberts - Using PROWL
Tom Sanny - Digital Film Studies
Kris Stanec - Digital Storytelling
Daryll Stevens - Online Music Reserves
Alistaire Tallent - Online French Exercises
David Torres-Rouff - Web Portfolios
Miles White - Digitally Analyzing Movement
John Williams - Documenting 20th Century China

Save The Date! Faculty Digital Video Institute
June 7 - 9, 2006

Academic Technology Services is excited to announce our next Digital Video Faculty Institute for June 7-9, 2006!

Faculty attending the institute will have the opportunity explore:

  • Digital video filming techniques, strategies and checklists for faculty and students
  • Digital video editing, using iMovie
  • DVD creation, using iDVD
  • Digital video and multimedia narratives for teaching and student projects

Faculty institutes are 2-3 day sessions, revolving around instructional technology practices that require an extended period of time to explore.  Please RSVP to Millie Brence-Austin (mbrenceaustin@coloradocollege.edu).