Information Management Newsletter for Block 1, 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

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In this Issue:

Greetings from the Help Desk

In an effort to be more accessible and provide longer service, we've extended our hours of operation until midnight for many nights of the week.  From Sunday, beginning at 3:00 pm and ending at midnight, as well as from 6pm until midnight, Monday through Thursday, at least one staff member will be on hand at the Tutt Library to answer any questions or help out with computer problems that might arise.  If you'd like computer assistance, please visit the Help Desk outpost, currently located in front of the CAT Lab, but which will eventually be relocating to our more permanent base of operations in the basement of the library.  Questions?  Comments?  We welcome either and both!  Just drop us a line at x6449 or email us at helpdesk@coloradocollege.edu. 

Welcoming David White to the Help Desk

Please join us in welcoming our new PC User Support Specialist, David White!

David is a Colorado Springs native who has moved back to his hometown after graduating from Sonoma State University. He is very bright, very good with computers, and (most importantly) very friendly. He has already proven to be a highly valuable member of the Help Desk team, and we guarantee you'll enjoy working with him as much as we have!

Bradford Campus Manager

Bradford Campus Manager is a newly installed product which will confirm a computer's readiness to connect to our campus network. From August 26 – September 4, 2006, nearly every student on campus connected her or his computer to the campus network and was asked to go through a very simple web registration process which verified current operating system updates and virus definitions. Only after passing these tests was the computer allowed on the network. Students who had out-of-date operating systems or virus definitions were directed to websites which assist in correcting these issues. We expect to see a decrease in virus and security problems with this new implementation; it will also assist us in locating and fixing trouble quickly. If you have any questions or comments regarding this product, please email the Network & Systems Services Team at nsg@coloradocollege.edu.

GoPrint

GoPrint is a print monitoring or “Pay for Print” solution recently installed in the Colorado College computer labs and in Tutt Library. Why? The number one reason is that GoPrint reduces waste and promises to help our community be more sustainable and responsible in terms of its printing habits. More than 1.5 million pages were printed last year in the labs and the library, much of which was left unclaimed. In an effort to reduce waste, curb printing costs, and increase sustainability, the Information Technology Policy Board decided to implement this GoPrint solution over the summer in order to begin using it this fall. After some initial printer glitches, we expect it to be fully functional by mid-September. Institutions who have brought in similar products have seen about 25-50% reduction in waste, even before possibly charging for print jobs! Currently, CC is NOT charging for printing, but rather is using GoPrint as a means to simply encourage the community to really view how much they are printing. If you have any questions or comments regarding this installation, please email the Network & Systems Services Team at nsg@coloradocollege.edu.

Academic Technology Specialist for Students

Academic Technology Services (ATS) wants to let you know about an internal position change and hiring process that is currently underway for the ATS team. 

Over the past few years, Academic Technology Services (ATS) has identified a growing need for comprehensive academic computing support aimed
specifically at students. In order to better meet this need, ATS has redefined its Lab Services Coordinator position as an Academic Technology Specialist for Students position.

This position is complementary to the other divisional academic technology specialist positions (currently held by Justin Pohlmann, Peggy Quinn, and Sarah Withee).  The divisional specialists work with/on behalf of faculty academic technology needs.  The Academic Technology Specialist for Students will work similarly with/on behalf of student academic technology needs (technical, pedagogical, and fluency-related).  The person in this role will also work closely and collaboratively with the other academic support professionals in the Library and Learning Commons.

ATS is very excited about this shift to better meet all the support needs on the spectrum of teaching and learning with technology!  The full position announcement can be viewed on the HR web site here: http://www.coloradocollegehr.org/currentopenings_list.php?selType=2&id=317&action=view.

ATS has been able to accomplish this shift without additional funding or growth in our staff.  If you have any questions, or would like to talk about the position further, please don't hesitate to contact Marla Gerein at mgerein@coloradocollege.edu.

ATS Fall Faculty Curriculum

Join ATS, the Library, and the Learning Commons for some great teaching and learning with technology training options this fall semester!

If you are interested in participating in any of the sessions listed below, please RSVP to your academic technology specialist:

Tools of the Discipline Luncheon Series
Part of the Library Lunch 'n Learn Schedule – Sponsored by the Crown Faculty Center

Join ATS, the Library, and the Learning Commons staff for lunch and be inspired by projects, techniques, and approaches used faculty here at CC and beyond!

  • Luncheon:  Focus on Natural Science Projects/Tools of the Disciplines
    ATS, Tutt Library, the Writing Center and the Quantitative Reasoning Center
    Thur. Oct. 19; noon; TLC 3
    RSVP by Oct. 16
  • Luncheon: Focus on Social Science Projects/ Tools of the Disciplines
    ATS, Tutt Library, the Writing Center and the Quantitative Reasoning Center
    Thur. Nov. 16; noon; TLC 3
    RSVP by Nov. 13
  • Luncheon: Focus on Humanities Projects/ Tools of the Disciplines
    ATS, Tutt Library, the Writing Center and the Quantitative Reasoning Center
    Thur. Dec. 14; noon; TLC 3
    RSVP by Dec. 11

Hands-On Instructional Technology Training Sessions

  • Prowl  - CC's Learning Management System
    Finally!  A tool that allows you to create web-based, interactive course content easily without knowing HTML or having web design skills!  PROWL is CC's implementation of Moodle, a learning or course management system like Blackboard or WebCT, but more suited to a liberal arts environment.
    • PROWL Basics (1.5 hours)
      RSVPs due by the Thursday before each session.
      Learn how to create an online course presence, upload class documents and resources, and create threaded discussion boards.  Attendees of this session will receive a “Quick Start” guide as well as a complete “Moodle at CC” manual.
        • Mon. Oct. 2 – 1 p.m. – Palmer 2
        • Mon. Nov. 6 – 3 p.m. – Palmer 2
    • PROWL Bells and Whistles (1.5 hours)
      RSVPs due by the Thursday before each session.
      Learn more about PROWL's activity features including: assignments, quizzes, blogs, journals, the database module and more!  Attendees should have a basic knowledge of PROWL, and will receive the complete “Moodle at CC” manual.
        • Mon. Oct. 9 – 3 p.m. – Palmer 2
        • Mon. Nov. 13 – 3 p.m. – Palmer 2
  • Interactive Poster Session: Scanning, Printing, PDF-ing, and Poster Printing
    (2 hours – come and go)
    Tues. Oct. 3 – 1 p.m. – Keck GIS Commons (Palmer 1)
    RSVP by Sept. 29
    Visiting interactive demonstration and how-to stations for all your digitization and specialized printing needs!  Hand-outs and documentation will be provided.
  • Map Making (2 hours)
    Tues. October. 17 – 1 p.m. – Keck GIS Commons (Palmer 1)
    RSVP by Oct. 13
    Learn how to create effective maps from existing GIS files and data sources.
  • Faculty Templates and Student Projects Using Contribute (3 hours)
    Tues. Nov. 7 – 1-4 p.m. – Barnes PC Lab
    RSVP by Nov. 3
    ATS has created a series of web templates that faculty can choose to use to quickly produce a professional-looking web presence for their  or their students' scholarly work and interests.  We will introduce attendees to these templates and faculty will learn the basics of how to use Macromedia Contribute to easily add and update content to these pages.  Contribute allows faculty and students with little or no web design experience to quickly modify and enhance their web presence and significantly reduces the “learning curve” involved, as compared to using other software packages such as Dreamweaver or FrontPage.
  • Digital Audio Editing (3 hours)
    Tues. Nov. 14 – 1 p.m. – Keck Humanities Lab (3rd Floor Armstrong)
    RSVP by 10
    Learn how to record & edit digital audio files for use in teaching and learning.
  • Interactive Learning Environments (3 hours)
    Tues. Nov. 28 – 1 p.m. – Barnes PC Lab
    RSVP by Nov. 22
    Explore the use of classroom or lab-based technology tools that can enhance group learning environments.  CC's classroom performance system (CPS), or “clicker system,” is an eInstruction toolset that can promote an interactive and engaging learning environment for students with a variety of learning styles, and increase participation.  Vision is a lab management system that allows faculty to see what's happening on all student computers, take “control” of a student machine, share what's happening on a student screen by projecting it at the front of the class, and more.