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Faculty and Staff Edition March 2008
IN THIS ISSUE:
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Walk-in IT Help Desk
Visit Austin 103,
a walk-in help facility for faculty and staff. The Walk-in
IT Help Desk staff provide OpScan test grading, one-on-one training and consulting
sessions on computing technologies, as well as access to
equipment and software tools that may not be available
within your departments.
About Tech Digest
ECU Technology
Digest is an electronic publication sent to all
university faculty and staff.
The Digest informs you of
new technologies implemented on campus, upcoming
training opportunities and provides a compilation of
important service announcements about scheduled e-mail,
network, academic and administrative computing
interruptions and downtime.
New topics of interest to
faculty and staff may be added to the Digest in future
issues.
Technology Digest Archives
Student Tech Digest
Check
out the Student
Tech Digest for announcements
that pertain to your
students.
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East Carolina University
209 Cotanche Street
Greenville, NC 27858
Phone: 252.328.9000
www.ecu.edu/itcs
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Get Office 2007 now
ITCS has been supporting Microsoft Office 2007 for over a year now. We are strongly recommending for users to switch to the new Office so that they will benefit from the new features.To request the software, just submit an Office 2007 installation request through the IT Help Desk (328.9866; http://help.ecu.edu).
You can take advantage of a variety of resources to become familiar with the Office 2007 new user interface and added features:
- Enroll in the New Horizons online training program that offers self-paced courses on the new features in Office 2007 applications. If you do not already have a New Horizons account and would like one, fill out the Online Training Form at help.ecu.edu >> Submit Online Request >> The form is located in the Request Software section on the left >> Online Anytime Training - New Horizons.
- Visit the ECU Office 2007 Web site or Microsoft Web site to view helpful tutorials, videos and documentation.
- Be sure to use the help feature located in the upper right hand corner to find the answers to common questions.
Helpful Hint -
Did you know with Office 2007 you can save as a PDF? Now you can create PDFs without purchasing another product directly in Word or Excel. Just download the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS add-in after installing Office 2007 on your computer. |
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SPSS Problem Notification
SPSS Technical Support has recently detected a problem in SPSS 16.0.x whereby modifications are made to an existing data file and the file appears to save, yet the file is missing from the system. This problem can occur if you exit the application without explicitly saving your file first. This problem has been observed when working with larger size data files or saving to a slower device (such as over the network) such that the saving process takes longer than 3 seconds. It is strongly advised that you do not save your files in this manner until the issue is addressed which is slated for the next maintenance release.
SPSS is evaluating the most appropriate solution but until it is available, always save your file explicitly via File->Save or the save toolbar button prior to exiting the application.
If you have any questions or problems, please contact your local SPSS support team (http://support.spss.com/contactus.asp).
SPSS apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused. We are continually striving to improve our communication to our clients. |
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New Smart Classrooms Instructional Videos Online
Faculty teaching in one of ECU's Smart Classrooms can now learn the ins and outs of Smart Classroom technologies from the comfort of their offices. ITCS has produced new instructional videos focusing on:
- classroom hardware,
- SMART sympodiums,
- the control panel interface,
- getting help, and
- additional classroom features
To view the videos, please visit the Smart Classrooms Web site at www.ecu.edu/itcs/smartclassroom and click Training & Tutorials in the left menu.
There are a variety of other options of which you can take advantage to become familiar with Smart Classrooms as well:
- Contact Tony Cooke (cooketo@ecu.edu; 328-9181), Smart Classrooms Coordinator, for one-on-one consulting and training appointments.
- Contact your departmental technology consultants for Smart Classroom tours and support specific to your building. If you're interested in teaching in a building other than that in which your department is housed, touch base with that department's technology consultant as well. He/she will be most familiar with the Smart Classrooms in their building and can help make your teaching experience a smooth one.
- For emergency support, contact the IT Help Desk (328-9866) and a technology consultant will be dispatched quickly to assist you.
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Audience Response Systems
There are many faculty who use Audience Response Systems for their classes here at ECU. Although there is no standard for these systems at ECU, the two most common systems purchased are TurningPoint and iClicker.
Karen Vail-Smith, in the Department of Health Education and Promotion, has been using the Classroom Performance System (CPS) from eInstruction for several years. However, this Fall she will be piloting iTextVote, a system that enables students to use text messaging instead of clickers. She states, “I’ve become increasingly concerned about the cost to the student of using the system we are using. So, I’ve been looking around for something that will do the same thing for little or no cost to the students and think I’ve found it!” As part of the Center for Faculty Excellence “Winning Teaching Styles and Strategies,” workshop series, Vail-Smith will be presenting ”Using A Classroom Response System” on April 8th from 12:30-1:30 pm at 1632 Old Cafeteria Complex. (Register at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/cfe/workshopsSp08.cfm).
Other users of clickers at ECU are Joyner Library which use iClicker for their library staff and classes. EAHEC also has a TurningPoint system with 100 keypads and have been using it for their courses for almost a year. If you are a Health Sciences faculty, staff, or student, Laupus Library has a TurningPoint system that can be loaned to you. The kit includes 50 clickers, a USB receiver, software CD and a laptop with the TurningPoint software installed. Here is the link with more information on their equipment loan program: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-dhs/laupuslibrary/equipmentloanprogram.cfm.
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| ITCS Now Supporting Office 2008 for Mac
ITCS is now supporting Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac. To view system requirements, a list of some of the new features offered and version details, please visit the ECU Office 2008 Web site at: www.ecu.edu/itcs/mac/Office-2008-FAQs.cfm.
Once you feel comfortable upgrading, you can submit an Office 2008 installation request through the IT Help Desk (328.9866; help.ecu.edu).
NOTE: ITCS is continuing to test Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard. Once we have determined its compatibility with key campus applications and other software products, we will update the university community and announce support. |
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Friendly Reminders from IT Security
Account Termination Policy
If you are a supervisor, you are responsible for removing computer access for an employee who transfers from your department or terminates from the university. Please review the Account Termination Policy on the ITCS website. The purpose of this policy is to ensure the timely revocation of user’s access to core IT resources prior to the employee’s transfer or termination date. The supervisor must submit a service request to ITCS by telephone at 328-9866 or by the online system at https://help.ecu.edu. Select and complete the “Account Termination Request” under the Online Forms section. All information will be verified before revoking the terminated employee’s account access.
Recent Email Scams
The “IRS NOTICE“ and the “VERIFY YOUR EDU WEBMAIL ACCOUNT NOW” are yet more email scams circulating across campus. ITCS reminds you to be alert for email scams, hoaxes and phishing schemes. The IRS NOTICE phishing scheme requests recipients to click on a link to access a form for a tax refund. In reality, taxpayers claim their tax refunds through the filing of an annual tax return, not a separate application form. In the second scam, the email appears to be from East Carolina University but is not. Please do not respond to an email to verify your ECU account information.
-The IRS does not ask for personal identifying or financial information via unsolicited e-mail. Additionally, taxpayers do not have to complete a special form to obtain a refund.
-ECU ITCS will NEVER ask you to send your password to them.
-NEVER provide account information, password and other personal identifying information in reply to an email.
-DO NOT click on the link in the email.
-Always confirm the source of requests for personal information by verifying and typing the website link directly in your web browser or calling the business (IRS) or department (ITCS) directly.
Emailing SSN
The ECU Policy on Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and Personal Identifying Information (PII) states “SSNs or PII may not be sent electronically (by e-mail or otherwise) unless such data is encrypted”. ECUID has replaced SSN as the University’s unique identifier, therefore most documents and forms no longer require SSN. Review documents and forms within your department and replace SSN with ECUID wherever appropriate. Do not send SSN unencrypted over email. Contact the University Helpdesk at 328-9866 for information concerning encryption options. Please visit the SSN Resource web site http://www.ecu.edu/ssnresource/ for answers to questions concerning the appropriate use of SSN at ECU. You may also direct questions to the University Identity Theft Protection Committee (ITPC) at ITPC@ecu.edu.
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Microsoft Vista at ECU
Friendly reminder:
Currently, ITCS is NOT supporting Windows Vista or Internet Explorer 7 for faculty and staff computers due to compatibility issues with key ECU applications.
Faculty who would like to have Vista available in departmental computer labs should contact their respective computer lab administrators.
More information: www.ecu.edu/itcs/vista
NOTE: Faculty and staff who would like to upgrade their Microsoft Office suite to 2007 can submit a service request through the IT Help Desk at 328-9866 or http://help.ecu.edu. |
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