The Campus Technology Support Group

Welcome

to the Fall 2005 issue of @IllinoisState.edu! In this digital newsletter you will find news and information, helpful tips, useful Web site addresses, reminders, explanations, whatever it takes to help you keep up to date with the changes to the technology landscape on campus. The units that make up the Campus Technology Support Group want this to be a timely and useful source of information on campus technology. Let us know if there is additional information you would find helpful.

- Mark Walbert

National Cyber Security Awareness Month — October 2005

Working in collaboration with our government and industry partners, National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) is sponsoring National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October 2005. Our mission for this initiative is to raise awareness of cyber security so that users improve their cyber security preparedness. The National Cyber Security Awareness Month will feature fun, educational programs, events and initiatives throughout the month targeting Home Users, Small Businesses, Education audiences (K-12 and higher education), and Child Safety online. We invite you to participate in the National Cyber Security Awareness Month programs so be on the lookout for more information as we approach October. In the meantime check out the Top Ten Security Tips for more information on keeping your computer safe from hackers. For more information contact NCSARon@aol.com

Posting Grades

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, commonly known as FERPA, is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student educational records. As defined by this Act, student educational records include scores and grades assigned to students during the course of the semester. This Online Tutorial will inform you about two ways in which you may notify students about grades in a manner compliant with FERPA.

Campus Technology News — Fall 2005

Do you know how to contact the University Computer Help Desk? Did you know that CAT and FTSS have merged to form the Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology? Do you know how to get your logon password reset? Or how to reset it yourself? Do you know where the wireless access points are on campus?

If you'd like to know the answer to these and a long list of other questions related to the use of information technology at Illinois State, read this Fall's Campus Technology News .

Web Support

By Alex Skorpinski

While more widespread concern over issues of Web accessibility are now being raised in the corporate world, Institutional Web Support has addressed these concerns since the department’s inception.

Still, while concern is being raised over accessibility issues, many remain unclear on what accessibility actually entails. Some Web designers equate issues of accessibility with providing access to individuals with disabilities. While providing a usable interface for screen readers and other sort of assistive technology is crucial to maintaining accessible Web space, addressing users with disabilities is only one aspect of total Web accessibility.

The focus of accessibility lies in creating a usable interface for a wide variety of users, regardless of the hardware, software, or other technology they may employ. Creating an alternate style sheets for different mediums (screen, print, handhelds, even projectors), accounting for a wide variety of browsers and plug-ins, even considering the differences in user’s monitor resolutions all falls within the realm of accessible design features.

Though there is a difference between accessibility and designing for users with disabilities, one benefit of the accessible approach to design is taking care of one almost necessarily addresses the other. Designing a site with blind and low-vision users in mind will account for a smooth page layout, dynamic text sizing, and lays the groundwork for implementing an alternate style sheet for printed Web pages.

Initially designing for accessibility may take some changes in the way you may approach creating a Web site. However, just a few small changes to the design process and testing phase of site creation will drastically improve the way users can interact with your site.

IWSS will work for food.
WGLT sent the staff of IWSS a basket of designer cookies as a thank you gift for their new Web site, www.wglt.org.

 

TechZone Computer Nights

by David Greenfield
Director, STSS

For those recommending or making personal purchases, TechZone hosted three special computer nights at the end of April (see schedule below).  The events were specifically targeted to Fall 2005 entering freshmen but all were welcome.  University staff will be available to address technology needs for those students and parents that wish to get a head start on computers before summer Preview.  As a reminder, for the Fall semester, all entering students are required to bring a computer with them.

The nights had representatives from University Departments to talk about computing on campus and each of the TechZone Partner Vendors (Apple, Dell, IBM, GovConnection, Insight Refurbished Computers) had staff who could answer specific technology questions.  We will be announcing specially priced computer bundles and will have information on how to get Microsoft Office Professional for only $75.  We had some great prizes for drawings too.

Dell News

by David Greenfield
Director, STSS

New Dell Phone Rep
We have a new inside sales rep, Dominick Florez.  Dominick while new to higher education is an experienced Dell employee.  We have met with Dominick to give him a jump start on Illinois State needs and and we look forward to him servicing our account.  You can contact Andy in TechZone for your Dell needs or contact Dominick directly at:
Email: dominick_florez@dell.com
phone: 800-274-7799 x7245393

Dell Laptop Batteries

Many people don't realize that most laptop batteries have a shorter lifespan than the laptop itself.  Over time, you will notice a shorter and shorter charge.  Dell batteries are warranted for a year and are usually rated at about 300 cycles.  Many Latitude laptops purchased when the D-series was introduced two years ago are probably about due for a new battery.  With our Dell partnership, we are announcing a special deal to get additional batteries for only $50 each (a huge savings!)  We expect this offer will continue for the foreseeable future and is also available for personal purchases.  Contact TechZone for more information.

Fiber Upgrades

by Bill Blomgren
Director, Telecommunications & Networking

Telecommunications and Networking has been busy upgrading optical fiber pathways to all of their major switching centers to accommodate increased demand for services. One of the new services being delivered over this new optical fiber will be a major upgrade of the residence hall cable television system. This cable television upgrade will being more than 70 cable television channels to the University residence halls and will be undertaken by University Housing Services in July of this year. Telecommunications and Networking is also working on new optical fiber pathways for an improved fire alarm reporting system. This work is part of a system upgrade plan being conducted by Facilities Management and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.

Telecommunications and Networking has literally hundreds of strand miles of optical fiber install throughout the campus to support the many voice, data and video needs of the University community. Optical fiber is as small as a human hair but can carry tremendous quantities of data. One strand of optical fiber can transport hundreds of television channels and thousands of telephone calls and millions of pieces of data. Splicing an optical fiber the size of a human hair requires very specialized equipment and highly trained staff.

University Residential Modem Pool Ended MAY 20, 2005

by Bill Blomgren
Director, Telecommunications & Networking

As previously announced, all University supported residential dial up modem pool service ended on May 20, 2005. The modem pool telephone number of 438-8210 and all modem pool hardware will be disabled and removed from service. All users of the University modem pool will need to transition to a new service provider of their choice prior to May 20, 2005. Remember, it is your responsibility to contact a new Internet service provider if want to continue to have Internet access. More information on Internet service providers that offer modem pool service is available on the University Help Desk web site.

Regardless of which service provider you select, it will be necessary for you to install and use the Cisco Virtual Private Network (VPN) client to access certain network resources of the University. For more information on our VPN, visit the University Help Desk web site or contact them at 438-4357.

Web URL address change

Please update any bookmarks you may have for Telecommunications and Networking as they have changed their address to http://www.telecom.ilstu.edu.

End Notes: Did You Know?