Spam Filtering Now Available for Students
by Rick Nichols
A major step in reducing junk email messages (spam) to MyWestern has recently been released for Western students. This robust spam filtering software product, called DSPAM, promises to greatly minimize the amount of spam reaching student desktops.
Right now, only the most obvious spam is removed from students’ My Western email. Although this removes about 30% of spam for most students, it still allows much to get through. Students can now easily activate a higher level of spam filtering from within the MyWestern mail web page. Activation means that mail that is identified as potential spam is sent to a new Quarantine folder in MyWestern mail. Once activated, students can then block junk email messages that are mistakenly delivered to their Inboxes by identifying them as ‘blacklist’ items and can also ‘whitelist’ good messages that inadvertently get delivered into their Quarantine folder.
It is possible to turn spam filtering on and off from within the MyWestern mail interface itself. There is a button in the left frame of the main mail page that will easily switch this setting. This area of your MyWestern mail also has a link to Western’s “Say No To Spam” page with more information about how to manage your spam.
Faculty who use Titan for email can also take advantage of the spam filtering capabilities offered by DSPAM by using web-based Squirrel Mail to access their email accounts (this is the equivalent of student use of My Western web mail). Squirrel Mail is available at www.mywestern.wwu.edu. Faculty members can take advantage of more robust Outlook/Exchange spam filtering by sending their mail to Outlook to take advantage of the spam filtering there, then having the mail forwarded to Titan. Contact the ATUS Help Desk at 650-3333 for details.
Poster Design and Printing Available for Faculty
Rochelle Parry
Many faculty members utilize large format color posters to represent the results of ongoing research at conference poster sessions and similar events. Large-format academic poster printing is available to faculty and staff through the ATUS Graphics Services office, with only a small fee for materials. Whether you have a specific idea for a poster design already in mind or come in with a blank slate, we can help you lay out your poster in an aesthetically pleasing display.
See some of our poster examples.
Things to keep in mind when designing a poster:
- Ultimate Use - Will this poster travel? How will it be displayed? How durable does it need to be? How far away will the audience be?
- Size - Sometimes determined by Ultimate Use. If you want your display made durable by mounting it to poster board or foam core, keep in mind that while poster size is limited only by large format paper width (40"), mounting materials come in limited sizes (32" x 40" is the max). Posters can be sliced into sections if necessary for travel.
- Cost - Our printing cost is $2.50 per linear foot lengthwise, so a 30" x 40" poster would cost about $7.50. The cost of mounting materials, if used, will also be added. Charges to departmental accounts and personal checks are accepted.
Facts about our Large Format Printing:
- The inks used on the posters are not waterproof, or even water resistant. They are water soluble. In our wet weather, this can be disastrous for transporting a poster. While we can provide a plastic bag, please use care during wet weather.
- We can laminate up to 11" wide printouts. For laminating a larger print, please contact Publishing Services.
- Trimming: We will trim your poster to your specifications. For instance, all posters will print with a 1" white border around all sides. A “borderless” effect can be accomplished by manually trimming each side.
If you require design assistance, please allow a five-day turnaround in addition to time for proofreading and revisions. During certain times, especially around the end of the quarter, both staff and the printer can be very busy. Please schedule as far in advance as possible.
Please prepare your text and images in an editable computer file format, either on CD, zip disk or a memory stick. If you choose to prepare your own file, the preferable software is Adobe Illustrator or Adobe InDesign. Powerpoint is another popular choice, although it is not recommended for posters with large amounts of text.
Contact Rochelle at 650-2998 or rochelle.parry@wwu.edu.
Collaborative Classroom Available Beginning Fall 2006
Kris Bulcroft
As of Fall quarter 2006, Bond Hall 419 will be available for general university use as a new collaborative classroom space. This is a wonderful opportunity for faculty to try new collaborative approaches to teaching, as well as to work with colleagues on similar innovative approaches to student learning.
The room, which will seat a maximum of 36 students, has been fully renovated and is now mediated at Level 4. The tablet-arm chairs currently in use will be replaced by round tables and comfortable moveable chairs designed to be easily moved into a variety of configurations to meet individual teaching needs. This more innovative learning space is designed especially to facilitate group collaboration, increased faculty-student interaction, and integration of technology.
Faculty may request Bond Hall 419 for next year beginning in mid-February 2006 by contacting Troy Ragsdale in the Registrar’s Office, Troy.Ragsdale@wwu.edu. Further information on collaborative teaching can be obtained by contacting the author at kris.bulcroft@wwu.edu.
Computer Lab Schedules now Online
Current schedules for general university computer labs can now be viewed on the web anywhere, anytime.
The web page www.wwu.edu/labschedule provides a view of the same weekly schedule documents we have been posting in the labs and hallways of academic buildings. After the schedule comes up, click on the tabs at the bottom of the page to see the schedule for each particular lab.
Expect weekly updates to the lab schedules, occurring on Friday afternoons, and please tell all your friends.
The individual lab schedules are created in Outlook, then the info is “mined” and formatted with an Excel macro. We then simply save the Excel file as a web page to be posted at the website.
We’d be happy to include your departmental labs on this schedule to create further convenience for students and faculty looking for lab space. Contact Nancy Grayum to discuss the possibilities, 650-3572.
ATUS Launches Sharepoint Workgroup Collaboration
John Farquhar
Beginning this winter quarter, ATUS is launching Microsoft Sharepoint Services as a tool for workgroup collaboration. This web-based tool can provide your office with an effective and secure method for collaborating and communicating.
Sharepoint services include individually controlled access to shared files, discussion boards, tasks and contacts, as well as document versioning. As the owner of a Sharepoint site, you will have control to grant read or write permissions to any faculty or staff member here at Western. And because of Sharepoint’s integration with Outlook, granting access to your Sharepoint site is as easy as sending an email.
When Extended Education and Summer Programs (EESP) was looking for a method to share documents, reports, and policies among off-campus employees, they turned to Sharepoint, because it provided the necessary security in a user-friendly and flexible environment. The off-campus workgroup members login to the website using their Western Universal Username and Password. When new members of the team are hired, they are easily added to the Sharepoint site and are then informed that they have access to the workgroup space.
Beyond the file-sharing capabilities described above, Sharepoint features web-based tools such as discussion boards and announcements for workgroups in much the same way that Blackboard provides these tools for classes. Although faculty should continue to use Blackboard to support their instruction, workgroups that have been using Blackboard for communications should strongly consider switching to Sharepoint. The new Sharepoint tool is for workgroups is optimized for users of Outlook, while Blackboard is most accessible through the student portal, MyWestern. Below is a table describing the differences and similarities between Sharepoint and Blackboard.
ATUS has scheduled presentations on Sharepoint throughout the winter term. Please click for registration. For online demonstrations of Sharepoint, go to www.microsoft.com and search for: SharePoint Services Demos. If you simply want to get started with this tool, let Web Services know of your interest by calling 650-6355.
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SHAREPOINT |
BLACKBOARD |
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Web-based Collaboration
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Yes
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Yes
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Authenticated Access via University Username
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Yes
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Yes
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Access Controlled
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By Site Owner
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Through Automated Enrollment
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Principle Audience
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Faculty & Staff
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Students
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Discussion Board
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Yes
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Yes
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File Sharing
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Yes
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Yes
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Announcements
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Yes
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Yes
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Tasks
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Yes
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Yes
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Outlook Integration
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Yes
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No
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Instsructional Tools such as Assignments & Gradebooks
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No
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Yes
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Do you Have the Latest Office Software? Linc Nesheim
Early last year, Western was donated over 2,000 licenses for the latest version of Microsoft’s Office 2003 application suite. Since that time all general university labs and classrooms have been updated to Office 2003. Also, all new Dell and Gateway workstation purchases have been delivered with Office 2003 pre-installed and every Western faculty and staff member has had the ability to install this suite on their existing workstation.
How do I update?
You can check if you are running Office 2003 by selecting the “About” item in the Help menu of Word, Excel, or Outlook. If it doesn’t say 2003, we encourage you to upgrade.
To upgrade, you must be logged into the campus network with your Universal ID. Once you have logged in, look for the WWU Applications’ icon on your desktop. Double-click this icon; double-click the ‘All’ icon; then double-click the Office 2003 Pro Full’ icon. The installer will automatically update your system to the most recent version. This process may take 10-15 minutes depending on the speed of your computer.
Why should I upgrade?
Among the many advantages of Office 2003 are:
- Access to advanced desktop anti-spam features within Outlook 2003
- Outlook 2003 also provides search folders, desktop email alerts and side-by-side calendars
- Word 2003 adds editing and formatting lockdown features, including the ability to lock down portions of Word documents to prevent editing
- Publisher 2003 (a desktop publishing solution)
Office 2003 is also offered free to faculty and staff for work-related use on home workstations. Contact ATUS Software Services, 650-3159 to check out media for working at home.
For a complete review of the advantages of upgrading to Office 2003, visit the Microsoft Office 2003 website.
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Enhancements to Web Forms
Bob Schneider
Administrative Computing Services has released Version 2 of Web Forms, providing major improvements to E-sign forms.
The E-sign upgrade includes new features that address many of the comments and suggestions received by Western employees to improve the product. While the look and feel of the e-forms is primarily the same, some significant changes were made:
File Attachment Capability — Files, including Word, Excel, etc., can be attached to the E-sign form, just like an attached document in e-mail. These attachments will circulate with the form for approvals and routing. The attachment will be permanently stored on the server with the form.
E-mail Address Validation — The e-mail address entered in the “To” field of the E-form authentication box will now be verified against the Outlook Global Address List and the Banner E-mail address. This will prevent accidental misspelling of an e-mail address and will ensure an “official” WWU e-mail address is used.
Disapprove a Form — Approvers will now be able to disapprove an electronic e-sign form request. The status of approval or disapproval of the form will appear on the signature line. In addition, an auto generated e-mail response will inform the submitter via e-mail that the form was disapproved.
Faster Inbox — The inbox will display all E-sign forms waiting for approval within seconds. The previous version took minutes to display.
Forms Finder Speed Improved — The speed of locating forms via “Forms Finder” has been significantly improved.
Many other system features were implemented that are not readily visible but which have improved security, providing expanded error logging/reporting and simplified maintenance.
Administrative Computing Services thanks everyone who contributed suggestions for improvements. Comments or questions about the new Web Form may be sent by e-mail to grp.its.admcs.admhelp@wwu.edu.
Faculty Input Enhances Classroom Teaching Podium
As most faculty members know, all Level 4 mediated classrooms have a podium that is used to house and control teaching technologies. The Academic Technology Committee of the Faculty Senate (ATC) recently provided faculty input that allowed for significant refinement of the classroom podium. These refinements will be implemented in all classroom renovations completed during the current biennium, as well as in the new Academic Instruction Center.
A Brief History of the Electronic
Teaching Podium at Western
At least four versions of the electronic teaching podium for mediated classrooms exist at Western. In the mid-to-late 1990’s, media equipment was built into large fixed tables in the middle of classroom teaching space; examples of this original version are found in the Science Lecture building and in lecture classrooms in Haggard Hall. Many faculty members complained that these podia took up far too much teaching space at the front of classrooms, leading to design of a much smaller electronic podium for classrooms renovated after 1999.
The smaller footprint of this newer podium has remained relatively unchanged to this day. That is, newer podia have a small body for housing media equipment that is fixed to the floor, with folding shelves at each side allowing extra space for storage of both faculty teaching materials and a document camera. Examples of this type of podium can be seen in classrooms throughout Miller Hall, Humanities, Environmental Sciences, and Old Main. This original small podium design was enhanced during construction of Communications Building classrooms, with the addition of more internal storage space and a larger surface area for holding faculty materials. Following copious feedback from faculty members using the sixteen new Communications Building classrooms, ergonomic enhancements were made to the small podium for installations in fourteen classrooms in the newly renovated Bond Hall. Improvements made in the Bond Hall podium design included addition of a full-function remote control and wireless mouse, provision of a USB connection on the desktop monitor, and connections for laptops and other devices accessible on the top of the podium.
ATC Recommends Further Refinements
Western’s Academic Technology Committee received a charge from the Faculty Senate to review the latest podium design and recommend refinements to best meet faculty teaching needs. ATUS received many excellent suggestions for podium refinement and is implemented the following twelve enhancements in all future podium installations:
Laminated instructions will be provided at each podium, including instructions on the operation of all equipment.
Podium side flaps will be 3 inches wider on each side to accommodate larger laptops, the larger document camera, and more instructional materials.
The media control box will be moved further back on the cabinet top, to allow more room for spreading out faculty notes and other materials. Signage will inform those unable to reach the box in this new location that a fully-functional remote control is available in the podium drawer.
The edges of the podium will be ‘softened’ to be safer and more aesthetically pleasing.
Wiring for the document camera will be centered so that the device can be used easily on either side of the podium.
Wiring for connecting laptops and video/audio devices will be centered so that devices can be used easily on either side of the podium.
A longer gooseneck light will be used to allow for lighting more surface area.
The keyboard drawer will be enhanced so that it is larger and easier to operate.
Hinges on podium flaps will be improved to provide greater strength and easier operation.
Addition of an adjustable stool has been recommended to Space Administration, as a replacement for the single-height wood stools now used.
Monitor mounts will be reviewed to find the most adjustable mount available for the flat screen monitors. The ATC also recommended that projection screens be labeled to indicate which screens have automatic brakes to slow the screen when it’s closed. ATUS will provide labels for all classroom screens indicating the presence or absence of screen brakes.
While the above changes may not be dramatic, they should significantly improve the usability of electronic teaching podia used by many faculty members every day. Faculty members with suggestions for further podium enhancements are encouraged to contact Nancy Grayum, 650-3572 or Larry Gilbert, 650-3361.
The Classroom & Lab Services Team Takes a Break
Rob Galbraith
When the quarterly busy-ness of providing help and support for our industrious faculty and students subsides, ATUS Classroom and Computer Lab Services teams head to the classrooms and computer labs for a well earned change of pace. During the break at the end of fall term 2005, the classroom team completed numerous projects in preparation for the opening of winter quarter 2006. More than 120 classrooms and 21 computer labs were inspected, tested, and cleaned with repairs, re-installations, and new installations occurring in many rooms.
Bond Hall re-opens with full media installations
One major project over the break was preparation for the opening of new mediated classrooms in Bond Hall. The installation contractor was busy installing new media equipment in most Bond Hall podia until mid-December. Terry Dayton, our Media Engineer coordinated the installation process and meticulously tracked the quality of the work at every stage.
As promised, media installations in the newly renovated Bond Hall classrooms were complete by December 16, at which time ATUS staff began a thorough testing of every system function. To accomplish this, DVDs are played on both the computer and the DVD player, VHS tapes are played on the VCR, and each type of remote control is used to perform each command. For a room with 4 different ways to command 16 different DVD functions, this can represent about 64 button pushes just to test that one type of media and control performance.
Computer software images are also checked, as are the computer peripherals, including every drive, usb port, wired and wireless mouse; and audio/video output from the computer. Laptop connections are tested and verified for network connectivity, audio and video output. The projector images are examined, audio systems and microphones checked, screens tested for clearance and smooth performance. We check phones, and in our spare time, report such things as window shades not functioning well or clocks that need to be reset.
Problems with the Bond Hall installations noted by “end-user” Nancy Grayum, ATUS Classroom Services Coordinator, were resolved with detailed programming by Terry Dayton and with constant attention to physical and technical installation details by Jerry Huddle and Gary Malick, ATUS Media Technicians.
As recommended by the Academic Technology Committee, Nancy and her student assistant Shannon Barney created online orientation documents which are also bound in a booklet for each classroom. Small help sheets and labels have also been provided in the new classrooms so that people could begin using the presentation systems without any problems in January. These orientation documents can be found online.
After being stacked in secure storage for the past 9 months, The Bond Hall 319 computer lab was re-installed in December by Fred Robson, Steve Park, and their student assistant Troy Mandeville, ready again for student use and for class instruction, with a fully mediated teaching podium and a new security system. This team also restored BH 209 computer lab for the Mathematics Department and installed their new computer lab in BH 219.
Several rooms at Bond Hall had been dismantled during renovation, and were not part of the media installers’ contract. Jerry Huddle, who knows these installations from the inside out, completed the re-installation of media systems in BH 319 and 227, and installed all of the media equipment in the new podium in BH 109, having completed BH 105 early in fall quarter.
Classroom and Lab Software Management
During intersession, we take advantage of the availability of computer labs and classrooms to also install and upgrade computer software. (It’s a ghost town here!) Software images are stored and backed up on an ATUS “Ghost” image server for this purpose, as different generations of computers and media control systems require different images depending upon specifications for each set of computers. For example, the computers purchased for the Parks Hall upgrade in 2000 require a different image from those purchased for the Bond Hall upgrade in 2005.
Diane Smith manages the software images for classrooms, comprising eleven different images in all on a total of 82 individual classroom computers. She also restored images on laptops for loan in ATUS Classroom Services. Diane coordinates closely with Chris Powell, who manages the images for all of the general university labs that have Windows computers. During breaks Chris typically restores about 550 computer lab workstations in over 20 labs as well as up to 100 STF wireless laptop computers stewarded at the library and other checkout facilities. Bill O’Neill manages the software images for the Macintosh computer labs in the Communications Facility and Fine Arts as well as several departmental labs.
Even after images are deployed, things change with Windows updates, virus protection updates, and various plug-in requirements for internet browsers. Diane, Chris and Bill respond to specific faculty requests for software adjustments throughout the academic year, and add those “tweaks” to the various image updates before they are re-deployed, usually September and December each year.
The Clean Machine
All classrooms and computer labs receive a lot of additional TLC between quarters. In computer labs, Steve Park and crew clean mice, keyboards, and monitors and wipe down countertops and other surfaces. “With as many users as each computer gets, they get very grimy,” said Fred Robson, Computer Maintenance supervisor. In addition to cleaning, the team also tests and repairs printers and scanners in the labs. This year a team of several ATUS Help Desk student employees joined the staff to complete these activities, spending about 100 hours on about 500 student workstations.
In classrooms, dust bunnies are vacuumed out of equipment and cabinetry, and our teams clean and test all media presentation equipment at the teaching stations in every general university classroom and computer lab. This means that when you start a new academic quarter, you can be assured that projection lamps have been checked in overheads, slide projectors, and LCD projectors; countertops, monitors and keyboards have been wiped clean and anything with a battery has been tested and given a fresh charge or fresh battery supplies.
Gary Malick’s student employee team members are also charged with additional tasks such as:
- place stickers in rooms with podiums that show “how to fold down the wing,” also “how to close the keyboard drawer” and stickers that state that usb devices often need drivers installed in advance by ATUS.
- check all TVs for sound and picture, make sure the cables are correctly attached
- make note of any power cords that are missing their ground pins
- check air in tires on TV carts, refill/repair as needed, for safety
- coil all cords, wipe down all carts, toss garbage, vacuum keyboard trays, backs of monitors, air inlets on the amplifiers in the racks, tops of podiums, air vents on sides and backs of wall-mounted racks.
- clean booths and media closets and the equipment within
- bring home the rogue carts, screens, extension cords
Whew! You can see why we all smile when someone asks if we had a relaxing break in Classroom Services. And we haven’t even mentioned other work, such as the wrap-up of two Student Technology Fee projects and details for media installations the new AIC building and the next round of classroom renovations.
With so much relaxation time between quarters, you can see why the team just can’t wait for the new session to begin! If you have any questions or comments about any of the intersession activities of Classroom Services, please call Nancy Grayum at 650-3572.
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