Author: Andrew Ruether

Academic Technology, Accessibility, Moodle

PDF Accessibility Checker Announced

Andrew Ruether

Swarthmore College ITS has completed preliminary work on software to check PDF files for accessibility across many campus systems.  The software examines PDF files to look for readable text as well as title, language, and outline metadata which indicates how easy it is to access the contents of the file.  We’ve also written a Moodle plugin to provide information to faculty on the accessibility of all the PDF files in their course.   This information will be accompanied by instructions for how to get help to remediate the files. We anticipate the software will be running on our Moodle site for the Fall … Continue reading PDF Accessibility Checker Announced

Academic Technology, Faculty/Staff

Research Data Backup

Andrew Ruether

It’s the start of research season at Swarthmore and faculty and students will be working hard writing, collecting, and calculating all kinds of data.  How can you keep your research data safe? Fortunately, ITS provides a variety of backup solutions depending on your specific needs. Product Optimal Use Case CrashPlan All your data fits on your office or lab computer. Google Drive and AODOcs All your your data doesn’t fit on your computer or you want to archive rarely used data and remove it from your computer Your data needs to be shared with collaborators iRODS Large data sets or complex storage … Continue reading Research Data Backup

Academic Technology, SPEED Program

SPEED Projects for Summer 2017 Announced

Andrew Ruether

ITS and the Libraries are pleased to announce the SPEED Project awardees for the Summer of 2017. Each Spring, the Swarthmore College Libraries and ITS invite all current employees to submit proposals to Swarthmore Projects for Educational Exploration and Development (SPEED). SPEED awards provide dedicated support from software developers, librarians, academic technologists, and student interns for an eight-week period of project development.  With a SPEED project team’s help, faculty and staff can create a new digital object or resource that enhances teaching or facilitates undergraduate research. For Summer 2017, the projects will focus on Data Visualizations.  From infographics to interactive … Continue reading SPEED Projects for Summer 2017 Announced

Academic Technology, SPEED Program

Seeking SPEED Projects and Interns

Andrew Ruether

March marks the beginning of SPEED season for ITS and the Libraries.  We are now in the 6th year of running Swarthmore Projects for Educational Exploration and Development (SPEED) and have worked with a wide range of faculty and students on dozens of projects to improve undergraduate learning.  SPEED awards primarily consist of dedicated support from academic technologists, web developers, librarians and student intern.  For 2017, we are focusing on projects related to data visualization.  From infographics to interactive maps to network diagrams, creating graphical displays of information happens across disciplines, whether to explore and synthesize, experiment and reframe, or present … Continue reading Seeking SPEED Projects and Interns

Academic Technology, Faculty/Staff, Media Center, Students

Arduino Inventor’s Kits Now Available for Checkout

Andrew Ruether

Arduino is an open source electronics platform that you can program to interact with the real world: make lights flash, buzzers buzz, and motors spin.  You can use Arduinos to build an invention, animate a sculpture, or automate your house.   ITS has purchased several Arduino-based SparkFun Inventor’s Kits now available for checkout from the Media Center.  These are great for learning about Arduino and come with lots of fun stuff like motors, LEDs, an LCD display, temperature and light sensors, a buzzer, and supporting electronics.  The kit also includes an excellent guide with 16 sample projects starting from the basic blinking … Continue reading Arduino Inventor’s Kits Now Available for Checkout