Category: Public Computing

Academic Technology, Computer Classrooms, Faculty/Staff, Media Center, People, Public Computing, Workshops and Training

ITS Welcomes new Media Center Coordinator Tayarisha Poe

Doug Willen

Academic Technology is pleased to welcome new Media Center Coordinator and recent Swarthmore College graduate Tayarisha Poe ’12 to the Information Technology Services team. Tayarisha brings a wealth of knowledge about video production, digital photography, printing and the Adobe CS suite along with her lively and welcoming personality to the Media Center.  She has particular interests in multimedia storytelling, digital cinematography and DSLR video production, and we look forward to a series of instructional workshops she’ll be hosting through the academic year on these and other media related topics. Continue reading ITS Welcomes new Media Center Coordinator Tayarisha Poe

Academic Technology, Computer Classrooms, Faculty/Staff, Media Center, Public Computing, Students

Print Release Station Saves Trees, CO2, Real $$

Doug Willen

The Print Release Stations, which we’ve tested a bit in McCabe, and have been testing in the Beardsley Media Center continuously since Spring Break, have led to real savings in resources not used…  that is, jobs that people send to the printer, but choose not to actually print (or just forget to pick up). In the past one month (April 5, 2011 to May 5, 2011) we have saved a total of 8,159 pages, of which, 5,847 were color pages and 2,312 were grayscale.  They would have been printed on 5,807 sheets of paper (some people choose duplex).  To put … Continue reading Print Release Station Saves Trees, CO2, Real $$

Academic Technology, Computer Classrooms, Faculty/Staff, Public Computing, Security, Software, Students

Electronic Blue Books and Online Testing

Andrew Ruether

Swarthmore ITS supports faculty interested in moving from paper blue books to their electronic equivalents.  Swarthmore uses SecureExam software to allow students to take tests on public area computers while providing a safe and secure way of administering tests.  Many students prefer typing to writing and the software provides a basic word processor and spell checking tools.  Many faculty prefer reading typed papers instead of deciphering handwritten pages.  The software prevents students from accessing other programs while taking the test so it is possible to have a “closed book” exam.  At the end of the exam, students submit their work and … Continue reading Electronic Blue Books and Online Testing

Academic Technology, Computer Classrooms, Public Computing

Trotter 201 Transformed into a Hybrid Learning Environment

MK

Over the summer, ITS set out to extend the functionality of the learning space in Trotter 201. Based upon feedback from faculty and staff members, new furniture has been installed that can quickly transform the space from a computer classroom to a traditional discussion environment in moments. The monitors in each workstation are attached to articulating arms that easily glide below the desk surface, removing the monitor as a distraction during more discussion based portions of a class. When it’s time to return to the computer, students can simply bring the monitors back above the desk and resume working where … Continue reading Trotter 201 Transformed into a Hybrid Learning Environment

Public Computing, Security, Software, Tips

Important Security Warning for Internet Explorer Users

Nick

UPDATE: Microsoft has released a patch for this important security hole. Your Windows PC should’ve installed the patch already (indicated by a pesky need to reboot). If not or if you’re unsure, you can run Microsoft Update (or Windows Update) or go to the Microsoft Download Center. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A security exposure was recently discovered within Internet Explorer (IE) that could allow malicious software to be installed on your computer without your knowledge. There is virtually no limit to what this malicious software could do once installed but might include logging user keystrokes, stealing passwords, etc. Simply browsing an infected or … Continue reading Important Security Warning for Internet Explorer Users

Academic Technology, Email, Faculty/Staff, Network, Public Computing, Wireless

Network Update – Fix for Remaining Problems

Mark Dumic

The restart of the Beardsley core at 12:50 PM today did fix a number of problems including wireless access in the academic/administrative buildings. The wireless network should be working normally except for Guest Wireless which we expect to have operational shortly. Computers directly connected to a network jack were also fixed at that time. However, we have another residual problem with computers connected to a Cisco phone. In many cases, these computers are still not able to obtain network access. In those cases, a simple procedure will correct this problem. If your computer is connected to your phone you can … Continue reading Network Update – Fix for Remaining Problems