Link to Google Gemini AI tool now available
SPEED Project Updates
SPEED awards from ITS and the Libraries provide dedicated support from software developers, librarians, academic technologists, and student interns for an eight-week period of project development. Our four SPEED student interns have made great progress on their projects and we are … Continue reading SPEED Project Updates
What is a screen reader?
A screen reader is a piece of software which reads web pages and documents out loud. Originally developed for persons who were visually impaired, it is now often used for a multitude of other reasons. Many who may have learning challenges, concussion syndrome, or those who simply want to listen to their email or a web page while they do something else use screen readers. All Apple products have VoiceOver built in – from iPhones to Mac desktops. Some Android devices have TalkBack. Windows users often use tools like JAWS (available on our public machines), and NVDA. If you are … Continue reading What is a screen reader?
How Swarthmore Uses Lynda.com
Over roughly four years, Swarthmore has used Lynda.com videos to expand our knowledge. A quick glance through the courses completed suggests that folks use Lynda for class-related activity the most (great!) — but peeking at the long tail of courses shows that we are well-rounded and might even have fun, too (see: Ethical Hacking, YouTube for Musicians, Understanding Patents, Insights from a Professional Songwriter, and Learn Instagram: The Basics. Let’s take a look at the historical data. In our first year (2013-2014 — the one where we wore wigs and glasses to look like the logo), we had 739 users, 14,142 … Continue reading How Swarthmore Uses Lynda.com
Language & Identity in the African Experience Podcast Project
Students from Professor Jamie A. Thomas’ Spring 2017 linguistics seminar, Language and Identity in the African Experience, recently completed a semester long project creating a podcast series titled AFROLATINX PODCAST™ and an informative and media-rich companion website Language & Identity in the African Experience. AfroLatinx … Continue reading Language & Identity in the African Experience Podcast Project
Research Data Backup
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
Disappearing student work (how to avoid)!
As we are all now using Google Drive to store and collect content from students and each other, we’d like to bring to your attention a sometimes overlooked inconvenience… If you have asked students to submit content to you by sharing files from their own Google accounts, or by placing them into folders you provide in your personal Google Drive space, then you may be in danger of losing access to that material once the student’s account is removed from the College’s systems after they graduate! You can tell by looking at the “Owner” listing of any files you’re worried … Continue reading Disappearing student work (how to avoid)!