Archive for December, 2008
December 10th, 2008 by Kelsey Layos
In Fall 2008, the Electronic Educational Environment (EEE) web team introduced new features to facilitate course administration for instructors and TAs.
SignupSheet
In August 2008, SignupSheet was added to the EEE toolbox. This new tool helps instructors and TAs manage their classes by collecting online sign-ups from their students.
SignupSheet is in use already, with 100+ sheets published for students to sign up for presentation time slots, paper topics, and office hours with their instructors and TAs.
EasyWebsite
It’s easier than ever to build a class website and provide course materials to students with the new ‘Images’ feature in EasyWebsite. Instructors and TAs can add full image galleries, with automatically created thumbnails and customized image layouts.
Rapid Return
The Rapid Return process, originally launched in March 2007, has been streamlined. Starting Fall 2008, scanned exam files are automatically transferred directly to EEE from Distribution & Document Management (DDM), where instructors and teaching assistants can securely distribute them to students via EEE DropBox.
Help & How-to Primers
EEE Help & How-to guides now feature one-page student primers, useful for printing and distributing in class as part of the syllabus, or linking from a class website. Each downloadable PDF covers basic information about an EEE tool: what the tool is, how to access it, how to begin using it, and where to find more information. Popular student primers include:
EEE wants to hear from you!
The EEE Web Team is always looking for new and better ways to serve the UCI community. EEE development is driven by the feature requests, questions, and other comments we receive every day. To share your feedback today,
Contact Us.
December 10th, 2008 by John Mangrich
Network-based Conferencing, also called videoconferencing or videoteleconferencing, facilitates collaboration with colleagues who may be far from your location. This technology also presents an opportunity to reduce travel costs when conducting University research and business.
Conferencing tools may include the sharing of audio, video, computer desktops, electronic whiteboards and other electronic media. Your collaboration may range from a small group of people using desktop tools to larger groups in specially-equipped rooms with advanced audiovisual equipment.
There is no single piece of hardware or software which serves all videoconferencing needs. If you are working with a smaller group, you might use desktop software such as Skype or iChat with inexpensive cameras and microphones. Larger groups with more demanding sharing needs may opt for a commercial service such as WebEx or GoToMeeting. These services require accounts to be set up with usage fees. You or your department may also have more advanced equipment set up in a special room, or use one of the scheduled campus teleconferencing facilities such as those operated by the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center .
NACS provides some general information on this technology, including resources distributed around campus. We’ve also collected specific comments on desktop hardware and software options . UCOP Strategic Sourcing is developing RFPs for different types of conferencing as a cost-saving alternative to face-to-face meetings. (An RFP – Request for Proposal – is a method for choosing from which vendor to purchase products or services.) Technologies being examined include telephone conferencing with sharing of the computer screen of the conference leader, as well as videoconferencing.
We suggest you begin exploring this technology before an actual business need arises, so that you are familiar with it and have been able to confirm the quality of your audio and video. Please contact NACS if we can be of any assistance in this area.
December 10th, 2008 by Tony Soeller
Geographic Information System (GIS) software has traditionally been used on desktop computers to develop, display, and analyze spatial data. Recent advances in web-based GIS software now allow researchers and instructors to upload their spatial data to online GIS services. Colleagues and students can then view and query — and even edit — GIS data online via a web browser and without having GIS software installed on their desktop computers.
NACS uses ESRI’s ArcGIS Server to provide online GIS services. Development of a new online GIS service is straightforward. Once an ArcGIS Desktop document is developed, the document and associated GIS data files are uploaded to an ArcGIS Server. A GIS service is generated and custom data queries are assigned. The URL for this new GIS service can then be distributed for users to visit the new site.
NACS has been developing GIS services using ArcGIS Server for two years. If you are interested in making your GIS data available online, we can develop a GIS service on our server using your data, or we can help you set up ArcGIS Server on your own or a departmental system.
Here are a few ArcGIS Server applications running on the NACS GIS server. When viewing these GIS services, consider how your own spatial data might be displayed and explored using ArcGIS Server.
Recent Southern California fires (Freeway, Tea, and Sayre) using ESRI basemap data and fire perimeters collected by the Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination.
California No Child Left Behind, within the UCI Department of Education.
History of North American Indians used for instruction within the UCI Department of History.
December 10th, 2008 by Andrew Laurence
For most departments, email needs can be met with NACS Mailbox Services which is provided to the campus at no charge.
NACS offers Exchange services to departments which require an integrated Microsoft environment, including email, calendar, and group communications. Clients have access to the service from anywhere on the Internet. This service is intended as a lower-cost alternative to local email management for departments that already use Exchange.
NACS is currently supporting an Exchange server for the Paul Merage School of Business and several other departments including the School of Law . The Exchange Service provides support for Outlook, Outlook Web Access, Outlook Mobile Access, Exchange ActiveSync, Microsoft Entourage, and standard-based POP/IMAP/SMTP clients. For users who often use multiple computers, Exchange has a web interface.
The servers used for the Exchange platform are hosted in the Academic Data Center . NACS manages the software, system administration, server hardware, storage management, upgrades, backups, and performance tuning for the Exchange servers. NACS also has a 24/7 monitoring and response group to make sure service is restored quickly in the event of an interruption. NACS would be happy to meet with interested department managers to assess whether this service matches department needs. Contact us at nacs@uci.edu .
December 10th, 2008 by Brian Chrisman
The radio rental program provides 800MHz hand-held radios to campus departments requiring radios for special events or other short-term use.
NACS has a pool of 12 radios available for rent. The rental fee is $10 per radio, per day. The maximum rental period is two weeks. The rental includes one radio, a battery, and a charger. A single desktop charger or a 6 pocket charger will be provided based on the number of radios rented.
Radios will be programmed with your department’s standard template unless otherwise specified. Custom template programming is also available. Programming services are $60/hr with a 1-hour minimum. The radios will be fully charged, tested, and ready to operate at time of pick up.
To order rental radios, please submit the NACS Service Request Form . Select “800MHz Radio” for the type of service requested. Use the comments section at the bottom of the form to request radio rental and include the desired rental dates. Brian Chrisman, NACS Radio Systems Specialist, will contact you to finalize the rental details.
If you have any questions regarding this rental program, please contact Brian at (949) 824-8151, or email brian.chrisman@uci.edu.
