Learning Technologies at the UofA

Get set for UA FotoCat Contest

The University of Arizona invites amateur photographers of all ages and levels of expertise to bring their cameras and tripods to campus and then enter their best photographs in the UA FotoCat Contest.

The contest, which begins October 20, is a partnership of the UA, Tucson Newspapers and the Arizona Daily Star. Winning photographers will receive great prizes and their photos will be showcased in the Star, used to help promote the UA and will be featured in a photo exhibit at the Kachina Gallery of the UA Student Union Memorial Center.

]]> The University of Arizona Information Technology Services (UITS) with UA BookStores and Apple will conduct a series of iPhoto demonstrations in the UA FotoCat Contest Apple computer station area in the C.A.T.S section of the UA BookStore at the Student Union Memorial Center.

The UITS Workshop and Training team will demonstrate ways for photographers to get their images ready for the contest and then assist them with using Apple computers to edit their images and upload them for contest entry. See the full schedule of demonstration dates and times.

Watch for more details on contest entry coming soon in Lo Que Pasa and on the OSCR iPhoto demonstrations Web site.

We are looking for photos in the following categories:

Wildcat Fans at Arizona Athletics Events
Get the spirit of Wildcat fans enjoying their favorite UA sports teams in competition, club sports events, fans at tailgate parties and other UA sports locations.

Families on UA Campus
Whether it's a family of two or a large family group, capture the family feeling on the UA campus.

Students - Campus Life
Students at work or at play, in the dorm, in class or out on the UA Mall - this is what it's all about.

Alumni Photographers
Photos can be of any UA subject. You must be an alumnus of The University of Arizona to enter this category.

Events on campus
Commencement, Homecoming, arts and performances, conferences, seminars, lectures, entertainment on the UA Mall and book signings at UA BookStores are just a few ways to capture happenings on campus.

Campus Scenery
A beautiful campus with trees, greenery and cacti, historic buildings and the people who enjoy the UA campus give plenty of opportunities to get that classic "UA campus image".

LTC restructures for more focused service

The Learning Technologies Center (LTC) has responded to the University Information Technology Services (UITS) reorganization with an internal restructuring of our own in order to better facilitate our service offerings.

Many of the same people who have assisted you in the past remain with the LTC and will continue to provide expert-level support for your instructional goals and projects.

]]> Sue South remains the LTC assistant director and continues to manage the Center's operational and administrative operations.

"I feel very confident this new structure will enhance our service to the university community, and am very pleased that key leaders in LTC have stepped up to take on new challenges," South said.

"While the structure represents lines of reporting, communication flow and lead roles for functional responsibilities, it does not represent the way in which our work is completed. We will continue to operate in cross-functional project teams in which LTC staff and resources are shared among and across these work groups to best serve the needs of the university community."

Instructional Application and Multimedia Support

Mark Felix will now head up Instructional Application and Multimedia Support. Mark and his staff are committed to keeping Desire2Learn (D2L), the University's course management system, up and running and helping instructors master the tool.

Supported applications are:

D2L
Breeze
OLE
Illume (currently in a pilot phase)
Confluence (for instructional purposes)

Multimedia production, under the continued steady guidance of Heather Lares, will still include the following services:

Multimedia consulting
Video production
Audio production
Streaming services

Instructional Process Planning

Instructional expert Gretchen Gibbs will lead Instructional Process Planning, which includes:

Instructional design consulting and resources
Teaching practices consulting
Assessment and evaluation consulting
Interface and interactions design
College and department liaison program
Student Technology Preceptor program
New faculty orientation
TA Support
Heads-Up liaison
Faculty & department relations

Special eLearning Projects

Bruce Cameron will head up Special eLearning Projects, encompassing:

Instructional design consulting
Course/curriculum redesign
Curriculum production
eLearning object design & creation
Curriculum design
UA Second Life Development

Web Site and Emerging Technologies

Stuart Glogoff oversees Web Site and Emerging Technologies. Those services include:

Consulting services
Podcasting & iTunesU
UA's YouTube channel
Faculty Web sites
Community outreach Web sites
Grant Web sites
Emerging technologies
Instructional Web sites
Web-based learning objects

Grants Management and Outreach

Garry Forger continues as lead in Grants Management and Outreach. His areas of interest are:

Community Outreach
MOA/MOU Management
Grant management
CERCLL Grant Coordination
Wellness Liaison for UITS
Bamboo rep for LTC

The Center, located in Computer Center 337, is currently undergoing a space redesign in order to accommodate other moves within the UITS organization and the influx of MOSAIC personal into the building. When the moves are complete, the LTC entrance will move to the west end of the north hallway from its current location at the end of the south building hallway. Every attempt is being made to continue to provide complete client services through the transition process.

Single sign on coming to UA Libraries

From The University of Arizona Libraries

Off-campus access to online resources at the UA Libraries will get easier and more convenient in October when the library starts using NetID through WebAuth to access databases and journals from off-campus.

Beginning 8 a.m. on Monday October 6, you will simply use your NetID through WebAuth (as you do for many other UA services such as Web mail and D2L) to use the library's journals and databases when you are off-campus.

]]> Once you sign on, you won't have to re-authenticate to access other WebAuth services. If you need a NetID, you can obtain one before October 6 by visiting the NetID Website. This change to a single sign-on will primarily affect students, faculty and staff. Friends of the UA Libraries and Alumni will continue to log in as in the past.

More information

UA Libraries

Have questions about Single Sign On? Send your email to SSO

Trash Day contest out of the can

Here's an interesting opportunity available to all students of the U of A.

Have you ever thought about making one of those cool Internet videos that countless people around the world talk about and share? Well now you have that chance through The University of Arizona's new Don't Trash AZ Video Awards Competition.

]]> Get some friends together and participate in this new anti-litter campaign. Grab a video camera and show us how you're fighting the litter problem on campus, from McKale Memorial Center to Old Main.

And don't forget that OSCR has the Gear-To-Go you need if you don't have your own gear. We normally require faculty sponsorship to check out video cameras but for this one time event, OSCR will sponsor you. All you have to do is take the short, required video camera training session. Call 621-9404 or stop by the MLL, room 303 in the Computer Center, and they'll hook you up!

The contest ends at 5 PM on December 3, 2008, with an awards ceremony on Wednesday, December 10 at 5:30 PM at Gallagher. Get more information.

24/7 IT Support Center to open for Fall 2008!

It's the middle of the night and your printer won't print out the report you need at 8:00 a.m.

But there's more. You can't log in to your email. Your office computer has suddenly lost the network connection. Your computer is acting like it has a virus. D2L won't let you access the quiz you need to finish before class tomorrow. You can't get Word to install and you need it right now!

Any one of these problems can cause a nightmare that interrupts what you're doing at just the wrong time. Well, help is now available when you need it--whether it's 9 a.m. or 2 a.m., there is now support for you!

]]> University Information Technology Services (UITS) has opened a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week IT Support Center in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Building, room 207, located on Mountain Ave. between First and Second streets.

The 24/7 will help with: general computing questions, UA accounts (like NetID and email), network configuration, security and virus/spyware removal, hardware troubleshooting and assistance with computer hard drive and memory replacement, limited data recovery, software installation and configuration, instructional applications support (D2L, OLE, etc.), listserv administration and purchase recommendations.

If you're having problems with your computer, network connections, University accounts or if you just have some general questions about technology, visit the 24/7 any time. You can also call 626-TECH (8324), or visit 247.arizona.edu for alerts and more information on services. Support is free for all UA students, faculty and staff.

In addition to support provided at the 24/7, the Mobile Help Desk will continue to be available with scheduled hours of satellite service at the OSCR Underground (ILC 136), the UA Bookstore's Computer and Technology Store (C.A.T.S.) and limited in-room appointments available for UA residence halls.

IT support was formerly available on campus from the OSCR Help Desk and from the UITS Help Desk. As University Information Technology Services has reorganized, the services previously provided by OSCR and UITS have been carefully assessed and incorporated into the 24/7 support model. Assistant Director Kate Rehkopf and her staff have continued incorporating IT support best practices and focusing on the customer experience in order to provide the best possible service to all UA students, faculty and staff around the clock.

Funding for the 24/7 includes money from the Student IT Fee. Having 24-hour technical support was one of the priorities for the fee, recommended by the IT Student Advisory Board to the Arizona Board of Regents, and confirmed by students in a survey in Spring 2007.

For more info
MLK 207
(520) 626-TECH (8324)
247.arizona.edu

Hello workshop lovers

We are almost through the first week of school and I feel fine. I hope the rest of you are surviving as well.

This semester we are starting out with a skeleton schedule of workshops through second week of December.

]]> The heavy hitters as always are:

Dreamweaver
Photoshop
Digital Video Camera Checkout Certification

The Digital Video Camera Certification Workshop is needed to be eligible to check out video cameras from the Multimedia Learning Lab.

The new kid on the block is "The Drupal Content Management System."
Tracey Hummel is cranking these workshops out at a furious pace and she is targeting three kinds of users:

Content Manager
Site Administration
Application Administration

The UA Drupal website has in-depth information.

For a look at all workshops we offer, point your browser to the OSCR workshops Web page.

As always, we take requests, so if you don't see what you need, when you need it, let us know!

For more info

Catherine Zavala
626-3831

The Discovery Channel "Discovers" a virtual world at UITS

Marvin Landis, a research specialist with UITS' Arizona Laboratory for Immersive Visualization Environments (AZ-LIVE), is something of a TV star, albeit one who acts behind the scenes.

The Discovery Channel was recently on campus to film a half-hour segment for their series Future Life. The segment featured ongoing research in emergency management, and Marvin lent his considerable talents to creating the main attraction: an immersive, three-dimensional, computer-generated space for observing how participants react in urban environments when confronted with a sudden and immediate threat.

]]> Associate Professor Young-Jun Son and his doctoral student Seungho Lee from Systems and Industrial Engineering are heading up this multi-year project. The simulation involves placing participants in a computer-generated version of a dense downtown area of four to six square city blocks. A participant is then confronted with a life-threatening event--a bomb explosion, for instance--from which she must escape. Her chosen method of evacuation and reaction times as she negotiates through the virtual world are recorded, tracked and compiled with data generated by all the other participants. Greater complexity (and confusion for the participant) is created by adding fire and smoke, speeding vehicles, and other distractions. The information gathered over time will help urban planners, police and emergency personnel, and government agencies prepare for and manage threats.

The project began two semesters prior to actually performing simulations in AZ-LIVE, but Marvin was involved right from the beginning. "I had to fully understand the project in terms of the end goals and the data that needed to be collected. Floor plans and scene layouts were created as two-dimensional CAD drawings by Dr. Son and his team, and those drawings were eventually used to create 3-D models. I then converted those models to a format we could use in our lab, and provided consulting and training in using the appropriate computer graphics libraries in order to create a program that immerses the participants in their virtual three dimensional environment."

Landis is well suited for these sorts of endeavors. With degrees in math, physics and computer science from the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University, he began his career in scientific visualization at the University of Arizona in 1990. He now runs AZ-LIVE and helps create visualizations for a variety of UA projects such as mapping archeological digs simultaneously in time and place, creating architectural models that their designers can walk through, and compressing local climatological data from a vast geographic area into a brief loop so that researchers can recognize patterns impossible to see in real time.

Running the facility is a perfect job for someone like Landis, who has a definite scientific bent.

"The cool thing about my job is that I learn a lot of things outside my own discipline by preparing 3-D environments for my clients. I know a little more about anatomy now that I've modeled a human heart that you can walk through!" he said.

For more info

Schedule a demonstration with Marvin
Check learningtechs.arizona.edu for Discovery Channel air dates

OSCR's new computing lab at McClelland Park opening soon

Thanks to a collaboration with the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, OSCR will soon have the opportunity to better serve the western part of campus and its undergraduate residential areas.

Norton's new building, the 70,000 square foot McClelland Park across from the Park Student Union, will be home to an OSCR-managed, open-access instructional computer lab capable of accommodating 30 students, an instructor and a lab monitor. The 1,200 square foot lab will include presentation equipment, a projection wall and a printer station.

]]> The lab will operate 50 hours per week, including ten hours on the weekends (precise hours to be determined). As part of the agreement with OSCR, the Norton School may schedule three to four of its classes in the space, with the remaining scheduled hours available for open access and UITS-led workshops. As part of its overall community outreach initiative, the Norton School will also occasionally make the lab available for classes and workshops designed for underprivileged children and displaced adults seeking career guidance.

Computers for the lab are being made possible by a generous donation from Gateway/MPC Pro.

For more info

OSCR Labs

OSCR helps you save a tree

You know those big projects you print out with pay-for-print in the OSCR labs? You can now use half the paper by printing on both sides. For Fall 2008, the Office of Student Computing Resources is introducing duplex printing on all the pay-for-print stations in OSCR labs.

]]> To get duplex printing, move from "Copies and Pages" to "Layout" in the print dialog box and click one of the two-sided printing options. "Long-edge binding" is the most common layout--tall sheets that you could staple along the left side and leaf through like a book.

So take a load off your back--and take a load off the forests--by choosing two-sided printing when you print.

For more info
OSCR Printing Services

UITS becomes College of Education IT support

Late last fall when the College of Education (COE) was looking for high-quality IT support and services, they found them at University Information Technology Services (UITS). UITS has been providing technical assistance for COE students, faculty and staff, supporting faculty with instructional technology and managing the electronic classroom since Spring 2008 semester.

]]> Various UITS divisions are working together to meet the needs of the college. The college's Web server has been retired, as the Web sites have been moved onto servers provided by Infrastructure Services.

COE faculty have long used the Learning Technologies Center's (LTC) services for assistance with instructional technology--now there is an LTC liaison at the college full-time. There is also a full-time OSCR staff person onsite to support and schedule the electronic classroom, provide A/V support for other classrooms and check out multimedia equipment.

UITS and the college have agreed to a workstation and network support arrangement wherein the college retains their own support staff while Workgroup and Network Consulting (within UITS) provides professional management.
"We are looking to modernize our services and provide high levels of security and support, and we're very pleased with the service," said Paula Baltes, associate dean of finance at COE.

For any department considering their technology needs, UITS provides assessment surveys and contracted services for projects small or large.

For more info

College of Education IT Support, 621-1386
UITS Client Relations and Outreach Services, 626-3529

OSCRtv starts its third season

OSCRtv is bigger and better than ever before and gearing up to start its third season!

OSCRtv has only been in existence since Fall 2007 when UATV's then-general manager Tom Erickson offered the Office of Student Computing Resources then-director Limell' Lawson the opportunity to air a bi-weekly television program.

]]> "We jumped at the chance," said host Brian Oviedo, a senior majoring in Media Arts. "The first semester was really tough: we didn't have much content, and there were ongoing debates about what the direction should be. It wasn't until last spring when things really started to click and we saw the tremendous potential for outreach to students."

In fact, OSCRtv has acquired several additional venues in which to air complete episodes or segments. "UATV, iTunes U., the OSCR web site...the list is really growing," said Lawson. "We will start supplying C.A.T.S in the UA Bookstore with looped segments for their large displays. Where ever students congregate, that's where we want to be broadcasting information on campus computing resources."

In order to ensure high production values and to diversify the content, OSCR hired three more students to help Oviedo with the intense schedule of scripting, filming and editing each half-hour episode: Korbin Bennet-Gold, a sophomore majoring in Media Arts; Antonio Villagomez, a senior in Media Arts; and Kristen Suagee-Beauduy, a sophomore in the Creative Writing program. "They are all immensely talented and OSCRtv is going to look a lot different in the fall," said Oviedo.

The OSCRtv crew plans to upgrade the overall look of the show and focus on the most popular segments: Tech Talk, a panel discussion about tech trends and issues; Geek Corner, a game review/software demonstration segment; and Client Showcase, where clients discuss how they used OSCR resources to complete their academic projects and then have the opportunity to show off their work.

The summer has proven to be a great training ground for OSCRtv changes. "Brian and I took an intense four-day certification workshop in Final Cut Pro, which is an industry-standard video editing software. That experience definitely got the creative juices flowing," Villagomez explained.

OSCRtv's first show of the new season is scheduled to air on UATV September 10th at 6:30. Subsequent episodes will air every other Wednesday thereafter, with podcast editions hitting iTunes U. and the OSCR website a few days later.

For more info

OSCRtv

New D2L course introduces students to campus computing resources

Students now have a new way to learn about all of UA's campus computing resources--through D2L!

By clicking the "Self Registration" button on their D2L home page, students can add a course titled Computing on Campus, which contains an interactive presentation of technology resources and information, plus convenient links and downloadable PDFs on topics such as computer basics, email, WiFi, D2L and a few fun things like accessing UA on iTunes U and exploring Arizona Island in Second Life.

]]> Content is still being developed and topics will be added and expanded over time. There's even a survey form that allows students to tell us what information they would like to see in the future. The intent is that students will keep the Computing on Campus link as a "Non-Term Related" course on their home page throughout their college careers and refer to it periodically to stay current.

Please encourage your students to add this course to their D2L page and to use the survey tool to help us make the site better and more useful!

The same information found in the D2L Computing on Campus course can also be found on the OSCR Web site.

Drupal content management now available for UA Web sites

The Drupal Content Management System offers UA departments an easy way to manage their Web site content, providing a usable, maintainable and secure content management solution for UA Web sites by making it easy to add and edit content on a Web site.

And all this without needing to know HTML or other coding skills.

]]> University Information Technology Services (UITS) is offering a series of hands-on workshops for Web developers interested in the Drupal Content Management System. Within the workshop, you configure and build an actual Drupal website that can later be used for your department's website.

Drupal allows you to:

Create web pages without learning the technical stuff (like: HTML, XML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, etc.)
Use UA NetIDs for site logins
Set up a functional site search box
View the number of hits each page gets and other statistics
Set up functional: calendars, surveys, forms, quizzes
Allow users to submit comments or vote on your content
Add workflows / approval processes
Easily set up forums, blogs or live chats
Create an 'Action' that triggers something to happen. . . like send an email or take content from draft to live at specific times
Categorize content (then automatically display it based on its category)

More info

Drupal information

Drupal How to
Tracey Hummel

Computer lab available in Old Main

Students visiting Old Main who discover they have an online application to fill out or need to access their email, have a new resource--a small computer lab.

]]> The University Learning Center Office, in Old Main, room 201, realized that many of their visitors need computer access, and even machines to work on during tutoring sessions. The Office of Student Computing Resources (OSCR) worked with Apple Computer to obtain five new computers, and added a Gateway PC.

There is no staff or printer in the new Old Main lab, but it is close to OSCR's staffed lab in the Nugent building. Old Main lab users can send their print jobs to the Nugent pay-for-print station and cross the street to pick them up.

For more info

OSCR's Old Main lab

A Second Life on Arizona Island

UITS is pleased to welcome the university community to the virtual UA campus in Second Life.

Second Life is an online virtual world. The UA's Second Life campus is still very much in development and is being built out to meet the usage requirements generated by UA faculty and students. The island currently has several different class meeting/discussion areas, presentation/lecture areas, exhibit space, sandboxes and a holodeck. (A holodeck is a simulated reality facility located on starships and starbases in the fictional Star Trek universe--Wikipedia)

]]> Current exhibits include a creative project in connection with ASTR 202: Exploring Life in the Universe and several student presentations, such as "Zircon Crystals," "Can Life be Made in a Bottle?," "Exploration of Venus, Earth, and Mars," and "Carbon Formation."

This virtual campus has three objectives:

To promote The University of Arizona
To support the instructional and research missions of the University
To provide a virtual social space for university students

The island is equipped with sound capability, which allows faculty and students to interact with each other in regular conversations. Text chat is also provided for the audio challenged or hearing impaired.

Those wishing to participate in Second Life need to establish a free account, go through a SL orientation process, then teleport to the UA Island. Students should contact the UA's Office of Student Computing Resources (OSCR) for information and assistance.

NOTE:
All university policies are applicable and enforced on our virtual campus.

For more info

UA Second Life log in
OSCR

Questions about instructional uses--

Chris Johnson, UA SL public relations and information ambassador
Bruce Cameron, UA island administrator, eLearning developer