TechInfo

What is a blog?

A blog (short for “web log”) is a website that allows you to post news, thoughts, or other comments where others can read them.

What can I do with a blog?

You can use a blog to post announcements, let students know about employment opportunities, discuss scholarly issues, or give your students a public forum to present findings and air views.

How can I get a blog?

Cortland provides you with a free on-campus blog. Go to http://blog.cortland.edu and click on the “Create a blog” link on the right. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dan Harms, Instructional Services Librarian, at X4042 or daniel.harms@cortland.edu.

myRedDragon Online Groups are for students, employees and faculty members at SUNY Cortland. They are not for the general public.

SUNY Cortland currently supports Group use with Leaders who control the Group membership carefully. Leaders are responsible for monitoring their Group Use.

Training on how to navigate and use Groups will start in August, if you cannot wait and would like to start using a group now please contact Hailey M. Ruoff 753-2231

There are lots of benefits to using online groups with your Department or SUNY Cortland organization. 

Here are some of them:

• To store online files – post files, approve user submitted files, make an archive of downloads, its as easy as adding an email attachment – but harder to lose!
• To check user visits and participation – Groups members list shows a list of all people in your group, what access they have and when they last visited, enabling you to keep and monitor usage.
• To archive minutes / agendas / documents – keep losing documents, searching your old emails to find that attachment?? Not with organized Groups – assign a person to archive & post your minutes, notes and documents there for all the group.
• To run discussions – need a place to store comments, feedback, or to run department knowledge shares and discussions. Want to keep it away from your inbox – simply set up a Group Discussion – you can use various topics and threads
• Personalize a Project or Department Group Homepage – you can put links, photographs, images, icons, urgent announcements, important files – all on your group Home Page. Easy to find, easy to use!
• Run your own group for efficient SUNY Cortland communication and Knowledge Sharing This is the biggest advantage. You know how to best set up your local department group or list, so why not request a group now?

Hailey M. Ruoff
Instructional Materials Design Specialist
SUNY Cortland
hailey.ruoff@cortland.edu

With the move to Exchange 2007 comes a completely new webmail interface with new and advanced functionality. This new OWA (Outlook Web Access) will look very familiar to users of Outlook 2007 in that the layout is almost identical and incorporates many of the same functions.  The full version of the new OWA (and all the new functionality) is only available for users of Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.  Those who are using a Mac and/or Firefox, will have access to the OWA light.  The light version of the software is very similar to the current webmail.

This video tutorial -  http://www.microsoft.com/EXCHANGE/CODE/OWA/INDEX.HTML – demonstrates how to use many of the new functions in the OWA webmail (both the full and the light versions).  If you have any questions, or wish to schedule training, please contact Tera Doty-Blance  (753-4056).

As many of you know we have been working to move our email system to a new server version, Exchange 2007.  There are many new features, most notably:

WebReady Document Viewing: A new option in OWA allows Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF) to be accessed as e-mail attachments or through public folders to be displayed as HTML, even if Office isn’t installed on the client PC.

Exchange ActiveSync: Improved direct push e-mail ensures ActiveSync clients receive messages on server connect. Other mobile-friendly features include inline message fetch — the ability to download long attachments without reloading the entire message — and information rights management, which allows users with proper authority to view protected messages without being connected to a server.

Outlook Web Access: The latest OWA client is a near-perfect clone of the Outlook 2003 desktop interface. Features and views are nearly the same, and performance is excellent.

Smart scheduling: The addition of Scheduling Assistant and Calendar Attendant mean that Exchange tracks not only the schedules of all meeting invitees but also the availability of meeting rooms and can manage all of this on the server, so meetings can be fully scheduled without everyone’s Outlook client being connected.

Improved search: A rewritten search algorithm noticeably boosts the speed at which Outlook can find specific messages in large message stores.

Large Mailbox size: Quota limits will be increased to 500MB
We are planning on moving all Information Resources mailboxes by May 21, 2009 .  We expect very little interruption in your use of email. 

What to expect:

Outlook users:  Outlook should automatically detect and reconfigure itself, to the new server no action need be take on your part.
Webmail users: webmail will be moved to a new server, and until the entore campus moves to Exchange 2007, we will need to go to a different address, to access webmail go to, https://tyler.cortland.edu (make note of this, we will also be placing a link on the current webmail for Exchange 2007 users)
Mac Users:  Entourage will need to be reconfigured to send mail, the exchange server name is mitchel.cortland.edu , the owa server is tyler.cortland.edu
IMAP/POP Users:  The new IMAP and POP is ssl enabled, and the address to retrieve your mail is tyler.cortland.edu
Activesync/iPhone Users:  The active sync server address is tyler.cortland.edu
Blackberry users:  Your blackberry will reconfigure to the new server.

Here is a summary of the server addresses:

Mailbox server: mitchel.cortland.edu
Webmail/OWA server:tyler.cortland.edu
IMAP/POP3: tyler.cortland.edu
Active Sync: tyler.cortland.edu

Josh Peluso is going to start moving mailboxes, on Monday, May 18, 2009 .  If you would like your mailbox moved sooner, let him know .  If you would like Josh to wait to move your mailbox, let him know that as well, and he will try and accommodate it.

Information Resources offers faculty a variety of ways to transfer data and media from the VHS recorded format to a DVD.  All procedures conform to the SUNY Cortland’s Policy for Copyright and Fair Use.  Questions about the suitability of copying materials should be addressed to Library Director Gail Wood (x2221) who serves as the Campus Copyright Compliance Officer.

Classroom Media Services is responsible for the transfer of VHS data and media from VHS to DVD without editing or otherwise altering the content.  This service is for one copy to one copy, or one copy to multiple copies.  The contact person is CMS Technical Support Specialist Bob Babcock x4894.

Memorial Library offers (1) editing services for VHS to DVD transfers and (2) to copy media for use on a streaming server.  In addition, the library offers a do-it-yourself transfer station for copying VHS to DVD.  See below for the current procedures.  For further information, contact Digital Imaging Specialist Dawn Van Hall (x4890).

Do-It-Yourself VHS to DVD Transfer Station

The transfer station is signed out through the Digital Imaging Specialist and taken to one of the library’s Multimedia Studios.  Transfer time is real-time:  a one hour video will take one hour to transfer.  Users are responsible for supplying their own DVD-R for copying.  Sign-out time is 3 hours or negotiated with the Digital Imaging Specialist.  This service is available M-F, 9-5 or by appointment. 

Instruction is available; and there is written instructions accompanying the transfer station.  Each user is responsible for understanding the copyright and fair use standards involved in copying materials.  The following sign is affixed to the machine/cart: 

The copyright law of the United States (title 17 US Code) governs the making of photocopies or other Reproductions of copyrighted materials. The person using this equipment is liable for any infringement.
 

For further information, contact Dawn Van Hall, x4890.

April 2009

Classroom Media Services (CMS) has a new classroom (Sperry 309) available that records and stores classroom presentations, and synchronizes audio, video and graphics. The recordings can be distributed online for people to view at their convenience through a standard web browser, making it easy to navigate and play from any point in you presentation.

For more information please contact Classroom Media Services at x4115.  

The Academic Web Development Office within the Memorial Library is proud to announce a “Poster Production Service” for faculty members presenting their scholarly research at conference and related presentations, such as Scholar’s Day.

More details about the service can be found at http://www.cortland.edu/ir/posters.aspx

Several years ago an SPSS committee was formed to discuss SPSS installations and upgrades across campus. In order to meet the needs of faculty and students who use SPSS in labs and classrooms and to keep the costs associated with SPSS to a minimum, the committee decided the Windows version of SPSS should be moved to a network license. The committee also determined that the latest version of SPSS would be installed in labs and classrooms during the summer upgrade cycle.

This past summer, all the Windows computer labs and classrooms were upgraded to SPSS 16.0. As a result, individuals will no longer be able to use SPSS 14.0 and 15.0 after December 22, 2008. If you are using version 14 or 15 on a Macintosh computer this change will not affect you. If you are a faculty member and are using these versions, your system may be upgraded to SPSS 16 at no charge. You may request this by filling the software request form located at: http://www.cortland.edu/acs/forms.asp.

Lastly, SPSS 17.0 will be out this fall, but Windows computer labs and classrooms will not be upgraded until Summer 2009. If you would like to receive a copy of SPSS 17.0 prior to next fall, you may request a copy after we have installed the latest version on the server sometime over winter break by filling out a Software Request form that is located at the above link.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Academic Computing Services at acs@cortland.edu or 753-5793.

If you have any questions, please contact:
Academic Computing Services
Information Resources
Winchell Hall
SUNY Cortland
Cortland, NY 13045

Thank you for your many inquiries and suggestions related to the use of the Outlook Out Of Office Assistant reaching colleagues off campus. In the past Out Of Office messages did not get sent to off campus addresses, they were solely used for communication to Cortland email users. We have received many suggestions requesting that the Out Of Office messages, be sent to off campus email addresses as well. Starting Friday September 12, 2008 you’re Out Of Office messages will reach others outside of the Cortland email system. Please be aware when setting your Out Of Office message, that others outside the Cortland email system will begin receiving your notification.

For Faculty who have students working on media production projects in their class and their drive space is not large enough to store these projects, Faculty will be able to request an increase in their student’s storage space.

The request should be made to the Technology Help Center (THC), helpdesk@cortland.edu , and contain the CRN-term code of the class (i.e. HLH 250 Fall ’08). Information Resources staff will process the request, which may take several days. Once the storage space has been increased the Faculty member will be notified when it’s completed. Please note that at the end of the semester, the student’s storage space will be reset back to 200 mg.