New Technology Spaces and Your Course Syllabus
by Roberta Lembke
Over the summer IIT will make a number of exciting changes in our public technology spaces we provide on campus, particularly in Rolvaag Library. Some of these new services may change the way you think about your course assignments and so we thought it would be good to get you the information as early as possible.
As you may know, Rolvaag Library is now the late-night study space on campus and the main level is open until 2:00AM many evenings. Last year we installed a handful of Macs and PC's in Rolvaag Library 330 (now called the Digital Media Lab), not knowing how students would react. In a very short time period, this lab has become one of the most popular and heavily-used labs on campus. Students find the easy access to library resources a huge plus.
Rolvaag Library Multi-Region DVD Players
A number of faculty and students have requested easy access to multi-region DVD players. IIT will install a total of 5 multi-region DVD player/TV combination systems in the Rolvaag Library 330 Digital Media Lab. Four of these units will be placed in the carrels at the perimeter of the room; one will be placed in a small group viewing room located within 330. These five units join a group of existing video and standard DVD stations already housed in this location.
Rolvaag Library Group Viewing and Presentation Practice Room
Group activities and assignments are an integral part of many courses. Often times students scramble to find a room equipped with the technologies they need at a time that is convenient for them. To help alleviate this problem a new group viewing and presentation practice room will be set up this summer in Rolvaag Library 145A. This room will be set up with a large (32 inch) wall-mounted LCD monitor, a multi-region DVD player, VCR, Mac, and PC. In addition, the room will have a feed from the campus cable system so the foreign language channels will also be accessible.
The room can accommodate around 15 students in a mix of comfortable chairs, bean bag chairs, and additional stacking chairs. This facility will be an ideal place for students to watch videos or DVD's or to practice their upcoming group Powerpoint presentations. This space will be kept locked when not in use. Faculty, staff or students can sign up to use the room and get a key at the circulation desk of the Library.
We expect this room to be a huge hit among the students. One nice feature is that immediately adjacent to the Viewing and Presentation Practice Room there will be a larger space with tables and chairs that students can use for some of their off-line group activities or break out sessions. Of course, with the wireless network throughout Rolvaag, students could bring their own laptops and create a group workspace, on the fly, sized to meet their needs.
Another smaller group viewing space is also being set up within the Rolvaag 330 Digital Media Lab area. This viewing space will be in a more open space so wireless headphones will be used to minimize the noise factor. This area will be set up with similar equipment to the RML145A Group Viewing and Presentation Practice Room.
Rolvaag Library Digital Media Lab Group Computing Stations
More and more classes are requiring group computer-based assignments. Our traditional computing spaces do not easily accommodate more then two students at a computer and students are increasingly looking to find places outside of their rooms for study spaces. By the start of the fall term, we hope to have 3 to 4 group computing stations set up in the Rolvaag Library 330 Digital Media Lab. These stations will have a larger monitor (19 or 20 inch LCD), and a wireless keyboard and mouse. The tables will be “half moon” shaped encouraging and allowing everyone to see the screen and be engaged in “doing” everything. These stations will be open to anyone to use but group activities will get priority.
Rolvaag Library Digital Media Lab General Computing Access
IIT is also going to add additional general use computing stations within the RML 330 Digital Media Lab. Last year we added 2 Macs and 4 PC's, two computer-based video editing stations, and a laser printer. We will add two additional video editing stations and will expand the number of general access Macs and PC's. We will continue to monitor the use of this facility and as demand increases we will reposition computers to accommodate changing student needs.
Attention Seniors
Graduating seniors' St. Olaf usernames/accounts are automatically continued until September 20, 2005. You do not need to apply for this extension. On September 20, 2005, the accounts and their contents will be permanently removed from the college's systems. If you have materials you want to keep, you will need to make arrangements to transfer them to your new system before that date.
Ninth-semester seniors who are already registered for courses will automatically receive an account extension. Seniors who will be returning in the fall but have not yet enrolled in additional classes (e.g., student teaching) and who wish to keep their accounts open should notify the HelpDesk (x3830 or e-mail root) before September 20, 2005.
If you will not be returning to St. Olaf in the Fall, but wish to continue exchanging e-mail with friends and family, consider opening an account with one of the free web-based e-mail services, such as Hotmail (http://www.hotmail.com/) or Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com/).
If your summer plans will take you to a location where you will have access to the Internet, or if you are setting up Internet access through an ISP (Internet Service Provider), you can have your electronic mail forwarded to that site until September 20. Refer to the Forwarding Your E-mail article above.
Seniors who have installed a copy of the IIT-provided Symantec Anti-virus need to remove the software from their computers. Our license agreement only covers currently-enrolled students. You can download and purchase your own personal copy from the Symantec web site.
2004-05 Student Computing Survey
For the 16 th year in a row, IIT has conducted a student computing ownership and use survey. This survey provides us with a wide-range of information, from how many students own computers to student use of the St. Olaf-provided labs. This year 2,328 students participated in the survey. As has always been the case, the survey provides us with a wealth of information that we use for decision making.
Ninety-five percent of all St. Olaf students own a computer. The ownership is fairly evenly distributed among the classes, although we continue to see much lower ownership among the SSS students where 82% own a computer. Ownership among first-year SSS students is only at 73%. Unfortunately, we don't have any good historical data with which to compare this data to see if ownership is on the increase among these students.
If your summer plans will take you to a location where you will have access to the Internet, or if you are setting up Internet access through an ISP (Internet Service Provider), you can have your electronic mail forwarded to that site. To set this up, launch a web browser and open a URL to http://www.stolaf.edu/stobase/. Log in and choose Set up Forwarding and Vacation Replies from the main menu.
Thanks,
IIT Students
We couldn't have done it without you. Best of luck to our
graduating seniors.
IIT could never provide the services on which the college relies without the capable assistance of its student staff. We want to thank them all for all their hard work this year.
In particular, we want to acknowledge those graduating seniors who have worked for IIT and wish them our very best in their future endeavors. Our sincere thanks goes to Mark Archer, Tiffany Ayres, Colleen Collrin, Meagan Crary, Jay Decoux, Phuong Do, Ashlee Duimstra, Steven Engle, Matthew Handley, John Hensel, Elizabeth Herman, Brent Kudak, Lance Kuehn, David Middlecamp, Monica Miller, Thomas Muehle, Christopher Mueller, David Eugene Orr, Kathy Pospichal, Michael Smith, Brian Strand, and John Tusken.
Classroom Technology Updates
Technology in the classrooms is a high priority for IIT every year and this summer is no different. Some things to keep in mind with the technology installations:
- Before the end of the term, please report any unresolved issues that you have experienced with classroom technology. All reported issues will be addressed during the summer. Please send reports directly to Timothy Frederick (frederic@stolaf.edu).
- All classroom computers will be rebuilt or replaced this summer. If you have information stored on a classroom computer, remove it before the end of the term to avoid losing your files.
- The classroom technology in select rooms will be updated or modified this summer. When returning to campus this fall, visit your classrooms before the term starts to see if your rooms received any updates and familiarize yourself with them. After August 15, updated classroom information and instructions will be available in the room and at www.stolaf.edu/services/iit/classrooms/
- If there are any specialized software programs (not including MS Office) that you use on a classroom computer, let us know! We need to know who is using specific software to ensure that it is installed for Fall semester.
Unsubscribe from Mailing Lists
Please unsubscribe from mailing lists if you will not be reading them during the summer. Due to limits on server space, if you do not unsubscribe from your mailing lists and allow messages to accumulate in your mailbox over the summer, we will be required to forcibly remove you from mailing lists and prune your mailbox without advance notice.
If you will be away from your e-mail and will not have a forwarding address, you might find the vacation program helpful. When others send you e-mail messages, they will receive a notification that you are away and will not be reading your e-mail until you return. You can customize the message they receive. To set up the vacation program for your account, launch a web browser and open a URL to http://www.stolaf.edu/stobase/. Log in and choose Set up Forwarding or Vacation Replies from the main menu.
Contacting Incoming Students via E-mail
Beginning this summer, new incoming students will receive their St. Olaf usernames and passwords (thereby receiving their St. Olaf e-mail) as early as June 15. Information regarding this is going to each incoming student in the new Destination St. Olaf binder which contains most of the summer mailings from offices on campus. Once a student receives their binder, they can activate their username and choose a password. At that point, they can begin reading their St. Olaf e-mail. Please be aware that, while students can read their St. Olaf mail, they may not be reading it frequently. Details on how to find the addresses will be coming soon.
Student Information System Update
The new student information system went live in the Registrar's office on April 4th. It will run in parallel for several months with the old system until the new system's reliability and functionality are proven. As a result, you will begin to see several changes in the upcoming year. In September, students, parents and faculty will get new web access to academic information. In 2006, web-registration will replace our current process. For more information on the web-based registration proposal, which was e-mailed to the faculty in early May, click www.stolaf.edu/offices/registrar/regmodel.html
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