Summer Upgrades and Changes

In addition to the numerous routine summer activities — installing 238 new computers, updating 18 department and 6 public computing labs — IIT staff completed a wide variety of projects.

Classroom Technologies

Several classrooms received either new or updated equipment. In particular, Old Main 1 and Rolvaag Library 421 are completely new installations. Ten other classrooms received upgrades.

Additionally, IIT staff spent many hours updating the documentation associated with each classroom installation. Each room should have a printed copy of the instructions, and all documentation is available via the IIT web site. If you are teaching in a room with technology, be sure to check it out and make sure it works as you expect before you need it in class.

Holland Hall Rewiring Complete

Holland Hall was updated with all new data and telephone wiring. This was a project many years overdue and IIT would like to thank everyone in Holland Hall for their patience during the project.

Moodle Upgraded

Moodle was upgraded in July. Most users won't notice any differences from the older version. Others might be pleasantly surprised to see features like an expanded gradebook, new question types for quizzes, a new database activity, and blogs.

Questions about Moodle should be directed to moodle@stolaf.edu.

E-Stations in Tostrud

E-mail stations have been added to Tostrud Center so you can check your messages between sets or on your way to/from class.

Laptop Encryption

Over the summer, IIT investigated several methods for encrypting data on laptops. Laptop theft is one of the quickest and easiest ways for personal information (including social security numbers, bank account numbers, student or employee ID numbers, etc.) to end up in the wrong hands. The best prevention is not to store sensative data on a laptop, but in the case where that isn't possible, we are testing a couple of methods for keeping such information private even if the laptop is stolen. Over the next few weeks, all administrative staff laptops will be set up with encryption.

OneCard

IIT invested a substantial amount of staff time and resources in the OneCard system.

Server Virtualization

IIT continues to explore and implement server virtualization. Server virtualization is a process of running more than one "server" on a single physical box. By doing so, IIT buys less hardware, needs less space to house server hardware, and provides more services to the campus community. As virtualization improves, we hope to add more services.

Work Continues On...

Other projects that took up a great deal of time this summer but are still in progress include the World Language Center,the OneCard system, a campus-wide image database, and a wide-format printer. Watch future newsletters for details on these projects as they are completed.