Students Wanted for Outlook Live E-mail Evaluation Project
Oh, no! Locked out again! Didn’t I just clean out that inbox last week?!
We’ve heard from many students that they need a bigger mailbox and more file storage space in an e-mail client. So in response, we’re evaluating Microsoft Office Outlook Live as a possible replacement for student e-mail. Outlook Live offers a HUGE mailbox and 25GB of “SkyDrive” space for storing files, in addition to many other useful features. Never get locked out again!
We’re currently calling on students* to be a part of our testing phase to let us know what works, what doesn’t and how we can better meet students’ e-mail needs.
So be one of the first on board to try Outlook Live. By participating, you even have a say about the name of ECU’s new student e-mail. But hurry—this trial period is only open to 500 students, and slots are filling up fast.
Visit http://www.ecu.edu/itcs/email/outlooklive.cfm today to read the requirements and other details about the program and then sign up!
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*This pilot program is open to enrolled students only, faculty, staff and graduate teaching assistants are not eligible to participate in this project.
Where’s Taho?
Beginning Monday, October 12, 2009, users will no longer see Taho listed as a wireless network, only Buccaneer and Pirates. But not to worry—it’s just a name change; the log on routine will stay the same, and users should just choose the new name, Pirates. Read on for details.
ECU has two wireless networks, Buccaneer and Taho (Pirates).
Taho (Pirates) is the wireless network accessed by faculty, staff, students and guests through WiFi mobile devices or personal Windows or Mac laptops using a Web browser or the CCA Agent software (if it’s configured on the machine).
Effective Monday, October 12, Taho users should select the wireless network, Pirates, to log on to the ECU network. This is a name change only, and most Windows laptops will recognize the Pirates network and allow log on. However, Macintosh and mobile devices may need some help. Those users who have trouble connecting to the Pirates wireless network should call the IT Help Desk at 252.328.9866. iPhone/iPod Touch users can visit www.ecu.edu/cs-itcs/email/iphone.cfm.
Buccaneer is ECU’s secure wireless network, and is the default wireless network for laptops purchased by ECU departments for employees to access the INTRA domain. Monday’s name change will not affect users who routinely access the Buccaneer secure network.
For additional information about ECU’s wireless networks, visit www.ecu.edu/itcs/wireless.
Transfer Analog VHS to Digital DVD and Save the Memories
You may have noticed the quality of your VHS tapes is not as clear as it used to be. You may have found it harder to purchase blank VHS tapes. Or you may have scrambled to find a classroom equipped with a VCR.
Why not consider transferring your hard work from analog VHS format to a digital format? It’s easy and ITCS is here to help.
There are several good reasons to consider transferring your VHS tapes to DVD format. First, after many showings, VHS tapes start to deteriorate, along with the quality of your data. Transferring that data to DVD format will save the quality, plus DVDs do not fade, break or tangle the same as a VHS tape. Secondly, once a machine breaks down, it may not be replaced as it is becoming difficult to purchase VCRs. This will make it more and more difficult to find classrooms equipped with a VCR.
If you’re interested in converting your VHS tapes to DVD format, but you don’t know how, first enter an online IT Help Desk request or call 252.328.9866. A member of the Smart Classroom team will contact you for a consultation in the Walk-in IT Help Desk (Austin 103/Health Sciences Building 3330). During the consult, you’ll be coached on how to use the direct transfer equipment. From then on, work at your own pace to transfer your VHS tapes to DVD.
A note about copyright. You are required to sign the Copyright Ownership Verification Form, Standard Agreement before beginning this project. This ensures that you have read and understand the copyright statements, and that if you are transferring copyrighted material, you have provided the necessary permission letter.
Welcome Back Students and Faculty!
Information Technology and Computing Services (ITCS) is here to assist with your instructional, research and administrative technology needs.
With a re-designed Web site and several exciting new services, we’re thinking this may be your best year ever—keep reading to learn about a few of our newest technology tools.
Services At-a-Glance
Visit the ITCS home page for links to all of our resources.
Create Academic Web Space (NEW!)
Go to http://myweb.ecu.edu/, log in with your ECU Piratemail address and passphrase, and click the Create Web Space link. Create a new site, manage permissions and even transfer files to and from your Web site using your favorite browser…even create a blog! You can also go directly to http://blog.ecu.edu/ and create your WordPress blog.
Microsoft Expression Web (NEW!)
An editor similar to DreamWeaver, download Microsoft Expression Web for your university-owned computer from the university software download site at http://download.ecu.edu/. Online tutorials for Expression Web can be found at http://expression.microsoft.com/ (click “Video Tutorials” in the right menu) or visit http://www.learnexpression.com/.
Access to Software, Anytime Anywhere (NEW PROGRAMS ADDED!)
ECU Pirates connect to the ECU Virtual Computing Lab (VCL) from home or residence hall and use the available software programs for class assignments. Whether they make a reservation (recommended) or log on immediately, the VCL is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ECU students. Faculty who wish to request software for a specific course should submit the Virtual Computer Lab Image Request form through the IT Help Desk or send an e-mail to vcl_help@ecu.edu.
Smart Classrooms
ECU has more than 300 Smart Classrooms spanning both the Main and Health Sciences campuses. Whether you need a classroom, conference room or an auditorium, a variety of technologies can be found in any of these locations. Visit the Smart Classrooms Web site for more information: http://www.ecu.edu/itcs/smartclassroom.
Launch a Survey
We offer faculty and staff an easy-to-use, online survey tool named Perseus. A training guide is available on the ECU Perseus Web Site (www.ecu.edu/itcs/perseus) under Getting Started. Submit a request for access through the IT Help Desk.
Share Online Workspace, Collaborate on Research
SharePoint (http://collab.ecu.edu/) allows groups, such as a project team or research committee to work together within a centralized, password-protected Web environment and share documents, participate in online meetings, plan events, and more. Sites are initially limited; however, you may request additional space, if necessary. External contributors (non-ECU faculty/staff) can be provided access. Submit a request for access through the IT Help Desk.
Get Software
ITCS offers faculty and staff a variety of software such as statistical packages (SPSS, SAS, NVivo) and Camtasia to install on their university-owned computer. Log in to the Online IT Help Desk to submit software request forms. Through special educational software agreements, you can install Symantec AntiVirus and Microsoft Office 2007 (Windows)/Office 2008 (Mac) on your home computer that you use for work purposes. Symantec AntiVirus can be downloaded from http://download.ecu.edu/; faculty and staff may purchase a CD with Microsoft Office from the Dowdy Student Stores for a minimal fee. You must present your ECU 1 Card and sign a “work-at-home” agreement.
Training (NEW!)
Visit the ITCS Learning Center for tutorials – PDFs, videos – on topics like CommonSpot and Piratedrive, and check out links to helpful external training sites.
SAS provides ECU with a limited number of training credits each year to be used by faculty and staff. Choose from two training formats – face-to-face classroom training or Live Web online courses – designed to satisfy your unique learning style. Visit http://support.sas.com/training/options to view the course catalog and training dates/times/locations. Contact Jennifer Raby at rabyj@ecu.edu to register for courses.
Help
IT Help Desk 252.328.9866 / 1.800.340.7081
Call with an immediate problem, submit a non-emergency IT question through an online service request or start a live chat with a technology support technician via the Web site.
Walk-In IT Help Desk Austin Building, Room 103 / 252.328.5401 / Health Sciences Building, Room 3330 / 252.744.3330
Walk-in IT support (faculty/staff) for software, networking, virus/malware trouble, Opscan sheets and more. Need to meet with a technology consultant? Call ahead to set up a one-on-one appointment. Students should stop by the ACE student computing support center for hardware and software support.
And don’t forget to subscribe to the ECU Technology Digest Blog today!
Here’s to a successful 2009-2010 academic year—
Special IT Hours for Move-In Weekend
Summer’s over, and it’s time to open the books! Or the laptop…or the iPod…or the Smart phone.
Or any of the new technologies ITCS is now supporting at ECU.
While moving in to the residence halls this weekend will make you work up a sweat, connecting to ECU’s network will be cool work as we’ve extended our help hours as follows:
ACE Student Computing Support Center (Rawl 108)
Temporary Locations in College Hill Computer Lab (Aycock Hall) and
West Neighborhood Computer Lab (White Hall)
Thursday, August 20 – Sunday, August 23, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
IT Help Desk and RezNet (student assistance)
Thursday, August 20 & Friday, August 21, 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 22 & Sunday, August 23, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Monday, August 24, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Walk-in IT Help Desk (Austin 103)
Thursday, August 20 & Friday, August 21, 8:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 22, 12:00 noon – 3:00 p.m.
Monday, August 24, 8:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Austin Computer Lab (Austin 104)
Thursday, August 20 – Sunday, August 23, 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Monday, August 24, 12:00 noon – 8:00 p.m.
Normal hours resume Tuesday, August 25. For more information on Help Desk and Lab hours, visit http://www.ecu.edu/cs-itcs/Hours.cfm