Technology@Wooster

In the summer of 2007, IT will implement a network access control (NAC) solution in all student residential spaces. The NAC is designed to prevent computers that are infected with viruses or worms, and computers that are vulnerable to infection, from connecting to the campus network. This will prevent the spread of infection and help to ensure that the campus network and other IT resources operate effectively.

When students arrive on campus for next academic year and plug a computer into a network jack, the NAC will require that they authenticate. Following authentication the computer will be scanned for infection and vulnerabilities. If infections or vulnerabilities are detected, the computer will be denied network access and the student will be provided with information as to the nature of the problem, the steps required to remedy the problem, and where to obtain assistance.

To test the NAC and to gain experience with it, IT will implement this new service within our own offices prior to deployment in the residential spaces. This will help to ensure a smooth implementation for students. The NAC will replace the computer registration process that went into effect at the beginning of this academic year.

Additional information about the NAC and its implementation will be published on the IT blog as it becomes available.

The College has adopted the following policy on the disposition of used computers and computer related equipment.

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No College-owned computer equipment will be sold, donated, recycled or otherwise disposed of until the Office of Information Technology has obtained it, examined it and determined that it cannot be feasibly redeployed within the College. All College-owned computer equipment that is replaced or otherwise taken out of service will be retrieved by IT and assessed for possible redeployment.

Computers that cannot be feasibly redeployed will be made available for sale, donation or recycling. Preference will be given to individuals or organizations willing to take substantial numbers of computers and willing to pick up and transport them. Individuals or organizations seeking five or fewer computers must pay, at minimum, an administrative fee for each computer. This fee will be set by the Chief Information Technology Officer. All individuals and organizations taking possession of used computers assume responsibility for the eventual, lawful disposal of the equipment, and must sign a document to that effect. Prior to disposition, IT will reformat all hard disks on all computers.

Exceptions to this policy can be made with the approval of the College president or a College vice president.

A new poster printer (an HP DesignJet 800PS) is available in Taylor 205 for faculty, staff and student use. Printing takes place via the Pharos system. Student print accounts will be debited $4.80 per linear foot. For faculty and staff, Pharos will record the same charge against the appropriate account. Instructions are available on the IT documentation site. Questions about the poster printer should be directed to the help desk at 330 287-3000 x4357 (HELP).

This summer three new employees assumed the position of User Support Specialist within the Department of User Services.

Leslie Worcester recently graduated from Oberlin where she majored in Psychology. Throughout her student years at Oberlin, Leslie worked for both the campus computer store and client services. This provided significant experience with computer installation and troubleshooting, user training and customer service. At Wooster, Leslie provides general user support, specializing on the Mac operating systems and applications. She also concentrates on the production of user documentation.

Michael Naylor graduated from Bowling Green in 1997 with a B.A. in Education. He then spent four years teaching Music and Band in grades 6 through 12. After this he spent four years at PPG Industries, first as Helpdesk Analyst and then as Business Systems Analyst. While at PPG Michael provided support for personal computers, printers, networks and software applications. He also developed training materials and conducted training for technical staff. At Wooster, Michael provides general user support, specializing on Windows operating systems and applications. Michael also concentrates on Windows computer imaging.

Robert Rybicki also comes to us from PPG Industries. He worked there as Systems Support Analyst from November, 2002 until joining The College in the summer of this year. In this role he provided technical support for both end users and helpdesk staff. He also developed documentation and provided training for new employees. At Wooster, Robert has assumed primary responsibility for help desk phone support. He also administers Track-It, the College’s new help desk call tracking software, and is responsible for tracking all incoming problem reports through to resolution.

IT is very please to welcome these folks to Wooster and to their new responsibilities. Each plays an important role in User Services’ initiative to improve the effectiveness of the help desk.

Leslie Worcester, Michael Naylor and Robert Rybicki

There are well over 150 Filemaker Pro databases on campus. Many of these databases are located on the College’s old Filemaker server. This server is a G4 Mac running Filemaker Pro Server 5. Many other Filemaker Pro databases are located on individual desktop computers.

IT has installed a new hardware server running the most recent Filemaker server software–version 8.0, and has begun working with departmental and individual database owners to migrate their databases to the new server and the new software version. Our goals are to provide a more reliable hardware platform, to migrate all Filemaker Pro databases to that new platform so that they can be more efficiently managed and reliably backed-up, to recover licenses by identifying and eliminating databases that are no longer in use, and to provide to the College community the enhanced features of the latest Filemaker Pro software. These features include user-based security using existing usernames and passwords, multi-table database design allowing database aggregration, and enhanced web interface.

We have completed the migration of databases belonging to the Biology Department, the Security Office and the Art Gallery, and are currently working with the PEC, Post Office and Web Services. We will be contacting other departments in the near future. If you have any questions about Filemaker Pro or this initiative, please contact Vince Di Scipio or Mary Schantz.

The McCreight Learning Laboratory is now a computer lab! In an effort to provide more computing options, the College has opened a new lab in Gault Library. It is located on Lower1 across the hall from the Media Library. The lab consists of 19 eMacs running system 10.4. These systems feature Microsoft Office, End Note, Real Player, Firefox, GroupWise, and Canvas 8. The McCreight Lab is also equipped with a data projector. It is not only a nice public computing space, but is available to schedule for classes.

If you have a questions regarding the lab or the software that is installed please feel free to contact John Shatzer at x2608 or email him at jshatzer@wooster.edu. If you wish to schedule the McCreight Lab please contact Susan Burt at x2152, or email her at sburt@wooster.edu.

Dreamweaver 8 is now available to faculty and staff. (This software is not available to students.) Dreamweaver is keyserved. If the Keyserver client has not been installed on your computer, you must install this client in order to use Dreamweaver. If you are installing the client on a laptop computer, be sure to download and install the version specifically for laptops. Both the KeyServer client and Dreamweaver can be obtained from the College software download site.

Each time a keyserved application is launched, the Keyserver client determines whether a license is available. (The College owns 30 licenses for Dreamweaver 8, so up to 30 users may use it concurrently.) If the client is unable to make this determination, the application will not function. In order to use keyserved software off-campus, you must either connect to the campus network via VPN so that a license can be obtained, or you must “check out” a license prior to leaving campus. For assistance with VPN or the “check out” procedure please contact the IT help desk at 330 287-3000 x4357 (HELP).

The soap opera Bridgewood is currently airing on Channel 2 (CoW TV) via the campus cable television system. The six episodes of Bridgewood’s first season were written, directed, filmed, edited and acted by the students of Professor Ansley Valentine’s Acting II class. The soap opera is set on the campus of a small liberal arts college. The first episode aired at 9:00 on Monday, October 23 and new episodes will air each Monday at that time. A teaser is accessible through the blog of Instructional Technology Intern Joe Benfield. You don’t want to miss the heart-wrenching drama of Bridgewood!

Channel 2 also features forums, faculty-at-large sessions and other local content. Have something you’d like aired? Contact Joe Benfield at jbenfield@wooster.edu.

Channel 2 is brought to you by the Department of Instructional Technology.

The College has licensed EndNote. This software can be used to conduct literature searches, to develop a personal library of references, and to create and format citations for papers and publications. Students, staff and faculty members may now download EndNote version X from the College software download site. It is available for Windows and Mac OS X.

EndNote is keyserved. If the Keyserver client has not been installed on your computer, you must install this client in order to use EndNote. If you are installing the client on a laptop computer be sure to install the version specifically for laptops. Directions for installing both the Keyserver client and EndNote are available on the IT documentation site.

Each time a keyserved application is launched, the Keyserver client determines whether a license is available. If the client is unable to make this determination, the application will not function. In order to use keyserved software off-campus, you must either connect to the campus network via VPN so that a license can be obtained, or you must “check out” a license prior to leaving campus. For assistance with VPN or the “check out” procedure please contact the IT help desk at 330 287-3000 x4357 (HELP).

The Teaching Matters session this week will be conducted by the folks in Instructional Technology and will feature the new SMARTBoard, an interactive whiteboard, which the Education Department and the Department of Instructional Technology recently acquired. The session will be the usual brown bag affair from noon until 1:00 and will be held in Morgan 208 on Friday, November 3. The room is rather small so be prepared to be cozy! The session will demonstrate several functions of the SMARTBoard such as projection, notebook capture, lecture/process capture, and video markup. In addition, benefits to students such as engagement, motivation, and retention will considered.