Blackboard Outage Planned for May 12-15 for Upgrade

In order to upgrade to version 8.0, Blackboard will be unavailable from 6:00 pm on Tuesday, May 12 to 6:00 am on Friday, May 15.

Significant improvements in this new version of the Blackboard Learning Management System are to be found in the new “Grade Center”.

IT Workshops Scheduled for April-June 2009

IT Services will be offering a number of hands-on IT workshops in April, May and June. If you’ve been interested in attending workshops in these areas but haven’t had a chance to do so yet, take advantage of these offerings!

Blackboard Support Tab Added to myMiami to Assist Faculty with Blackboard Use

In order to continuously improve support for Blackboard, Advanced Learning Technologies (ALT) has added a new "Blackboard Support" tab to myMiami and made it available to all faculty members.

Voice over IP Phone System Transition Saving Departments $$

With 58% of Miami departments and offices moved to the new Voice over IP system, departments are already seeing unexpected savings in their telephone budgets.

Document Imaging Saves Student Financial Assistance Time and Improves Service

The past year and a half has seen a big change in the document management approach in the Office of Student Financial Assistance. In early 2008, Student Financial Assistance began using the Banner Document Imaging Suite (BDMS) to scan and index every document the office received. Now, instead of a paper file, each student has an electronic file.

Green Computing: Adjust Your System Settings to Save Energy (and Money)

Did you know that a computer that is left on in an idle state uses as much as 80 watts of power? If you tack on a typical monitor’s power usage too, it can add another 60 watts. With a just a few changes to your system settings, you can utilize power management settings to save power and money.

Student Technology Advisory Committee Looks Back on Accomplishments and Elects New Leader

Last fall a record 54 students applied for a seat on the 20-person Student Technology Advisory Committee (STAC). This group of students is tasked with representing the voice of the student body on issues related to campus technology. 

Do You Have the Best Wireless Connection Possible? 

Although you may not be aware of it, Miami provides a number of ways to connect to the wireless network while on campus. These are reflected in different “networks” that appear in your wireless network listing when you are within range of a Miami wireless access point.

Changes to Network Login, File Servers & Sharing Coming This Summer/Fall

While mostly invisible to end users except for the initial log-on screen on university computers, Novell has been an important part of Miami’s network environment to date. Recent changes in the overall network infrastructure mean Miami now has other alternatives for functions historically served by Novell.

REMINDER: Miami’s Dial-up Internet Service Ends 7/1/2009

As previously announced, dial-up Internet service will be removed on July 1, 2009, due to very low usage, availability of low-cost and free alternatives, and University budget constraints.

75 Proposals Received for Student Technology Fee Funding

Earlier this spring, faculty, staff and students were invited to submit proposals for technology projects designed to improve students' experience at Miami on the Oxford campus for student technology fee funding. In response, seventy-five proposals were submitted for consideration. 

Excel Tip: Calculating Averages on Summary or Grade Data

Many Excel users have used the AVERAGE function to calculate the average of a series of data. But what do you do when you have summary data instead of individual responses and need to calculate an average?

bigPRINT Initiative Launched to Contain Departmental Printing/Copying Costs

In an effort to help the university understand and contain escalating printing and copying costs university-wide, IT Services and Purchasing have coordinated a new program called the bigPRINT initiative.

Summer Tips on Passwords and E-mail

During the summer, the most common questions and problems the IT Services Support Desk fields from students, faculty, and staff who are away from campus relate to passwords and e-mail. Resolving password problems in particular is much more difficult when you are not on campus. Following these quick tips can make a big difference…