Delivering Value – IT Services’ Promise to You

On behalf of IT Services, I recently submitted our response to the University's Five Year Strategic Goals to President Hodge. We see many opportunities for IT Services to contribute to Miami University's third century of excellence and we look forward to discovering the ways that we will be able to partner with other divisions as they pursue their goals.

New Competitive Process for Requesting Funding for Student Technology Initiatives

A pool of funds from the Student Technology Fee has been created to stimulate the development of innovative student-focused technology projects on the Oxford campus. A total of $525,000 will be available and any student, faculty or staff member may apply for funding.

Creating Engaging Online Learning Activities Made Easy

Faculty now have a new technology tool to use to create fun, interactive activities that help students master course material: Respondus StudyMate.

Data Mining Workshop for Academic Researchers to be Held Thursday, February 21

Miami faculty, graduate students and others who need to analyze large amounts of data to uncover patterns for academic research purposes have a valuable tool available to them: SAS Enterprise Miner software running on the RedHawk High Performance Computing (HPC) cluster.*

Sharpen Your Excel Skills with Excel 2007 Workshops

Do you use Microsoft Excel regularly but think you could be using it more effectively? Or do you have tasks you think Microsoft Excel could help you with but are just not sure how to get started using it? Many faculty and staff indicate that they fall into one of these categories which was the driving force behind a new series of hands-on Excel 2007 workshops that IT Services is offering this semester.

Office 2008 for the Mac:  Analysis and Availability

IT Services has been conducting extensive testing of the Microsoft Office 2008 Suite and preparing for its release here at Miami. The team's assessment of Office 2008 is “there are still many issues with the production release and we have actively informed Microsoft about these issues. However, there are also many new features that enhance productivity and help manage information effectively.”

Bogus “Official” Miami E-mail Asking for Account Information Circulating:  Don’t Respond!

If you receive an e-mail message that appears to be from a legitimate Miami University address (MUOHIO) and asks for your user name, e-mail password and other personal information, delete the message immediately. No official university office will ever ask for you to disclose your MUnet password via e-mail or any other means.

Miami’s Emergency Text Messaging System Tested and Used

Miami’s Emergency Text Messaging System has been put to work several times since the start of the Spring 2008 semester: it was formally tested on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 and subsequently used to deliver several weather-related “campus closed” messages the week of February 10, 2008. Early results give the system high marks, but with some room for improvement in the registration process and receipt of alerts on the e-mail side.

Bill Miley Appointed Senior Director of Information Systems and Services

IT Services is pleased to announce that Bill Miley has been named the new Senior Director for Information Systems and Services (ISS), effective March 1. Bill has been with IT Services for more than 25 years in increasingly responsible positions and has been serving as the interim Senior Director of ISS for the past several months.

IT Services Refunds Residence Hall Voice Mail Fees

Students living in residence halls will not be seeing a $12 fee for voice mail on their Bursar bill this semester.  Additionally, any students who paid the $12 fee for voice mail last semester will see a $12 credit on their bursar bill or a check for the refund amount. Voice mail service in the residence halls will continue through spring semester at no charge.

Microsoft Word 2007 Training Can Help with Research Paper Writing

IT Services provides many different avenues for students to receive either electronic or personal instruction on using various software applications. One of these may be just the right option for those who write research papers.

Sungard Operational Data Store Facilitates Meaningful Reporting

The Sungard (Banner) Operational Data Store (ODS) was successfully installed and loaded over the winter break. This success is due to the efforts of Banner clients in nearly every administrative office as well as many members of IT services. Additional validation of data and refinement of the data structure in the ODS will continue for the next few months.

Ask a Tech!

The IT Services Support Desk is staffed with people who address lots of technology questions every day.

Now, in TechTalk’s new “Ask a Tech!” column, we have created a forum to answer general technology questions and we promise not to use “geek speak”!

Smartphone Pilot to Explore Innovative Uses of Mobile Devices on Campus

Members of the Student Technology Advisory Committee and select faculty members will be trying out new mobile wireless devices, or smartphones, as part of a pilot to investigate how these tools can be used in the classroom and beyond.

Student E-mail Mailbox Allocation Set at 1GB

On January 20, student mailbox allocations were implemented that limit student mailboxes to 1 Gigabyte (GB) of space. While this might sound like an imposition, less than 200 students had enough messages in their accounts to be affected. The allocations were put in place to conserve space on the muConnect servers, but that doesn't mean you can't keep all your important messages. You can store unlimited amounts of e-mail offline, on your personal computer.

Update from Miami's Student Technology Advisory Committee Correspondent

The Student Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) is a powerful communications vehicle for students to voice praise and concern over campus technology. The 16 student representatives span skill levels and majors. The STAC is dedicated to the free flow of communication and maintaining a transparent appearance.