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In This Issue:
HIGHLIGHTS AND FEATURES
CourseWork: New Course Web Site Development
Tool
Winter Quarter CourseWork Workshops
Academic Technology Lab: A Resource for Faculty
and TAs
Video Streaming: A New Stanford Program from ITSS
Save Time, Money, and Travel with Videoconferencing
Stanford's Course Support Web Site
New Class Email List Service
Faculty Axess Goes Live
Academic Computing Welcomes Media Solutions
LIBRARY RESOURCES
New Version of Socrates Available for Preview
SU Libraries' Online Image Collections
The knovel Package: Online E-Books in Science and
Engineering
Digital Delivery of Interlibrary Loans
HighWire Press: New Journals
Scholars' Workshops Highlight Electronic
Resources
Workshops on Scientific and Engineering Information
New British Library Web Site
Scientific E-Journals Expand Coverage
JSTOR Electronic Journal Archive Enhanced
More E-Journals Available via Socrates
PsychInfo and ERIC Available through EndNote
News about Electronic Resources in the Sciences
WINTER COMPUTER NEWS
Academic Computing's Winter Workshops
PeopleSoft Goes Live at Stanford
Improvements Continue for Email Services @Stanford
Webmail Upgrade Slated for February
Web Site for SU Technology Documents
Convert Your VideoTapes to Non-U.S. Formats
VPUE's Academic Technology Specialists Benefit
Undergraduate Education
ITSS Instructional Program: Winter Computer Training
New Dell Bundle Options
CBT's Ask My Mentor Provides Quick Online Help
Social Sciences Computers Upgraded
Fight Wintertime Blues at the SU Bookstore Computer
Store!
Software at Discounted Prices
Licensed Software at Stanford
Alternative MiceStyles and Unconventional
Keyboards
What to Do about Spam
HelpSU Trouble- Tracking Tickets
Quick Guide to Computing Help
Now Available to All Stanford Faculty
CourseWork, the new online system for developing and managing course Web sites, is now available to all Stanford faculty and TAs. During Fall Quarter, the system was tested in seven Stanford courses. In November, CourseWork made its official debut with demonstrations, hands-on practice, and consultations with Academic Computing staff. Also in November, a workshop was offered on the use of CourseWork for interested instructors and TAs.
CourseWork, which is being developed by Stanford's Academic Computing, a division of Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (SUL/AIR), has tools for creating a full course Web site. This includes a course home page, announcements linked to email, schedule, syllabus, directory of course materials, and panFora, Stanford's asynchronous on-line discussion system. The CourseWork Problem Set and Quizzing tool, which has helped faculty author and deliver Human Biology assignments and foreign language oral testing, is being extended and made available for all courses as part of the new system.
CourseWork is designed to save time and for ease of use by Stanford faculty, TAs, and students. Faculty with little Web experience, can use CourseWork to develop their Web site quickly. Expert Web-users can use it to organize complex, Web-based materials and link them to Web communication tools. Students can register themselves on the system for courses and sections.
Since CourseWork makes use of the standard Leland authentication system, faculty and students don't have to remember additional logins and passwords, making it easy to log on. The system supports varying levels of administrative rights for instructors, TAs, and support staff. Email notices can be sent to the full class or to individual sections. Documents can be uploaded from instructors' computers to the system for distribution. Existing online course material can be linked into a CourseWork class Web site.
This quarter, Academic Computing is offering workshops for those interested in or already using CourseWork. (See "CourseWork Workshop Schedule" in the sidebar on this page or "Winter Quarter CourseWork Workshops" on page 2.)
To sign up for a course Web site go to:
Then click on the Register for CourseWork link on the upper, right-hand side of the Web page.
For more information on the system see the Web at:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/ats/coursework/
You can also contact contact Kim Hayworth at kimhwrth@stanford.edu.
This quarter, Academic Computing offers a series of workshops for those interested in or already using CourseWork. (See also "CourseWork: New Course Web Site Development Tool" on page 1.)
CourseWork Overview 1/15/02, 2/28/02
Setting Up Your CourseWork Course 1/16/02, 3/7/02
Creating and Managing CourseWork Assignments 1/17/02, 3/12/02
The workshops will be held from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Meyer Library. For more information, see the Web at:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/ats/coursework
Coursework Overview: Designed for faculty and TA's interested in using CourseWork, this workshop describes how you can use Coursework to set up a course Web site which displays announcements, on-line readings, a dynamic syllabus and schedule, on-line assignments and quizzes, a discussion forum for students, and a grade book.
Setting Up Your CourseWork Course: Designed for faculty and TA's who have already requested and received a CourseWork course, this workshop provides hands-on experience with setting up your course home page, posting announcements, uploading a syllabus document and other course materials, creating links to web resources and exploring the online discussion forum.
Creating and Managing CourseWork Assignments: Designed for faculty and TA's who have already requested and received and setup a CourseWork course, this workshop covers the assignment tool and gradebook, which can provide an automated system for tracking and maintaining student scores. The versatile question formats and multimedia support allow you to address a wide range of learning styles.
If faculty are unable to attend or would like a general overview of CourseWork, please have them email acomp-consult@lists.stanford.edu to set up an individual appointment in the Academic Technology Lab with a consultant. (See also "Academic Technology Lab: A Resource for Faculty and TAs" on this page.)
The Academic Technology Lab (ATL), located on the first floor of Meyer Library in room 181, is a resource center for faculty and their teaching assistants who are interested in integrating the use of technology into their teaching to enhance student learning.
During Fall Quarter, the ATL was utilized by faculty, TA's and Academic Technology Specialists for projects that involved a variety of different technologies. A sampling of the projects include:
Faculty are encouraged to set up appointments with ATL staff for consulting and training support. Appointments can be arranged by sending a request to acomp-consult@lists.stanford.edu.
For more information about the Academic Technology Lab, visit the Web at http://acomp.stanford.edu/atl/, or contact Kim Hayworth at kimhwrth@stanford.edu or 725-5523.
Video streaming, a popular ITSS pilot project, recently became a full service program. With ITSS-hosted video streaming you can easily incorporate media content into your department's Web sitewithout putting any added stress on your computer/server. Just provide ITSS with your video; they will encode it, make any necessary edits, and host it. You'll be assigned a URL you can seamlessly link to from your Web site.
Your viewers can watch your streaming video from dorm, home, officeanywhere there is an Internet connectionusing a free media player such as RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, or Quicktime Player.
Over 30 departments already use the video streaming service for a wide variety of administrative, research, training and classroom projects.
And two recently added features, Webcasting and video indexing, make video streaming even more useful and powerful.
Webcasting: If you would like to share a campus event with Internet users anywhere in the world, ITSS can Webcast your event, for a fraction of commercial vendor costs. Webcasting provides a live digital video and audio stream (or audio only, if you prefer) that anyone can access over the Internet to experience your event as it is taking place.
Video indexing: ITSS recently added an indexing feature to its video streaming service. Using this feature, you can assign keywords to specific segments of your video. Your users can then search for and view the segments they want.
To find out more about video streaming, go to the Web at http://streamingmedia.stanford.edu, or call Jeff Bornstein at 723-4026. v
Given today's uncertain travel schedules and budgetary cut-backs, video-conferencing has become more popular than ever. With videoconferencing, people in different locationsaround the Bay Area or around the worldcan meet face-to-face and interact almost as if they were in the same meeting room. And, recent technology advances make this service even more cost effective.
ITSS's videoconferencing room in Forsythe Hall comfortably seats five to seven people at a conference table, and can be adapted to accommodate up to 15 people for a seminar. The videoconferencing equipment integrates with a PC and a Mac (or you can bring your own laptop), a VCR, and a document camera, so you can include multimedia presentations in your conference.
A one-hour videoconference can cost as little as $125 for the Stanford participants. When compared to expenses associated with travel to meetingsincluding indirect administrative coststhe savings can be substantial.
And now you can even cross long distance charges off your list of expenses. ITSS has recently added IP-based ("H.323") transmission to its present ISDN-based ("H.320") service. IP-based transmission uses the Internet, which translates to no long distance charges for you.
Find out more about videoconferencing on Web at:
http://cns.stanford.edu/videoconferencing/vc.start.html
To schedule a personal or group demonstration, to start developing an application, or to get more information about videoconferencing , call 725-7103.
Electronic resources that Stanford instructors can use for their courses are collected on the Web at:
Included on the site are a variety of computer- and technology-based services that can help instructors start, organize, and teach their classes.
Faculty and instructors may be excited to learn that communicating with students outside the classroom has become much easier. A new service from ITSS, Email Announcement Lists, automatically creates and updates a student email distribution list for a course.
Last quarter, ITSS piloted Email Announcements Lists for nearly 150 classes. Faculty and instructors registering their courses through the Leland Course Services Registration Web page had the option of a student Email Announcements List. Enrollment data from the Registrar was used to automatically create and update the lists as students enrolled in or dropped courses, relieving class staff of list maintenance duties. Enhanced features allowed the creation of distribution lists for class staff (e.g., TAs, instructors) and class guests (e.g., invited speakers) and a combined list of everyone associated with the class.
It's important not to confuse Email Announcements Lists with discussion groups, (also known as news groups) which are a convenient way to continue class discussions, online, outside of class. In a discussion group, anyone in the community can post comments. (See "CourseWork: New Course Web Site Development Tool" on page 1. Coursework includes panFora, an online discussion system.) With the Email Announcements List, only the faculty member and those on the class staff list can post messages. Students can reply to the message sender and can send messages to the staff list, but they can't post messages to the general class list.
List maintenance is easy. The student and combined lists are created and updated automatically. The other lists can be maintained using Majordomo commands to subscribe or unsubscribe people from your list. (Majordomo is the Internet mailing list software used by Stanford.) Soon, a Web-based interface to Majordomo interface will make maintenance even easier.
To sign up for an Email Announcements List for your class, select the Register for Leland Course Services link on the Web at http://courses.stanford.edu. Complete the form, listing all class instructors, TAs, etc. In section 2, be sure to select the Auto-populated class email lists for announcements only service. For more information about this service, send email to courses-support@lists .stanford.edu. v
As Autumn Quarter drew to a close, faculty joined students as users of the Axess Web site. Rollout 9 of the Axess 2000 project went live on December 3, delivering the capability for faculty to logon to Axess to view information about their classes and advisees, and to enter grades online. For the first time, grades were not submitted to the Registrar's Office via paper forms.
Faculty Axess was the highlight of Rollout 9, which also featured the addition of new functionality in the PeopleSoft system supporting the degree conferral process. The Axess 2000 project, charged with replacing Stanford's legacy academic information system with PeopleSoft's Student Administration system, is scheduled to wrap up in March. The nine originally-scheduled rollouts went live on time as planned over a two-year period. A final "wrap up" rollout will go live on February 25, adding additional functionality.
Get more information about the Axess 2000 Project (including information about Axess for faculty) from the Axess 2000 Web site at http://axess2000.stanford.edu.
Following the reorganization of Learning, Technology and Extended Education (LTEE) at Stanford, the Web and courseware group of Media Solutions has joined the Academic Computing group of Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (SUL/AIR).
Media Solutions is a fee-for-service group that remains available to the Stanford community to address multimedia communication needs. In addition to their award-winning Web design and development, they offer a full range of services with expertise in a variety of areas including information design, instructional design, usability testing, ADA compliance, graphic design, Flash animation, site production, CGI, JavaScript, and database programming and integration.
Media Solutions has moved to 1450 Page Mill Road, next to the Stanford Credit Union. All staff phone numbers and email addresses remain the same, as does their PO Box address: P.O. Box 20532, Stanford CA 94309-0532. For more information, please contact Diane Carr, Acting Director, Web and Courseware Development, diane.carr@stanford.edu, 725-5143 or Charla Baugh, Director of Innovative Educational Product Development, charla@stanford.edu, 723-9801.
You can preview the future version of Socrates, the Stanford libraries' online catalog, by going to the bottom of the Socrates home page at:
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/search/socii/
There you will see a box for a quick search of the catalog. Simply fill in words to search and select an index from the drop-down menu. You can start your search by pressing the enter/return key on your keyboard, or by clicking on the Go button.
There are several advantages to this new version:
Open to all: It is accessible to everyone regardless of logon. The request functionality will only be available to those affiliated with Stanford, but otherwise, those off campus will have more features than in the past.
Upgrades added much faster: With this version, the libraries will be able to incorporate improvements to the catalog much more rapidly.
Links from databases: The libraries will be able to link to this version of the catalog from databases such as those found in OCLC FirstSearch and Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, allowing you to see just what the Stanford libraries' holdings are for an item you've found and whether or not it is checked out.
See more detailed information on bound periodicals: For periodicals, you can use the Print/Capture button and View to see most of the bound volumes. If you want to know if the Stanford libraries actually have the June, 1946 issue of Time, this can tell you. With a few titles, such as Science, that are widely held in the libraries, you may want to skip this feature, since it gives you holdings for all the libraries even if you have narrowed your search to one library.
Use the Periodical Titles index to search: You can search for periodical titles using this index. (In the current Socrates, you can only use the periodical title index on the Browse screen.)
Select a language easily: From the Expert Screen, you can easily select from all possible languages. To move quickly to the language you wish to select from the drop-down menu, type the first letter (e.g., "E" for English).
Cross references are more visible: In this version of Socrates, your results screen will have a note about cross references when these are available, plus a button. These do not yet work in the quick search, but are available from other search screens.
Print/Capture lets you designate just which records you wish to view or print. Select Print/Capture, then in the first box enter your list of record (e.g., 1-10,15,20). Use commas, not spaces.
Although the quick search is quick, you may wish to limit your search. Choose the link for complete search options instead. Alternatively, if you have done a Quick Search, choose New Search to go to the Basic Socrates Screen. Use the Tell Us button at the top of the Socrates home page if you have any questions.
The Stanford University Libraries now offer a number of online image collections, most recently through Insight, an innovative program created by Luna Imaging, Inc. This program not only allows for complex search and discovery of images, but also offers a variety of display, presentation, annotation and download options.
At present, two collections are available through Insight: Chicana Art, a collection of nearly 2,000 works by leading Chicana artists, which includes painting, photography, sculpture, and installation art; and The Correspondence of Athanasius Kircher, a 17th-century Jesuit polymath. The Kircher collection currently comprises more than 8,000 images.
Another major image collection, currently available and fully searchable, though still not delivered through Insight, is that of Dime Novels and Penny Dreadfuls. This collection was created from materials held by the Libraries' Special Collections Department several years ago, has been cited and linked to extensively from around the world. It is still one of the Libraries' most popular online collections.
For access to all of these image collections, go to the Web at:
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/hdis/image.html
Now you can do even more of your research online. Stanford University Libraries is subscribing to knovel, an online database that gives you access to some of the leading science and engineering reference handbooks, databases, and conference proceedings.
One of the great advantages of knovel is that its interface allows you to search through the entire text of the available books. The search results will indicate not only which books contain the information you are looking for, but also which chapters inside the books. Book chapters are displayed in a convenient PDF format, which is easy to search and print out.
Some of the featured classics you can access electronically are The Society of Plastics Engineers ANTEC Conference Proceedings, The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, and Lange's Handbook of Chemistry. The package also includes over 145 additional books in subject areas ranging from Semiconductor Materials to Environmental Engineering.
To access knovel from Stanford, simply go to the Web at:
The site also includes a complete list of titles, publishers and subject areas covered. The Science and Engineering Libraries are interested in any comments you have on this product. If you have any feedback, or if you would like additional information, please contact Karen Clay at 725-1012.
A Pilot Project Becomes a Service
The Stanford University Libraries' Digital Delivery of Interlibrary Loans Service (dd-ILL), is now a regular part of the Libraries' innovative suite of interlibrary services.
The service was generously supported for two years as a pilot project by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian). In addition to being an experimental service to provide digital access to Interlibrary Loan materials, this has been a research and development project in scan-on-demand services, digital library collection development, and user acceptance of digital ILL. Thanks to the success of the pilot project, the Stanford University Libraries has decided to continue dd-ILL as a regular service.
During the two years of the project, the Libraries offered non-Stanford interlibrary loan patrons digital versions of nearly 500 out-of-copyright monographs. Often, these are materials that ordinarily would not circulate outside of Stanford. At the same time, these Web-accessible copies became a permanent part of the Stanford University Libraries' digital library collection, and are now being integrated into Socrates, the Libraries' online catalog, for easier discovery and access. For a description of the Digital Delivery of Interlibrary Loans project and access to the scanned books, see the Web at:
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/hdis/dd-ill/
HighWire Press, the online publishing division of Sanford University Libraries
and Academic Information Resources, produces indexed, full-text
versions of scientific, technical, and medical journals. A list of currently
available journals can be found at HighWire's Web site:
The following list includes journals that will be added in Winter Quarter:
Advances in Dental Research 1/24/02
Annals of Botany 1/17/02
Annals of Occupational Hygiene 2/08/02
Annals of Oncology 1/24/02
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1/16/02
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 2/01/02
British Journal of Social Work 1/29/02
Canadian Medical Association Journal 3/13/02
Contemporary Economic Policy 2/26/02
Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine 1/24/02
Economic Inquiry 2/26/02
International Journal for Quality in Health Care 3/05/02
Journal of Dental Research 1/24/02
Interested in scholarly digital resources? Then come to Green Library's Wednesday afternoon series of Scholars' Workshops, featuring electronic information resources in the Humanities and Social Sciences. The workshops are designed for faculty and graduate students, as well as undergraduates with research interests, but are open to all the Stanford community. No registration is required.
All workshops are on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the SSRC Multimedia Room, room 121A, located in the Social Sciences Resource Center on the first floor of the Bing Wing of Green Library.
For more information, contact Malgorzata Schaefer at (650) 723-9275 or mschaefe@stanford.edu. Watch for the new schedule of workshops on the Web at:
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/green/scholars_workshops.html
The Science and Engineering Libraries are continuing their Science and Engineering Information Skills Workshop Series, which began last quarter. Intended for faculty and graduate students, this workshop series encompasses a range of topics designed to cover what's needed to get the best out of their library resources. Some of the topics covered include secrets of searching Socrates, advanced Internet searching, and using Endnote effectively. Other topics will cover information resources in particular subject areas, such as Chemistry, Biomedicine, and Environmental Science.
Workshops will be held on a weekly basis, starting the week of January 14. For more information, please contact Karen Clay at 725-1012. The complete workshop schedule is on the Web at:
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts /eng /serg_workshops.pdf
A new version of the British Library's Web site, the first significant redesign since their initial launch in 1995, was improved to make it easier to find the information you need. The new site simplifies navigation and makes it more accessible to a variety of browsers, platforms, and bandwidths. A new exhibit accompanies the installation, Lie of the Land: The Secret Life of Maps.
Do you think electronic journals are great but wish they would cover more years? Some e-journals are expanding coverage to include earlier volumes.
For a growing number of journals, full-text articles in early issues are available through JSTOR (http://www.jstor.org/). See also, "JSTOR Electronic Journal Archive Enhanced" on page 8.
The JSTOR list includes the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), which is available starting with 1915, and Science, for which coverage starts with 1880. Early years of other important journals are also available. Search Socrates, the Stanford Libraries' online catalog, for up-to-date detailed information on online availability of specific volumes and years of the journals you need.
JSTOR, the full-text electronic journal archive, recently announced two new features. One allows you to easily include the URL of an item in JSTOR in your own online document (e.g., reading list, syllabus) without worrying that the URL will change. The other alerts you to those articles that contain images from the original document.
JSTOR's goal is to provide electronic access to back issues of core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. By making complete runs of important journal backfiles available and searchable over the Web, JSTOR provides new research possibilities and helps libraries reduce long-term costs associated with storing materials.
The two new features that are now part of JSTOR's interface are:
For examples of these new features, please see the Table of Contents for Callaloo, Issue 5, on the Web at:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0161-2492%28197902%29%3C%3E1.0.CO%3B2-I
A complete list of titles is available through the JSTOR Web site at:
JSTOR titles available at Stanford are cataloged in Socrates and listed on the Electronic Journals page at:
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/collect/ejourns.html
JSTOR offers full-text searching, and articles can be displayed and printed in PDF format.
A unique feature of JSTOR is that, in many cases, coverage starts with the first issue. For example, all issues of Ecology from 1920 to 1996 are available. However, current issues are not included. The updating pattern is referred to as a "moving wall". The moving wall is a fixed period of time ranging, in most cases, from two to five years, that defines the gap between the most recently published issue of any journal and the most recent issue available in JSTOR. For most titles, current issues are available at Stanford through other sources. Check Socrates or the Electronic Journals page listed above.
The Stanford University Libraries recently completed work that makes the OCLC Electronic Collections Online and the Elsevier Science Direct Web Editions (a combined total of almost 1,200 e-journals) available to Stanford users through the Libraries' online catalogs (Socrates and the new, preview version of Socrates). Both collections are also available on the Libraries' e-journals page on the Web at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/collect/ejourns.html. (See also "New Version of Socrates Available for Preview" on page 5.)
Stanford University Libraries has set up a new pathway that will allow users of EndNote bibliographic software to connect directly to the OCLC versions of ERIC and PsychInfo. (To access either of these databases, see the Libraries' electronic databases page at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/catdb /alldata.html.)
Once connected to either ERIC or Psych-Info, users can load search results directly into EndNote, without having to import them. For more information about this service, please see the Web at:
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/webhelp/zaccess.html
The link on that page from the phrase "connection files" leads to a page from which users can download the required EndNote connection files. (A connection file for Socrates, Stanford's online catalog, is also available.)
Note that users must be on the Stanford University Network (SUNet) to make an EndNote connection. The only way to connect to EndNote from off-campus is by dialing into the University's modem pool at (650)-325-1010, which provides a SUNet IP address.
Search 19 million articles (from 1947+), 34 million chemical substances (from 1957+), and 5 million single and multiple-step chemical reactions (from 1974+) using SciFinder Scholar 2001 search client to Chemical Abstracts Online. Not just for chemists, SFS provides access to the literature in a number of disciplines:
Subject Discipline # of References Biology/Life Sciences 3.9 million
Engineering Sciences 6.4 million
Geological Sciences 710,000
Materials Sciences 1.9 million
Medical Sciences 3.4 million
Physics 4.0 million
SFS 2001 includes cited and citing references and the ability to link to cited compounds and sequences. About 5 million new properties have been added to substances in the CAS databases. SFS is easy to use but powerful Analyze feature enables you to cluster results so that you can find relevant research items quickly. CAS has full-text links to 2,200 journals. It is possible to import search results into EndNote. For more details about SFS, please see http://www.cas.org/SCI-FINDER/SCHOLAR/index.html. To download a copy of the SFS search software, go to the Web at http://www-sul.stan-ford.edu/depts/swain/scifi/sfs-top.html.
CrossFire 2000, client search software, enables users to search the world's largest collections of organic chemistry and inorganic and organometallic data. Covering the literature from the late 18th century, Crossfire 2000 provides access to two databases:
Crossfire Beilstein contains over 8 million organic compounds, more than 5 million reactions, and up to 350 data fields for a substance.
Crossfire Gmelin contains 1.4 million inorganic and organometallic compounds and up to 800 data fields for a compound.
Beilstein Commander's search interface lets researchers quickly perform searches on a compound and hyperlink to relevant, related data, such as chemical structures, literature references, and data. Because the data fields of the databases were revised and because the search interface was made more intuitive, current users should download the latest version. Go to the Web at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/swain/crossfire/bgcrossf.html.
CAChe is a leading computer-aided chemistry modeling package for experimental chemists conducting research in life sciences, materials and chemicals, as well as for undergraduate and graduate educators. The new Version 5.0 includes a new semiempirical method with 4x greater accuracy than current methods, challenging even experimental accuracy; modeling of molecules with up to 20,000 atoms; and the inclusion of all main group elements in one semiem-pirical method. The PC version of CAChe includes MOPAC, DGAUSS, and CONFLEX.
BioMed CAChe is a new computer-aided chemistry software package designed specifically for bio- and medicinal chemists. The package aids researchers in discovering structure-activity relationships, optimizing leads by maximizing activity, and improving the prediction of bioavailability. The power of the package enables researchers to predict properties of compounds that have never been made or properties that have never been measured. BioMed CAChe provides researchers with these tools:
For more information, go to the Web at http://www.cachesoftware.com/. Stanford has a site-license for CAChe and BioMed CAChe. To get a copy for your computer, go to http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/swain/colres /acomp/reserves.html.
When scientists display a "live" chemical object, they can use the Chime Pro plug-in directly to visualize molecular animations, raising the chemistry electronic publication standard to a new level. Researchers can use Chime Pro to publish dynamic electronic chemistry objects, rather than simply view static chemistry pictures. Draw structures with ISIS/Draw and visualize them in 2D or 3D. Stanford has a site license to Chime Pro. To download a copy, go to the Web at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/swain/colres/acomp/reserves.html.
Academic Computing is offering two workshop series this quarter, one series for instructors and TAs, the other for students and staff.
Student and staff workshops will be offered in the Multimedia Studio on the second floor of Meyer Library. Topics include:
A student/staff workshop schedule and link to an online registration form is on the Web at:
http://acomp.stanford.edu/studio/sched.html
Instructor and TA workshops will be offered in Meyer Library. Topics include:
An instructor/TA workshop schedule and link to an online registration form is on the Web at:
http://acomp.stanford.edu/atl/workshops/index.html
Instructors or teaching assistants who cannot find a workshop to fit their schedule may request an individual consultation with an Academic Technology Lab consultant. Please request an appointment and send a detailed proposal at least 48 hours in advance to acomp-consult@lists.stanford.edu.
As of December 20, 2001, PeopleSoft HRMS (Human Resource Management System) has been up and running, replacing human resources, payroll, benefits and other University systems. Due to this administrative change, paychecks have a new look and offer additional information. For an explanation of paycheck changes, see the Benefits News: Open Enrollment Edition, page 7 (New Software Systems for Stanford) at:
http://benefitsu.stanford.edu/pdf/news_openenroll2002.pdf
Kronos, the time and leave reporting software, is scheduled for a phased implementation in schools and units during Winter and Spring Quarters. This new software consists of two parts: leave reporting for all staff (replacing Prism Leave and other systems), and electronic time reporting for hourly staff (replacing the paper timesheet). The first unit to go live with leave reporting is Business Affairs on January 1, 2002.
PeopleSoft is now the system of record for all of Stanford's human resources processes, including time and leave reporting.
Up-to-date information about the status of PeopleSoft HRMS is on the Web at:
http://persona.stanford.edu/late_news.html
During the Summer and Autumn Quarters, ITSS began implementing planned improvements to campus email services. An upgrade to Stanford's central email server software made receiving email a little bit faster, but more importantly, it paved the way for a number of future enhancements and improvements. And, the new software prevents mail servers from being overwhelmed by accidental or deliberate spamming (the sending of junk email).
ITSS recently doubled the email quotas for most of the Stanford community. (Your email quota is the amount of space you have to store messages on the Stanford email servers.) These larger quotas offer greater flexibility for people who read their mail on several computers. However, this does not mean that you should store a large amount of email or attachments on the server.
Most Stanford email users download their mail from the server and store it on their local system. A small number of people, approximately five percent of the population, tend to leave their mail on the server. However, the new software rejects new mail for those who are over quota, so it is important to remove messages from the server when you download your mail to your desktop. This is an easy option to set in your email preferences. More details are on the Web at http://www.stanford.edu/group/itss/css/leland/email /mailspool.html.
To check the amount of mail you have on the Leland mail server, go to the Leland Toolbox at http://lelandsystems.stanford.edu/toolbox/ and select the Mail Information link. You'll see how much space your mail occupies on the server, as well as other information.
In December, ITSS discontinued "open relays" through its SMTP email system. This change prevents spammers from using ITSS' outgoing email servers and eliminates potential security incidents.
Most people were unaffected by this change, however, if you use a non-campus Internet Service Provider (ISP) to connect to the Stanford network, you must set the "Outgoing Host" field in your email settings to whatever hostname is recommended by the ISP. You cannot use smtp.stanford.edu.
Directions for finding and changing the "Outgoing host" fields in various versions of popular email programs, are on the Web at:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/itss/css/leland/email/smtpmove/
This Web page also contains a list of host names used by most ISPs.
Beginning February, users will notice two major changes to Webmail (http://webmail.stanford.edu): a brand new interface, and vastly improved performance.
Webmail allows you to access your existing @Stanford mail address on the Web with nothing more than a Web browser (e.g., Netscape). The current version of Webmail has been in place since last January, and can run very slowly, especially for users with many messages. The new version will be dramatically faster. Early testing shows that performance is several times fasterthan the current version.
This improvement is possible becauseof recent upgrades to Stanford's underlying email infrastructure. This summer and fall,theemail servers were upgraded withnewer, faster softwarethat handles messages muchmore intelligently. The new version of Webmail will take advantage of these new capabilities to streamline access to your email inbox over the Web.
One of the most significant improvements is the ability to handle large mail spools. Currently, Webmail often times out before it can process an inbox with several hundred messages. The version coming in February can not only handle thousands of messages in a single inbox, but also is just as fast no matter how many messages you have waiting for you.
Academic Technology Specialists Projects: What's New
During Fall Quarter, the Academic Technology Specialists Program (ATSP) completed many new projects highlighting the use of technologies to enhance teaching and research. In addition, the program welcomed a new specialist in the School of Education. For more information about the ATSP, see the Web at: http://acomp.stanford.edu/atsp/index.html.
While it is very exciting to go on a scientific expedition to collect data, it is seldom practical to do so within the confines of the quarter system or with introductory courses. However, new technologies allow us to create simulations of the scientific experiments or expeditions so that students can spend an hour or so using a computer to collect, analyze, and interpret data in the same manner as researchers in the field.
Faculty in Geophysics 3 and Geosphere (ESYS 111) worked with Charles Weiland, the Academic Technology Specialist (ATS) in Earth Sciences, to produce such simulations. The completed on-line learning modules simulate a geological or geophysical research activity often with real-world data, but with a simple interface so the students can focus on the manipulating and analyzing data rather than on learning to use another technology. All modules require the Shockwave plug-in and are viewable on Macintosh or PC computers.
The two modules for Geophysics 3 examined earthquakes. The first module helped students understand how to locate earthquakes using an array of six seismometers. An earthquake occurs at a specific location (x,y,z) and certain time (t). First, the students explore the time vs. distance data using an earthquake with a known location. They then use the same network of six seismometers to find an earthquake with a random and unknown location. When the student gets the earthquake location to within two kilometers (in x,y, and z) the location is revealed:
http://pangea.stanford.edu/GP /courses/GP4/eq_loc.html
In the second module, students explore the focal mechanism of an earthquake. Students initially examine the first motion along an earthquake fault to see where it is compressional (ground moves toward you) or dilational (ground moves away from you). Then they interpret sixteen seismograms from an earthquake to determine the earthquake motion:
http://pangea.stanford.edu/GP/courses/GP4/focalmech2.html
The Geosphere (ESYS 111) class examines the chemistry of the oceans. Their first module allows students to explore nutrient distribution in the different ocean basins. Students begin by deploying water-sampling bottles at various depths in the ocean and then, with a press of a button, they can analyze the chemistry of the water samples. With another click, they can travel thousands of kilometers to the next ocean basin. The students look at such variables as water temperature, salinity, oxygen content, phosphate, nitrate, cadmium, and silica. Students are also able to examine how each of these parameters change with depth at each station, then compare and contrast distribution of each parameter in the different oceans.
The second module, still under development, takes students down two thousand meters below the sea surface to look at hydrothermal vents on the seafloor. Students travel around the volcanic section of the seafloor, take water samples from hydrothermal vents, and find water temperatures greater than 300°C that are very rich in minerals. After collecting the samples, students try to determine how much of their water sample is regular seawater and how much is hydrothermal water. Then they examine the impact of hydrothermal vents on the overall chemical balance within the ocean:
http://pangea.stanford.edu/marve/marve_web.html
The Psychology Department at Stanford University has traditionally been quite technology-savvy. Research in psychological sciences through the last half-century has incorporated cutting-edge technology, and in the last two decades, has included the most recent advances in medical sciences as well.
Heavy emphasis on human subjects research has created a mature paper-based system of managing experiments and participants. Vijoy Abraham, the Academic Technology Specialist (ATS) in Psychology, is helping the department move these systems towards a Web-based system where researchers and participants alike are able take part in the subject pool without needing to visit bulletin boards in Jordan Hall. Momentum software from Experimetrix is being used at many departments of psychology around the country and will be tested for use in the Psychology Department for the upcoming quarter.
Experiments being conducted include video and image presentations as well as the videotaping of subjects. For analysis purposes, these video segments are being brought onto computer and analyzed on a frame by frame basis. To this end, Vijoy facilitated the upgrading and documentation of the department's Media Lab to allow the use of the latest video editing techniques.
To assist students and faculty in communication and information distribution, the Psychology Department will be utilizing CourseWork to create Web sites for each class taught. Vijoy, along with the other ATSs, is responsible for providing primary support to faculty and TAs in his department who are interested in utilizing CourseWork. (See also "CourseWork: New Course Web Site Development Tool" on page 1.)
Vijoy is also involved in the development of a digital library, which contains teaching materials that can be used in a variety of different courses. Instructors will be able to draw from this library as the need arises. The materials will be submitted by faculty members, converted to an appropriate digital format, and archived in a space accessible to faculty and instructors for that quarter.
Claudia Engel joined the School of Education (SUSE) in November astheir Academic Technology Specialist (ATS). Claudia will participate as a member of the Information Technology Department (SUSE-IT) and work closely with Paul Kim, Director of Information Technology at SUSE.
Claudia has been with Stanford University since December 1999 as Curriculum Design and Deployment Manager at the Stanford Learning Lab (SLL). One of the projects she managed was a collaboration with Donald Kennedy, Bing Professor of Environmental Science and President Emeritus, and Stanford's Human Biology Program to design interventions that facilitate peer-to-peer learning in a large lecture class (HumBio4B). The interventions included a controversial online discussion about policy issues. (The online dicusssion tool used was based on an early version of CourseWork, which is currently being deployed as Stanford's Web-based course management system. See "CourseWork: New Course Web Site Development Tool" on page 1.)
Before coming to Stanford, Claudia was Project Manager at the Supercomputing Center of Galicia, Spain, where she was responsible for the deployment of new technologies in secondary and tertiary education. She directed the design and implementation of teleconferencing classrooms at several Galician universities and co-managed a cross national project funded by the European Commission to apply educational technologies in collaborative projects between rural schools in Spain and Northern Portugal. She gained extensive experience in the development of online course material, technology training for faculty, and co-taught a distributed course on educational technologies.
Before moving to Spain, Claudia was a Research Associate in the area of computer-based training and collaborative technologies at the Technical University in Berlin, Germany. She was also employed as a programmer at the National University of Córdoba, Argentina.
As Academic Technology Specialist Claudia works with faculty to meet discipline-specific technology and training needs to help them acquire and use technology and information resources in their teaching and research. She assists in matching innovative technologies with pedagogical approaches and in integrating those into curricula and classrooms. As a member of the School of Education's technology advisory board she participates in expanding the school's curricula in areas of technical innovation, technology implementation, and faculty-student engagement.
Claudia holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Gottingen, Germany, and was a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis.
Want to use videotapes from overseas or send U.S. tapes to colleagues around the world?
Come to Meyer Library's Multimedia Studio (on the second floor). There you can use a video station with a VCR that can read and write PAL and SECAM formats, one which uses NTSC format (the video standard used in the U.S.), and a box that allows you to send the output from one to the other for recording in a different format. Just bring the tape you want to convert and a blank tape, and follow the directions supplied at the station. Since there is only one station which you can use for this (Video Dubbing Station 2), it's best if you reserve it in advance at the Multimedia Studio reservations page; it's on the Web at:
http://acomp.stanford.edu:8080/cgi-bin/reservation/reservations.pl
The Office of the Vice-Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE) Academic Technology Specialists have been busy consolidating their efforts and creating joint resources that benefit undergraduate education both through direct curricular support and through enhanced information management processes. Together with the VPUE Information Technology Group, the ATS Program is assessing and adjusting for the impact of the new PeopleSoft system on pre-registration processes, a key component of VPUE curricular programs. In addition, they are working closely with Academic Computing , ITSS, and the Registrar's Office on the challenges and opportunities around support for faculty use of technology on campus. Several ATS's participated in the ResNet conference held this summer at Stanford, talking about possible links between academic technology and residential education, and highlighting the potential to enhance the student's whole educational experience, not just what goes on in the classroom.
In Freshman and Sophomore Programs (FSP), small seminars and a good lead time combine to create some cutting-edge academic technology use. Dena Slothower and Carlos Seligo, the ATS's in FSP, were fortunate to have several professors who expressed interest early enough for them to prepare more complex materials. This summer they worked with Mark Mancall, from the Department of History, to create animated aids to meditation for his Sophomore College class, How is a Buddhist? This Autumn's seminar, The Biotechnology of Everyday Life, has also seen the fruit of much early planning, including weekly tutorials for Professor Virgina Walbot throughout the Spring so that she could update the site herself this Fall. Last quarter they produced a Web site for Doctor Ellen Porzig's seminar From Egg to Embryo, including a custom animation of the neuralation phase of embryological development, and also a Web site for Alice Rayner's Hamlets with streaming video clips from the many different film versions. Current projects include a fly-by of the San Andreas Fault for Elizabeth Miller's Autumn Quarter seminar on California Landforms, and an Interactive Flash Atlas for Joel Samoff's Winter Quarter seminar on South Africa: Contested Traditions.
In the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, academic technology has taken center stage. ATS Corinne Arraez has been working with PWR Director Andrea Lunsford and Associate Director Marvin Diogenes to revamp the writing program infrastructure in everything from information management to classroom technology. Corinne has been working actively on getting the Stanford Writing Center up and running, as well as outfitting the Meyer Flex-Classroom with state-of-the art collaboration technology.
VPUE's newest ATS, Lina Yamaguchi, in Undergraduate Research Programs (URP), has begun her work there with a variety of foundational projects. Her current ATS projects include the definition, design and implementation of a cohesive Web presence for URP, as well as the ongoing integration of technology into URP outreach programs. Examples of URP services include Susan Brubaker-Cole's workshops and info sessions regarding opportunities such as the Truman, Goldwater, and Beinecke scholarships; Hilton Obenzinger's popular workshop, Writing a Statement of Purpose and Laura Selznick's many grant writing workshops.
Some implementations to date include the use of multimedia and animation as learning aids, online workshop registration, Web-administered surveys for the evaluation and assessment of URP colleges and events, and the continuing development of Odyssey and Iliad, two Web-searchable databases where faculty post research opportunities for students to find. In addition, the URP ATS works with Honors students and President's Scholars on an individual basis, to assist with the incorporation of technology into their research, either as tools for gathering and analyzing information, or for presenting results.
In the Introduction to the Humanities, ATS Victoria Szabo is busy putting together the online catalog of Winter Quarter IHUM classes and preparing online materials for winter courses. As an early adopter of panFora, the threaded discussion tool created by the Stanford Learning Lab, IHUM began a process of including online writing in its curriculum. This fall, several IHUM courses continued to use this technology, as well as online video clips, stills, and music, in keeping with the "expanded idea of the text" the IHUM legislation encourages faculty to teach.
Faculty took advantage of PowerPoint to deliver their lectures and then archive them online, and IHUM made several whole videos available online through Communications Services streaming server. (See "Video Streaming" on page 3.) Teaching Fellows have been particularly active in using technology to make materials accessible to students in class, bringing laptops into class to demonstrate a point, or posting materials on the Web. This winter, IHUM hopes to begin offering support for online teaching portfolios for its postdoctoral teaching fellows, working with the Stanford Learning Lab on theory and implementation strategies.
In the Center for Teaching and Learning, interim ATS Peggy George has assisted numerous faculty in using BlackBoard CourseInfo to help manage their classes online. With the advent of the CourseWork system this winter, the CTL will aid faculty in moving their materials to this open-sourced alternative to commercial systems. (See "CourseWork: New Course Web Site Development Tool" on page 1.) CTL will work in collaboration with Academic Computing to deliver workshops on pedagogy and technology use this December, combining solid technical skills with sound pedagogical theory and practice. v
The ITSS Instructional Program is offering the following new courses this quarter:
TTBBs are being offered weekly to bring you more no-cost, drop-in lectures on technical topics. New this quarter is an overview of Dreamweaver for those considering using this application to develop and maintain Web sites. Many of the TTBBs will inform users about the new administration systems (which are replacing older systems), like Axess 2000, Persona, and Delphi. (See "People-Soft Goes Live at Stanford" on page 10.)
For more information about the ITSS Instructional Program, go to the Web at;
http://computertraining.stanford.edu
You can also call them at 723-4391.
For nearly two years, the Stanford Dell Computer Purchase Program has helped Stanford departments obtain deep discounts on pre-configured, bundled desktop and laptop systems from Dell Computers. While these bundles are designed for Stanford schools and business units, Stanford faculty, staff and students can also take advantage of Stanford's agreement with Dell to buy these systems for home use.
This year, Dell continues to increase performance without increasing cost. Several of the Dell Bundle offerings will be upgraded in December. The GX150 (Bundle D1) was upgraded to a 1.7 GHz Pentium 4, for about the same base price. Other desktop bundles will be upgraded as they become available. Visit the Dell Web page at http://www.dell.com to get more information and specifications on these systems.
Big changes are also expected in the Ultra-light laptop arena. The L400 Ultra-light laptop will be replaced by the C400. Expected upgrades include internal wireless options, a faster processor, and other options, such as greater capacity hard disk.
Note that Stanford's desktop Dell Bundle prices may SEEM higher than the packages offered through the mail or on the Dell Web site. Usually, these lower, non-Stanford prices are for systems from Dell's Dimensions line. Dell Dimension systems offer good value and should be considered for home or personal use. The Stanford Bundle systems are higher-end, business-class machines from the Optiplex line, such as those used in most corporate environments. Optiplex system have longer warranties (3 year), enterprise Windows versions (Win2000 Pro, vs. Windows 98/ME/XP Home) and standard parts from machine to machine. Stanford gets a significant discount on these systemsOptiplex systems with the Stanford discount can be purchased for $200-300 less than standard prices.
For the latest information about Stanford's Dell Computer Purchase Program, visit the Web at:
http://www.stanford.edu/home/computing/dell/dell_program.html
The Ask My Mentor service at My SmartForce, new this fall for Stanford faculty and staff, allows you to ask questions and get support from online mentors, experts in the topics being studied. Here is an example of how a Stanford staff member used CBT's Ask My Mentor service to get a QUICK answer about the Pack and Go feature in PowerPoint.
She went to http://cbt.stanford.edu, clicked on Go To My SmartForce (where she had registered in the past), selected Advanced PowerPoint (at e-Learning Paths), and then clicked Ask My Mentor. Then she went into a mentoring chat room and asked about the Pack and Go feature. Within seconds, the mentor told her that it is a feature in PowerPoint 2000. The mentor's instructions were: Open the presentation file, go to the File menu, click on Pack and Go, and then the Pack and Go Wizard will take you through the steps.
The mentors are subject-matter experts, they know the applications well, and they know a lot about their courses and what they offer. If you haven't been to the new My SmartForce site yet, you will be surprised by all the resources you'll find there. Go to http://cbt.stanford.edu to read all about it.
ITSS recently upgraded Power and Wisdom, computers available at no charge to faculty and students in the Social Sciences who perform computation-intensive work. These machines, formerly Sun Ultra 2 servers with 167MHz processors, are now Sun Blade 1000 servers with 750 MHz processors. The new computers can handle computations up to 600 percent faster than those they are replacing.
Faculty and students affiliated with Communication, Economics, Political Science, Sociology or the School of Education can find more information about the servers and getting an account, on the Web at:
http://lelandsystems/environs/power.html
Tired of the cold weather outside? Come in to the Stanford Book-store Computer Store (SBCS) and grab a cup of hot coffee while you browse the selection of discounted hardware and software products. The Computer Store's products and services are available for faculty, students, staff, and departments; below are just a few of the products and services offered there.
In need of a network card? The SBCS offers several network cards, including Apple AirPort cards, or Cisco(PC), 3Com(PC) and Farallon (MAC) cards.
Apple's AirPort Base Station allows Internet connectivity in the home, or even classrooms. An Apple AirPort card and account with an Internet Service Provider is required. The Base Station supports up to ten AirPort cards and has a 150 foot range. The AirPort card sells for $89 and the AirPort base Station sells for $269. Cisco (PC), 3Com(PC) and Farallon (Mac) cards are available for purchase at the Computer Store.
The SBCS offers a variety of products, at promotional prices. Come in to find out more, and take a look at the IBM ThinkPad.
If you're in the market for an Apple product, the SBCS is the place to shop. You'll find exceptional prices and a variety of systems at institutional pricing. Such products include Mac OS 10.1 for $69 and the PowerBook G4 from $1,979. The SBCS continues to provide accessories for Apple products. Stop by to talk to a Customer Service representative and see what's available.
Interested in a Toshiba Satellite notebook? The SBCS has them in stock at academic prices. Features include CDRW and DVD drives.
Throw out your old address book, calendar, and memo pad; switch to a Visor handheld. New to the Computer Store is the Handspring line, available in a variety of models. The Handspring Visors are ready to buy and available at very competitive prices.
Recently revamped to ensure the best possible information for customers, the SBCS Web site allows you to browse and search products or you can even place an order. Go to the Web at:
http://www.stanfordbookstore.com
To place an order online, you need to demonstrate Stanford affiliation. Once you have placed the order, specify either direct delivery (with a U.S. shipping address) or have your order shipped to the SBCS for convenient pick up.
For further information, or to see any of the above products, please go by the Computer Store, which is located on the second floor of the Bookstore in White Plaza. You can also call them at 725-6116 or (800) 533-2670.
Something to note the next time you're in the market for some software: Adobe products are now available at deeply discounted prices through the CWA (Campus Wide Agreement) program of Stanford's Procurement Department. The CWA already offers Microsoft products at significantly discounted prices.
For more details, contact Stefani Fukushima in Stanford's Procurement Department at stefanif@stanford.edu or 725-9110.
ITSS' Software Licensing Office handles University-wide software licenses that make a variety of software available at significant discounts to members of the Stanford community. Recent additions to the list of licensed software are: Brio Explorer and Designer, S-PLUS, Mac OS X, SecureCRT, ENVI and IDL, and Stata.
Other licensed software includes: Oracle Database and Applications; AutoCAD and other Autodesk products; LabView; Allegro Common Lisp and Liquid Common Lisp; Purify; IMSL and NAG; Maple, Mathematica, and MATLAB; SAS, SPSS, SYSTAT, and AMOS; ArcView and ArcInfo; Diskeeper, Etherpeek, GHOST, Eudora, Meeting Maker, Timbuktu, Norton AntiVirus, and SQL Backtrack.
For more information, see http://www.stanford.edu/group/licensing/ or contact Pat Box at 723-4428. ttp://www.stanford.edu /group/licensing/ or contact Pat Box at 723-4428.
Two things found on virtually any computer are a keyboard for inputting text and a mouse (or mouse variation) to navigate. This works fineas long as you can use a standard keyboard and mouse.
In Stanford's Assistive Learning Technology Center (ALTeC), students with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities have the option of accessing computers with a variety of alternative input devices. As with most assistive technology, such devices can also benefit non-disabled individuals by making tasks more convenient or less cumbersome. But many of the alternative input devices described below have an added benefit: they can prevent a user from acquiring a disability in the first place.
Consider for a moment that the means by which we interact with the icon of the High Tech Agethe computeris basically the same as keyboards used 150 years ago. The only significant change has been the addition of a mousing devicea mouse, trackball, or track-padand most of the time that is not an integral part of the keyboard but added on as a separate device.
The implications of this can be anything from frustrating to downright painful. Forced to conform their bodies and muscle movements to the requirements of the standard keyboard and mouse, many users develop what therapists call Repetitive Strain Injury, or RSI. The most well-known RSI is carpal tunnel syndrome, but many of us experience other ones affecting fingers, wrists, arms, and shoulders. These injuries result from repeatedly moving a part of the body in an unnatural way. For example, the natural position of the hands when held in front of the body is palms-in and wrists straight, yet most keyboards force us to type by moving our fingers with palms down and wrists angled. In addition, repeated movement of the hand from keyboard to mouse and back again can cause pain in the arm and shoulder, and many mice and trackballs also require maintaining the hand in an unnatural position.
Here is a brief overview of some of the lesser known or more intriguing alternatives to that ubiquitous keyboard and mouse, some of which are available in the ALTeC (or will be shortly):
Most computer users are familiar with so-called "ergonomic" keyboards, those with split or curved key layouts that supposedly better match one's physical needs. Unfortunately, "ergonomic" is abused in marketing the same way "natural" is used to sell food products. To be truly ergonomic, a keyboard would adapt to the user's needs rather than forcing them to conform to its requirements. But since every user is different in terms of physical attributes and pre-existing limitations, there is no "one size fits all" solution. Thankfully, various companies have developed some fairly innovative ways to use one's fingers to input text which are truly ergonomic.
Keyalt.com offers a wide variety of input devices from different manufacturers. Take a look at their keyboard offerings at http://www.keyalt.com/kkeybrdp.htm. Many have split keyboard halves that are completely adjustable in terms of both position and tilt; in fact, the new SafeType has its keys arranged vertically to match the natural palms-in position of the hands. The Kinesis and Maltron units allow the user to keep his or her fingers in a natural curled position by arranging the alpha keys in separate bowl-shaped layouts.
DataHand (http://www.datahand.com) uses a different approach: users position their hands on preformed supports and place their fingertips into recessed wells surrounded by microswitches. Moving the fingertips slightly forward, backward, left, or right generates text. Because fingers move only a small distance and key activation forces are less, RSI is reduced and typing speeds are improved.
Many other keyboards address specific problems; for example, the BAT chorded keyboard which allows one-handed input, Braille keyboards which have eight keys corresponding to the eight possible dots in a Braille character; and the orbiTouch (http://www.keybowl.com) which employs movement of the hands and arms rather than the fingers to both type and navigate the screen.
What if you can't (or don't want to) use a keyboard at all to enter text, one option is speech recognition software, discussed in this column last issue (http://acomp.stanford.edu/acpubs/SOC/Back_Issues/SOC57/index.html#4.11). Another is handwriting recognition (HR), where the user writes on a graphics tablet with a stylus and the computer interprets the strokes and converts them to text. Unlike speech recognition software, most HR software is user-independentthat is, it need not be trained to recognize how a particular user creates letters and words. HR software like Calligrapher (http://www.paragraph.com) can recognize both print and cursive writing. For those with rather "distinctive" handwriting (i.e., unreadable), software such as smARTwriter (http://www.artcomp.com) can also learn a writer's style as long as it is consistent.
The most common alternatives to the standard mouse-rolling-on-a-mousepad are the trackball, the trackpad, and the joystick. But these all require the user to move their hand off of or away from the keyboardan inconvenience at best, a possible source of RSI at worst.
Head-operated mice allow one to control the cursor by moving their head. Devices currently available commercially employ different technologies to track head movement: infrared beam, ultrasonics, level sensors, a tiny gyroscope, or digital imaging with a small camera. They range in price from $99 for the least expensive IR system to over $4000 for the imaging system.
With the No-Hands Mouse (http://www.footmouse.com), users can navigate the screen with their feet, which are positioned on two shoe-sized platforms. Rotating one ankle moves the cursor; tilting the other ankle forward or back performs a left-click or right-click.
Individuals with a high spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateralsclerosis (ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease) may not be able to use their hands, feet, or voice, or even move their head. They can feel trapped inside their own bodies with virtually no means to interact with their environment. For them, eye gaze technology is pricelessit permits complete control of a computer (and thus anything which can be interfaced with a computer) solely via eye movement. Eye gaze systems comprise infrared transmitters and an IR camera (both attached to the monitor) and special software. They take advantage of some interesting reflective characteristics of the human eye to calculate exactly where the user is looking and place the cursor at this point on the screen. Currently, the least expensive eye gaze system is the Quick Glance (http://www.eyetechds.com), priced at $4000.
Blind computer users often employ text-to-speech screenreaders to read to them what is on the monitor. But navigating the cursor to the right place on the screen can be cumbersomeif you can't see the screen, how do you know where to find the text you want read? A haptic (tactile) mouse, such as the Betacom Screen Rover (http://www.betacom.com/optic/screen.html) provides a blind user with tactile feedback of where they are on the screen. The relatively plain-looking mouse is rigidly attached to a mechanism with servomotors. The software interprets what is on the screen and provides the user with tactile and audible feedback. For example, passing over the edge of a window feels like going over a speedbump; and as the cursor approaches a menu item or line of text, the mouse is gently snapped to the item, much like turning a control knob with an indent. This makes it much easier for the user to know where they are and thus where to go.
If you have questions about computer accessibility and technology accommodations, want consultation on these issues, or just wish to learn more about some of the intriguing assistive technology available, call Shelley Haven in the ALTeC lab at 725-6173. ALTeC's services are available to students, faculty, and staff who need assistance due to a disability. Students should contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 723-1066 for more information. Faculty and staff who would like to access the Center should contact Rosa Gonzalez, Stanford's ADA/504 Compliance Officer, at 3-0755 for a referral. v
Here's a reminder about what to do if you open your email and find unsolicited junk mail, also know as spam. Members of the Stanford community can report spam to junkmail@stanford.edu. This address is for unsolicited mail that has been sent to a Stanford account from a non-Stanford email address. Be sure to include the full headers. If you use Eudora, you can click on "Blah Blah" to get these headers.
For more information and guidelines for reporting spam to junkmail @stanford.edu, see the Web at http://www.stanford.edu/group/itss-ccs /security/junkmail.html
HelpSU is ITSS's Web-based technical assistance center, providing "one-stop shopping" for computer support requests. With HelpSU, you don't need to know which of the many support groups on campus handle a specific topic. Working from a list of basic support categories, each help request or problem report is automatically routed to the correct support group.
Now, when you submit a HelpSU request, HelpSU assigns a trouble "ticket" tracking number to your query. The trouble ticket number included in the initial response to your HelpSU request as an embedded URL. links to a status results page, giving you one-click access to your ticket status. Or, you can go to the HelpSU Web site at http://helpsu.stanford.edu, choose the Check Status of a HelpSU Request link, and enter your ticket number.
HelpSU also includes pointers to self help guides and training opportunities. For more information or for assistance with HelpSU, contact ITSS by using the HelpSU request form on the Web, or phone (650) 725-8181.
Academic Computing, 724-5600 http://acomp.stanford.edu
ITSS Help Desk, 725-8181 http://helpsu.stanford.edu
723-2911, security@stanford.edu http://www.stanford.edu/~security
Sweet Hall Consulting, 725-2101 consult@leland.stanford.edu, http://consult.stanford.edu Crash Hotline, 725-7274
723-9407, consult@acomp.stanford.edu http://acomp.stanford.edu
Academic Technology Specialists Program, 725-2679 http://acomp.stanford.edu/atss
Center for Teaching and Learning, 723-1326 http://www-ctl.stanford.edu
Academic Technology Lab, 725-5523 http://acomp.stanford.edu/atl
| Editor: | Eleanor Brown, Meyer Library, Room 260 Eleanor.Brown@stanford.edu (650) 723-0974 |
|---|---|
| Graphics: | Marc Brierley, Eleanor Brown, Kelly Fields, Donna Hjertberg |
| Contributors: | Corinne Araez, Grace Baysinger, Pat Box, Diane Carr, Karen Clay, Tom Cramer, Stefani Fukushima, Barbara Grahn, Adan Griego, Shelley Haven, Kim Hayworth, Nuriya Janss, Charles Kerns, Kathy Kerns, Christopher Kittle, Jayme King, Jim Knox, Michael Newman, Stella Ota, Dave Ream, Tricia Richter, Malgorzata Schaefer, Carlos Seligo, Leni Silberman, Dena Slothower, Victoria Szabo, Makoto Tsuchitani, Olivia Williamson, Glen Worthey, Lina Yamaguchi |
ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST PROGRAM | RESIDENTIAL COMPUTING | STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDIA SOLUTIONS
