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In This Issue:
HIGHLIGHTS AND FEATURES
New Features for Stanford's CourseWork
Safe Computing at Stanford
IT Open House October 9
Can't You Stop All This Spam?
More SU Technology-Enhanced Classrooms
Center for Teaching and Learning: New Programs
Research Disk Space Offered
Wallenberg Hall Offers Innovative Learning Spaces
Technology Assistance for New Faculty
Forsythe Computer to be Retired in 2003
LIBRARY RESOURCES
24x7 Access to Course Reserves
Stanford's Electronic Resource Access at Risk
New Print Accounting System in SU Libraries
Locations Using Print Accounting
Scholars' Workshops Highlight Electronic Resources
Data and Statistical Software Services
Bookplates Exhibit for Stanford Libraries
DEWI System: A Web Interface for Data Extraction
O'Reilly Computer Books Available Online
Convert Images to Data
HDIS: Online Texts and Images
Computer Articles Database: New URL
Changes to Databases on SU Libraries' Web Site
New Web Site for Lane Library
HighWire Press: New Journals
FALL COMPUTING NEWS
Stanford Email Services Expanded
Wireless Access at Stanford
Stanford IT Help Desk Consolidates
Academic Technology Lab: A Resource for Faculty and TAs
Academic Computing's Technology Workshops for Fall
Essential Stanford Software News
Internet Explorer Replaces Netscape as Preferred Browser at Stanford
ITSS Offers Software Licensing for Campus Community
ITSS Technology Training Services
SU Course Support Web Site
AppleTalk Support Ends September 2003
MacLeland and Samson Upgraded for OS X
What's New on the Leland Systems
Try SU Computing and Communication Web Site
Changes to Backup and Recovery Service (BaRS)
ITSS Makes it Easy to Add Video to Your Web Site
Computing Resource Consulting
Stanford Mailing List Services Now on the Web
Introducing a New, Improved ALTeC
ATS's Continue to Support Stanford Faculty
What Happened to the Stanford Learning Lab?
Media Solutions Helps Create SU Web Sites and More...
"Back to School" and the Stanford Bookstore Computer Store
CourseWork, Stanford's system for authoring and managing course Web pages, includes several new features and a new look this quarter.
CourseWork now works with Axess, allowing the list of students for each course in CourseWork to be synchronized with the Registrar's listing so that instructors can easily see who has officially registered for their courses. The CourseWork student sign-up system, which allows students to log on to course Web sites, is still in effect so that students can see course Web sites even if they have not yet officially registered for a course in Axess. This insures that all students can have access to online course materials, announcements, and assignments at the beginning of a course.
Many faculty have asked that parts of their CourseWork class Web site be made available to the general public over the Web. CourseWork now allows instructors to select whether their course home page and/or their syllabus will be open to all on the Web or only available to class participants who are authenticated with the Leland Systems.
CourseWork's Assignment Tool has two new types of online assignments that are easy for instructors to author quickly:
Finally, CourseWork has a new look. Stanford's Media Solutions designed a new CourseWork screen that is easier to understand and still has all the buttons and links in the same locations. See also, "Media Solutions Helps Create SU Web Sites and More."
There are many other improvements to CourseWork besides the major ones listed above. (See "24X7 Access to Course Reserves.") All are documented on the CourseWork Web site. The CourseWork Development Team will continue to improve the system based on feedback from students and instructors. If you have any suggestions for features that you would like in CourseWork, please let them know by sending email to charles.kerns@stanford.edu. For more information on new and upcoming features, see http://coursework.stanford.edu or contact Kimberly Hayworth, kimhwrth@stanford.edu.
As an open research and education network connected to the Internet, Stanford's network is accessible to most anyone worldwide. Unfortunately, along with this wide-ranging connectivity come the usual threats common to computers and users connected to the Internet. Computer security is a serious issue that applies to everyone at Stanford.
The University takes several steps to try to eliminate many of these threats before they reach computer users on campus. For example, Stanford sweeps all email sent to any "@Stanford.edu" address to neutralize any email-borne computer virus it may contain. You, too, should take the appropriate measures to protect both your individual accounts and the computers you use.
Easily-guessed passwords are a significant threat to Stanford's network and system security. Whenever you choose or change your SUNet password, Stanford's security system runs a variety of tests on the password to make sure that it meets basic password requirements and cannot be easily guessed by password-cracking programs.
While the strength of your SUNet password is automatically checked for you, any other passwords you use for computers on campus, or for your own personal computer, are not checked. Very straightforward guidelines for creating easy-to-remember but hard-to-crack passwords are available at http://leland-docs.stanford.edu/passwords.html. You should familiarize yourself with those tips and use them for all your accounts.
Before you connect your computer to the campus network (SUNet), it is essential to use good computer security practices to protect it against inevitable attacks. (In the last academic year, over 1,123 of the more than 40,000 personal computers on campus were successfully breached by outsiders; 346 of them were used to mount attacks on others and 56 of them had significant content erased or modified.) As a minimum security precaution, please make sure that:
Other important security-related software such as Kerberos authentication and encryption software, and pre-configured and hardened RedHat Linux, are available on the Web at:
http://lelandsystems.stanford.edu/services/kerberos/
http://linux.stanford.edu/index.html
Your safe computing efforts will benefit you and your network neighbors!
October 9
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Meyer Library
This quarter, Stanford faculty, staff, and students can attend an IT Open House to get answers to those nagging computer questions and find out about the many IT services available to them.
Under one roof, attendees can find information about purchasing computer equipment and software through Stanford programs, connecting to SUNet from their home, backing up their desktop computer, technology in the classroom, programs to help in teaching, course software, data collections available for research and instruction, and more. Representatives from about thirty campus-wide technology service groups will be there for attendees to meet, ask questions of, and learn about resources.
The IT Open House, a quarterly event sponsored by SUL/AIR and ITSS, will be held in Meyer Library (in the lobby and on the decks adjoining the lobby) on Wednesday, October 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Watch the Web for details at http://itopenhouse.stanford.edu/.
Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE), commonly known as spam, can include things such as commercial solicitations, advertisements, chain letters, pyramid schemes, fraudulent offers and even pornography. Spam is probably the single most annoying artifact of the Internet's success. If you have email, you've probably received spam.
Stanford University is committed to eliminating spam whenever possible. Since Fall 2001, however, not just Stanford but email users everywhere have seen a dramatic increase in the amount of spam being sent across the Internet. No one is sure why this is happening.
It's hard to stop spammers. They relay their spam through other machines, spread their spam from temporary accounts, modify the contents just enough to avoid simple filtering techniques, and employ a variety of other techniques that makes it hard to catch them. In almost all cases, spammers abuse the resources of network owners for a short period of time, then move on to repeat the process elsewhere. This pattern increases the amount of repetitious junk-mail we all see as spammers move from one computer or network to another, and increases the difficulty of catching them in the act. The network owners we contact in our attempts to halt spam are often the unwitting victims of these spammers also. In short, attempts to "go after" spammers are extremely time consuming and most often futile.
Both the amount of spam and the number of complaints about it have recently increased to such a level that Stanford's efforts to deal with spam on a case by case basis are no longer possible. More complaints have been sent to "junkmail@stanford.edu" then any one team of people can process. For this reason, Information Security Services has discontinued its efforts to identify and pursue individual spammers (the "junkmail@stanford.edu" service is closed and no longer accepts spam reports). Instead, Stanford is investigating various automated screening approaches that block spam at a higher level, before it can get through the central email servers. Stanford uses a similar system for screening virus-infected email attachments, and this system now clears out hundreds of inbound and outbound email viruses each day.
Spam-filtering is extremely complex and spammers continue to refine their approaches in order to avoid detection filtering. No UBE-filtering products claim to be able to eliminate 100 percent of all spam (in fact, success rates in the 40-60 percent range seem to be the best that have been achieved so far 'your mileage may vary').
ITSS has a project underway to select from among the market leaders and expects to have a spam filtering capability in place on its email servers no later than the end of 2002. The Computer Science Department is also working with one of the spam filtering products available on the market today.
Check the Web site at http://security.stanford.edu/junkmail.html from time to time. There you will find additional information about the spam problem at Stanford, what to do when you receive it, how to minimize the amount of spam you attract in the future, and the status of various projects.
The Registrar's Office is excited to announce the addition of 21 new classrooms that will be housed in the recently renovated Wallenberg Hall (Building 160 in the Quad). See also "Wallenberg Hall Offers Innovative Learning Spaces." The additional rooms, which will be in the basement and on the third floor of the building, will be equipped with smartpanels and DVD/VHS players, and have Ethernet access via a port or wireless connection. As of this quarter, there are over 80 technology-enhanced classrooms supported by the Registrar's Office.
To help support these rooms, the Registrar's Office has added an additional Classroom Technology Specialist, Jim McKelvey. Support for all the technology-enhanced classrooms is available via the Classrooms Technology line at 723-7280 or class.tech.support@stanford.edu. Jim McKelvey can be reached directly at 724-2837 or jimmck@stanford.edu. Jim joins David Ward (724-3441 or daward@stanford.edu) to help support all of the Registrar classrooms. In addition, Courtney Williams (725-5717 or cwilliam@stanford.edu) supports classrooms in the Teaching Center at the Science and Engineering Quad and Brian Medernach (725-2544 or bmed@stanford.edu) is responsible for the operation and management of the technology-enhanced classrooms.
To schedule a class in one of these classrooms, go to the Web at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/RSO/tech.html or send email to ak.cfc@forsythe.stanford.edu.
The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is continuing its efforts to assist faculty in incorporating technology in their courses.
Thanks to Stanford's own CourseWork system, making a course Web site is within reach of all faculty and TAs at Stanford. However, integrating that Web site into the course curriculum can often present challenges. To this end, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is offering workshops to help instructors strategize about how their Web site will fit into their teaching, and what role it should play in their Fall courses.
CTL's Academic Technology Specialist, Jeremy Sabol, offered the first of these workshops in July, to a group of faculty from all disciplines. The focus of the workshop was on planning the role of a Web site before it is constructed, so that the site will focus on a specific set of teaching goals. A similar workshop for TAs is planned for September, around the start of classes. To find out more about these workshops and other CTL events, contact CTL at 723-1326, or check the Web at http://ctl.stanford.edu/.
Jeremy Sabol is also offering specialized workshops that cater to different departmental needs. These workshops can focus on getting instructors started with building Web sites, or coordinating technology efforts across the department, depending on the specific context and resources of the department. The first of these workshops was held in the Human Biology program in late July, and consisted of a group of faculty, TAs, and staff who were interested in further developing the effective use of course Web sites and online resources in their department. Contact Jeremy if you would like to schedule a workshop for your own department at jsabol@stanford.edu, 725-4164.
All academic departments at Stanford have specialized programs to help train their TAs to become effective teachers. The Center for Teaching and Learning has been actively involved for several years in helping departments shape their TA training programs to fit their specific disciplinary needs. Now the CTL is offering additional support, assisting departments in centralizing their TA training materials and documentation and migrating them to an online location. This repository of materials can constitute its own separate Web site, or it can be housed in the departmental Web site. The Linguistics and the Petroleum Engineering departments began putting their materials online this summer. To find out more about this project, contact Jeremy, jsabol@stanford.edu, 725-4164.
Stanford is expanding its use of student response systems, a technology that allows instructors to ask multiple-choice questions during class and receive immediate student responses that are automatically processed, tabulated and displayed graphically in class. Students can collaborate even in large lecture classes and faculty can have real-time feedback from students on how well they are understanding major concepts.
Successfully used by Professors Kathryn Ann (Kam) Moler, Doug Osheroff, David Goldhaber-Gordon, and Blas Cabrera, the student response system is available in three places: a small portable system at the Teaching Center of the Science and Engineering Quad, room 200 at the TCSEQ (a 500-seat auditorium), and starting this Fall Quarter Kresge Auditorium (600 seats) thanks to a collaboration among the Registrar's Office, the Introductory Economics Center, the Department of Economics, and the Center for Teaching and Learning. If you would like to know more or try out the student response system, or if you would like to observe how your colleagues use it, please contact Marcelo Clerici-Arias, CTL's Associate Director for Social Sciences and Technology at marcelo@stanford.edu, 725-0127.
Information Technology Systems and Services (ITSS) offers online storage space to Stanford faculty and students performing non-sponsored research. The deadline for applying for this research disk space is October 31, 2002.
This online storage is made possible through a generous hardware donation from EMC Corporation. Because of the nature of the donation, you cannot store data for any funded research or non-academic purposes using this resource.
For more details, or if you are interested in applying for space, see http://www.stanford.edu/services/researchdiskspace/. ITSS will review applications in early November. Although this is a limited resource (600 GB), ITSS attempts to fill every request it receives.
Wallenberg Hall is the name of soon-to-be rededicated Building 160, located at the front of Stanford's Main Quad. The interior of this historic building has been completely replaced, courtesy of a $15 million grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation of Sweden (the largest such grant from this foundation, and the first made outside of Sweden).
Wallenberg Hall is now the home of the Stanford Center for Innovation In Learning, the Stanford Humanities Lab, and Stanford's new Media-X initiative. (See related article, "What Happened to the Stanford Learning Lab?.") The Hall will also be the hub for the Wallenberg Global Learning Network.
The first floor of Wallenberg Hall includes four state-of-the-art classrooms with capacities of 20 to 25 students and one space suitable for larger classes and small performances. These learning spaces, which can be used individually or in varying combinations, feature collaborative computing environments, rich multimedia support, and pedagogically-inspired room design to support innovative teaching and education research.
Wallenberg Hall's innovative classrooms will be available for instructional use beginning January 2003. Please contact SCIL Executive Director Sam Steinhardt (steinhardt@stanford.edu) to learn about the room use application process that is currently in development.
The Forsythe mainframe computer will be taken out of service in December 2003, as announced to most of its customers in a letter from Sandy Senti, Director of ITSS' Technology Strategy and Support (TSS) group.
TSS will work with Forsythe users to move programs and services they need off the mainframe onto either UNIX or Windows-based systems.
Note that TSS is developing a transitional "bridge" from ORVYL-based SPIRES to a UNIX version for some clients unable to move SPIRES applications to other programs before December 2003. It is temporary and it will not provide all the functionality of the current mainframe system. (TSS will provide base support, but no development for that service through December 2004.)
SPIRES users who believe they will need this bridge are asked to contact Tilak Dhar by September 2002 so that TSS can seek one-time funding on behalf of the application owners needing this support.
All questions regarding Forsythe mainframe applications or services should be directed to Tilak Dhar at 724-6304.
Stanford has a wealth of information technology resources for faculty, but determining how to access these resources requires both knowledge of exactly what one wants and how to find it. The task of determining hardware and software needs within the Stanford IT support structure can be daunting for experienced faculty and, even more so, for new faculty members and their departments.
ITSS is piloting a service, which began in the summer of 2002, to provide arriving faculty with a centrally-coordinated startup for computing and communications needs. The service includes individualized needs assessments, consultation with department administrators and new faculty members before they arrive on campus, ordering assistance in acquiring computing and communications equipment and installations, and then orientation in information technology services.
ITSS is partnering with other support providers to offer individualized orientation sessions for new faculty as close to their arrival on campus as possible. The sessions will include staff from Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources, both librarians and Academic Technology Specialists, and local IT support staff.
The 2002-2003 pilot is focusing on departments in the School of Humanities and Sciences. Upon evaluation, this new startup service may be offered more broadly next year. For more information, please contact Jane Marcus, Academic Technology and Consulting, ITSS, jane.marcus@stanford.edu, 723-1659.
For Fall Quarter 2002, CourseWork will support electronic course reserve (e-reserves). With e-reserves, students will have round-the-clock access to reserves materials anywhere on campus and through authenticated off-campus access. Faculty and TAs can add materials to course e-reserves at their convenience using a Web browser and CourseWork's flexible interface.
E-reserve functionality will be supported by two changes to the CourseWork course material management model. The first is an enhanced copyright compliance environment for CourseWork. The changes in this area will include limiting access to each course to registered students and quarterly copyright reminders for students, faculty, and TAs who use the system. (See also, "New Features for Stanford's CourseWork.") Before CourseWork was available, some faculty loaded readings on their Web pages. CourseWork e-reserves will make electronic documents readily available to students in a setting that contributes to fair use.
In addition, CourseWork will be adapted to reflect print course reserves in physical libraries. While e-reserves will be appealing to many, print and media reserves will continue as a library service. When a course reserve is created at a library, CourseWork will reflect the existence of print reserves with a link that will take the user directly to the reserves listing for that course.
Look for more information and helpful handouts on e-reserves in your library, from your Academic Technology Specialist, or at the Technology Services Desk on the second floor of Meyer Library.
For more information on copyright, fair use, and course reserves, go to the Provost's Copyright Reminder at http://library.stanford.edu/depts/swain/index.html.
For more information about CourseWork, go to http://coursework.stanford.edu/ and click on About CourseWork. To request a CourseWork course, go to http://courses.stanford.edu/ and click on Request a CourseWork site.
Over the past several months there have been several instances of misuse of electronic resources provided to Stanford through subscriptions supported by the Stanford University Libraries. This misuse has involved both systematic downloading of journal articles and the use of robots that mine the content of external databases.
These digital resources are licensed for the non-profit educational use of Stanford University. Copyright law and individual license agreements govern their use. Activities involving systematic downloading, distributing, or retaining substantial portions of information are prohibited.
A single individual can adversely affect the entire Stanford community through misuse. Providers of electronic resources monitor usage, and if there is evidence of systematic downloading or robot activity, they will typically cut off access to either the offending individual IP address or quite possibly for the account overall.
The entire Stanford community might lose access to a large number of e-journals, e-books, or databases until the situation is investigated by the Libraries and campus computer security and is resolved. This can take time, particularly when the activity is done through proxy services and roaming DHCP. There is also a risk that access could be lost permanently if the misuse reoccurs.
What constitutes systematic or excessive downloading? Copying an entire issue of a journal is one example. Copying most of the articles from several issues of the same journal title is another example. The Libraries have posted reminders at key Web pages, such as the Electronic Journals page at http://library.stanford.edu/collect/ejourns.html. In addition, individual services have links to their particular policies; see JSTOR's terms at http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html as a relevant example.
Please share this reminder with your Stanford friends and colleagues. For any questions about this issue, please contact Paul Zarins of the SUL/AIR Digital Library Program at pzarins@stanford.edu or 725-1028.
Beginning in Fall Quarter, the Stanford University Libraries (see sidebar for specific locations) will be introducing a new print accounting system. Under this system, patrons will be able to use the Stanford CardPlan system, or library copy cards, to pay for pages printed within the libraries.
With the incredible expansion of library resources available on the Web, library patrons have been shifting from making copies of articles out of journals and books, to printing out Web pages. This increase in printing within the libraries has made it impossible for the libraries to continue to support unlimited printing for patrons. The new system will charge 10 cents for a standard page, which covers the cost of toner and paper supplies.
Library patrons will have two ways to pay for their printing. The first method uses the print accounting system currently in place in the residences and the Meyer and Tresidder student computing clusters. With this approach, the user logs into PC-Leland, and approves the print request and total estimated cost. When the file prints, the cost is debited to the user's Stanford CardPlan account.
The second method uses the current library photocopier system, and allows Stanford users to charge against departmental or work group copy accounts, as well as their personal CardPlan account. When the user prints, the file is sent to a print queue server located next to the printer. The user swipes their Stanford ID card or copy card on a small terminal, the file is printed, and the amount is debited from the account associated with the card.
More information about the Stanford CardPlan is available at http://cns.stanford.edu/campuscard/cardplan.html.
More information about the SUL/AIR Print Accounting System is available at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/stss/print.html, including directions on how laptop users can connect their own computers to the print accounting system, when in the libraries.
Locations Using Print Accounting:
Cecil H. Green Library
Information Center
Lane Reading Room
Social Sciences Reading Room
Special Collections
Archive of Recorded Sound
Art and Architecture Library
Biology Library (Falconer)
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Library (Swain)
Earth Sciences Library and Map Collections (Branner)
East Asia Library (Meyer Library, 4th Floor - opening Fall 2002)
Education Library (Cubberley)
Engineering Library
Mathematical and Computer Sciences Library
Music Library
Physics Library
Stanford Auxiliary Library (SAL)
New to Stanford or want to get up to speed with the latest scholarly digital resources?
Green Library is continuing its 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, please contact Malgorzata Schaefer at (650) 723-9275 or mschaefe@stanford.edu. Watch for the schedule of workshops to be posted on the Web at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/green/scholars_workshops.html.
Stanford faculty, staff, and students have access to data and statistical software services in the Social Sciences Resource Center (SSRC) located on the first floor of the Cecil H. Green Library Bing Wing. The Velma Denning Room is the central service point for two unique services.
The Social Sciences Data Service (SSDS) supports the acquisition and use of numeric data in electronic format for social science research and instruction. The primary focus of Statistical Software Support (SSS) is to assist users of statistical software. Staff deliver these services in a variety of ways that include individual consulting and workshops. A library of non-circulating codebooks, manuals, technical documentation, selected periodicals, catalogs, and newsletters is also available.
The SSDS and SSS Web sites provide information about each service as well as links to many resources.
SSDS: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/ssds/
SSS: http://www.stanford.edu/group/consult-stat/
Social Sciences Data Service and Statistical Software Support provide individual and group consulting services to social sciences departments including Sociology, Economics, Political Science, Anthropology, Communication, Education, and Psychology. Examples of other departments or programs served include International Relations, Human Biology, Business, and the Medical School.
Each year, workshops are given to introduce students, faculty, and staff to data resources and statistical services provided in the SSRC. For example, Getting and Using Data (Fall Quarter) and GIS and Spatial Analysis in the Social Sciences (Spring Quarter) are part of the Stanford University Libraries Scholars' Workshops Program. (See also, "Scholars' Workshops Highlight Electronic Resources.") Workshops for undergraduate Honors' students and other by-request workshops may include a general orientation to services and resources, or are designed specifically for data-intensive classes and research seminars.
The Social Sciences Data Service and Statistical Software Support have been popular with faculty, staff, and students wishing to access a variety of resources for locating, extracting, and analyzing data:
Bookplates are labels usually pasted to the inside front cover of a book as a mark of ownership. Stanford University Libraries uses bookplates to denote books obtained through the support of donors. We are pleased to present a virtual exhibit displaying the unique and diverse artwork of bookplates in the Libraries collection. The plates are organized alphabetically by the name of the sponsoring fund. See them on the Web at http://library.stanford.edu/depts/swain/bookplates/index.html.
More datasets have been added to the DEWI System, a Web-based system for searching and extracting variables within numeric datasets. Developed by the Social Sciences Resource Group (SSRG), DEWI stands for Data Extraction Web Interface. You'll find it at http://dewi.stanford.edu/.
The DEWI System makes data extraction quicker and easier for data users by eliminating the need to search for printed codebooks or write programs to extract variables. It incorporates the important online documentation and variable metadata into a seamless and convenient system. Keyword searches result in a list of variable "hits" that can be selected for final extraction. Variable sample frequencies and other information can be viewed within DEWI to help the data user decide which variables to extract. Extracted files can be directly downloaded to your PC in a variety of formats, such as SPSS, Stata, SAS, or Excel.
The DEWI System has been used in statistical methods courses to allow students to use "real" data in their assignments, as well as by researchers to explore the relevance of DEWI datasets in their analyses.
DEWI contains a growing collection of numeric datasets selected from the Stanford University Libraries' social sciences collection:
Dataset titles being processed for the DEWI System include: the General Social Surveys (GSS), 1994-2000; American National Election Studies (ANES), 1948-2000; International Social Survey Program (ISSP): Social Inequality, 1992; Correlates of War Project: International and Civil War Data, 1816-1992; and Current Population Survey Annual Demographic (March) Files.
If you would like more information about the DEWI System, contact Ron Nakao, ronbo@stanford.edu, 725-1062. Suggestions for datasets that you would like added to the DEWI System for instruction are appreciated.
The Stanford University Libraries now subscribe to the online computer books published by O'Reilly via the ProQuest Safari service (http://proquest.safaribooksonline.com/mainin.asp?login=&pubui=stanford). These popular guidebooks, known for their distinctive black-and-white drawings of animals on the covers, complement the technical book collection available from Books24x7 (http://library.books24x7.com/).
There are over 200 O'Reilly titles in the collection, covering networking, Java and Oracle programming as well as other computing topics. More titles will be added as they become available. Although the entire Safari collection includes books from other publishers, at this point the Libraries only have online access to those books published by O'Reilly.
No registration is necessary. Please be sure to log off when you're done using the service, as the Libraries' subscription is only for three simultaneous users. Click on Reconnect (if available) when you are asked for a login and password. If you are still asked for a login and password, the maximum number of users has been reached.
If you have any questions or comments about these services, please contact Linda Yamamoto at the Mathematical and Computer Sciences Library, 723-0864, linday@stanford.edu.
UN-SCAN-IT gel software is available at a scanning workstation in all of Stanford's Science and Engineering Libraries. UN-SCAN-IT gel can:
For more information about this software, please see http://www.silkscientific.com/.
The Humanities Digital Information Service (HDIS) collects, prepares and delivers online text and image collections to Stanford researchers. HDIS is part of the Humanities and Area Studies Resource Group of the Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources.
You can access the HDIS electronic text library at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/hdis/text.html. It is, with a few exceptions, restricted to members of the Stanford community. The selection of searchable literary texts is growing regularly; new additions can be found at this URL, as can an online tutorial and links to other resources of interest to students and scholars in the humanities.
HDIS also offers a number of online image collections; most are available to the general public. Current offerings include a major collection of the manuscript correspondence of seventeenth-century Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher, a unique teaching collection of the work of Chicana artists, and an image database of Dime Novel and Penny Dreadful covers. Please visit these collections at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/hdis/image.html, where you will also find links to other image databases.
HDIS maintains a public presence in the Lane Room, on the second floor of Green Library's Bing Wing. There, HDIS provides walk-in services related to its own programs, focusing on the online text and image library, and support for other electronic resources delivered in the Lane Room. These services include:
Finally, the HDIS Digital Delivery of Interlibrary Loan program (dd-ILL) has been quietly augmenting Stanford's behind-the-scenes digital collections with a growing number of older books, government documents, and unpublished theses that have been scanned in response to interlibrary loan requests. This collection of scanned books is unique in its scope and focus: because the books were all requested through interlibrary loan, they are both not widely held in American libraries, and are, at the same time, of particular interest to current researchers throughout the world otherwise, they would not have been requested through ILL in the first place. (This project received support in 1999-2001 from 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.)
To use these books, search for "dd-ill" in the keyword box of the Socrates search screen. It is even possible to qualify this by using other search terms such as author or title, or to limit the search by language, library, date, etc. See how many digital books we now have in your favorite language or from your favorite century!
For more information visit the HDIS Web site at http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/hasrg/hdis/ or contact Glen Worthey at 725-5647, glenw@sulmail.stanford.edu.
The Computer Articles database, which indexes computer-related news, feature articles, product reviews, industry reports and company profiles from over 150 popular business and technical publications (some in full text), will no longer be available through the California Digital Library (CDL) after December 2002. It's on the Web at http://www.dbs.cdlib.org/?CSdb=comp.
To take its place, Stanford University Libraries has subscribed to Computer Database through InfoTrac, which is on the Web at http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/stan90222.
This is essentially the same database as the old one, except that the new version (via InfoTrac) covers articles from 1980 to the present, while the old version (via CDL) only covers articles from 1998 to the present. Both versions will be available until the end of 2002, after which only the Computer Database via InfoTrac will be available.
If you have any questions or comments about these services, please contact Linda Yamamoto at the Mathematical and Computer Sciences Library, linday@stanford.edu, 723-0864.
The database collection on the Stanford University Libraries Web site is constantly changing. (http://www-sul.stanford.edu/catdb/alldata.html)
This fall, two important sets of databases, provided by Melvyl and Lexis-Nexis, will sport a new look. Among the newly added databases is the Biography Resource Center database, which contains a wealth of biographical information.
Melvyl: A new version of Melvyl will be implemented sometime this fall. It was developed based on extensive usability testing and will include screens for basic, advanced, and command searching as well as browsing. For those of you who love the old interface that should be around until next July.
Lexis-Nexis: Lexis-Nexis products have also undergone a facelift. Academic Universe will become LexisNexis Academic with quick search boxes for news, cases and company information. Other products such as Congressional Universe, State Capital Universe, and Statistical Universe will also be changed to LexisNexis Congressional, LexisNexis State Capital, and LexisNexis Statistical.
Biography Resource Center: If you are looking for information about a person--past or present--try the Biography Resource Center (http://www-sul.stanford.edu/su_proxy_biog_res) on the Libraries databases list (http://www-sul/catdb/alldata.html). It "combines over 330,000 biographies on more than 220,000 people" from some 80 Gale products such as Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of American Biography, Directory of American Scholars, and Encyclopedia of World Biography, as well as The Complete Marquis Who's Who. Also included are links to full-text articles in over 250 periodicals.
Note: Biography Resource Center is not a good source of in-depth information on historical literary figures. Gale puts that information in its Literary Resource Center, which the Stanford Libraries do not have.
Lane Medical Library's redesigned Web site was released June 19, 2002.
In order to meet growing needs for faster access, expanding content, and varying browser technology, they have updated the interface as well as the backend technology. Note the following improvements:
Please send comments and suggestions about Lane's new site to wsc@lanelib.stanford.edu.
HighWire Press, the online publishing division of Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources (SUL/AIR), 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, http://highwire.stanford.edu/.
The following list includes journals that were recently added, or will be added in Fall Quarter.
CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 09/2002
The Journal of Medical Microbiology 8/01/02
Parliamentary Affairs 7/25/02
Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society 7/25/02
Survival 7/25/02
Vadose Zone Journal 8/15/02
ITSS has expanded Stanford's email service by introducing IMAP and providing support for more email clients.
This past summer, ITSS introduced an evolutionary step in Stanford's email service. IMAP (Internet Mail Access Protocol) was added to the central email system, increasing access capabilities for those who travel or work from multiple locations.
Features: The following key features make IMAP a strong email option:
How to Use IMAP: You don't have to change email clients to use IMAP. The most commonly used email clients on campus (Eudora, Outlook Express, Outlook, Entourage) already have IMAP capability built in. It takes about 10 minutes to convert your existing email client from POP to IMAP. Storage quota for IMAP starts at 100 Megabytes, which is ample for most users.
Extra storage may be requested through Sponsorship Manager. See the IMAP Web site for additional storage costs.
Webmail Also Works with IMAP: Webmail allows you to access your Stanford mail from any internet-connected computer, anywhere in the world using Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Many campus email users have already used Webmail to read their POP mail. Webmail for IMAP will give you the same accessibility and, because the mail is kept on the server, it's faster than Webmail POP.
Visit the IMAP Web page to learn more about this exciting addition to Stanford's email service and determine whether IMAP is right for you:
http://imap.stanford.edu/
http://webmail-imap.stanford.edu/
Also new this year is expanded support to include such popular email applications (known as clients) as Outlook Express, Outlook, Entourage and Mac OS X Mail. Recognizing that many campus email users already have and use these, ITSS will now support these popular Microsoft applications. (Outlook Express is bundled with IE for Windows and free for Mac users.)
Outlook Express will be available on the Essential Stanford Software site, coinciding with the move to Internet Explorer as the default campus browser. See "Internet Explorer Replaces Netscape as Preferred Browser at Stanford." Eudora will also remain as an option. Mac OS X Mail is included with the Mac. Outlook and Entourage are included in the Microsoft Office Pro Suite, and are available through the Microsoft Select program, part of the Campus Wide Agreement. See the Purchasing Web site at http://purchasing.stanford.edu/cwa/.
Wireless access to SUNet (the Stanford network) and the Internet is now available in many areas of the campus, to anyone with a SUNet ID who has a properly-equipped laptop computer. As of Fall 2002, access is available in the Law School, the School of Education, most of the Main Quad, most library and Engineering buildings, and Tresidder Union.
This service uses the IEEE 802.11b standard. Some laptops have support for 802.11b wireless built in; those that don't can be made wireless-capable by installing a PCMCIA wireless card that supports the 802.11b standard. In either case, the laptop must be registered in Stanford's network database (NetDB) before it will be able to access the wireless service. Registration is available at no charge to all members of the Stanford community. For details about registering a laptop, and for up-to-date information about wireless access on campus, please see http://acomp.stanford.edu/wireless/.
ITSS is making it easier for you to get support for technology-related questions.
Effective July 16th, calling 725-HELP (725-4357) results in assistance for both computing and telecommunications questions. If you have been calling 725-8181 or 7-HELP, you no longer need to remember those numbers, although calls made to them will be automatically forwarded to 725-HELP. (As always you may still send your request via the Web site http://helpsu.stanford.edu/.)
The Stanford IT Help Desk is implementing a number of changes to:
The Help Desk also plans to:
If you have questions or concerns about the IT Help Desk, please contact them. They welcome your feedback:
Melissa Janetos, Associate Director of Client Technology Support,
mjanetos@stanford.edu, (650) 723-6839
Kevin Collins, Stanford IT Help
Desk Manager, ITSS, klcollins@stanford.edu, (650) 723-3037.
The Academic Technology Lab (ATL), located in Room 181 of Meyer Library, is a resource center for faculty and teaching assistants who are interested in integrating technology into their teaching to enhance student learning.
During Spring and Summer Quarters, the ATL was utilized by faculty, TAs and Academic Technology Specialists for projects which involved a variety of different technologies including scanning, image editing, video dubbing, video digitizing, audio digitizing, CD-ROM and DVD burning, as well as the creation of materials for class Web sites and Stanford's course management system, CourseWork. See "New Features for Stanford's CourseWork."
Jacqueline Mai, who was recently hired as an Academic Technology Assistant in the ATL, specializes in CourseWork support but is also well-versed in digital video editing and Web site usability. She is an excellent resource person to contact for assistance in making class sites user friendly.
In addition to hiring a new full-time staff member, the ATL has recently upgraded its software to Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Fireworks MX, Flash MX and Adobe Photoshop 7. Faculty are encouraged to set up appointments with ATL staff to arrange for consulting and training support. Appointments can be arranged by sending a request to acomp-consult@lists.stanford.edu.
For more information about the ATL, visit the Academic Technology Lab Web site at http://acomp.stanford.edu/atl/, or contact Kim Hayworth at kimhwrth@stanford.edu or 725-5522.
This quarter, Academic Computing continues to offer a variety of technology workshops for students and staff, as well as consulting and training support for faculty.
Workshops will be offered afternoons in the Multimedia Studio on the second floor of Meyer Library. Topics include OCR, Flatbed and Film Scanning, Basic Web Page Creation with Dreamweaver and Fireworks, Digital Video Editing with iMovie, Image Editing and Design with Photoshop, and Creating Presentations with PowerPoint. A workshop schedule and link to an online registration form is at http://acomp.stanford.edu/studio/sched.html.
Faculty, instructors and TAs are encouraged to set up appointments with Academic Technology Lab staff to arrange for consulting and training support. Appointments can be arranged by sending a request to acomp-consult@lists.stanford.edu. See also, "Academic Technology Lab: A Resource for Faculty and TAs."
Essential Stanford Software (ESS) is a collection of site-licensed and Stanford software programs that ITSS makes available to faculty, staff, and currently registered students, free of charge. Essential Stanford Software includes:
You can download software from the ESS Web site at http://ess.stanford.edu/.
Essential Stanford Software is updated frequently, so it is a good idea to check the ESS Web site regularly.
An ESS CD is available to help you avoid downloads via the Internet and install these applications quickly. Residential Computing distributes this free CD to freshmen and transfer students. Copies are also available at Distributed Computing Consulting in the public computing cluster on the second floor of Sweet Hall, or from ITSS at the Oak Trailer in Jordan Quad.
This year's CD will be available on September 23. A valid Stanford ID is required.
ITSS announced recently that Internet Explorer 5.x would be the browser of choice for Windows and Macintosh computers at Stanford. Support for Netscape (and for any browser that conforms to accepted Web standards) will continue, however, Internet Explorer will be the primary browser distributed on the Essential Stanford Software Web site (http://ess.stanford.edu/) and CD.
Several reasons were given for the move to IE:
Additionally, ITSS will be adopting Outlook Express as a supported email client. (See also "Stanford's Email Services Expanded.") Since Outlook Express is bundled with Internet Explorer, by distributing IE, Outlook Express will also be made available to the Stanford community.
Customized versions of IE that include a set of Stanford University favorites (bookmarks) are available for the Mac and PC. Stanford favorites include links to the MyStanford portal, to Stanford.Who and Stanford.You, to Axess, Webmail, and more. A special set was also created for staff. And, the customized PC version replaces the standard Explorer logo with an animated Stanford "S".
Though IE is now the browser recommended for use with Stanford Web-based applications, it's not required that you switch. If you prefer Netscape or another browser, feel free to continue with your choice.
For more information, see the Essential Stanford Software Web site at http://ess.stanford.edu/.
If you already have Internet Explorer (IE) installed, follow these instructions to import bookmarks from Netscape Navigator (NN) into IE:
Your NN bookmarks will now appear in the IE Favorites list in a folder named Bookmarks.html.
ITSS' Software Licensing Office negotiates and administers University-wide software licenses and volume discount agreements that make a wide variety of software available at significant discounts to members of the Stanford community.
Licensed software includes: AutoCAD, Mathematica, MATLAB, MacOS, LabView, Oracle, S-PLUS, SAS, SPSS, Stata, UNIX OS and Compilers, and more.
Within the past year, the Software Licensing Office has added licenses for ENVI and IDL, and for several security-related products, namely, MAPS, Tripwire, SecureCRT, and InterScan VirusWall.
These license agreements provide you with the latest versions of software. The Software Licensing Office now has: Mac OS X, version 10.2, and MATLAB Release 12, including MATLAB for Mac OS X.
Before purchasing software, check with Software Licensing first. See http://www.stanford.edu/group/licensing/.
You can also contact the office at software@stanford.edu or 724-2424.
Note that the Software Licensing Office has moved its office and is now located in the Bambi trailer, next to Roble Gym on Panama Street.
Microsoft and Adobe products are available through Procurement's Campus Wide Agreement (CWA). For more information, see http://purchasing.stanford.edu/cwa/.
ITSS Technology Training Services offers a variety of courses to begin the academic year. For information about all the courses they offer, see the Educational & Training Opportunities guide or the Web site at http://techtraining.stanford.edu/, or contact them at 723-4391.
Web Usability Testing: These classes are designed for those who create and maintain Web sites, software/Web engineers and UI designers, and technical communicators.
Advanced Abode Acrobat: This half-day, hands-on class is for those who have mastered the basics and are interested in using the more advanced features of the full Acrobat program.
Using a Handheld Personal Data Assistant (PDA): First introduced in Summer 2002, this hands-on class covers entering, importing, and synchronizing data; installing and using applications; setting preferences; and more. A Palm Pilot will be given away to one lucky person at the end of each section.
Introduction to Outlook Express: This hands-on class will cover the basics of this email application that ships as part of Microsoft's browser, Internet Explorer. Outlook Express is fully supported by ITSS and is one of the recommended email clients frequently used by faculty, staff, and students. (See also, "Stanford Email Services Expand.")
TTBBs (Thursday Technology Brown Bags): These no-cost, drop-in lectures on technical topics are offered weekly during the noon hour. Many TTBBs will be about new administration systems, like Axess, Persona, and Delphi. http://ttbb.stanford.edu/
TGIFs (Time to Get Information Fast): Informal, interactive clinics on computer-related topics of interest to the Stanford community are offered on Friday afternoons, from 2:00-3:30 p.m. http://tgif.stanford.edu/
cbt.stanford: The Web-based MySmartForce offers 300 online computer training courses, mentoring (for staff and faculty), technology chats, and online seminars (Windows only). These courses are available 24/7 at no cost to users with a regular SUNet ID. http://cbt.stanford.edu
Facility Rentals: Technology Training Services' facilities are available as rentals, including: 5 Windows hands-on teaching labs (4 with 18 workstations each, and 1 with 15), 1 Mac hands-on teaching lab (with 16 workstations), and Turing Auditorium (a lecture hall with technology for presentations). http://techtraining.stanford.edu/rental.html
Various Stanford computing groups offer electronic resources and services that instructors can use for their courses. These resources and services are collected on the Web at http://courses.stanford.edu.
Instructors can go to that site to find a variety of computer- and technology-based services that can help them start, organize, and teach their classes. This includes automatic sign up for computer resources (e.g., email lists, extra disk space), Course-Work, Stanford's Web-based course management system, and a list of technology-enhanced classrooms on campus.
For more information about this Web site, please send email to courses-support@lists.stanford.edu.
In February 2001, ITSS announced that it would discontinue support for AppleTalk, a communications protocol developed by Apple Computer, which has been in wide use at Stanford since the 1990s. AppleTalk routing enables a Macintosh in one AppleTalk subnet (zone) to access servers, printers, and other computers located either in the same subnet or in another AppleTalk subnet around campus. The AppleTalk networks at Stanford will be turned off September 1, 2003.
ITSS made the decision to phase out AppleTalk routing because:
After the September 2003 cutoff, AppleTalk zones will not appear in the Chooser. File sharing and printing to a device in a remote zone will not be possible. AppleTalk file sharing and printing will continue to work within a local AppleTalk zone, but it will no longer be supported.
ITSS encourages departments, organizations, and individuals to assess their use of routed AppleTalk and to migrate to TCP/IP-based applications and services. ITSS can provide consulting, support, and upgrade assistance. To learn more, see the AppleTalk Routing Retirement Project Web pages at http://www.stanford.edu/group/networking/atalk/appletalkindex.html.
Note: Medical Center users will not be affected by this project, since School of Medicine, Information Technologies (MedIT) does not plan to disable AppleTalk routing. MedIT will continue to route and support AppleTalk within the Medical Center indefinitely. But MedIT does recommend that Apple-Share users configure all their Macs to do filesharing via TCP/IP, since that results in better performance.
SUNet services for Macintosh desktops took a big leap forward over the summer with the release of two important software upgrades for OS X: MacLeland 2.0 and Samson 5.2. These two Stanford-developed programs bring network authentication, easy and secure desktop access to the University-wide AFS file system, and customized and customizable terminal emulation to Stanford computers running OS X.
MacLeland 2.0 is practically a must for Stanford Mac users who: want to access their Stanford email; use Stanford host computers securely; quickly retrieve Web pages that require Stanford authentication; and safely and securely read, write, move or copy files in AFS and between AFS and the Mac desktop.
These AFS features are a tremendous boon to Stanford Web designers: you can develop a Web site on your Mac, and then easily copy it into Stanford Web space in AFS, simply by mounting the appropriate AFS volume, and dragging and dropping the Web files into the appropriate AFS directory.
Previous versions of MacLeland provided a rickety version of this service over AppleTalk using unsupported server software; the new version uses an IP connection and open-source software, allowing any MacLeland 2.0 user, on- or off-campus, to use the service. (See also, "AppleTalk Support Ends September 2003.") The new AFS features of MacLeland also allow you to work with your Stanford AFS files through the Terminal application.
Besides the AFS improvements, MacLeland 2.0 also provides support for (and only for) Mac OS X; if you haven't upgraded to OS X yet, you should stick with MacLeland 1.4. But if you are using OS X, you will want MacLeland 2.0.
Late-breaking news for OSX.2 (Jaguar) users: Unfortunately, changes made in this latest version of the OS cause MacLeland 2.0 to fail. You should look for our latest upgrade to MacLeland, version 2.1, on the Essential Stanford Software site (see below), which will fix the problems.
Also new for OS X (only) is Samson 5.2 for Macintosh, Stanford's own terminal emulator program. Originally written in 1984 as a custom terminal emulator for Forsythe, Stanford's mainframe administrative host computer, Samson is now older than many Stanford students! If you need to connect to a host computer via telnet, Samson is the software to use.
Samson and MacLeland are available free from the Essential Stanford Software Web site, http://ess.stanford.edu.
These recent versions can also be found on the 2002 ESS compact disk. See "Essential Stanford Software News."
While most people know that ITSS provides the central computing infrastructure that gives Stanford its Leland accounts, email, newsgroups and other services, some parts of the computing picture are not so obvious. Examples include the following services.
The www.stanford.edu Web servers (run by ITSS, of course) hold your Web files and serve your Web pages, but they are complemented by a variety of other features and services that the Stanford community tends to take for granted.
For more information about these Web services, go to http://www.stanford.edu/leland/.
Last Winter, ITSS implemented an anti-virus filter on the Leland email servers. Incoming and outgoing email attachments are currently scanned for viruses before they are delivered. This applies only to mail sent to "@stanford.edu" addresses, or sent out via smtp.stanford.edu. Infected attachments are separated from email and cleaned or deleted before the attachment is downloaded to your computer. Both the sender and receiver get notified so they can take action to prevent the infection from spreading.
For more information about the anti-virus filter, go to http://email.stanford.edu/virus.html.
People will soon be able to choose between regular POP email service the kind they've always had or Stanford's new IMAP email service. For more information about the advantages of each, see "Stanford Email Services Expanded."
This campus-wide distributed file system provides more than 3 terabytes of online storage space for the Stanford community's data such as programs, text files, Web pages, and other computing materials. AFS is a centrally-managed disk space that can be accessed through Unix, PC, and Mac clients. In addition, ITSS maintains the central pubsw Unix software tree, which contains over 500 free and site-licensed software packages for six different brands of Unix.
A new array of powerful workstations specially configured for compute intensive jobs will be available to the campus community by Winter Quarter 2003. The Grid, composed of 90 Sun Netra T1 computers running Solaris 8, will supplement the intensive computing capabilities of Leland's Tree and Junior timeshare systems. Unlike these systems, however, compute jobs on the Grid will be submitted via a batch processing mechanism. People can request that a single computer (CPU) be dedicated to their job, or that a batch of computers (using the PVM or MPI software packages) be used for running their jobs.
All the computational software packages available on the Leland cluster machines (e.g., Matlab, C, SAS, R, Splus, Mathematica, C++, Perl) can be utilized on the Grid also. The High Performance Grid will become available in pilot mode sometime during Autumn Quarter. For more information about the High Performance Compute Grid, go to http://su-grid.stanford.edu/.
This site offers a coordinated listing of computing, communications and video services across campus. It is organized into a first level that briefly describes the kind of help that you would expect to find there and second level "gateway" pages that lead to specific information that will be immediately useful. Go to http://www.stanford.edu/home/computing/.
This quarter, some financial and operational changes are being made to ITSS's Backup and Recovery Service (BaRS), an automated system that you can use to back up your critical computer files.
The current monthly "flat rate" will be changed to a "flat rate plus" structure. For a flat $9.00/month, BaRS will back up to 3.0 gigabytes of data. Above the 3.0 Gb limit, additional storage will be billed at $3.00 per Gb.
ITSS provides two standard "profiles" for the service. You can choose the "Standard Profile," which excludes the operating system and applications from the backup, thereby minimizing the amount of data stored (and the resulting costs). The "Full Profile" backs up everything on your computer, including the operating system and applications. If you choose the Full Profile, you can expect to pay more for the service, but you will have the ability to restore your entire system.
The revised rate structure is necessary to more appropriately cover the expense of providing the service.
Backups are performed remotely over the campus network, and are normally scheduled once a day, Monday through Friday. Backups are stored in a secure facility on campus, and a copy is also sent each day to a secure, off-campus site.
If you accidentally overwrite or delete a file, you can recover the file yourself using the BaRS desktop software. File recovery is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. BaRS is available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux desktops/laptops, as well as Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, and Linux servers.
You can subscribe to the Backup and Recovery Service in one of three ways:
If you do not know whether your department is currently subscribing to the BaRS service, check with your departmental administrator, Local Network Administrator (LNA), or Expert Partner or submit a HelpSU request at http://helpsu.stanford.edu/helpsu.cgi.
More information about the Backup and Recovery Service is on the Web at http://backup.stanford.edu/.
If you want to make information conveniently available, you put it on the Web, right? And you'd probably agree that when you want someone to retain the information, it's best to provide it visually. Combine these two concepts and you have ITSS's Streaming Media service.
For several years, ITSS has tested technology that allows members of the Stanford community to make their audio and video resources available through their Web sites. The success of a streaming media pilot program and the broad interest in the technology has led ITSS to add this tool to its list of service offerings.
Streaming Media staff can take your audio and video resources (e.g., VHS, Betacam, CD-ROM, etc.), create a digital file optimized for streaming over the Internet, and store the file on one of its streaming servers. You receive a URL that you can include as a link on your Web site to allow your clients to view your video over the Internet. It's that simple.
The Streaming Media service offers a number of popular streaming formats including Real Media, Windows Media and QuickTime, and regularly tests new alternatives. Streaming Media also offers the following enhanced services:
Streaming Media offers the Stanford community a convenient alternative to the traditional forms of providing video (e.g., tape checkout in Green Library, bringing a VCR into the classroom or meeting). ITSS has set rates for this service that are considerably lower than those available from an outside vendor.
For more information about the ITSS Streaming Media service, see http://streamingmedia.stanford.edu/ or contact Jeff Bornstein at 723-4026.
Since its inception in the summer of 1999, ITSS Computer Resource Consulting (CRC) has firmed up its service offerings and has worked on informing the campus community about the types of computing support and services they provide. To date, CRC has twenty-nine contracted clients that span the University and the Medical school.
Computer Resource Consulting has built its strength around the team concept. The fifty individuals in CRC are organized into to four, ten- to fourteen-person teams and an open environment for free-flow of information. Experts in the areas of server, desktop and local area network are distributed throughout the organization and offer their expertise to the entire team.
Our clients rely on technically agile professionals that can meet their needs. In the fast moving environment of technology, that means knowing where the answer is, and putting it towards the solution quickly. The individuals collectively in CRC are what make it successful.
Computer Resource Consulting can offer your organization the following services:
For more information about these services, please visit the CRC Web site at http://www.stanford.edu/group/itss-crc/.
To contact Computer Resource Consulting, use the HelpSU system at http://helpsu.stanford.edu/ or call the Stanford IT Help Desk at (650) 725-HELP (4357)
Maintaining an email distribution list for departments or groups is easier than ever, thanks to a new Web site for Stanford Mailing List Services. To create and manage your lists, just go to http://lists.stanford.edu/.
Besides information and instructions on all facets of distribution lists, the site has a link to the new "@lists" Web interface to Majordomo, the program that handles distribution list requests.
Previously, list owners had to send arcane maintenance commands via email to majordomo@lists.stanford.edu (along with a list password) to make changes such as adding email addresses to a list. Though that method is still available, the new Web interface greatly simplifies the process, giving you direct access to your lists through Stanford Web authentication. You login with your SUNet ID and password and don't have to remember passwords for individual distribution lists.
Once inside the@lists Web site, you first see a list of all the distribution lists you can maintain, with a summary line of basic information about each one (number of subscribers, for instance). You begin working with a list by clicking on its name, giving you a choice of three tabs, "members," "owners" and "properties":
Keep in mind that the Stanford Mailing List Services is meant for mailing lists belonging to Stanford departments or groups, not individuals - most email programs (like Eudora) provide distribution list service for individuals. A great advantage of Stanford Mailing List Services is that a list can be owned and maintained by multiple people.
For more information, check it out at http://lists.stanford.edu/.
*Assistive Technology Gadgets
The Assistive Learning Technology Center, or ALTeC, is the technology arm of the university's Student Disability Resource Center. Students with physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities can benefit from ALTeC's accessible computer lab, a variety of AT devices, and assessments and training by expert staff. ALTeC also assists faculty and staff who need technology-related workplace accommodations. As of Fall Quarter 2002, the ALTeC has new and improved capabilities that will make it even more useful to students, faculty, and staff who have a disability. Below is a brief overview of some of these improvements.
Whether you are a prospective user of assistive technology or are just interested in learning more about Stanford's AT resources, we invite you to write, call, or come by and visit. The primary lab is located in Meyer Library 280, with other workstations and facilities located elsewhere. Sometime during Fall Quarter, we plan to have an open house for the new, improved ALTeC. Check the DRC Web site (http://www.stanford.edu/group/DRC/) for more information as it becomes available.
With more and more computer use often comes more and more repetitive strain injury, or RSI. Many people find that ergonomic keyboards with curved layouts and a slight "tenting" of the keys relieves minor typing discomfort. Those with more serious problems, though, need more serious solutions. ALTeC now has a variety of new alternative keyboards and keyboard aids which prospective users can try to decide what works best for them. Some are quite innovative in concept while others are well, rather strange looking. In addition, we have a number of pointing alternatives to the ubiquitous mouse, including a few that operate hands-free.
The ALTeC's accessible computer lab provides users with access to a wide variety of assistive software: speech recognition, text-to-speech screenreaders, study tools, and more. But what if you prefer to work in your dorm room, or want to do research at3 a.m. when the library is closed? Most of ALTeC's software is now available remotely to DRC-eligible students. Depending on the specific program, you may need to install client software on your computer or may simply need a password to the ALTeC server. If you can access the Stanford network, chances are you can use assistive software outside of the ALTeC lab.
As Stanford moves toward making Web sites and other computer-based resources more accessible to those using assistive technology, individuals or departments often want to verify accessibility, or understand better how their creations will appear to those using screenreaders and other assistive technology. ALTeC's networked software can allow Web creators to read and navigate a Web page the same way AT users do, thus providing a powerful tool to help them design accessibility into their final product. Contact the ALTeC staff for more information.
It is often difficult to assess whether a given piece of equipment or software will be beneficial after using it for less than an hour. That's why ALTeC created the Equipment and Software Loan Library, or EaSLL (pronounced "easel"). Eligible users of the DRC's services may borrow certain devices and software for up to 30 days (depending on the item) to determine how well it works for them. The EaSLL program will begin this quarter; ALTeC anticipates the initial list of loanable items to include various alternative keyboards and pointing devices, CCTV magnifiers, specialized digital voice recorders, and a variety of devices to aid students with learning difficulties. For more details, visit http://www.stanford.edu/group/DRC/services/loan_library.html.
ALTeC staff upgrade equipment and software and add new technology capabilities regularly. For an up-to-date list of Stanford's assistive technology resources and services, visit their Web site at http://www.stanford.edu/group/DRC/technology.html.
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 or write to rmhaven@stanford.edu.
ALTeC's services are available to students, faculty, and staff who need assistance due to a disability. Students should contact the Student Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 723-1066 for more information. Faculty and staff who would like to access the ALTeC should contact Rosa Gonzalez, Stanford's ADA/504 Compliance Officer, at 723-0755 for a referral.
The Academic Technology Specialists Program (ATSP), which is sponsored and managed by Academic Computing, continues to support faculty use of technology to enhance teaching and learning. In addition the program has undergone an expansion and added new positions in the following schools and departments: Anthropological Sciences, Cultural and Social Anthropology, Art and Art History, Drama, Communication, Sociology, Political Science, and the Law School.
SUSE's new Academic Technology Specialist, Claudia Engel, spent her first months at the School getting to know the faculty and learning about their academic technology needs.
Training and support in academic technologies for faculty and graduate students was one of the most urgent needs to meet. Claudia provided support and instruction particularly in the areas of digital video editing, Web design, and the use of CourseWork (Stanford's Web-based course management system). CourseWork now provides the framework for over 20 courses at SUSE, showcasing a wide variety of different usages, which ranges from single components, like the announcement or course materials section, to the complex use of the assignments and grading tool or the panFora online discussion board. CourseWork also was adopted as the official course management system by the Learning Design and Technology program (http://ldt.stanford.edu/) at SUSE. (See "New Features for Stanford's CourseWork.")
Claudia also worked with faculty on specific projects. She helped with the integration of a Simulation Tool "VirtualU" (http://www.virtual-u.org/). This review tool lets students apply what they learned in class by providing them with a "real life" experience as a decision maker in a higher education institution. This project was featured among the "early adopter" projects of Virtual U at http://www.virtualupdate.org/Features/V1N2featuresC.html.
As one of her first school-wide efforts Claudia conducted a user study of the computer spaces to provide input for a redesign of the computer labs, which was implemented by the SUSE-IT department.
Through observations, questionnaires and interviews, Claudia obtained data on how the spaces and equipment were used, and what kind of challenges the users encountered. Based on the observations, flexibility is one of the most important characteristics for the design of learning spaces. It was important for the lab to be highly multi-purpose, easily reconfigurable, and include transparent technology, so users can easily and quickly adapt the equipment to their needs. Accessibility, reliability, availability of equipment, and infrastructure were reported as major challenges by the users. From Claudia's conclusions:
Feel free to contact Claudia if you are interested in further details about the study, cengel@stanford.edu.
In April, Academic Technology Specialist Peter Chen joined the Area 2 team at VPUE, which also includes Kelly Beck, VPUE Science Pedagogy Consultant, and Robyn Dunbar, the Senior Associate Director for Science and Engineering at the Center for Teaching and Leaning (CTL). (See also "Center for Teaching and Learning: New Programs.")
The team is charged with working with and supporting faculty teaching undergraduate level courses in science, math and engineering, formerly known as the SME core but now generally referred to as Area 2. Peter, having previously worked as the ATS for the Department of Biological Sciences and Program in Human Biology, brings experience of working with and integrating technology to fit the unique needs of scientific teaching. One of the key areas that he has been focusing on has been acting as an advocate for science teaching needs in the continuing development of CourseWork, as well as working with faculty who are new to CourseWork; assisting them with making effective use of on-line teaching tools.
As part of the development of the Area 2 programs, Peter and Kelly are also working on developing a new advising guide that will help students in making choices and seeking out courses in Area 2 to fulfill the General Education Requirements (GER). They are particularly interested in preparing a guide that can effectively support students who do not intend to chose science, math or engineering as a major, but are seeking a curriculum that would best support their general interests.
Joseph Kautz, the Academic Technology Specialist for the Language Center and head of the Digital Language Laboratory (DLL) in Meyer Library has been engaged in a number of interesting projects to support Language teaching. Since this past winter, he has overseen the complete upgrade of the computers in the DLL and has updated many of the software packages on the systems. With the refinished lab, Joseph coordinated the complete on-line testing of over 500 language students in seven languages during Spring Quarter. The Simulated Oral Proficiency Interviews (SOPI) tests were adapted and built as a Java applet module in the CourseWork system. Using the customized software along with recording hardware on the Language Lab machines, students were able to come in and take a scripted test that recorded their responses in the language studied and made the review available to instructors on the server.
Working with a new Macintosh OSX Server, Joseph has been experimenting with developing other new tools that have potential use in language teaching and in other areas. Using a hypertext language called PHP and a small database system, mySQL, he has been developing a protocol for writing non-western characters (Hebrew, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, etc.) in a Web browser window, submitting them to the database and later recalling them to the browser. He has also been experimenting with WebDAV a server-based annotation system that allows multiple users to share an Adobe Acrobat document and make individual comments and annotations to it.
Last spring, the Stanford Learning Laboratory closed its doors and became part of a new research organization, The Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning (SCIL). Though SCIL inherited some of the Learning Lab's core capabilities, the mission of this new organization is very different from the Learning Lab's. So why did the Learning Lab close its doors, and what is the mission of this new enterprise called SCIL?
The Stanford Learning Lab (SLL) was established in July 1997, charged by then University President Gerhard Casper with promoting the research, development, and deployment of educational technology and innovative teaching methods to improve the learning experience of all Stanford students. The SLL director team1 spent its first eighteen months developing a mission statement, staffing the organization, formulating two major projects, and defining an ongoing relationship with the Wallenberg Foundations. The first two projects were formulated with the context of two major lecture courses, working from the premise that this would enable the Lab to have a rapid impact on the largest number of students and the teaching and learning environment. Word and the World, a course in the required sequence of introductory courses in the humanities, and HumBio 1, introductory sequence of courses in Human Biology, were the Learning Lab's initial interventions.
In May 1999, the Lab became part of a new organization, Learning Technology and Extended Education (LTEE), led by Geoff Cox, the University's first Vice Provost for LTEE. The purpose of this new, broader organization was to accelerate the University's efforts in the critical area of learning technology. As Cox envisioned it, the Learning Lab would serve as the organization's "research and development" arm, providing leading- edge insights into how technology could enhance teaching and learning. In August 2000, Cox left the University to join UNext.com, and soon thereafter, the University undertook an assessment of LTEE (including the Learning Lab) under the direction of Acting Vice Provost David W. Brady2. Brady was asked by Provost Etchemendy to make recommendations regarding the LTEE organizational structure, interrelationships, and funding.
In his assessment, Brady noted that the Learning Lab could point to a number of accomplishments, including
Along with its many accomplishments, Brady noted that the Lab had the formidable dual mission of conducting broad research into learning technology and providing service to the University. Brady found that senior University administrators and faculty felt that the Lab's struggle to fulfill both objectives simultaneously lessened their impact in each of the two areas. Additionally, there was mounting concern regarding the level of University investment in the Lab.
Based on these findings, Brady made three broad recommendations:
In late August 2001, Stanford's administration enthusiastically embraced Brady's recommendations. As an interim step (while the broader research enterprise was developed), Provost Etchemendy appointed Professor Stig Hagström, a professor of materials science and former chancellor of the Swedish university system, to be the Executive Director of the Learning Lab.
Simultaneously and coincidentally, Stanford's School of Education was recruiting Professor Roy Pea to develop a new PhD program in the Learning Sciences and Technology Design3 and to launch a new research enterprise that would conduct original interdisciplinary scholarship addressing opportunities and problems in K-12 learning, education, and technologies. In November, Professors Pea and Hagström submitted a proposal to combine the restructured Learning Lab with the Program in Learning Sciences and Technology Design, to form the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning. In February 2002, the University's administration approved the proposal and SCIL--Stanford's 10th independent research center--was born.
In the next few years, SCIL hopes to become a unique center of excellence dedicated to conducting scholarly research and related activities that advance the sciences, technologies, and practices supporting learning and teaching from early childhood through adulthood. SCIL will provide a unique environment for exploring basic research and applications at the intersection of learning sciences, design, technology and subject content. Researchers at SCIL will focus on the most significant issues in learning and teaching, and on the ways that innovative uses of technologies can help address those issues. Research projects will typically involve collaboration among faculty, senior staff members, and students from several disciplines and often include scholars from other institutions and countries. SCIL's location in Wallenberg Hall will provide a compelling and supportive environment for conducting interdisciplinary research for faculty, and resident and visiting senior scholars and postdoctoral scientists.
Given the increasing role technology is likely to play in improving learning theory and practice around the world, one of SCIL's objectives (in addition to its work with domestic scholars) is to perform collaborative research and development with international partners. As evidence of this commitment, SCIL, through the Stanford Learning Laboratory's legacy, is a member of the Wallenberg Global Learning Network (WGLN), an alliance between Stanford and learning labs in Sweden and Germany, supported respectively by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and two German government research organizations. The WGLN supports several research projects that link Stanford researchers in the sciences, the humanities and medicine to their Swedish and German colleagues. Building on this base, SCIL serves as a focal point for joint research ventures in our areas of interest between Stanford faculty and international business and educational institutions.
For more information about the SCIL, see http://scil.stanford.edu/
You can also contact Sam Steinhardt, SCIL's Executive Director, via email to steinhardt@stanford.edu.
The professional team at Media Solutions helps Stanford faculty and staff create distinctive web sites and courseware. They provide design, development, technical and production expertise to meet the communication and instructional needs of the campus community.
As Stanford's professional Web design organization, Media Solutions understands and works within the university's technical environment. They partner with Academic Computing, ITSS, University Communications and others to leverage existing campus products and services. Contracting and billing occur through Stanford administrative processes.
From initial concept through completion, Media Solutions can help you produce professional quality, cost-effective projects. For more information, go to http://mediasolutions.stanford.edu/.
You can also contact Wynn Hausser, Director of Media Solutions, at 725-9743, wynnh@stanford.edu.
The sun is setting on summer; it's back-to-school time! As you pull out your book bag and begin to gear-up for the exciting Fall Quarter, let the Stanford Bookstore Computer Store be part of your preparation. Come to the Computer Store to browse the selection of computer products, software, and peripherals available at educational discounted prices.
The Stanford Bookstore Computer Store carries many different items for your purchase:
No problem, the Stanford Bookstore Computer Store repairs Macintosh and PC systems, in or out of warranty. The Bookstore offers on-campus pickup and delivery or customers can use the drop-off window located at the Bookstore. The repair service is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
For details, contact the Bookstore at 725-6136, extension 338.
When purchasing a computer system, software or supplies through the Computer Store, individuals may pay with cash, check, or credit card when accompanied with a valid Stanford ID. Campus departments must use an online Standard Purchase Requisition form, which should be forwarded to Procurement. Departmental orders totaling less than $1,500 can be purchased with a Stanford Purchasing Card (VISA/MasterCard) or Rapid Purchase Order (RPO) which can be faxed (325-3476), or brought into the store and used like cash. Bookstore Requisitions (SU-12s) can be used for cash and carry purchases of less than $500.00.
To learn more about the Stanford Bookstore Computer Store, drop by the Stanford Bookstore, White Plaza or call (650) 725-6116 (or 800-533-2670). Visit the Computer Store Web page to see available hardware, software and peripherals (available at educational discounted prices for faculty, students, and staff), http://www.stanfordbookstore.com/.
Desktop Computer Support
ITSS Help Desk, 725-HELP (4357)
http://helpsu.stanford.edu/
Computer Security
723-2911, security@stanford.edu
http://security.stanford.edu/
Leland Systems (UNIX) Questions
Sweet Hall Consulting, 725-2101
consult@leland.stanford.edu, http://consult.stanford.edu/
Crash Hotline, 725-7274
Multimedia Questions
723-9407, consult@acomp.stanford.edu
http://acomp.stanford.edu/
Technology Support for Faculty
Academic Technology Specialists Program, 725-2679
http://acomp.stanford.edu/atsp/
Center for Teaching and Learning, 723-1326
http://ctl.stanford.edu/
Academic Technology Lab, 725-5522
http://acomp.stanford.edu/atl/
| Editor: | Eleanor Brown, Meyer Library, Room 260 Eleanor.Brown@stanford.edu (650) 723-0974 |
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| Graphics: | Marc Brierley, Eleanor Brown, Kelly Fields, Donna Hjertberg | |
| Contributors: | Caroline Alemany, Grace Baysinger, Ced Bennett, Pat Box, Greg Chalfin, Peter Chen, Marcelo Clerici-Arias, Tom Cramer, Christa Easton, Bruce Erikson, Shelley Haven, Kim Hayworth, Melissa Janetos, Charles Kerns, Kathy Kerns, Christopher Kittle, Jayme King, John Klemm, Jay Kohn, Michelle Lee, Chris Lundin, Jane Marcus, Judy Marsh, Brian Mederbach, Pam Murnane, Gary Payne, Jeremy Sabol, Malgorzata Schaefer, Leni Silberman, Sam Steinhardt, Mary Washburn, Olivia Williamson, Glen Worthey, Linda Yamamoto, Paul Zarins |
ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST PROGRAM | RESIDENTIAL COMPUTING | STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDIA SOLUTIONS
