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CourseWork, Stanford's system for authoring and managing course Web pages,
was developed as part of Academic Computing's CourseWork project. That project
reached a major milestone last summer. In addition, CourseWork has new features
and improved functionality this quarter.
Last summer, the CourseWork project successfully completed commitments made to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The project, part of the Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI) in which MIT, Stanford and other participating institutions are creating and distributing open source learning management tools, was initially funded with an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant.
The Mellon grant, which has helped to fund CourseWork development for the past two years, required that Academic Computing create a course management system and make it available in open source. CourseWork was released to open source on June 30, marking the completion of the grant's final deliverable. (See "CourseWork Now in Open Source".)
While the Mellon grant officially ended June 30, the CourseWork project is going strong. During the 2003 academic year, CourseWork supported over 1,200 classes and 14,000 faculty and students; even more usage is anticipated in the coming year.
Fall Quarter brings changes to CourseWork that include enhanced security and encryption (via migration to WebAuth 3.1), enhanced performance (via migration to Oracle 9i, Tomcat 4, and JDK 1.4), and the following new features and improvements:
Event Sign-Up Tool: The new Event Sign-Up Tool is a flexible tool that can be used in a number of ways. Primarily, it is an alternative solution to assigning students to lab sections but can be used to schedule class-related activities such as final presentations or office hour appointments. Whereas student assignments to class groupings (e.g., discussion sections) are first-come, first-served using the previously-implemented Section Signup tool, when the new Event Sign-Up Tool is used, the instructional staff can make the final placement decision. Since students can rank choices, the Event Sign-Up Tool can have other creative applications beyond event scheduling (e.g., for polling purposes).
Time-Saving Features: Several new features—Replace, Add Another, and Save—have improved the functionality of CourseWork.
Replace: You can now upload an updated file (e.g., homework or a problem solution) without having to remove the old file before you submit the new one. If the file is used in more than one place (e.g., if it's listed under the Course Materials and the Schedule Tools), replacing a file in one tool will automatically update the file in the other tool.
The Replace functionality is available in the Syllabus, Schedule, Course Materials, and Assignments Tools.
Add Another: You can now add multiple sets of content without having to exit and re-launch the Add Content wizard. The Add Another functionality is available in the Syllabus, Schedule, Course Materials, and Assignments Tools.
Save: Now available in the Add and Edit Content wizards, the Save Button allows you to add content to your CourseWork site, submit required information about the content, and exit the wizard, without having to go through all of the wizard's steps. For example, if you are uploading a file to the Course Materials Tool and a wizard has 5 steps, but you do not wish to specify optional information in steps 3 through 5, you can click Save on step 2 to exit the wizard. CourseWork will save data entered up through this step and add your file to the Course Materials tool.
Improved Email Functionality: Instructors and other course administrators can now send email messages to groups in different course offerings, such as cross-listed courses. Additionally, when sending an email to a large class, a visual indicator will appear to inform a user that a request is being processed.
Bookmarkable URL for CourseWork Courses: You can now access current and past CourseWork courses via bookmarkable URLs. Previously in CourseWork, only current CourseWork courses could be accessed via a bookmarkable URL.
Improved Reordering of Content: Instead of manually changing the order for each content item, you can reorder the items you wish to change and CourseWork will automatically reorder the remaining content items.
Improved Accessibility: Page descriptions are now available for all top-level Coursework pages and for sub pages for Add Course, Drop Course, and Event Sign-Up. If you rely on screenreader software, these page descriptions allow you to get a quick overview of where you are within the CourseWork system, what you can expect to do/find on the page, and where you can go after the page.
For more information about new and upcoming features, see the Web at:
http://aboutcoursework.stanford.edu.
The CourseWork Development Team will continue to improve the system based on feedback from students and instructors. If you have any suggestions regarding features to be added to CourseWork, please contact them by clicking the HelpSU link on any CourseWork page or by going directly to:
http://helpsu.stanford.edu/helpsu.cgi?pcat=Application+-+CourseWork.
The CourseWork team is developing a new component that will replace the current Assignment Tool. To be used for online homework, problem sets, quizzes, and paper submission, the new tool will be easier to use and have more functionality than the current Assignment Tool. New features include: question pools that can be shared, new question types, more media support, better feedback, and more efficient grading. Watch for announcements this quarter on http://aboutcoursework.stanford.edu. For more information, please send email to charles.kerns@stanford.edu.
CourseWork, Stanford University's course management system, was released to open source on June 30, 2003. With the Open Source release, the code is now available for any school to install, customize, and use to provide instructional web sites for all its courses.
Developed by Stanford's Academic Computing group, CourseWork has been officially used on campus since January 2002. The CourseWork implementation at Stanford has been rapidly adopted by faculty in a wide range of academic disciplines. (For more information about CourseWork, see "Stanford's CourseWork: A Major Milestone and New Features".)
By releasing CourseWork as Open Source software, Stanford is providing non-proprietary, open access to a flexible, scalable course management system for teaching institutions of all kinds. CourseWork allows institutions to integrate their course Web sites with their campus registrar's database, student information system, library systems, and other campus-specific infrastructure systems. Institutions adopting CourseWork can modify its tools to better fit their teaching mission, or add new tools for different functionality. The CourseWork interface can also be freely modified to match the look of an institution's existing Web sites, unrestricted by the constraints of proprietary systems.
Academic Computing intends to continue development of CourseWork as a modular, standards-based framework for course management.
"We hope to build a community of developers and users around the world who will create additions and extensions to CourseWork that can be shared with everyone to help enhance online teaching and learning opportunities," said Lois Brooks, Director of Academic Computing.
Stanford is currently developing the Assignment and Assessment Manager, an addition to CourseWork which will be released next year, providing sophisticated tools for on-line assignments and exams. (See "New Tool for CourseWork".)
CourseWork uses APIs (Application Program Interface) developed as part of the Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI) project (http://web.mit.edu/oki/). The OKI project was initially funded in part by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Mellon Foundation has also directly and generously supported the development of CourseWork and the Assignment and Assessment Manager.
For more information about the open source version of CourseWork, send email to coursework-info@stanford.edu or see the Web at:
http://getcoursework.stanford.edu/
Agreements have been negotiated with Apple Computers and Dell Computers to offer negotiated, discounted pricing to Stanford University. Stanford's ITSS and these companies have worked together to configure special bundled systems for Stanford. In addition, discounts are available on full product and custom configurations. Designated custom Web sites have been developed for Stanford only. Visit these sites for additional information on departmental and personal purchases of Apple and Dell computers. Go to:
http://stanford.edu/home/computing/purchasing_a_computer.shtml
It has been serving the University since the '60s, running "homebrew" software including a popular text editor named WYLBUR, a powerful database management program called SPIRES, and an easy-to-use transaction environment for many important University administrative functions called Prism. It was the home of Socrates, the Stanford Libraries' first online catalog in the 1980s. But here in the 2000s, it's time for the Forsythe mainframe computer to retire.
In December, as the final administrative applications move onto smaller and cheaper servers, the mainframe will end its service to the community. Between now and then, some 4,000 Forsythe accounts must be closed (down from 6,500 last spring).
If you have a Forsythe account, and haven't closed it yet, you should be preparing the account for closure, making certain all important personal and University data is copied or moved elsewhere. After December, it will no longer be available through Forsythe.
For information about the mainframe retirement project, including suggested instructions for evaluating and cleaning out your account, see the Web site at:
http://mainframe-retirement.stanford.edu/
To the Stanford Community,
I am writing you to reiterate the university's policy on the use of Stanford's computer networks in ways that violate copyright laws. In recent months the Recording Industry and Motion Picture Associations of America have increased their enforcement efforts regarding copyrighted materials. Those efforts have included filing lawsuits against individual students at other universities who were believed to use peer-to-peer file-sharing networks on university servers in violation of copyrights of musical artists. In the first set of cases, which were resolved this Spring, students were personally subjected to a great deal of negative publicity, were forced to pay attorneys' fees to defend against the lawsuits, and ultimately were required to pay monetary settlements. These associations have determined that lawsuits against individual students are an effective copyright enforcement tool and have threatened to file hundreds more. I want to make sure all members of the Stanford community are aware of Stanford's stance on this issue.
Stanford is committed to facilitating access to information through its computer networks as part of its mission to pursue research and create knowledge. But the university's research and teaching mission also depends on respect for the rights of intellectual property and the university will not facilitate the pirating of intellectual property through its computer networks.
Stanford has received an increasing number of notices from copyright owners identifying the IP addresses of members of the Stanford community who are sharing copies of music and videos without authorization. The law requires the university to respond to such complaints by eliminating access to the infringing materials, and may further require Stanford to identify students, faculty, staff or others who have violated copyright laws. The university will eliminate access and will provide information as required by law. Indeed, several universities have already turned over the names of their students after receiving lawful subpoenas.
Sharing music, videos, software, and other copyrighted material in violation of copyright laws can expose you and others to legal sanctions. As of the date of this letter (May 25, 2003) there are two bills pending before Congress that would dramatically increase the already onerous criminal and civil penalties Ð unlawful file sharing could be charged as a felony offense and carry fines up to $250,000 per violation and imprisonment for a period up to 5 years. Unlawful file-sharing is also a violation of Stanford's policies. Whether or not a person is subject to civil or criminal prosecution, the university will suspend or terminate computer access to members of the community who continue to violate copyright laws. Finally, the university will take action through the student, employee, or faculty disciplinary processes if necessary. Please do not put yourself, your friends, or your colleagues in that serious and difficult position.
If you would like more information about this, you can consult my earlier memo regarding copyright law at:
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/ucomm/provost/copyright_reminder.html
If you have questions about our policies, please consult the Office of the General Counsel (723-9611).
Sincerely,
John Etchemendy
At Stanford, desktop computers compete every day, trying to protect themselves against the ravaging effects of deliberate attacks and automated tools. When a computer is compromised, ITSS' Information Security Services and Networking groups work together to remove that machine from the Stanford network (SUNet) until it's fixed, so it can't be used to break into other computers.
Want to protect your computer and keep it from being taken off SUNet? Described here are tools that will help.
Passwords are a mechanism for proving that someone who wants to get to your machine has the right to access it. (Note that "Password", in this instance, refers to a password that allows access to a specific computer not to your SUNet ID password that gives you access to SUNet.) Usually, attackers are able to break into computers on Stanford's network because accounts on those machines have bad passwords, or no passwords at all. Several of the operating systems in use at Stanford— especially Windows systems, like Windows 2000 and Windows XP — either don't require passwords at all when a user account is created, or make it easy to turn off the password requirement.
Don't take any chances. If you don't have to enter a username and password to access your computer, for instance after you reboot, you need to establish passwords and make sure they're used. For instructions on how to set a password on your machine, see the Web at:
http://securecomputing.stanford.edu/setpass.html
You also need to be sure that your password is hard-to-guess. You'll find some tips and tricks for picking a good password here:
http://www.stanford.edu/group/dcg/leland-docs/passwords.html#rules
Computers can be taken off SUNet because they run old versions of software, both operating system components and applications. Older versions of software frequently contain security holes that make it possible for attackers to gain access to your computer.
On Microsoft Windows systems, the Windows Update mechanism can be configured to automatically detect, download and install critical updates. See http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.
On Macintosh OS X systems, the Software Update tool will help keep your computer up to date. See http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/softwareupdates.html.
On SU Linux, the software maintenance tool, apt -get, is available to maintain operating system components and applications. See http://sulinux.stanford.edu/install-9.html#updates.
Fixing bad passwords and verifying that your system is up-to-date will maximize your chances for surviving on SUNet. For more information or for other easy-to-follow steps to keep your computers secure and reliable, see the Web at:
http://securecomputing.stanford.edu/pc_practices.html
Stanford's main Web site has a number of new features for 2003-04 that make finding information easier for both Stanford community members and the general public.
A new Google-powered search site, a public events calendar, and updated MyStanford pages all provide fast access to Stanford's expansive web of online resources.
The University's new Google search engine was launched in March 2003. The accompanying Web site, http://google.stanford.edu, brings together many of the University's search tools in one convenient place. In addition to the Google search engine, which indexes more than 1 million Web pages in the Stanford domain, users will also find an expanded "A to Z Index" of Stanford Web sites, links to StanfordWho and other campus directories, as well as the convenience of performing Google searches of the entire Web.
Events at Stanford, http://events.stanford.edu, is the University's new, comprehensive public events calendar. Any department, campus organization, or student group may now publicize their events on this Web site. Events at Stanford offers the ability to browse events by date and category, take a quick look at upcoming events, or search for events by keyword. In addition, users can email event information to themselves from the Web site or add an event to their personal calendar with a single click. For information about getting events listed on the site, go to http://events.stanford.edu/policies.html.
The MyStanford personalized Web portal, a collaborative effort between ITSS and University Communications, was discontinued at the end of the 2002-03 academic year due to budget constraints. In its place, University Communications has created a set of Web pages at http://my.stanford.edu that provides an at-a-glance guide to Stanford's most commonlyused Web resources. Buttons along the top of the site give you instant access popular Web applications like WebMail, the Sundial calendar, and CourseWork. With sub-pages targeted specifically to Stanford faculty, students, and staff, MyStanford makes an ideal choice as your Web browser's default homepage.
These sites, as well as the University's main Web site located at http://www.stanford.edu/ are maintained by staff in the Office of University Communications. See also, "Resources for Departmental Web Sites". Your questions, comments, and suggestions are always welcome at http://www.stanford.edu/home/comment.
It was born three years ago as an intriguing concept to better accommodate
students with disabilities. It has since grown into a project that could enhance
the way all students learn, not only at Stanford but around the world. The
Proteus Learning Environment is the brainchild of the Office of Accessible
Education (OAE) and is the foundation of the newly-created Center for Universal
Design in Education.
More than a high-tech classroom or a new pedagogy, Proteus is a technology-enhanced strategy for creating, delivering, and interacting with academic content in a variety of alternative forms. By allowing students to choose how they interact with instruction and information according to their abilities and preferences, Proteus promises to improve learning opportunities both for students with disabilities and for non-disabled students. This idea of providing instruction and material in multiple formats is what gave rise to the project's name: Proteus, son of the Greek god Poseidon, could change himself into any form he chose.
Most universities (as well as primary and secondary schools) follow the same basic philosophy toward academic accommodation for physical, sensory, and learning disabilities: the student's disability is viewed as a barrier to education; therefore, we must make adaptations so that the student can benefit from the existing educational environment.
Adaptations are necessitated because the student does not have equal access to the instruction or academic material by virtue of their disability. Thus, accommodations often consist of converting education from one form to another. For example, printed material may be provided in Braille for a blind student; an in-class stenocaptioner transcribes the lecture for a student with hearing impairments to read; a student with dyslexia receives printed material as e-text which the computer reads aloud. Such accommodations take place on a case-by-case basis and are often specialized.
Proteus adopts a more progressive approach by building these kinds of individualized accommodations into the existing educational infrastructure. This is accomplished through the thoughtful, proactive application of curriculum design, teaching strategies, and technology. The goal is to augment the learning environment so that many disabilities are largely transparent to the instructional process. The underlying philosophy of such an approach is commonly referred to as Universal Design (UD).
Universal Design, a term originating in the fields of architecture and product design, is the philosophy of designing products and environments to be usable by all people without the need for individualized adaptation or specialized design. The intent is to broaden the base of users, reduce cost, and simplify life in general. In fact, well-integrated UD features usually go unnoticed by most people; for example, automatic door openers, variable height counters, signage in multiple formats, and wheelchair curbcuts. Such design features may be incorporated for people with disabilities, but are used—and appreciated—by everyone.
Likewise, Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) is inclusive; it addresses the needs of students with disabilities but also benefits all students. Simply put, think of UDI as "educational curbcuts". A not-so-insignificant side benefit of such a learning environment is that it creates innovative instructional possibilities for faculty and novel learning opportunities for students.
Building on the principles of UDI, Proteus capitalizes on technology to create an inclusive learning environment. An important insight that led to the Proteus concept was the recognition that nearly all academic accommodations involving content conversion either are, or could be, in digital electronic form, e.g., closed captioning, Braille, and e-text. Whiteboard output can be captured relatively easily, as can notetaking by peers (via either typing or handwriting recognition). Once speech recognition can cope with the nuances of an animated lecture and not just controlled dictation, lectures can be captured as text transcript as well as digital audio.
By capturing and synchronizing all of these streams, students can select which form, or combination of forms, best meet their abilities, learning needs, and learning preferences. (See table.) Note that the diverse and individualized needs of students are met using the same basic system. This is UDI in action Ð the same environment meets every user's needs without individualized adaptation.
|
Scenario |
Example of How Student Might Use Proteus Learning Environment |
|
Student with learning disabilities, ADHD |
- Listens to lecture. - Synchronizes notes (taken by peer notetaker) with lecture transcript. - Bookmarks stream for later referral (e.g., "Important point", "Don't understand", "Assignment"). |
|
Student with hearing impairment |
- Accesses lecture (transcribed via remote captioner) later via speech recognition. - Uses closed captioned video. - Reviews Lecture transcript and notes available after class. |
|
Student who is legally blind |
- Listens to lecture, bookmarks points. - Takes notes via Braille notetaker. - Uses refreshable (i.e., dynamic) Braille display to read text on Web and handouts previously prepared by instructor. |
|
Any student, studying after class |
- Reviews bookmarked sections of stream for follow-up. - Reads AND listens to lecture transcript (text and audio synchronized). - Searches for material via text search, then replays synchronized video, audio, whiteboard capture, etc. - Annotates transcript, class notes using speech recognition, typing, or handwriting recognition. |
Notice how students without disabilities can employ the various features of the Proteus Learning Environment to align with their individual learning preferences. By offering a choice as to how they interact with instruction and content, Proteus allows students to take advantage of how they learn best.
The first incarnation of Proteus will be limited to augmenting a classroom environment and will be implemented in Wallenberg Hall's technology-enhanced classrooms. The OAE is working with a number of partners, both within the University and off campus, to design and develop the underlying technologies: the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning (SCIL), Academic Computing, and Benetech (a non-profit organization). In addition, they are in discussions with various vendors and other groups.
Because it is important to integrate the teaching styles of instructors and the learning needs of students, the Office of Accessible Education will be including faculty and students as partners on the project development team. If you are a faculty member with an "early adopter" frame of mind and are interested in working with us, please contact Dr. Joan Bisagno, OAE Director (joan.bisagno@stanford.edu, 723-1039) or Shelley Haven, Academic Technology Specialist and Technology Coordinator for the OAE (shelley.haven@stanford.edu, 725-6173).
The focus of this quarterly "Where It's A.T." column is to highlight how Assistive Technology, designed to aid people with disabilities, can benefit everyone. The Proteus Learning Environment is a shining example of this principle in action. Stay tuned for more developments).
SKIL: Stanford's Key to Information Literacy will go live this quarter. Highly recommended for all incoming students and strongly suggested for students who take courses in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, SKIL is an interactive tutorial that focuses on research and library skills. It improves a student's ability to locate and use information needed for classes and research.
The tutorial consists of six modules:
• Information Sources
• Searching Expertise
• Selecting Sources
• Locating Materials
• The Web
• Evaluating, Citing and Copyright
Each module outlines competencies to be covered and interactive activities reinforce learning through the tutorial. At the end of each module, the student has the opportunity to review, or to self-assess with a ten-question quiz, which provides immediate feedback.
SKIL is Web-based and does not require SUNet identification except for activities that require accessing a database. An alternative, with screen shots, will be provided for those activities. SKIL was developed with ADA-compliance in mind, so its features and activities can be used by all Stanford students.
Those students who complete SKIL will be encouraged to take a final test, utilizing CourseWork, to ensure that they have improved their information literacy skills.
For more information about CourseWork, see "Stanford's CourseWork: A Major Milestone and New Features". For more information about SKIL, contact Malgorzata Schaefer, mschaefe@stanford.edu.
How are Stanford students using new technologies like instant messaging, peer-to-peer filesharing, online gaming, and community-based chat lists? Are students becoming more socially isolated as they depend increasingly on computer tools for personal, social, and academic activities? Freshmen in the Spring Quarter 2003 course, dorm.net/Residential Rhetorics, explored these questions by conducting field research on how they and their fellow students use new media in the context of campus life. Their findings ranged from the possibly predictable to the surprising and unprecedented, including a pioneering study of gender roles in instant messaging.
dorm.net was one of four pilot courses offered last year by the Program
in Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) to develop curriculum for the University's revised
Writing Requirement. Beginning this year (2003-04), the new requirement adds
a second quarter of writing instruction (Writing 2) that will include substantial
attention to oral and multimedia rhetoric. Instructor Rich Holeton, Head of
Residential Computing, formerly taught in the writing program for 12 years.
Holeton's version of the pilot course was labeled "multimedia intensive," with
students both reading and authoring multimedia materials, in addition to focusing
their research on new media.
Stanford undergraduates are on the leading edge of the "keyboard generation," those who have grown up using new media in increasingly complex and interwoven ways. Nearly all live on campus, where they participate in active residence communities and study and socialize in a highly wired, and increasingly wireless, environment. (See also "Wireless Access at the Stanford Libraries".)The premise of Holeton's course was that the Stanford dorms offer a unique nexus of technological saturation, residential learning culture, social interaction, and user savvy. There are large bodies of research in the areas of real-space community, student affairs, and higher education in general, on the one hand, and computer-mediated communication and virtual community, on the other. Very little research has been done, however, in the area of intersection between virtual and face-to-face community-—the theme of dorm.net.
Following is a sampling of student research findings from the course. Web summaries of all the projects are available at http://www.stanford.edu/class/pwr3-25/.
• Virtual community and student groups: Rebecca Thal used the Ram's Head Theatrical Society Tech group as a case study for how student subcultures use a complex ecology of online and traditional media to enculturate new members. The history, traditions, special language, and other cultural artifacts of such student groups increasingly depend on new media forms - email, audio and video, Web sites - and a combination of virtual and real-space interaction.
• Dorm chat lists and flame wars: Sonia Samagh found that residents are more comfortable discussing volatile or hot-button issues, like the war in Iraq, online rather than face-to-face at large-group house meetings. Further, dorm-based email discussion often promotes real-space dialogue among fellow residents, though not vice-versa (i.e., real-space discussions don't often spill over onto the email list). Albert Andersen found that "flame wars" on residence chat lists are mitigated by dorm-specific factors such as a general sense of online safety and the virtual presence of residence staff members (Resident Assistants and Resident Fellows). Isolated flame incidents, while uncomfortable, also can contribute to the development of dorm community, through a process of residents getting to know one another in deeper or surprising ways.
• The rhetorics of filesharing: A majority of students see some ethical problems with sharing copyrighted music files online, according to Nicholas Miyake's study, but 80 percent still participate actively in such filesharing. They rationalize this behavior with specific forms of moral justification, including the use of euphemistic language ("sharing" vs. "stealing"), diffusion of responsibility ("everyone is doing it"), distortion of consequences ("there's no effect on legitimate music sales"), and attribution of blame ("the entertainment industry overcharges for CDs").
On the other side, the rhetoric of the entertainment industry is characterized by heavy-handed intimidation tactics ("you'll be held legally liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars"), logical fallacies (using threats to argue the truth value of their claims, or offering false analogies like equating the downloading of music files to the stealing of physical CDs), and attacks on the ethical integrity of users.
• Chatting and flirting with instant messaging (IM): Abraham Nachbaur found that over 90 percent of undergrads use IM for gossiping, ranting, planning social events, and generally staying in touch. Overall, IM strengthens social bonds and fosters cohesive community on campus. Students chat most often with friends in other dorms, but also IM their fellow residents down the hall. In addition, they use IM "away messages" as a quasi-voicemail system - one more creatively customizable than telephone voice mail. Interestingly, over 50 percent of Stanford students use IM for flirting, with 15 percent actually preferring IM flirting to face-to-face.
• Gender dynamics in IM: In a pioneering study, Christine Lee compared transcripts of male-male, female-female, and male-female IM conversations. The female-female and male-male dialogues follow stereotypical patterns analogous to real-space gender dynamics; for example, women use emoticons and greetings much more frequently than men, and men use a harsher tone, more name-calling, and engage in stereotypically male topics when chatting with other men. In the male-female conversations, however, Lee found that the men dramatically change their IM behavior, using greetings and emoticons much more extensively, while also moderating their tone and choice of topics.
Most significantly, compared to real-space male-female interaction, IM appears to offer a new, more egalitarian conversation space for men and women, one where men do not dominate the dialogue or interrupt women nearly so much as in face-to-face situations. Lee attributes this difference to the affordances of instant messaging technology, which does not allow people to purposely "interrupt" each other.
For more information about the "dorm.net" course, contact Rich Holeton (holeton@stanford.edu). For more information about the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, see http://pwr.stanford.edu/.
Some of the newest features on the Stanford.You Web site are there thanks to the influence of four students from CS247b, a class that was taught last Spring Quarter. As part of a class project, Peter Solderitsch, Trang Pham, Walter Shen and Todd Jackson evaluated the success of the Stanford.You Web site, comparing its mission and purpose to the actual experience of its user community.
With the likelihood of a major revision of the pages anticipated during the next year or so, their findings and proposals based on their surveys gave ITSS a big head-start in the redesign process, plus some easily made changes for a release this past summer.
One change, for example, now lets you specify both a start and stop date for autoreply messages for email to your @stanford mailbox. The autoreply no longer has to go into effect when you set it. This lets you set up a vacation message when it's convenient for you, not at the very moment you want it to take effect. Other changes they suggested will get incorporated into Stanford.You in the future. (Stanford.You allows members of the Stanford community to check their University ID and PIN, forward their email, customize their SUNet ID, and update their address, phone number, and other personal information.) It is on the Web at:
http://stanfordyou.stanford.edu/
At a presentation to members of the development team, one student remarked that while others in the class had worked with large firms like Adobe on their projects, these four had appreciated working with ITSS, because they felt their work could have a real impact - and it did and will.
The Office of University Communications, which maintains Stanford's main Web site (http://www.stanford.edu/), now offers resources and helpful style guidelines for Webmasters of departmental or other official Stanford Web sites. Go to:
http://www.stanford.edu/webguide/
They include Dreamweaver templates appropriate for creating a departmental Web site, downloadable Stanford artwork for any University Web site, best practices information, and accessibility guidelines.
Examples of Web sites that have been built using these resources are:
Office of the President - http://www.stanford.edu/dept/president/
Office of the Provost - http://www.stanford.edu/dept/provost/
Stanford Video - http://stanfordvideo.stanford.edu/
For more information, please contact Scott Stocker at stocker@stanford.edu.
ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGY SPECIALIST PROGRAM | RESIDENTIAL COMPUTING | STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDIA SOLUTIONS
