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April 15, 2008
Issue No. 77

Table of Contents

• Highlights and Features
  • CourseWork-SU Syllabus Upgrade
    
  • HelpSU-New Features
    
  • Socrates Goes Global
    
  • Undergrad Computing Survey
    
  • Federated Search-SU Libraries
    
  • Get Power Management Tool
    
  • New SU Email-Calendar Services
    
  • Academic Technology Lab News
    
  • CLOCKSS Works
    
  • Net Savviness Taught-Dorms
    
  • Axess Upgrade This Summer
    
  • New SU Home Page-June 2008
    

Stanford Syllabus was released to the Stanford community in Fall 2006. Conceived by the Committee on Undergraduate Standards and Policy (C-USP), funded by the Provost's Office, and developed by Academic Computing, the goal of the standalone Stanford Syllabus application is to provide a centralized online repository of syllabi for Stanford University courses. Since Fall 2006, over 1,700 syllabi have been uploaded to Stanford Syllabus.

Figure A: Syllabus file uploaded to the standalone Stanford Syllabus application for EDUC-303X.

Figure B: The same Syllabus file shows up in the CourseWork site for EDUC-303X.

Beginning March 7, 2008, upgrades to the Stanford Syllabus application and CourseWork v5's Syllabus Tool were released. Using these upgraded versions instructors will be able to post their syllabus once (in either system) and have it available to students in both systems. The syllabus item can be a URL, a file, or inline text. Any revisions to the syllabus after it has been uploaded can be done in either CourseWork v5 or Stanford Syllabus and the changes will be reflected in both systems.

For detailed information on this latest version of Stanford Syllabus integrated with CourseWork, please visit our software release notes.

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In February, IT Services upgraded to the new version of Remedy, the software behind HelpSU. You probably didn't notice the change unless you're a support team member who uses Remedy every day. For everyone else, there are a few changes that may be of interest.

See Current Status of Your Request

First, HelpSU now allows you to see the current status of your request. From the HelpSU page, you can access any of your outstanding or recently resolved tickets by clicking the "Help Request Status" link in the left-hand column. From there you can review your ticket, see what actions have been taken, add additional information to the ticket, and, if the ticket is resolved, see the resolution.

Email Notes Resolution of Your HelpSU Request

Another new feature of the system is automatic email notification, once your HelpSU request is resolved, noting the resolution of the ticket. We all know how busy our tech support staff are and in the old system, tickets occasionally slipped through the cracks and were closed without the requester understanding why. The new automated message should reduce the number of tickets that are closed without the requester being completely informed of how things turned out. It may also prompt the requester to take action if a ticket is closed and there are still open issues.

For HelpSU Assistance

Overall, the rest of the HelpSU page is the same familiar look and feel we all know. If you need assistance, you may still submit a HelpSU request online at http://helpsu.stanford.edu or call the Service Desk at 5-HELP (650-725-4357). We'll be happy to assist you.

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On Monday, February 11, 2008, researchers encountered something new while searching the Stanford University Libraries' catalog, Socrates, for materials in Arabic and Hebrew.

Display and Search in Arabic and Hebrew

That was the day when, for the first time, catalog records in Socrates displayed the original script for most items published in those languages. It was also the day when it became possible for readers to search the catalog using the Arabic or Hebrew alphabets.

A Socrates record for a trilingual (Arabic-Hebrew-English) exhibition catalog.

Previously the only display option in Socrates for Arabic and Hebrew works - and the only way to conduct searches - was in transliteration into Latin script. (That option remains available to researchers.)

Language Keyboards for Searching

In order to search in these two alphabets it is necessary to install the appropriate language keyboards on a computer. Once these keyboards are enabled, one can switch between scripts and search in Socrates (as well as in other databases) in Arabic and Hebrew.

Language Keyboards on Public Computer Kiosks

Keyboards for several languages and scripts - including Arabic and Hebrew - have already been installed on all of the public computer kiosks in the Lane Reading Room in Green Library (2nd floor, Bing Wing), and they will soon be installed on other public kiosks in Green and in the branch libraries on the Stanford campus.

Displaying Non-Latin Scripts

Most computers are already able to display non-Latin scripts because Web browsers are generally equipped with the appropriate language coding and fonts.

For instructions on how to display, search, print, and mail Socrates catalog records in non-Latin scripts, see the Web page Unicode Help for Socrates Users, on the SULAIR Web site.

Plans for the Future

This is the first publicly visible phase of a project that has been ongoing for a number of years and will continue until most of the world's major scripts are included. Soon to come in Socrates, by the end of 2008: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Cyrillic languages.

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The results from the 2007-2008 undergraduate residence computing survey (part of the annual residence evaluation conducted by the Office of Residential Education) are now available.

This year, 2726 students or 41% of all undergrads responded to the survey. The survey results cover topics such as personal computing (including computers, blogs and wikis, email, mobile phones, and more), use of social networking sites like Facebook, and hot issues like file-sharing and copyright (including responses about the over 30 Stanford students who have received "pre-litigation" letters since 2007 and the University's new policies on privacy and copyright complaints and reconnection fees).

The results also include information about students' evaluation of both residence and public computing spaces (Meyer Library, Tresidder, Green Library, etc.) as well as their Resident Computer Consultants or RCCs. (Resident Computer Consultants are students who live in each residence and serve on house staffs as local network managers by supporting in-room network connections, educators by running residential programs on computing and working with students in general, consultants by helping residents with computer problems, cluster technicians by helping to take care of the residence clusters, and more.)

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Effective and intuitive ways of discovering information are a growing challenge in the age of the digital library. With the sheer abundance of resources present, the issue is no longer finding related resources, but rather finding the most relevant resources to further insights and research work.

Internet search engines like Google identify and index only a fraction of all the information that is available on the Web. The "invisible web" is made up of thousands of resources such as databases, e-journal aggregators, and news archives that contain valuable information and whose content is inaccessible and therefore neither seen nor indexed by traditional search engines. While resources acquired by the Stanford University Libraries include a trove of valuable resources, most are part of the invisible web.

Prototype Federated Search Service

To help scholars at Stanford spend less time searching for relevant information, a prototype federated search service has been released by the Stanford University Libraries and Deep Web Technologies. After a user enters search terms into an intuitive search interface, resources held across many different, isolated systems are searched at one time, information is organized, and up to 100 items per resource are merged in one ranked priority list. This gives scholars a quick and broad view across a number of possible sources, letting them identify the most promising areas and resources in which to extend their search.

Demos of Federated Search at Stanford

Three demonstrations of federated search within the Stanford environment are now available:

All Library Catalogs at Stanford - Combined search for these catalogs: Socrates, Jackson Business, Lane Medical, SLAC, and Health Library of the Stanford Hospital and Clinics.

Federated Search interface for all the library catalogs at Stanford.

"Top 10" Databases at Stanford - Combined search that includes some popular databases from the 800+ databases available at Stanford: ABI/Inform (Business), Annual Reviews, Biosis, Dissertations & Theses (Abstracts & Indexes), Engineering Village, Expanded Academic ASAP, Lexis Nexis Academic (News), Periodicals Archive Online, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. (Access is limited to current Stanford students, faculty, and staff.)

Stanford Digitized Content - Cross collection search of digital collections listed on http://collections.stanford.edu.

Feedback Welcomed

We welcome any feedback you have on this initiative.

For More Information

For more information, please see:

RaPIDs Group, Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources

Deep Web Technologies

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The Big Fix Power Management Tool was released to campus in January and, to date, thirteen percent of the Big Fix users across campus have adopted the tool. An initial application has been made to PG&E for $40,000 in rebates. But there are still more rebate funds available. Take action today to make a difference for tomorrow.

Go Green Today

You can download the Stanford Power Management Tool from the Big Fix Power Management page on the Sustainable Stanford Web site. For staff, your department is eligible for the rebate money which is used to help pay for new energy-efficient computers, monitors, printers, and copiers. For students, the rebate money goes to the Stanford Green Fund, a fund for creative, student-driven projects that aim to make Stanford a more sustainable campus and promote environmental awareness.

What is Sustainable IT?

The Big Fix Power Management Tool is the first project of Sustainable IT, the cross-University working group. Sustainable IT includes representatives from IT Services, Office of Research Administration, School of Medicine, School of Humanities and Sciences, and Land Buildings & Real Estate. Sustainable IT is supporting a broader University effort called Sustainable Stanford, whose mission is to develop guidelines for the University on how we can reduce our carbon footprint. In addition to power management, the Sustainable IT group is investigating additional best practices for sustainable IT. The team will be making recommendations to the Sustainable Stanford Working Group for additional initiatives to pursue.

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IT Services continues to work on the new integrated email and calendar services powered by the Zimbra Collaboration Suite.

Highlighted Features

Early testing has begun and some of the new features promise big gains for the Stanford community.

Some features spring from the integration:

• Get Address Book access across email, calendar, and task functions.
• Accept a meeting invitation directly from your email.
• Type part of an email address or a name and it shows matches from your personal address book first and from the Stanford directory as well.
• Use one search to search across email, calendar, and contacts, or limit your searches to one at a time.

Other features in the new service's design include:

• A powerful Web experience that works equally well on various Windows, Macintosh, and Linux browsers and allows use of folders, filters, and keyboard navigation.
• Easy and powerful access and synchronization from various mobile devices.
• Task lists to track what you need to do.
• For calendars you have permission to view, calendar overlays on your calendar so that it's easy to find a mutually free time to meet.
• Published, public calendars can be overlaid as well to see how your calendar works with external events.

Upcoming Demos

Campus demos of the new system are scheduled in the late Spring and Summer Quarters. The project Web site has the current information about upcoming presentations.

How These New Services May Affect You

• Sundial (Oracle Calendar) Users: Your Sundial calendar will be replaced with a new calendar tool.
• Webmail Users: The current Stanford Webmail tool will be replaced with a new webmail tool.
• Email Application Users: If you choose, you can continue to use your current email application as you do today. However, if you want to take advantage of the integration these new services offer, you may have to switch to the Web interface or, if you are not already using one, a desktop application that takes advantage of the available integration (e.g., Microsoft Outlook, Apple OS X Mail).

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The Academic Technology Lab (ATL), a resource center for faculty, instructors and TAs interested in using multimedia to improve teaching, learning and research at Stanford University, has recently adopted a new consulting model.

ATL consultants will provide training and support for the development of instructional materials including interactive presentations, videos, DVDs and Web sites. Faculty will also receive assistance integrating technology tools such as CourseForum (a Web-based forum) and CourseWork (Stanford's learning management system) into their courses. See also CourseWork Integrated with Stanford Syllabus in this issue.

Academic Technology Report Podcast Series

The new Academic Technology Report podcast series contains information and interviews with Stanford faculty and other experts that address of-the-moment technology for teaching, learning and research on campus and beyond.

The podcasts offer contact resources, as well as technology services; the series also explores current technology trends and what's happening at other institutions. The Academic Technology Report blog contains podcast show notes and links to transcripts. The blog gives listeners the opportunity to add comments, provide feedback and suggest topics for future episodes.

ATL Wiki Component Project

When Professor Virginia Walbot contacted the ATL about creating a multimedia textbook for her Biological Sciences 137/237 Plant Genetics course, Academic Technology Specialist, Kimberly Hayworth, worked with Professor Walbot to realize her specific objectives for the project.

Professor Walbot's objectives included increasing student engagement, improving collaboration, and developing a documentation process for research. In Spring Quarter 2008, Professor Walbot will be including a wiki component (software that allows users to create, edit, and link web pages easily) for students to collaborate on developing experiments and analyzing results of the plant genetics class laboratory.

A major element of the wiki component will be students' digital images of dahlia plants and flowers. Student-generated content (images, experimental designs, data) will be used as a resource for future course materials; each successive group of student participants can add to the understanding of the regulation of pigmentation, as well as the form of leaves and flowers in dahlias.

New ATL Equipment

The ATL has purchased a variety of new equipment to support Academic Computing projects that require video and audio capture, podcasting and media streaming. The ATL acquired a Canon HV20 High Definition camcorder, as well as Flip Video Ultra Camcorders. In addition to video equipment, the ATL now has a Zoom H2 Digital Recorder that is ideal for mobile recording and podcasting.

For More Information

The Academic Technology Lab is part of the Academic Technology Specialist Program. For more information, visit:

http://ats.stanford.edu/atl

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Researchers increasingly access journal articles online, but the real possibility exists that, due to natural disaster or human/computing failure, digital content might not always be available. Libraries and publishers have joined forces in an initiative called CLOCKSS (Controlled Lots of Copies keep Stuff Safe), providing leadership and the supporting technology, to ensure reliable, long-term access to scholarly e-content.

First Journal Available

The moment has arrived to see how CLOCKSS works. The Web-published content of the journal Graft: Organ and Cell Transplantation (SAGE Publications) has been exported from the CLOCKSS archive, and is now available to the world from two CLOCKSS hosting platforms at universities in Europe and the US. Released under a Creative Commons license, this content is free to researchers, students and the general public, without need of any subscription.

How CLOCKSS Works

CLOCKSS is a trusted and secure dark archive, preserving scholarly journal content from the world's leading publishers. The CLOCKSS system is based on geographically-dispersed nodes located at major research libraries into which e-journal content from publishers is routinely ingested. Archived copies remain "dark" (hidden, secure and unavailable for use), until a trigger event and the CLOCKSS Board votes to "light up" the content and restore access to it again via a hosting platform.

At present, there are seven archive nodes and two hosting platforms. These numbers are expected to double in order to achieve added security from global coverage. SAGE Publications is one of 11 premier publishers (together accounting for about 60 percent of e-journal content) participating in the CLOCKSS Pilot and serving on the CLOCKSS Board.

When SAGE announced that it was discontinuing Graft, this became the first real-world test for the CLOCKSS system and its procedures: the CLOCKSS Board, comprising both publishers and library organizations, determined that a trigger event had occurred; instruction was given for Graft content to be copied from archive nodes in the CLOCKSS network to the designated hosting platforms; and 18 issues of Graft became available to the world. To read Graft, please click here.

Universities Host CLOCKSS

Stanford University, where the underlying LOCKSS software was developed, and the University of Edinburgh are among the seven participants on the library side, acting as stewards for the CLOCKSS system. The two universities have also been designated as CLOCKSS hosting platforms in order to demonstrate, through the release of content, how CLOCKSS works, with EDINA, the UK national data centre at Edinburgh, playing that role for Europe, and Stanford University Libraries doing so for the US. Both serve as points of worldwide access, free to all, without any prior subscription, fee, or registration.

More Information

CLOCKSS is transitioning from a Pilot Program to an organization for the long-term, building on the technology and findings of LOCKSS (for Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe).

Participating Libraries in the CLOCKSS Pilot:_Indiana University, New York Public Library, OCLC, Rice University, Stanford University, University of Edinburgh, and University of Virginia.

Participating Publishers in the CLOCKSS Pilot:_American Chemical Society, American Medical Association, American Physiological Society, Elsevier, IOP Publishing, Nature Publishing Group, Oxford University Press, SAGE Publications, Springer, Taylor & Francis, and Wiley-Blackwell.

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Since the introduction of the Macintosh computer in 1984, Residential Computing has been offering an Introduction to Computing at Stanford class (now CS1C), a one unit pass/no credit course taught by local Resident Computer Consultants (RCCs) in the residences.

CS1C in the Past

Over 10,000 students have taken this introductory computing course. In the early years, CS1C, taken by most freshmen, initially covered the "basic functions of a computer system: text editor, communications facilities, software packages, etc."[1] As incoming students became more familiar with basic skills, the course evolved to include topics such as computer maintenance and security, email and printing, network file storage, physical computing resources, and file-sharing and copyright issues. Additional topics catering to students' interests varied by section such as image editing, Web page publication, and computer hardware.

CS1C Enrollment by Academic Year

New Focus on "Net Savviness"

This year, the CS1C curriculum was restructured and adopted a focus on "Net Savviness". As this year's course coordinator, Chin San Han, explains, net savviness refers to "how a person is shrewdly informed, practically experienced, or simply canny regarding the Net, whether it's leveraging its resources, navigating its pitfalls, or managing the myriad forms of technology associated with it."

CS1C continues to cover the basics of using the Stanford network, computer maintenance and security, and Stanford's computing resources. However, with increasing news coverage and concerns about file-sharing and social networks like Facebook and MySpace, additional time in the course is devoted to discussing the issues surrounding privacy on social networks and file-sharing and the law.

Multimedia Components Move to CS2C

To accommodate the additional content for CS1C, the multimedia components that were once taught in CS1C have now moved to the Intermediate Computing at Stanford (CS2C) course to align with the multimedia focus of that course, which has grown from 30 students and 4 locations to 105 students and 13 locations in just four years since it was first offered in Winter 2005. Due to increasing student demand for the course partially from the CS1C curriculum changes, more CS2C sections were also added this year including an advanced section in Meyer Library (which taught Final Cut Pro in addition to iMovie).

CS1C-Current Results

Encouraging the students to think more about their responsibilities when it comes to net savviness, CS1C students concluded the course by writing a paper to reflect on how the course contributed to their growth toward net savviness. And to introduce the students to the multimedia course offered the following quarter, the students recorded a reflection video in teams on their collective net savviness learning experience in CS1C.

24 years ago, CS1C taught students how to use technologies to enhance their computing experience at Stanford. Today, it aims to not only teach students about how to use the technologies, but also how to use them wisely.

[1] From the Stanford Bulletin, 1984.

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PeopleSoft, the software that runs most of the functions accessed via the Axess portal at Stanford, will be undergoing some changes this summer. On August 11, 2008, Stanford will upgrade from PeopleSoft version 8.0 to PeopleSoft version 9.0, and everyone who uses Axess will see some changes.

Students

Students will notice a big change as soon as they login to Axess and see fewer tabs across the top of the portal window. Students currently access separate tabs (e.g., Courses & Grades, Academics, Finances, etc.) to perform different administrative functions. As of August 11, most of these functions will be consolidated under a single "Student Center" tab. Pulldown menus within the Student Center will provide access to different information and activities related to students' records.

Faculty

Axess will look generally the same upon login for faculty users, with the Teaching and Advising tabs and menus remaining largely unchanged. However, the functional pages for performing tasks related to rosters, grades, and advising will be different as a result of the upgrade. The Axess for Faculty brochure and Web site will be updated to help prepare faculty for the changes.

Staff

Staff who use PeopleSoft to perform a variety of administrative tasks will find that, while most inquiry and entry screens look very familiar, the process of getting to those screens will be different. PeopleSoft 9.0 organizes functions differently from PeopleSoft 8.0, so the menus and links used to navigate to specific functions is changing significantly.

Testing of New System

The new system is undergoing extensive user testing throughout the spring and early summer to ensure a smooth Go-Live in August. The central offices and Administrative Systems are working closely together to identify the most significant changes and prepare end users.

More Information

More information about the upgrade may be found online at:

http://peoplesoft9.stanford.edu

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Some of Stanford's main Web sites will have a fresh look beginning this summer. Launching in June will be a redesigned homepage for the University, as well as new Web sites for the offices of Undergraduate Admission, Financial Aid and Visitor Information. The effort is co-sponsored by the Office of University Communications and the Office of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. Both offices have been working together since last November to produce the new, cohesive Web identity for Stanford.

Progress on the redesign can be tracked on a blog devoted to the effort. The project blog features design mockups and invites visitors to comment and leave feedback. In the coming weeks, community members will also be invited to participate in focus groups and feedback sessions on the new designs.

As part of the effort, new Web resources based on the designs will also be made available to the wider campus. These will include style guidelines, best practices, code samples, templates, and skins for popular content solutions such as WordPress and Drupal.

These resources will be of particular interest to departments and offices that are already using templates currently available at http://webguide.stanford.edu, but they will be available to anyone on campus who would like their Web site to reflect the new university designs.

June's launch will mark the third major redesign of the homepage. The first was in 1998, followed by an update in 2002. Since then, modifications have been made, but the overarching design has remained the same.

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