This special edition of Spotlight on IT focuses not on a trend, but on the great work done in our IT department to prepare for the new academic year.

In addition to the services below, we have also published aÌýÌýto help students become familiar with the IT services they will come in contact with during their time at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´. For a complete list of services, students are encouraged to check outÌý, a transition guide provided by the Office of the Vice-President (Students and Enrolment).

Service Desk

Last September Stats
It’s no surprise that September is our busiest time of the year, as is the case for many departments on campus. You could say that our staff have been preparing themselves mentally for the influx of requests. Last September the ITS Service Desk created 3496 tickets with 48% of the requests coming in via email.Ìý They had a 60% first call resolution rate and our satisfaction survey results reported a 97% satisfaction rate.

Service Desk Bookcamp
Our student Service Desk employees are integral to our service offering as they enable us toÌýprovideÌýsupport outside of university business hours –Ìý till 10:30 pm Mon-Thurs, till 10 pm Friday, and from 12-8 pm weekends. ÌýTo prepare them for the types of requests they will receive, 16 students attended a three day ‘bootcamp’ withÌýpresentation from subject matter experts from across ITS covering everything from passwords to wireless.

Residence Move-In Support
This weekend thousands of students will be moving into residence.Ìý Housing and Residence Life Services haveÌýstreamlined their processesÌýto ensure a smooth transition for students, and a number of service departments from across campus will be there to help, including our own ITS staff.Ìý We’ll be there to support students with onsite network (wired and wireless) setup, account access, software access, and hardware support.

Classroom Support

Wireless Screen-Sharing
Following successful pilots in Tory 446/7 and Southam 306, wireless screen-sharing unshackles instructors from the podium, allowing them to roam their lecture room, while transmitting the video of their iPad to the classroom projector. WithÌýInstructional Media Services (IMS)Ìýassuming technical support, another dozen classrooms in Tory are being targeted for updating this fall.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) provides students with the option to access course-specific software directly from their laptops, which are often used in class with guidance from the instructor.Ìý VDI was introduced at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´Ìýin 2014Ìýand there are now almost 100 classrooms that are VDI-ready. In these classrooms, Wi-Fi capacity is specially engineered to allow every student to open a VDI connection

Free MS Office for Students
Microsoft is offeringÌýstudents in select educational institutions, including ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University, the MS Office software suite, at no charge while they are at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´.Ìý For information on how to download the software, visit ourÌýMS Office page.

Systems

cuLearn Upgrade
ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s Learning Management System, CuLearn,Ìýwill be getting its annual upgrade on Sept 3, going from Moodle version 2.8.7 to version 3.1.1, withÌýimprovements to the gradebook and the overall system performance.ÌýPlanning for the upgrade generally utilizes theÌý, from the Initiation phase to the Closure Phase. Schedules and test plans are developed and actioned upon for respective areas of responsibility by both theÌýÌýand ITS. An upgrade of the LMS roughly takes about three months to complete (start to finish).

Windows 10 Deployed to Student Labs
Over 1000 campus lab computersÌýwere updated over the summer with the latest image which includes 64-bit Windows 10 Enterprise, along with roughlyÌý. To ensure software students need for their class work was included, the image was built with feedback from faculty and Computing Support Units (CSUs) across campus.

Next Edition

We will resume our regular format next month with a spotlight on IT security, just in time for Cyber Security Awareness Month

Some enhancements include:

• better grading features;
• improved course management;
• improved text editor and file management;
• improved assignments, including marking workflow and allocation;
• the ability to edit course activities and resources more easily; and
• a better responsive design.

For screenshots and a complete list of new features, please visit the .

During the , the system will be unavailable. There will be no impact to any content contained within cuLearn.

One of the key strengths of cuLearn is its extensibility through plugins that add extra functionality, integrate with other applications, and allow for customization of the user interface. The EDC welcomes suggestions for future plugins to be added to cuLearn. The LMS steering committee evaluates and selects which plugins should be added. ÌýTo learn more about the LMS steering committee and to suggest new feature requests, pleaseÌývisitÌý.

But how do we measure customer satisfaction?

One way is through the Customer Satisfaction Surveys conducted by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP). ÌýWe’ve been involved in these since 2002 (back when they were telephone surveys) and although the survey has changed over time – it’s now shorter and more direct in an attempt to increase the response rate –Ìý these results remain important in setting baselines for service delivery and uncovering opportunities for improvement.

These surveys and the like are important for asking questions like:

• What services and resources are important to our clients?
• How successfully are we delivering these services?
• How effectively do we communicate our services? Is there a disconnect between perceived service delivery and actual service delivery?
• What benchmarks can be established for excellent delivery of technology services?

ITS is once again participating in the annual Student Customer Satisfaction Survey by asking for feedback on the following topics cuLearn, Wireless, and Public Labs and eKiosks.

We thank OIRP for assisting us to statistically analyze the data that with the intent of identifying those areas that will provide the best opportunity to further improve customer service delivery.

By matching responses to strategic initiatives, we can match resources to the work that will help to deliver better services to the community.

Come to the third annual Quality Showcase, taking place onÌýThursdayÌýNovember 14 from 9 – 12 in the River Building, to learn about the collaborations behind three ITS Ìýinitiatives:

cuLearn (Breakout Session)

Moving from WebCT to cuLearn was made possible though the collaborative efforts of three departments: ITS, EDC, and the Library.

Come to the cuLearn breakout session to learn about:

• how the three departments came together to collaborate on this initiative
• examples of collaborations that took place
• three key success factors

iTeam (Poster Exhibit)

The iTeam is a volunteer employee-initiative, which brings together members of the ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ community who use iPhones & iPads on campus. They host monthly Lunch’n’Learn sessions at Robertson Hall, deliver custom workshops upon request, and maintain an iPad How To library.

Ontario Research and Education Cloud Ìý(Poster Exhibit)

OREC is a partnership between ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University, UOttawa, Algonquin College, La Cite Collegiale, and IBM to provide shared computing resources for research and teaching purposes.

Come learn about how ITS is working collaboratively to deliver:

• more computer power, more configurations, more flexibility
• a shred IT service to support researchers

Quality Showcase Program

The program features, keynote speakerÌýand to other breakout sessions:

• Discovery Centre
• Strategic Integrated Plan Task Force

Ìýfor the 2013 Quality Showcase is now open. ÌýWe look forward to seeing you on November 14.

Experiencing technical issues? Ìý.

The overall look and feel is very similar to the previous version, only with a modernized look and a simplified, intuitive interface. ÌýIt is also responsive, accessible, and faster.

Some of the improvements in this upgrade include:

• better file management and access control of resources and activities
• new course layout options and management tools
• assignment improvements including rubrics, offline marking, date extensions, student submission statement
• better quiz attempt handling
• new book activity type
• course lists will not be organized by semester
• plus many other smaller improvements

For screenshots and a complete list of new features, please visit the .

The upgrade is both to the core (going from Moodle 2.1 to 2.4) and to the functionality. ÌýThe overall look and feel with be very similar to the current version, only with a modernized look and a simplified, intuitive interface. ÌýIt will also be responsive, accessible, and faster.

Some of the improvements in this upgrade include:

• better file management and access control of resources and activities
• new course layout options and management tools
• assignment improvements including rubrics, offline marking, date extensions, student submission statement
• better quiz attempt handling
• new book activity type
• course lists will not be organized by semester
• many other smaller improvements

During the upgrade on Saturday August 31st the system will be unavailable. ÌýThere will be no impact to any content contained within cuLearn.

For screenshots and a complete list of new features, please visit the .

The upgrade is both to the core (going from Moodle 2.1 to 2.4) and to the functionality. ÌýThe overall look and feel with be very similar to the current version, only with a modernized look and a simplified, intuitive interface. ÌýIt will also be responsive, accessible, and faster.

Some of the improvements in this upgrade include:

• better file management and access control of resources and activities
• new course layout options and management tools
• assignment improvements including rubrics, offline marking, date extensions, student submission statement
• better quiz attempt handling
• new book activity type
• course lists will not be organized by semester
• many other smaller improvements

One of the key strengths of cuLearn is its extensibility through the use of plugins that add extra functionality, integrations with other applications, and customization of the user interface. ÌýThe EDC welcomes suggestions for future plugins to be added to cuLearn. The LMS steering committee evaluates and select which plugins should be added. Ìý.

During the upgrade on Saturday August 31st the system will be unavailable. ÌýThere will be no impact to any content contained within cuLearn.

More details coming soon!

If you experience any further issues, please contact the ITS Service Desk.

Issues are currently being experienced with cuLearn.Ìý Login attempts are timing out.

ITS support is investigating.

While WebCT has served ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ well in the past, the product is at the end of its life cycle and will no longer be updated.Ìý After an extensive review and evaluation, cuLearn was selected as ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´â€™s new Learning Management System and was introduced to the campus in Spring 2012.

In preparation, all core course content has been migrated from WebCT to cuLearn, however instructors have to request access.

Need help transitioning to cuLearn?Ìý The EDC is there to help with a variety of .

Learn more about the .

Students: are you writing a deferred exam in June?ÌýÌý You will still have access to your course material on WebCT until May 17.