Instructional Labs

We're requesting faculty assistance in ensuring that SHSU students have a positive experience in the general labs. Please do not tell students to just print off their syllabi and class handouts in the labs. Unlike many other universities, we do not assess a separate charge for student printing.

Lines can quickly lengthen if all students are coming in to print off handouts that could have been duplicated and given out in class. This extra burden comes at the same time that students are trying to add/drop classes, and leads to unnecessary congestion. Additionally, lengthy PowerPoint printing can practically shut a lab down. If you'd like more information on how to set up your PowerPoint presentations for more efficient printing, please check with Jacob Spradlin at 294-3929.

All Computer Services labs have now been upgraded. None of these workstations have internal 3.5 drives. There are floppy drives available for checkout, but we recommend flash pen drives as a backup for student work on the S: drive. You may also have your students use the Dropboxes in Blackboard as a substitute for handing in a floppy disk.

The T: drive

During the semester break, we upgraded the T: drive. It is now on WinFS1. As a reminder: you must be using OS X or higher to access this drive or use the Sam Menu.

You can map the T: drive manually by replacing "WNTAP1" with "WinFS1". All the sharenames will stay the same. Inside that "Mac" share is the "common" folder.

Go to File/Open and open your file manually in the program -- the file associations are gone unless the file had an extension.

• To connect to the "Mac" which is a temporary storage place for this transition, Connect to Server -> and enter the Address: smb://winfs1.shsu.edu/Mac. Your files will be in the "common" folder inside this share.

• If you currently have files on the Mac share, you need to copy them elsewhere as the Mac share is only a temporary storage place for this transition.

• To connect to the "common" share (T:) Go -> Connect to Server ->and enter the Address: smb://winfs1.shsu.edu/common

  If you want your file saved with shared departmental access, you should put it on the T: drive, stored under "common".
  

Homestyle Security

Did you get a new computer during the holidays? If so, make sure that you have done everything that you can to protect yourself. Carnegie Mellon has prepared a list of things to do Before You Connect a New Computer to the Internet.

Every Call Matters

The beginning of a semester is always a hectic time for everyone on campus. If you need help in managing the voice mail boxes for your department because of the heavy volume, please contact Betty Brewer at 4-3777 for assistance.

SHSU Visitors

For the year 2004, the University web site had 9,977,905 visits--just shy of our 10 million goal. You can easily see with these numbers how imperative it is that we present the most enlightening, interesting, up-to-date information possible. We are reviewing web pages at this time, and will be visiting with departmental liaisons to assist in enhancing your pages. There are a number of tips and techniques that can help improve your Search Rankings so that prospects and others can find you.

If you are creating a new major, you should create a page just for that. For instance, think of marketing it from the beginning so that if someone wanted to google "military history," SHSU's program would appear near the top. We have a number of niche markets that we can promote much more effectively with just simple page editing for tags, page headings, and keywords. Give Garett Gowens a call at 4-1851 and get started.

Blackboard

Spring 2004 courses will be removed from the system on Monday January 10th. Be sure to copy or archive any courses you might need before then. If you need any assistance copying or archiving your Bb courses, contact Jacob Spradlin.
Need help getting your Spring semester courses ready? Has it been a while since you've used Blackboard and need a refresher? Then the Blackboard Brush-Up course is just right for you. Did you know that Blackboard has some new features and tools that you may not be familiar with? You can learn how to use the Discussion Grader, add staff option and other new facets of Blackboard. Just enroll in the Blackboard - What's New? course offering this month!

Learning

Did you resolve for this New Year to become more efficient? Really---it's easier than resolving to diet! If the computer is a vital part of your function here at SHSU, don't neglect your training. Take the time now to attend one of the Computer Services classes.

Each month, in addition to our normal offerings for faculty and staff, we will offer courses geared specifically for SHSU students. This month, students can learn the best way to Protect their PC's from harmful ad-ware, virus infestations, and worms. Students who are still unsure what their computer account and SHSU's computer system is all about, can sign up for a Getting Started course. A course on how to navigate the Blackboard system for students is also available.

A New Semester

Faculty on PC's: Remember you can use the Sam Menu to create a text file of your student roster for use in Excel grade books. The program is ROST01R which you can access under the Student Records option. Select the radio button "Write to a Text File".

Faculty on Macintoshes or PC's: You can use the SamWeb option of Excel Gradebook File on the Faculty Web Page.

Kicking Off Spring 2005

We appreciate your patience and support as our programming staff, helpdesk technicians, and network technicians intensively focus on Registration priorities during the January 10-14 week. As an FYI, Registration will not be in the Coliseum this spring. Each department will be handling their functions in their offices.

Faculty Just Now Returning to Campus: Due to Physical Plant's scheduled power outages during the break, you were reminded to log off your workstation (as you should do each evening). If you did not log off when you left, your profile may be corrupted. Please check this by logging in in your office on your SHSU computer account as early as possible so that you won't be inconvenienced at the last minute with classes starting. Get help now before all the students return and swamp the Helpdesk.

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