USVI Public Records

Document text

Banned Books week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It is recognized during the last week of September, and this year it falls between September 27- October 4, 2008. Since its inception in 1982, Banned Books week has promoted the freedom of expression by sharing information about intellectual freedom and about books that have been challenged in libraries throughout the United States. Both the St. Thomas and St. Croix libraries featured displays highlighting Banned Books week. Rashanda Charles was one of the students who completed a quiz about banned or challenged books and received a prize from ITS recognizing her as a winner.Knight Rider, a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist. Michael Knight, a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless in a world of criminals who operate above the law. Rashanda Charles (left) receiving her prize as one of the Banned Books Week Quiz winners. Tiffany Hyndman presenting (right). SPECIALIZING IN FUTURES HISTORICALLY AMERICAN. UNIQUELY CARIBBEAN. GLOBALLY INTERACTIVE. Information & Technology Services PROVIDING THE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AND THE INFORMATION RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE VISION 2012 U V I niversity of the irgin slands - New 24/7 Student Study Lab in the St. Thomas Library. - New smart classrooms on St. Thomas and St. Croix. - Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Tina M. Koopmans Chief Information Officer Tina.Koopmans@uvi.edu October 2008 ITS Newsletter Vol. 4, Issue 1 The Information and Technology component has made an unyielding commitment to put into operation a cross-functional unit of IT professionals and professional Librarians. Moving forward with this objective, we have recently merged the Information Technology helpdesk and the Library Circulation desk into one unit. We identify this unit as our “ITS Service Desk”. At the ITS Service Desk, the UVI community can check out books, reset passwords, activate a library card, borrow equipment, borrow software and make help desk requests for technology services. Our hours of operation are posted below. Monday thru Thursday 8:00am to 10:00pm Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm Sunday 1:00pm to 8:00pm ITS Service Desk Technology Changes ....COMING SOON IN THIS ISSUE: ITS Service Desk, Page 1 Banned Books Week Quiz Winners, Page 1 Microsoft Software, Page 1 Microwave Maintenance, Page 2 Web Filtering, Page 2 Rave - Emergency Notification, Page 2 SoundPath Audio Conferencing, Page 2 Library Special Collections, Page 2 New ITS Staff Member, Page 3 ITS Staff Promotions, Page 3 Banned Books Week Quiz Winners New Student Email, Page 3 Collaboration, Page 3 Banner Self-Service Banweb, Page 3 Enterprise Backup Solution, Page 4 Identity Management, Page 4 Library Renovations, Page 4 Connecting to Collections, Page 4 Blackboard Upgrade Version 8.0, Page 4 The ‘Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning’, Page 4 Through a campus agreement between UVI ITS and Microsoft, UVI students have free access to Microsoft software. This software is now available for download from the library home page. Visit http://library.uvi.edu and click on Software Download. As with other systems, the UVI student ID number is your username with the initial password ‘welcomeuvi’. Please change this password once you log in the first time. Microsoft Software As I write this I am reflecting over the last three years with a smile on my face. The journey to a new place in technology at the University of the Virgin Islands has been a challenging one. Change is the transition that occurs between moving from one state to another. Information & Technology Services moved the University’s network infrastructure from a piece meal design to a secure UVI network rebuilt according to industry network standards and best practices. The technology journey was painful at times with critical equipment reaching the end of its lifecycle in the middle of new implementation. This caused all of us much stress. Together we have advanced the network’s infrastructure and today the University of the Virgin Islands is in a new place. Over the next weeks, ITS and EPSCoR will be involved in an overall evaluation of the new systems with an external vendor. This evaluation will look at all that has been done and validate the course that we are on to expand services. It will also alert us to things that may still need our attention. The results of this assessment will be shared with the University community. I firmly believe that we are poised to take the University into the next plateau of technology services. Internet2, the Centers for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the new 24x7 student computer labs, expansion of the wireless systems, the emergency broadcast system, more smart class rooms, the enhancement of the library records and the PC replacement plan are a few of the new projects slated to come online in 2009. As we continue to strive for excellence in customer service, cross functionality and accountability (as our component’s core values), Information & Technology Services is committed to taking the lead in discovering and offering new technologies that will contribute to efficiency in the work place. We promise to constantly evaluate customer satisfaction and make every attempt to improve the quality of our services to our valued customers - the students, faculty and staff of the University of the Virgin Islands. Connect with us on this technology journey as we move forward together to make UVI a better place for all stakeholders. Letter from the CIO - New DVD camcorders, digital still cameras, voice recorders and Portable DVD Players for loan at the libraries in St. Thomas and St. Croix. - A/V equipment can be borrowed from the CA building computer lab. - New computers for labs in St. Thomas and St. Croix. The UVI network is more secure now with the recent installation of the web filter appliance. The security project consisted of the installation of a new mail filter and gateway appliance, network firewalls on both campuses, and over the summer, the web filtering appliance. The importance of securing our network is great. Without these security appliances in place, the network is greatly susceptible to viruses, malware, and all kinds of intrusions and attacks and as a result, we have significantly reduced the likelihood of an attack. Future efforts will focus on upgrading our local pc antivirus software and practices prior to the Spring 09 semester. Web Filtering Maintenance efforts were underway July 22nd through July 31st on the Univer­ sity’s inter-island communication system or microwave (as it is commonly known) to prepare for the Fall 08 semester. The microwave is the means by which the two campuses, St. Croix and St. Thomas communicate. Video conferencing, voicemail, 4 digit dialing and St. Croix’s access to local resources like Banner, E-mail, and Blackboard are fa­ cilitated through the microwave. Efforts are already underway to up­ grade or replace the microwave during the 2009-2010 fiscal years. Microwave Maintenance Information and Technology Services is pleased to announce a new service for audio conferencing for groups of seven or more participants. To sign your department up, please forward your request for audio conferencing service to the ITS helpdesk. Please include your department or program along with the cost center account number that will be charged for the service. Sound Path Simplicity offers the following features to UVI customers: SoundPath Audio Conferencing Solution October 2008 • Sound path Conferencing Services costs 7 cents per minute per line on audio conference calls and provides an 800 number to access the conference call. • Easy to use – no operator assistance is required to set up a conference. Conference calls can be placed at any time, as often as necessary, without advance planning or reservations. Support and an easy-to-use help menu, intuitive features and a live operator are available at any time at no additional cost. • A personalized, easy-to-remember pass code will be assigned to each department. • Simplified billing – Invoices will be sorted by department. ITS will charge each department’s cost center for services used. UVI has to make payment within thirty (30) days of receipt of Sound path’s statements. Sound path will terminate service to UVI after ninety (90) days of the statement date if payment of statements has not been made. • Secure – organizers have the ability to lock your conference call whereby once all participants have logged into the conference call, any other individual dialing in will not gain access into the conference. • Flexible – users can add or change features at any time. These features include adjusting the volume control of the conference, i.e. should the volume on the participant’s line be at maximum volume, Sound path has a feature where adjusting the volume control can be increased. • Conference recording and replay – conference recording is at no additional cost to UVI, but a charge of 7 cents per minute for conference call playback/replay applies. • Sound path can provide to UVI, operator-assisted calls for up to thirty-five (35) participants and one operator to meet and greet each participant and can drop off or remain for the duration of the call for a cost of 14 cents per minute; event operator- assisted calls up to 3,000 participants and an operator to meet and greet, two live operators on the call throughout for introduction of speakers, Q & A, and polling are at a cost of 18 cents per minute. • Transcriptions – receive a transcript via email, hard copy or disk of the conference call content. Transcriptions are billed at a rate per 15 minutes of conference time and vary depending on how soon the document is needed, i.e. delivery in two (2) days is $62.50 per 15 minutes and one (1) day is $85.00 per 15 minutes. • Participant List – receive a list of conference call attendees via email or fax; this service will be provided to UVI only if the conference call was reserved in advance with Sound path and at a rate of 13 cents per minute. • CD or WAV files are available for recorded conference calls at a flat rate of $16.00 per CD or WAV file. The Special Collections are rare and unique accumulations of materials that exemplify a diverse people, culture, and heritage throughout the islands of the Caribbean. The primary purpose of the University of the Virgin Islands St. Thomas and St. Croix Campus Libraries’ Special Collections is to support the research and instructional needs of the University community. The general community has access to the collection for research purposes if their needs cannot be met elsewhere. In order to manage, preserve, and secure the collections, the stacks are closed to the public for browsing; Patrons may request to borrow materials from personnel at the ITS Service Desk. This is a recent development for the Ralph M. Paiewonsky Library on the St. Thomas campus and is part of the current renovation project. The Melchior Center for Recent History was started in 1979, thanks to the generosity of Ariel Melchior, Sr. The collection highlights recent history of the U.S. Virgin Islands. This collection is housed as a separate collection. The Caribbean Collection has also been relocated and, as with the Melchior Collection, materials may be requested through staff members at the ITS Service Desk. Materials from both collections may be used in the library. Customers must have a library card in order to check out the materials for in-house use. As always, customers are welcome to make copies of the materials in accordance with copyright law. By providing access to the materials in the Special Collections by request, we hope to better preserve the collections, and insure the availability of materials to our current and future customers. Library Special Collections Rave is the emergency notification service currently being implemented at the University of the Virgin Islands. The Rave Wireless alert system will be used to send SMS text messaging to all registered UVI users to inform them of emergencies on campus. The CEA component will administer the service and develop policies and procedures to govern its use. The first phase of the implementation will focus on the enrollment of students. Each student will be asked to update BUCCS with a current email address and cell phone number that the university can use to send emergency notification. Students will have to opt-out of the service if they do not want to participate. Rave - Emergency Notification UVI librarians collaborate with faculty in a variety of ways, including developing the libraries’ collection to meet the University’s needs and integrating information literacy skills into a variety of courses. During the Spring semester 2008 a Bethany Wilkes and Dr. Trevor Parris team- taught a section of ENG 201. As Dr. Parris writes, “we designed and taught the skills to one section of ENG 201. This was essentially a pilot study to assess the impact of systematically combining the classroom and the lab, forging links across disciplines, bringing together the library specialist and the professor to foster student learning. Students met in the lab once a week and the emphasis was on the use of data bases and internet sources. Students were enthusiastic and final research papers indicated that most demonstrated competence and some mastery of the tools taught.” Librarians continue to collaborate with faculty members in developing curricula that incorporate information literacy skills into coursework. Faculty interested in working with librarians on such an effort should email tmills2@uvi.edu or call ext. 1373. Collaboration While attending the University of the Virgin Islands, students have the option to utilize their personal email account or to obtain an email account from UVI. Whichever option students select, it is important that students update their BUCSS account with an email address of their choice. The email supplied in BUCSS will be used to provide students with official UVI communication from faculty, Student Affairs, and Administration. It is essential that students provide an email address that they check regularly. If students would like to obtain an email account from UVI, then students will be issued a Google Mail account. With Google Mail students can communicate using Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Talk. They can also collaborate and make public documents with Google Docs, allowing them to share files. In order to obtain a Google Mail account, students must contact the Helpdesk at 693-1466. • What’s the difference between a UVI email account through Google Mail and a Gmail account? The accounts provided to students through Google Mail are unique to UVI, ending in myuvi.net, instead of gmail.com. This signifies a relationship with UVI. • How does this email system work with Blackboard? At the beginning of the semester, the email address in BUCSS is written into Blackboard during the course registration process. Students are encouraged to use their preferred email address when registering; however, if one’s preferred email address changes, it is important to update it in BUCSS. • Will students automatically get a UVI email account? No. Students can request a UVI email account, by Google Mail, by contacting the Helpdesk at 693-1466. • What if students have additional questions about student email? Students can call the Helpdesk (693-1466) or email the Helpdesk (helpdesk@ uvi.edu) with questions about email or any other technology issues. New Student Email October 2008 The Employee Self Service module provides real time information about one’s benefits, payroll and job. UVI employees now have access to up-to-date information at their fingertips anytime and from any computer with internet access! With just a few clicks of the mouse from the Employee tab at http://banweb.uvi.edu , employees are able to quickly and easily view: • Benefits including retirement, health, flex-spending, beneficiary, and statements • Year-to-date and per pay-period earnings and deductions history • Direct deposits and pay stubs • W-2 and W-4 information • Current job information • Leave balances including, vacation, comp, and sick hours earned and taken Banner Self-Service for Employees – Banweb Tanisha Mills started October 27, 2008 as Librarian II, Information Literacy and Collection Development. Ms. Mills received her MLS through the UVI partnership with the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), which was funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to provide Virgin Islands residents the opportunity to pursue the Masters in Information and Library Science degree online. Some of Ms. Mills’ responsibilities include: working with students and faculty to enhance our collection, developing and delivering information literacy courses, and providing reference assistance. Please join me in welcoming Tanisha to UVI, and in extending assistance to her as she begins to work with the ITS team. New ITS Staff Member ITS Staff Promotions Mrs. Anslyn-Jones started with ITS work­ ing as a Library As­ sistant in the St. Croix library. She was re­ cently promoted to the position of Library Specialist I and will add responsibility for supporting video­ conferencing and Ms. Williams has been working with ITS as a Programmer Analyst for over five years. She was recently promoted to the position of Program­ mer Analyst II and is providing training and documentation on Banner and other Ayesha Williams Shelly Anslyn-Jones Celia Prince-Richard A new graduate of the University of Pitts­ burgh’s online MLIS program, Mrs. Rich­ ard was promoted to a Librarian II. She will provide technology and logistical support for the second co­ hort of the online MLIS program and will also new enterprise applications. the ITS service desk to her duties. provide training and system administration support for Blackboard. October 2008 Visitors to the library will note many changes. The Melchior, Caribbean and federal government documents collections have all been relocated. The Melchior collection will be a closed collection, located on the second floor of the library with materials retrieved at patron request for in-house use only. The Caribbean collection, while still on the 1st floor, is also now a closed collection with materials retrieved at patron request for in-house use only. The government documents collection has been heavily weeded with remaining items integrated with the general collection. All this shifting has allowed ITS to relocate the faculty resource room and introduce a student lab, both planned as 24 hour spaces, into the first floor of the library. Work continues on these areas. Keep an eye out for the opening of these new rooms. Library Renovations The faculty resource centers are being transformed into Centers for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. The Provost’s Office, in conjunction with ITS, is developing the facilities in order to provide space for full and part time faculty looking for a place to use a computer and explore technology/ print resources to enhance the teaching experience. The rooms will also offer space for faculty to meet, collaborate and receive technology training. The St. Croix Center is currently located on the second floor of the library, in Room 901C with plans for further development. The following items are available for use in the room: desktop computers, laptops, digital camera, video camera, video conference equipment, LCD projector, color laser printer, scanner, microphones and a digital sender. On St. Thomas, the Center will be located in the southwest corner of the library on the first floor. This space will also be equipped to serve as a technology training lab complete with wireless access, laptops, projector, screen and comfortable seating. Resources are being relocated from Quarters B (old faculty resource center) so that faculty will also have improved access to staff and resources including a copy machine printer, and the teaching reference collection. In addition podcasting tools and other resources for instructional design will be available. If you are a regular user of the former faculty resource center, or if you’ve been seeking the services of a fully-functional curriculum support facility, you will be excited about the new Centers for Teaching and Learning. Stay tuned for reports of the completion of this project. The ‘Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning’ St. Thomas Campus #2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 00802-9990 Admissions - (340) 693-1150 St. Croix Campus RR 1, Box 10000 Kingshill St. Croix, Virgin Islands 00850-9781 Admissions - (340) 692-4158 The University of the Virgin Islands is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 Phone: 215-662-5606. The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation. The Identity Management project started February 2008. Identity Management provides a single repository or directory of identifying information about UVI staff, faculty, students or objects (i.e. vendor information). The Identity Management project combines the single repository or directory with network authentication methods to provide succinct, updated information while maintaining both database and network security. Student use of one user id for Banweb, Blackboard, and the UVI network will debut this fall semester. Future efforts will allow for one password for the UVI network, Banweb and Blackboard. Identity Management The UVI Libraries were recently awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Connecting to Collections bookshelf. “The IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf is part of a multi-year, multi-faceted IMLS national initiative to raise public awareness and inspire action to care for the collections held in public trust by libraries and museums throughout the United States.” The bookshelf will be a valuable resource in assisting librarians with the preservation and development of the libraries’ collections, and specifically the Special Collections. For more information about the IMLS Connecting to Collections bookshelf see: http://www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf/. Connecting to Collections Blackboard Version 8.0 reflects a merger between the WebCT and Blackboard course management systems. The biggest change instructors will see is the revamped ‘Grade Center’. The Grade Center contains many time-saving features and replaces the Blackboard ‘Gradebook’. Instructors can efficiently enter scores, provide grade comments, upload multiple columns, build custom views, drop lowest scores, print progress reports, and email students right from the Grade Center. With the new Grade Center, several important icons have changed: Blackboard, Upgrade to Version 8.0 In Progress – previously a padlock icon, this indicates that a test or assignment is currently being used by a student but has not been submitted for grading yet. Version 8.0 also provides the ‘Self and Peer Assessment’ tool. The self-assessment tool gives students better insight into the evaluation criteria and helps in building critical thinking skills. The peer assessment tool provides students with the opportunity to give constructive feedback to classmates. The newly added ‘Document Package’ building block allows instructors to upload ZIP files containing multiple items, directly into Blackboard course content areas. Needs Grading – previously a red exclamation point, this indicates that work has been submitted by a student which must be evaluated and graded by the instructor. Grading Error – previously a red question mark, this indicates that an item is causing an error and the instructor should investigate the situation. Please contact the HelpDesk if this error is encountered. Grade Modified Manually –this icon overlays a score, indicating that the score has been manually overridden by the instructor. Column Not Visible to Users – previously indicated by an asterisk, this icon shows up next to a column header to indicate that the column is not set to display in the student My Grades view. ITS is utilizing IBM’s Tivoli Storage Manager for enterprise backups. UVI servers will be backed up to tape on a daily or weekly schedule based on criticality of services. While critical applications have duplicate hardware, Tivoli provides another level of backup for these and other systems. Enterprise Backup Solution