All posts by Randolph Pfaff

Simmons Moodle Is on Its Way!

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If you read last month’s TechNews, you know that Simmons is engaged in a project to replace Blackboard-based Simmons eLearning as the College learning management system (LMS). Because this project will affect most of the Simmons Community, we want to keep you informed of its progress while highlighting some of the exciting things it will make possible.

The new LMS, currently called Simmons Moodle, has been made available this semester to a pilot group of professors who have volunteered to use it in their classes and to provide feedback. During spring semester, there will be ten courses and more than 250 students using Simmons Moodle and sharing their experiences with us. In preparation for these courses, the Simmons Moodle Team has created tutorials, videos, and FAQs for both faculty and students. We will use what we learn from the pilot to help us plan and prepare for the campus-wide roll out.

We are very excited about Simmons Moodle and the capabilities and improvements it will bring to a technologically integrated learning experience. Among these are more customizable features and increased communication between students and professors. In the coming months, we’ll provide updates on our progress and share with you the experiences of some of the students and faculty using Simmons Moodle.

As we integrate our experiences from the pilot into a plan for campus-wide roll out, you can expect to hear more about this project. Additionally, you are welcome to visit lmsproject.simmons.edu, to read our blog and stay on top of updates as they occur.

IT Knowledge at a Discount: Join NERCOMP Today!

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Are you interested in learning more about the impact of technology on higher education? If so, Simmons College would like to make you aware of our institutional membership in the NorthEast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP). As an organization, NERCOMP strives to disseminate the latest technology information of interest to administrators, faculty, staff, and students at schools in the northeastern U.S.

So what does all this mean for you? Among other things, when you sign up as a member, you’ll receive discounts on all workshops and the NERCOMP Annual Meeting of at least $130 per event! Upcoming events include workshops on social media strategy and the future of library and IT integration. Members can also choose to receive an email newsletter from NERCOMP that will keep you up to date on events and deals available to you.

To sign up, click here. Once you’re there, click “Join with your school” and complete the registration form. You’ll receive a confirmation email from NERCOMP with a user name and temporary password. After that, you can browse upcoming events and sign up at the discounted rate!

Passwords Getting out of Hand? Try KeePass.

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In a world where we have usernames and passwords for many online services, it is important to have a secure way to organize and remember your passwords. To help solve this problem, Simmons currently provides software called KeePass for all faculty and staff computers running Windows. KeePass is an open source password manager that helps you to create and store a database of your passwords and only allows access with a master password.

To get started using KeePass, check out this FAQ on the Service Desk website.

KeePass is automatically installed on all new faculty and staff computers running Windows. There is also a version for Mac that we can install for you. If you do not currently have KeePass installed and would like to get it, please contact the Service Desk x2222 or servicedesk.simmons.edu for a quick and easy installation.

Making Admissions Easier with Intelliworks.

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At Simmons, one of our most important goals is to maintain open lines of communication
with students. Most current students probably recognize the many ways we reach out
to them: email, the Simmons website, Facebook, Twitter, electronic message boards on
campus, and more. What you might not know is that this process starts well before you’ve
applied to Simmons.

Applying to college or graduate school can be a stressful time and Simmons has a dedicated staff to help you navigate learning about Simmons, visiting, applying, and enrolling. Unfortunately, the process of managing prospective student data and communicating with you throughout the application process has long been a manual and time consuming process. Over the last year and a half, Technology has been helping the undergraduate and graduate Admissions Offices integrate and automate many of these functions by migrating to a new enrollment management system called Intelliworks.

Using Intelliworks has helped our admissions teams simplify and tailor the Simmons College online inquiry and application process, giving prospective students the ability to track the components of their applications, and increasing the effectiveness of communication we have with them. This project is just one of many that we are working on to make interaction between students, faculty, and staff a highlight of the Simmons experience.