Getting the Information You Need, When You Need It

TechNews,

Let’s face it, when most people need tech help, they turn to a Google search and often get the answers they’re looking for in just a few minutes. Many of us, particularly students, prefer the convenience of self-service when we want quick resolutions.

It is with this in mind that we’re rolling out a redesigned Technology Support website in May. The new site is built around easy access to information about our most popular services and it will provide direct entry to our rapidly growing collection of how-to articles. Our service and support hours and contact information will be front and center, so you can get help quickly from wherever you are.

In addition, you’ll be able to access articles from the Technology newsletter, as well as important announcements and up-to-date information about new services and upcoming service changes.

We hope the new site saves you time, and maybe a few clicks, when you’re looking for answers to your tech questions. As always, we welcome your feedback. If you have questions about, or suggestions for, the new site after it launches, contact Simmons Technology at [email protected].

Using Advanced Search in Gmail

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Remember that email with the attached Word document that had an article listed in the works cited section that you could really use right now? It was sent by your classmate from two semesters ago whose name you can’t quite remember at the moment, and it had something to do with statistical anomalies in urban demography or maybe statistical models of emerging democracies? You know, that one?

First, take a deep breath. Then, use advanced search in your Simmons Gmail to find it. To access the advanced search options, click on the small triangle on the right side of the search bar.

Gmail search box

From there, you can use the fields in the dropdown menu to search your email by who sent it, when it was sent, if it contained an attachment, or even how large the attachment is.

Gmail advanced search options

Use these advanced options to quickly narrow down your search and find that one email you’re looking for. To learn more about how to use advanced search, click here.

A Faster Way to Access Windows from Classroom Macs

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In the February newsletter, we provided some information about how Technology will go about replacing lectern-based classroom computers throughout campus. Part of this ongoing project involves the installation of a desktop virtualization application that provides access to the Windows operating system and all Windows-only software on lectern-based classroom Macs. This software, called VMware Horizon View Client, is now available in most classrooms.

Desktop virtualization saves time by eliminating the need to reboot dual boot computers, and provides easy access to Windows. Using it is as simple as launching the application and logging in with your Simmons username and password. The virtual desktop is an additional and optional service. If you’re more comfortable rebooting the computer, you may continue doing so.

For more information about how to access the virtual Windows desktop, along with a full list of classrooms where this technology is available, please see this FAQ. To make things easier when you’re in the classroom, we’ll be placing instructions next to computers where the virtual desktop is available.

Big Data: a Big Deal for Higher Ed?

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big data illustration

What exactly is Big Data? At its core, Big Data represents the intersection between massive quantities of data and the computer hardware and software powerful enough to analyze that data and produce meaningful results.

A 2012 Harvard Business Review article pegged daily worldwide data creation at 2.5 exabytes. That’s 2.5 billion gigabytes, or roughly 2.5 million standard computer hard drives worth of data created every single day. That’s a lot of information and, potentially, a treasure trove of meaningful trends, correlations, and insights into how we interact both online and offline.

The analysis of huge data sets is already at work in for-profit businesses, as well as the health care, government, public policy, and technology sectors. Companies are using big data to learn more about the behavior of their customers in order to improve services, reduce costs, and increase revenue. For example, a 2011 study by the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that the effective use of large scale data analysis could save the U.S. health care industry $300 billion per year, and that the improved use of geolocation tools on mobile devices could save consumers $600 billion dollars annually.

If this description of Big Data and its uses seems somewhat vague and theoretical, that’s because much of it is. We’re still in the early stages of figuring out what Big Data might mean to various industries, and detractors point out that there are many hurdles to overcome, including the reliability of data sets, the potential for data manipulation, and the accuracy of predictive analysis based on large data sets.

Big Data has, of course, made headway in higher education as well. There is a wealth of data created at any college, from enrollment statistics, to course participation, to fundraising and long-term financial information. To date, the focus of Big Data in higher education has been on the student experience. While schools have come a long way in automating the enrollment and course registration processes, among others, students are still mostly unable to use the data produced by these functions to improve the quality of their education.

There are projects under way at several schools seeking to highlight and empower student data (PDF). At Saddleback College in California, administrators have introduced personal assistant software that helps students choose a course of study based on past experience and performance. Purdue University has focused on student success in individual courses by implementing a system that helps students stay on track by comparing their performance against past students who have succeeded in that course.

These are just two examples of how Big Data is beginning to play a role in higher education. The promise, of course, is that data analysis can optimize and streamline the ways in which students interact with technology to improve their experience and to help them manage their success from the day they apply to the day they graduate. The big challenge for Big Data in higher education lies in successfully designing and deploying the tools to achieve these outcomes.

Enhancing Data Security and Protecting Sensitive Information

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laptop_newsletterRecently, there have been several high-profile cases in which colleges’ sensitive information has been made publicly available via cyber attacks, phishing scams, or internal error. These data breaches have taken a reputational and financial toll on Boston University, the University of Maryland, and Indiana University, and exposed the data of more than 450,000 students and employees.

We’d like to take this opportunity to remind you to be aware of unlawful attempts to access your data, and to communicate a change we’ve instituted to make some Simmons websites more readily identifiable.

Phishing scams are attempts to obtain confidential information using emails, websites, and even phone calls that appear to be from a trusted source. Often, phishing emails mask the “from” address to create the appearance that they’ve been sent by a colleague or friend, or as an alert from your bank. Links included in these emails will direct you to websites that look very much like the sites for services you use and will ask you to enter your username and password or other personal information.

Recent widespread examples of phishing scams have affected Gmail and Bank of America. While some scams are very sophisticated, there are a few things you can do to stay safe.

First, do not click links in emails that appear to be suspicious and never respond to an email requesting sensitive information. If an email contains suspicious links or requests for information from a trusted source, navigate to their website manually (instead of clicking a link) or call them to verify the request.

When visiting secure websites, check the address bar in your web browser to make sure it matches what you’re seeing on-screen. For example, all secure website addresses at Simmons begin with https:// and end with the .simmons.edu domain.

To help make our secure websites more easily identifiable, we’ve introduced visual identifiers for login.simmons.edu and connection.simmons.edu. If you see green on the left side of the address bar along with the text “Simmons College (US),” you’re in the right place.

ev_cert_examples

Finally, remember that a trusted source, such as Simmons College, will never ask for your password or other personal information via email or phone. If you’re unsure about the validity of an email or website, you can always contact the Service Desk at 617-521-2222 for help.

 

Doing More with Google Docs and Sheets

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Within the Technology team, we’ve been using Google Drive for much of our project planning and collaborative work. While Docs is a great alternative to using Microsoft Office and helps us to work together more effectively, it also lacks some of the small but integral tools necessary for certain kinds of work.

In an effort to close those gaps, Google has introduced Add-ons for Docs and Sheets, a set of tools created by outside developers and verified by Google. The Add-ons cover a wide range of features, from creating tables of contents and bibliographies, to track changes and advanced diagramming and flowchart creation.

To begin using Add-ons, click the Add-ons menu while working in any Doc or Spreadsheet.

Google Docs menu

Next, click Get Add-ons.

Google Docs Add-ons menu

From there, you can choose from a wide variety of tools. To help you get started, here are two Add-ons we think the Simmons community will find useful.

Track Changes
While Google Docs helpfully keeps track of changes to a document, it doesn’t allow you make changes that must be accepted by a collaborator. The Track Changes Add-on fixes that and adds a feature that many Microsoft Word users desperately wanted to see in Google Drive.

Track Changes Add-on

Hassle-free Bibliographies
If you’re working on a research paper in Google Docs and you need a citation, the EasyBib Add-on allows you to search for books, articles, and websites, and then creates a bibliographic entry in MLA, APA, or Chicago style. Once you have added your sources, EasyBib will even create an alphabetized list of citations at the end of the document.

EasyBib Add-on

These are just two of the many Add-ons available. To find more, click the Add-ons menu or browse all of the available Add-ons.

Using GoToMeeting in Your Classroom

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Did you know that our new phone and web conferencing platform isn’t just for business meetings?

GoToMeeting features built-in chat, webcam sharing, HD video, and screen sharing and recording capabilities, making it ideal for creating recorded course content, hosting virtual office hours, inviting remote guest lecturers to your class, and more.

Best of all, GoToMeeting is available on all Simmons computers and can be installed on your personal computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Simmons Technology has created a guide to help faculty get started with GoToMeeting quickly and easily. If you’d like one-to-one assistance, please contact the Service Desk at 617-521-2222.

The Digital Ecosystem Project

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Simmons Technology, in partnership with Marketing, is currently engaged in a collaborative, campus-wide effort to improve digital communication and increase engagement with Simmons College by optimizing the user experience on our website, portal, student mobile app, and digital signage, among others.

This is a long-term project using a phased approach. Phase I will focus on our externally-facing website and the development of a student-focused mobile app. Tools on the new site will enhance how we tell the story of Simmons and improve content management by implementing a new platform that will serve as the foundation of our digital ecosystem.

The Digital Ecosystem Project team will be sending updates detailing current developments and hosting meetings on campus to gather community feedback and to keep everyone in the loop on the project’s progress.

Visit the Digital Ecosystem Project site for more information about the project’s scope and timeline. Please note that you’ll need to be logged in to your Simmons Google Apps account to access the site.

Special Delivery: Technology and the Future of Shipping

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clock_delivery_articleWe’ve all been there: you order something online because it’s easier than going to a store. Then, you wait. You wait for the email telling you that your order has shipped. You wait for the doorbell to ring when UPS or FedEx attempts to deliver your package. You wait, and wonder if you should have paid for expedited shipping or, maybe, just gone to the store instead.

Rest assured that you’re not alone and that companies large and small are in a frantic race to solve the same-day delivery problem. The clear leader in the delivery arms race is Amazon. No other company can match their scale and geographic reach. In an effort to get orders to customers as quickly as possible, Amazon has built eighty fulfillment centers worldwide, with more on the way. These mammoth warehouses enable Amazon to offer same-day shipping in a dozen U.S. cities and overnight delivery pretty much everywhere else. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has even introduced the possibility of delivering products via small drones that could fly products to customers’ homes in less than an hour. The concept itself represents an innovative leap forward, but it is hampered in a practical sense by a lack of guidelines for the private use of drones as well as a not inconsequential negative perception of drones among the American public. The availability of drones for private use won’t happen until 2015 at the very earliest, when the Federal Aviation Administration is scheduled to release a set of rules for who can operate drones, and how, where, and when they can be used.

Amazon is not alone in their fierce quest for same-day delivery. UPS and Google are also exploring drone-based delivery as well as systems that combine traditional shipping methods with couriers handling the last leg of the delivery process. This process is not new, but what has changed is the prospect of online-only companies using these methods. There have been bike messengers and other kinds of couriers for decades, and local businesses (like Stop & Shop, Harvard Book Store and even Sweet Cupcakes) have been making same-day deliveries to customers in the Boston area for years. You might be surprised, though, to find your eBay or Amazon order delivered by someone wearing skinny jeans and a bike helmet rather than USPS blue or UPS brown.

It’s not just local courier services that are partnering with large online retailers to deliver orders. Uber, the popular car service app, has been testing their ability to deliver things other than people from point A to point B, including Christmas trees, and perhaps misguidedly, kittens. Technology pundits have speculated that Uber could be moving toward delivery and other transportation services as they expand their reach and improve their logistics.

Most interestingly, these developments indicate a maturation of online retailers’ business models and the growing presence of apps as part of the physical world. Websites like Webvan and Kozmo tested similar ideas during the first dot com boom, but they lacked the crucial infrastructure and technology to make it work on a large scale. Now, there are companies (like Amazon, Google, and eBay) with the size and logistical acumen to make it work, and there are localized services (like Uber and Postmates) with the human resources to make deliveries in minutes.

The most important piece of the puzzle is, of course, the consumer. In the last decade, we’ve reached a comfort level with shopping for almost anything on our computers, phones, and tablets, and we expect websites and apps that “just work.” The next step is replicating the immediate gratification of in-store purchasing with the convenience of online shopping, and there is no shortage of tech companies working to make that expectation a reality.

Getting Creative with Lecture Capture

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It might be time to find a new name for lecture capture. As the availability of user-friendly video recording and sharing software has combined with the innovative spirit of faculty and students, we’ve quickly evolved beyond the point of using products like Tegrity to simply record standard lectures and upload them for student viewing.

In a recent article, Campus Technology highlighted six interesting ways faculty are using lecture capture to add value to their courses.

We know that many faculty at Simmons are already using Tegrity, GoToMeeting, Google Apps, and other products to record and share various aspects of their courses, and this article provides some fresh ideas for extending the interactivity, sharability, cross-campus collaboration, and general usefulness of lecture capture.

If you’re just getting started with creating video content for your courses, Simmons Technology has provided a list of supported tools and their potential uses here.