Tag Archives: 2012

SOPA and Simmons: What do you think?

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Wikipedia blackout image via wikipedia.org

Last year, both the United States Senate and House of Representatives introduced bills intended to prevent illegal electronic dissemination of copyrighted material. These two bills (referred to as PIPA and SOPA) have led to a great deal of discussion about the rights of copyright holders and the ability of the Internet to function as an open and effective tool for continued innovation.

In brief, the bills propose a system under which websites and their owners would be responsible for all content uploaded by users and would have to monitor all uploaded content for copyright infringement. In addition, these companies would also have to remove links, advertising, or search results that point to websites on a government list of blocked sites.

Both bills were expected to come to a vote in the early part of 2012 but, after an outpouring of negative reactions online, as well as a protest “blackout” of major websites such as Wikipedia, and strong opposition from Google, Twitter, Craigslist, and others, they have been shelved for the time being. While this issue will temporarily fall out of headlines, the underlying problems it seeks to address will continue.

While we, as a technology department, respect the rights of copyright holders, we are also keenly aware of need for innovation and advancement in the ways we communicate, learn, and teach others. As such, we are concerned about legislation that broadly and vaguely defines the responsibilities of website owners and end users. To create a law that addresses these issues, we believe that unilateral action is ineffective and only collaboration between all parties involved will lead to an equitable and effective solution.

If you’re interested in learning more about SOPA and PIPA, please see the links provided below. These sources were used in the creation of this article and are a good starting point for learning more about this issue.

We are also interested in what you think about technology, innovation, and copyright.  You can let us know how you view the issue and what solutions you think might work by using the comment box below.

Sources/More Information:

GovTrack overview of SOPA
GovTrack overview of PIPA
CNN Money: “SOPA explained: What it is and why it matters”
New York Times: “In Fight Over Piracy Bills, New Economy Rises Against Old”

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.