Tag Archives: 2014

Apple and HP Product Recalls

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Simmons Technology would like to highlight two recent large-scale product recalls that could have a significant impact on our customers’ personally-owned devices:

If you believe that you might be affected by either recall, we encourage you to follow the process to return your item and have it replaced. Neither recall should affect any devices currently in the Simmons-owned fleet.

Get Tech Tutorials on the Go at Lynda.com

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It’s crunch time. The semester is almost over. Papers are due. Projects are piling up. Finals are just around the corner. The last thing you need is to figure out how to use new technology.

Luckily, all students have access to thousands of video tutorials on lynda.com. The videos are created by experts and cover a wide range of topics. They’re also fully searchable, so you can quickly pinpoint the information you need.

Not that searching through hundreds of screencasts on YouTube hoping that someone covers that one thing you’re not sure how to do in PowerPoint isn’t fun, but trust us, this will be easier.

You can access lynda.com at any time by logging in with your Simmons username and password. If you need help, you can get more info here or call the Service Desk at 617-521-2222.

Here are some searchable courses and playlists that cover common tech tools:

New Course Evaluation System Rolls Out

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In an effort to centralize and simplify course evaluations, Simmons Technology has partnered with the Provost’s office and the five schools to select and implement a new system.

The new system is rolling out across campus in stages, and brings with it a platform that integrates with Moodle and provides an easy-to-use interface for both students and faculty. Students will have access to course evaluations via Moodle on their computers, tablets, and smartphones. Faculty can work with online reports and analytics to better understand and interpret the feedback they receive from students in their courses.

The School of Social Work and the School of Library and Information Science have adopted the new platform during the Fall 2014 semester. Each school manages its own evaluations, making this initiative a true partnership between Technology and representatives from the schools.

Technology will be working with the School of Management and the School of Nursing and Health Sciences to implement the new course evaluation system beginning in the spring.

Using Google Sites for ePortolios

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google-sites-logoThere’s a lot that you can do with Google Apps for Education. We all use it for email and our calendars, and many people use it for writing papers, creating spreadsheets and presentations, and making websites for projects and student organizations.

A less obvious feature that might be very helpful is using Google Sites to create an ePortfolio. Whether you’re a business major or a fine artist, creating a portfolio that reflects your skills and achievements is important for grad school applications and job hunting. Not only do ePortfolios showcase all that you’ve done during your time at Simmons, but they also encourage you to improve your writing and web design skills.

Google Sites makes it easy to collect and present your personal, professional, and academic experiences with customizable templates and an easy-to-use interface. You can upload images, embed documents, presentations, and YouTube videos, and link to other sites.

To get started, visit Google Sites at Simmons and click createto begin building your ePortfolio. There are many online guides to using Google Sites, but this PDF and this presentationprovide great introductions to the elements you’ll use to create an ePortfolio.

Of course, you’ll also need to collect everything you want to include in your portfolio. For more information about constructing a portfolio that reflects your goals, contact theCareer Education Center.

Colleges of the Fenway Network Improvements

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In addition to the recent Colleges of the Fenway network upgrade, the consortium has also become a member of theBoston Internet Exchange. By joining the Boston Internet Exchange, Simmons is able to increase bandwidth, improve performance and connectivity, and reduce costs.

Joining the Boston Internet Exchange also aligns with overall College strategy and goals. As President Drinan commented, “Our focus continues to be cost containment, improving efficiencies, and most important, enhancing student opportunities.”

Simmons Technology is working hard to prioritize network improvements, which are integral to meeting our current needs and preparing for the future.