A new K-State homepage went live last Tuesday, Jan. 18, and was deployed by the Division of Communications and Marketing. The new format includes:
Month: January 2011
Back up your laptop!
A recent stolen laptop incident in Oklahoma City underscores the importance of regularly backing up your laptop’s data files. A husband-wife team of cancer researchers at the University of Oklahoma went into a Panera restaurant for a bite to eat and came out to discover their car window shattered and their laptop gone. That’s disheartening enough, but the laptop contained years of research data accumulated in their search for a cure for prostate cancer.
It gets worse — an article about the incident states: “Unfortunately, most of the data was never backed up, a mistake Shin said could be a major setback in the fight against cancer.”
Teaching, Learning, and Technology Showcase March 1
Mark your calendars for the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Showcase 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, in the K-State Student Union Ballroom. There will be faculty presentations, faculty demonstrations and vendor exhibits. The goals for the event are to:
- Showcase exemplary teaching talent on campus
- Inspire faculty to use technology in innovative ways
- Share best practices with university colleagues
- Interact with technology vendors
Continue reading “Teaching, Learning, and Technology Showcase March 1”
Check your spam folder
K-Staters are reporting legitimate e-mail in their Spam folder. The K-State e-mail spam filtering system is currently experiencing an increase in false positives and is working with the service provider to resolve this issue. In the interim, please check your Spam folder for legitimate e-mail that may have been incorrectly marked as spam.
Axio Survey upgrades scheduled Wednesday, Jan. 26
Axio Survey (surveys.k-state.edu) will be unavailable 7:30-8 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, during a planned upgrade to version 3.1. Service will be restored as soon as possible. Axio Survey is the free, web-based survey and reporting tool for academic research; university and college business; and feedback collection. It is available to faculty, staff, and students.
This upgrade includes new features including:
- An option has been added for respondents to leave their e-mail address and be entered in a random prize drawing. Survey administrators choose this option when they create an offering to distribute their survey.
- Radio buttons in scale questions can now appear to the left or right of the statement.
- Continue reading “Axio Survey upgrades scheduled Wednesday, Jan. 26”
Advisors: Training on the new Advisor Center, and Intro to K-State 8
Having a hard time finding information for or about your students in the Advisor Center? Do you know how to transition your students to the new K-State 8 general education requirements? How can you and students see how their existing coursework applies to K-State 8?
Come find the answers to these questions and more. See the Advising in iSIS section in iSIS Help for a list of classes and instructions for enrolling.
Continue reading “Advisors: Training on the new Advisor Center, and Intro to K-State 8”
Spotlight: “Learning communities” keynote Jan. 13
“Leading a Community of Learners” was the theme of the Eighth Annual K-State Teaching Retreat on Jan. 13 at the Leadership Studies Building, K-State Manhattan campus. Slides are now online from the keynote speech “Involving Community in Learning: Making Connections for Your Classroom and Campus, Your Students and Colleagues” (PDF) by Milton Cox.
Cox is a leading proponent of learning communities; professor emeritus of mathematics at Miami University, Ohio; and an international expert and speaker on learning communities.
Microsoft Campus Agreement
Information Technology Services has procured a Microsoft Campus Agreement to provide faculty and staff access to Microsoft’s operating systems and the Microsoft Office Suite for all university-owned computers. The products covered under the agreement include:
- Microsoft Operating System – for Mac and Windows environments
- Microsoft Office Suite – for Mac and Windows environments
- Core CAL Suite
Technical support staff in units across campus were sent an e-mail with this information and given access to the K-State Online space that provides the media files and documentation about the Microsoft Campus Agreement. For technical support staff who did not receive the e-mail, contact the IT Help Desk, helpdesk@k-state.edu, 785-532-7722.
Password deadline: Feb 9
Jan. 1 through Wednesday, Feb. 9, is the timeframe for all K-Staters to change the passwords on their K-State eIDs for the spring semester. This mandatory password change, which occurs each fall and spring, applies to both individual eIDs and group eIDs.
An e-mail reminder will be sent to K-Staters with unchanged passwords two weeks prior to the password deadline. Note that K-State will never ask for your eID password via e-mail. Any message that asks for your password is a phishing scam and should be deleted immediately.
To change your password, sign in on the eid.k-state.edu website. Click “Change your eID password or password-reset options” and follow the steps.
Forgot your password? Call the IT Help Desk, 785-532-7722, and verify your identity. Staff can set a temporary password for you so you can sign in.
Six things you need to know about IT security at K-State
K-State broke a record in 2010, but it is not a record to be proud of: 445 K-Staters were tricked into giving away their passwords to criminals in response to spear-phishing scam e-mails. The criminals then used the stolen information to sign in to webmail and send thousands of spam messages.
Obviously, the first thing on this semester’s top-six security list must be:
- Never give your password to anyone in an e-mail message! K-State was plagued by 406 instances of phishing scams in 2010 (compared to 296 in 2009) that try to trick people into replying with their eID password. The hackers responsible for these scams are relentless! If you remember this one simple rule, you can prevent becoming a victim: K-State IT support staff will never ask for your password in an e-mail, nor will any legitimate business or organization. If you get such an e-mail, just delete it. The same holds if you get an email with a link to a web form that asks you to fill in your username and password – don’t do it!
Continue reading “Six things you need to know about IT security at K-State”
