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Category: ITS Update

IT Help Desk hours extended through Feb. 5

Posted on by Fred Darkow

At the beginning of the semester, the IT Help Desk hours were extended to accommodate health and safety concerns due to the surge of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The extended hours will continue through Saturday, February 5, as indicated below:

  • 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. — All services – Hale Library walk-in, phone, and email
  • After 5p.m. — Remote services via phone and email, no walk-in services

As needed, further updates will be provided in K-State Today and the IT News Blog. The IT Help Desk hours are available on the IT Help Desk webpage.

If you have any questions, contact the IT Help Desk at 785-532-7722 or email at helpdesk@ksu.edu.

IT Update: July 2021

Posted on by Division of Information

The Division of IT staff will be staggering their return to campus between August 1 and August 31. Preparations are underway for the start of the fall 2021 semester.

Read over the Technology Considerations for Employees’ Return to Campus page for helpful hints on a successful first day. Check out the Sunderland Foundation Innovation lab for the latest innovative technologies in Hale Library. Continue reading “IT Update: July 2021” →

IT Update: June 2021

Posted on by Division of Information

The Division of Information Technology staff are heating up with the summer and preparing for the upcoming academic year, including upgrading and maintaining buildings and rooms, updating systems, revising documentation, hiring staff, and even retiring some services.

Spring/summer cleaning might be in order. This is the time to follow university procedures regarding retention schedules and dispose of documentation, media, and equipment appropriately.

Reminders:

  • Beginning July 5, all Zoom recordings older than 180 days (Jan. 4, 2021, or older) will be automatically moved to Zoom Trash.
  • After August 1, IT will no longer retain any course content data from K-State Online, the homegrown Learning Management System, used from 2008-2013 and retired in 2016.
  • On August 31, K-State’s existing personal webpage service will be retired. Faculty and staff can publish business-related content on their academic or administrative unit’s presence within the Content Management System (CMS).

Continue reading “IT Update: June 2021” →

IT Update: May 2021

Posted on by Division of Information

In May, the Division of Information Technology celebrates our student employees who are graduating and our retiring staff. We also prepare for the next academic year. Some of our projects are provided below.

Networking Projects

    • McCain Auditorium Expansion
    • Athletics – South Endzone expansion
    • Internet fiber re-route
    • New fiber-to-core paths to National Gas Machinery Lab and Institute of Environmental Research

Continue reading “IT Update: May 2021” →

IT Update: April 2021

Posted on by Division of Information

The Division of Information Technology staff is ready for spring and in full throttle with IT projects. We honor our amazing IT staff who are retiring this year. Collectively they have provided more than 160 years of service to K-State. Below are some of the projects we are working on. 

Networking projects include:

    • Hale Library Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab and basement
    • McCain Auditorium Expansion
    • Multicultural Center
    • Athletics – South Endzone expansion
    • Internet fiber re-route
    • New fiber-to-core paths to National Gas Machinery Lab and Institute of Environmental Research

Continue reading “IT Update: April 2021” →

IT Update: October 2020

Posted on by Division of Information
October blows in with football, fall colors, falling leaves, and Cybersecurity Awareness month.
  • State of IT Security presentation by Josh McCune, which kicked off Cybersecurity Awareness month on Oct. 1. Josh shared insights on security when working remotely, security of IoT (Internet of Things) and the future of cybersecurity at K-State.
  • Apps Parents Should Know About in 2020, Officer John Calvert, 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, offered in conjunction with the CIO at USD 383.
  • Cybersecurity Awareness Training will be sent to all faculty and staff on Oct. 15. The state-mandated training needs to be completed by Oct. 29.
There is a Mediasite-Canvas integration ongoing issue being addressed by vendors. When inserting a Mediasite presentation into Canvas, users may receive an error saying, “Content retrieval failed.” A recent change in Canvas has broken part of the Mediasite integration and is expected to be fixed soon. Please see the knowledge base article for more information and a workaround.

Continue reading “IT Update: October 2020” →

IT Update

Posted on by Division of Information

 

In July, sparks are flying to prepare for an earlier start to the school year. Some of the many projects either completed or in the works follow. 

Networking and Telecommunications Services (NTS) continues to improve the IT infrastructure. Projects include:

  • Collaborating with design teams for Hale Library, Snyder Family Stadium, the Multicultural Center and McCain Auditorium
  • Continuing renovation and wiring projects in Mosier, Derby, Weber, Leasure and Call Hall
  • Preparing for AV upgrades for Olathe and centrally supported classrooms
  • Planning for the WSU Nursing program in Justin
  • Working with Riley County Emergency Management to upgrade the campus 911 system

Continue reading “IT Update” →

IT Update

Posted on by Division of Information

In June, things really start to heat up inside and outside. Some of the many projects either completed or in the works follow. 

Networking and Telecommunications Services (NTS) is working to improve the IT infrastructure while there are fewer individuals on campus. Infrastructure projects include:

  • Completed the KDA Lab building network installation
  • Working with contractors and design teams in Hale Library, Snyder Family Stadium, the Multicultural Center and McCain Auditorium
  • Continued renovation and wiring projects in Mosier, Derby, Weber, Leasure and Call Hall
  • Install county-wide public safety radio system
  • Planning AV upgrades for Olathe and centrally supported classrooms
  • Planning for the WSU Nursing program in Justin
  • Working with Riley County Emergency Management to upgrade the campus 911 system

In support of business continuity, NTS developed voice solutions for campus offices with IP phones, soft phones configuring EC500 licenses and assisting with call forwarding.  Continue reading “IT Update” →

IT Update

Posted on by Division of Information

 

In May, we honor our graduates, especially poignant this year, as our ceremonies are virtual and vary with each college. Congratulations to our K-State graduates. To our graduating seniors who have worked in Information Technology Services and seen it all, disruptions due to the fire on the roof of Hale and COVID-19. Hats off to all of you!

Staff changes in the Business Intelligence, Analytics, and Enterprise Applications unit under the direction of Deputy CIO Jan Elsasser are:

Darci Pottroff was named Director of Application Services. She will provide strategic and operational direction for the enterprise and administrative application systems.

Nick Austin was named Senior Director of Data Operations. He will provide strategic and operational direction for data operations and content services applications.

From March 23 – May 8, here are some quick statistics on the use of tools for remote teaching, learning, research, and outreach.

MS Teams

  • 339 K-Staters completed the training
  • 3,386 meetings were held
  • 6,217 calls were made
  • 355,487 private chats

Mediasite

  • 9,521 presentations were authored
  • 9.82 TB of storage was consumed
Zoom Usage Statistics – March 23 to May 8
Number
New Users 5,115
Meetings 65,528
Participants 496,963
Meeting Minutes 23,164,661*

*May 7-highest usage Continue reading “IT Update” →

IT Update

Posted on by Division of Information

April 2020 brings reinvention and the ever-increasing use of tools such as Canvas, Mediasite, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams among our academic community as we teach, learn, and work remotely.

The number of new users on Zoom grew from 482 in February to 5,262 in March. The number of session minutes on Zoom was about 897,000 in January compared to over 4.8 million minutes in March. In the first seven days of April, K-Staters have used over 2.1 million minutes. The use of Microsoft Teams is exploding, and IT staff have ramped up to provide a support site and training.

Zoom Usage Statistics January – April 7, 2020

New Users Meetings Participants Meeting Minutes
January 602 3,524 18,538 897,058
February 482 4,271 21,976 1,107,809
March 5,262 16,283 112,531 4,844,047
April 629 6,401 48,914 2,163,031

Continue reading “IT Update” →