News

The CLA Service Desk in 110 Anderson Hall is discontinuing walk-in support effective end of day Friday, May 17.

What's Staying the Same

• Continue to contact the CLA Service Desk by phone at 4-HELP or by email at 4help@umn.edu.

• Continue to pick up and return Loaner Laptop and Equipment Pool items from 110 Anderson Hall.

Questions?

Contact CLA-OIT at 4-help or 4help@umn.edu.

You spoke and Associate CIO Brad Cohen listened. Here are the IT priorities voiced at the CLA NOW Special Session last Thursday:

• Local it support for research
• Admin access to pcs for users
• Support for Innovation
• Contextually sensitive support (rationalized allocation to respond to inequalities in local resource allocation)
• Computer purchasing, application licensing, other desktop support that is responsive to unique needs (e.g., language labs)
• Wireless--more dependable, more broadly available
• Collaboration, communication and coordination across units (esp. to facilitate common solutions to shared problems, e.g., grad student tracking, book purchasing)
• Make innovation more visible across units as it addresses common problems
• Data management that is sensitive to perspectives and unique ad hoc reporting needs (institutional vs. collegiate vs. department...)--see School of Public Health tool
• Better usability generally
• People play many roles on campus, make systems that let them flow easily through those roles
• Institutional nimbleness, sensitivity to local nuance even in implementation of commodity services
• Consistency of response and service level (end the dread of who will answer the phone!)
• Unearth best practices and drive them through institution more effectively, Scale more quickly
• Benchmark against peers to see how IT funding is managed as a strategic part of faculty/grant recruiting (GIS example)
• Research IT has to be strong--grant scoring depends on it
• Better and more visible tech support services for faculty
• Process improvement in service delivery
• Responsive IT
• E-learning support to rapidly expand course offerings to meet enrollment demand
• Improve business model for e-learning, appropriate incentives
• Get rid of phone and voicemail

Unable to attend? Have more to add? Take a moment to fill out the IT Input Survey or view the slides Brad shared.

Take a moment to fill out the IT Input Survey today. An important part of decision-making regarding information technology services at the University of Minnesota is to seek and draw upon broad input from our community. This brief survey is one critical source of input for senior executives at the University to consider as they determine the Information Technology priorities for the University. Results, along with other input, will be made available as part of IT@UMN's commitment to transparent governance.

CLA-OIT welcomed two new employees this week. Gretchen Corey and Michael Hoium, IT Support Specialists for Computer Deployment, will be working out of 110 Anderson Hall.

Interested in learning more about Drupal, the new University web content management system? A consultant will hold a public presentation scheduled for 1:30-3:00 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in STSS 230. Project representatives will talk about their progress in designing an enterprise Drupal environment for the University. The event also will be available online for those unable to attend in person, at https://umconnect.umn.edu/drupal.

CLA Web Team staff will be moving to their new administrative home in Media and Public Relations (and office location in 135-B Johnston Hall) on Monday, March 18.

Designers Anna Fladmark, Leah Honsey, and Natasha Wright will continue to provide excellent collegiate and departmental web support with the assistance of Lisa Miller and Colleen Ware. Please continue to submit requests to 4help@umn.edu.

U of M IT leaders are initiating formal Communities of Practice (fCoPs) that mobilize around FY2013 IT priorities. CLA faculty, staff, and students are invited to join these communities to engage in planning that advances key strategic initiatives. This means YOU!

Why Participate?

There are two communities of practice that may be of particular relevance to CLA department administrators and staff at this time.

CRM fCoP
Have a contacts database? Send enewsletters or mass email? Interested in tracking and measuring the success of your interactions with constituents? Want to learn more about Salesforce? Consider joining the Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) fCoP. The group will kickoff on February 26 so submit your RSVP soon.

IT Governance fCoP
Jamey Hansen, CLA CIO, shared an update on developing changes to IT at the last CLANOW meeting. Interested in shaping governance of IT? Want to help design a process that encourages everybody at the U to be a voice in IT priorities? The IT Governance fCoP may be for you. The kickoff meeting is March 1; event details are located on the RSVP form.

Visit the CoP website for a complete list of formal and informal communities of practice.

Say goodbye to Gopher Conferencing, and hello to the new audio and web conferencing service, provided by InterCall.

Reservationless-Plus

Reservationless-Plus gives you the power to host conference calls whenever you want. Just pick up any phone, dial the dedicated phone number, and initiate a call using your conference ID and Leader PIN (provided via email after you request an account). The cost for Reservationless-Plus is .02/min multiplied by the number of participants, multiplied by the length of conference call. For instance, a meeting with 10 participants that lasts 60 minutes will cost $12 (.02 x 10 x 60 = $12).

Operator Assisted

The Operator Assisted service provides expert operators to manage all the details so you can concentrate on delivering your message. The cost for Operator Assisted calls is .17/min multiplied by the number of participants, multiplied by the length of conference call. For instance, a meeting with 10 participants that lasts 60 minutes will cost $102 (.17 x 10 x 60 = $102).

InterCall Unified Meeting

InterCall Unified Meeting enables you to:

• present PowerPoint slides;
• share applications, documents, spreadsheets;
• quiz and survey participants; and
• show websites to others that are not able to attend a meeting in person.

The cost for Unified Meeting (Web) conferencing is .02/min, multiplied by the number of participants, multiplied by the length of conference call. For instance, a meeting with 10 participants that lasts 60 minutes will cost $12 (.02 x 10 x 60 = $12).

Request an Account

To request an account, go to InterCall's University of Minnesota website and click Sign Up Now. Note that a credit card number is required. You will need to enter the University's InterCall username UnivMinnUser1 and password UnivMinnUser_1. Once the request has been submitted, you'll receive a confirmation email within 48 hours from InterCall with your account information and then you will be ready to make conference calls. Full sign-up instructions are available.

Training

Sign up for one of the free instructor-led or self-paced classes through the InterCall website.

Conferencing Support

InterCall provides support for this service. If you have questions about the service in general, feel free to call the University of Minnesota technology help service desk at (612) 301-4357 (or 1-HELP on campus). For technical and billing questions, please contact InterCall directly. For contact information and to learn more about the service, tools, or available training, etc., visit InterCall's University of Minnesota website.

You already know you can call the CLA-OIT service desk Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. What about when you need technical support outside standard business hours? The central information technology service desk now provides support by telephone 24/7 -- call (612) 301-4357 (1-HELP on campus).

Offering extensive technical knowledge and round-the-clock support, the 24/7 service desk provides the University community with a single, central point of contact for anything and everything IT.

For information on central OIT's full menu of support services, as well as walk-in assistance during business hours, visit www.oit.umn.edu/help.

Friday, January 4, 2013, 10 p.m. to Sunday, January 6, 2013, 12 p.m.

Services Affected (avoid these during the window)

• All CLA-operated servers
• CLA websites
• CLA databases
• Research servers
• Terminal servers
• z.umn.edu URL shortener
• All University-operated servers

Services Not Affected (common services that are often ask about)

• Google Apps (Gmail, Docs, Sites)

Specific Details

• The University data center at the West Bank Office Building will be powered down from 6 a.m. Saturday until 6 a.m. Sunday for annual maintenance. For more information, see data center maintenance.
• CLA system administrators will shut down CLA systems before power is cut, beginning at 10 p.m. on Friday, January 4. All affected services are expected to be restored by noon on Sunday, January 6.
• CLA system engineers will also take advantage of this outage by carrying out routine maintenance tasks including security patching and equipment upgrades.

FAQ

What is a "system maintenance window"?

In order to correct a technical issue, install a security patch, or upgrade server hardware, CLA-OIT must occasionally disrupt normal networked services. Whenever possible, we plan such service outages in advance during times that minimize the disruption to our users.

Can I work during the maintenance window?

In general, CLA-OIT recommends that you avoid using the affected services during the maintenance window. Systems may be available during the maintenance window, but they can and will be shut down without warning and may be unavailable for hours at a time. So, use only at your own risk.

Can't this be done without disrupting service?

Certain tasks require server reboots and/or physically unplugging electricity. We do our best to group these tasks together to minimize the number of outages we schedule each year--which is generally less than five.

Can you reschedule this window to a more convenient time?

We strive to select times that minimize disruption. It isn't possible to pick a time that will not affect somebody. We also have to consider the availability of our staff and central OIT staff who run the data centers and networks. We try to soften the impact by announcing maintenance windows well in advance.

How do I find out more?

If you have any questions or concerns contact us at 612-624-4357 (4-help) or 4help@umn.edu.

CLA-OIT System Maintenance Windows Google Calendar

Subscribe at: http://bit.ly/SJhpdG

Submit your applications to present at the Academic Technology Showcase: Innovation in Teaching, Learning, and Research. This event will showcase how members of the University community are using technology to drive innovation in teaching, learning, and research. We're looking for a variety of work, from simple solutions to complex projects.

The showcase will take place:

Wednesday, April 10, 2013
11 a.m. - 2 p.m. (open house format)
Great Hall, Coffman Memorial Union

There will be over 50 tables showcasing a variety of projects from units across the University.

Who can apply

University of Minnesota faculty, instructors, researchers, and students.

Format

The showcase will be similar to an open house poster session and presenters may use posters, computer displays, or other technology at their display table.

Application Deadline

Interested? Apply by the end of the day on Wednesday, February 20, 2013. If you will be unable to attend, you are welcome to invite a colleague to present in your place.

More Information

Visit the showcase website.

CLA-OIT is pleased to announce an upgrade to the University's Active Directory file servers (aka your home and shared drives). All file shares will be moved to a faster, more dependable server. Follow our online guide to get connected.

Downtime

The upgrade requires a 24 hour downtime from 8 a.m. Saturday, December 1 until 8 a.m. Sunday, December 2. To guarantee that you have no open files on the file shares, please shut down your computer(s) at the end of the day on Friday, November 30.

During this window you will not have access files on these volumes:

• Home Folders
• Department Shares
• CLA-Projects
• CLA-Media

What's Changing

The names and connection steps of the file shares will change. Follow these steps to connect Windows or Mac systems.

What's Staying the Same

You will continue to have access to files and folders via a web browser at http://webfiles.umn.edu.

Need Help?

CLA Service Desk
110 Anderson Hall
612-624-4357 (4-HELP)
4help@umn.edu

Did you know that twice a week CLA-OIT has standing windows for remotely patching and updating your computer to protect against security vulnerabilities?

We ask that you leave your computer on at the end of the day every Monday and Thursday*.

On Monday nights we will restart your web browser and on Thursday nights we will restart your computer, so it's best to close out of applications and log out of your account.

Stay apprised of all maintenance windows by subscribing to our Google Calendar at: http://z.umn.edu/maintenance.

Questions? Email us at 4help@umn.edu.

* Actual updates occur at 12:05 a.m. Tuesday and Friday mornings.

The Web Team transition continues as Karen Swoverland begins a leave on Wednesday, September 12.

As always, continue to contact the Web Team with requests by emailing 4help@umn.edu.

However, be aware that some requests may take the Web Team a little longer than usual to complete. Adding a deadline to your request will help the team prioritize work.

Due to the staffing shortage we ask that you pause requests for new larger projects, including website redesigns.

During this interim period, there is a team of staff from CLA-OIT and Media and Public Relations who will be overseeing and supporting the Web Team's work. Should you have broader questions, Colleen Ware, from CLA Media & Public Relations, is serving as a point person for questions and can be reached at warex005@umn.edu.

Dan Kunitz, CLA Web Team lead and project manager, will be leaving CLA-OIT on Friday, August 31. Dan has accepted the position of Digital Content and IT Professional at the U's Institute on the Environment where he will continue to lend his expertise in the web realm while branching into new territory at the IonE's service desk. As an avid conservationist, Dan and the Institute will be a wonderful fit. Our loss is most certainly their gain!

Note that during this interim period we will make every attempt to provide the same level of support you've come to expect. Need updates to your department's website? Need access to edit your site with Contribute? Continue to send these and any other web-related questions or requests to 4help@umn.edu.

We are pleased to announce that Deb Ludowese has been appointed CLA-OIT's department administrator. Deb's experience as assistant to the CIO, manager of large projects like last year's CLA IT audit, and formerly as assistant to the college's CFO provide her with a broad base of skills to serve our dynamic and ever-changing department. Deb has a B.A. from the College of St. Benedict and both a Project Management Certificate and Professional Trainer Certificate from the University of Minnesota's College of Continuing Education. Please join us in congratulating Deb in her new role.

Mark Foreman has joined Kemal Badur's Research Computing, Infrastructure and Development teams as Project Manager. Dr. Foreman's research and administrative experience will be an asset to the team as we grow a more comprehensive suite of research services for the college.

Do you use the CLA Terminal Server?

Beginning on Wednesday, August 15, if you connect to cla-ts.cla.umn.edu you will reach our new wts.umn.edu terminal server farm. Instead of having only one server to handle your Windows computing needs we'll have three, allowing for a significantly faster computing experience.

What's Changing

• New name: connect to wts.umn.edu instead of cla-ts.cla.umn.edu.
• Updated versions of all applications.

What's Staying the Same

• Connect through VPN.
• Access to your shared and home drives.
• Access to applications like Microsoft Office, Firefox, and Adobe Reader.
• Your preferences and data will still be stored on the network.

Need Assistance?

If you are missing anything or have any problems, contact us at 4help@umn.edu or 612-624-4357.

YouTube joined the expanding list of available Google Apps for the University of Minnesota on Friday, August 3. The addition of YouTube also enables the Google Hangouts On Air broadcast feature.

For more information, see YouTube and Hangouts On Air.

Saturday
August 4, 2012
8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Services Affected (avoid these during the window)

• Research servers
• Unix-based file servers (clio and thalia)
• Database servers

Services Not Affected (common services that users often ask about)

• Google Apps (Gmail, Docs, Sites)
• Active Directory File storage (Home, Shared, Project folders)
• CLA Terminal Server

Specific Details

• Security and Maintenance Patching:
• Perform routine maintenance tasks which will require rebooting most Unix servers.
• Update system configuration management software on Unix servers.
• Hardware Migration
• Migrate virtual machines to a new physical environment.

FAQ

What is a "system maintenance window"?

In order to correct a technical issue, install a security patch, or upgrade server hardware, CLA-OIT must occasionally disrupt normal networked services. Whenever possible, we plan such service outages in advance during times that minimize the disruption to our users.

Can I work during the maintenance window?

In general, CLA-OIT recommends that you avoid using the affected services during the maintenance window. Systems may be available during the maintenance window, but they can and will be shut down without warning and may be unavailable for hours at a time. So, use only at your own risk.

Can't this be done without disrupting service?

Certain tasks require server reboots and/or physically unplugging electricity. We do our best to group these tasks together to minimize the number of outages we schedule each year--which is generally less than five.

Can you reschedule this window to a more convenient time?

CLA-OIT strives to select times that minimize disruption. It isn't possible to pick a time that will not affect somebody. We also have to consider the availability of our staff and central OIT staff who run the data centers and networks. We try to soften the impact by announcing maintenance windows well in advance.

How do I find out more?

If you have any questions or concerns contact us at 612-624-4357 (4-help) or 4help@umn.edu.

CLA-OIT System Maintenance Windows Google Calendar

Subscribe at: http://z.umn.edu/maintenance

Thursday
June 28, 2012
12 - 2 p.m.

Services Affected (avoid these during the window)

• Intersections Hiring Modules
• Grad Tracker

Services Not Affected (common services that users often ask about)

• Google Apps (Gmail, Docs, Sites)
• Active Directory File storage (Home, Shared, Project folders)
• CLA Terminal Server

Specific Details

• Software Upgrades:
• P&A Hiring Module for Intersections will go online
• Routine upgrade of programming software

FAQ

What is a "system maintenance window"?

In order to correct a technical issue, install a security patch, or upgrade server hardware, CLA-OIT must occasionally disrupt normal networked services. Whenever possible, we plan such service outages in advance during times that minimize the disruption to our users.

Can I work during the maintenance window?

In general, CLA-OIT recommends that you avoid using the affected services during the maintenance window. Systems may be available during the maintenance window, but they can and will be shut down without warning and may be unavailable for hours at a time. So, use only at your own risk.

Can't this be done without disrupting service?

Certain tasks require server reboots and/or physically unplugging electricity. We do our best to group these tasks together to minimize the number of outages we schedule each year--which is generally less than five.

Can you reschedule this window to a more convenient time?

CLA-OIT strives to select times that minimize disruption. It isn't possible to pick a time that will not affect somebody. We also have to consider the availability of our staff and central OIT staff who run the data centers and networks. We try to soften the impact by announcing maintenance windows well in advance.

How do I find out more?

If you have any questions or concerns contact us at 612-624-4357 (4-help) or 4help@umn.edu.

CLA-OIT System Maintenance Windows Google Calendar

Subscribe at: http://z.umn.edu/maintenance

On Monday, June 25, CLA-OIT will switch from using our own customer request tool/ticketing system called RT to using a new University-wide shared cloud service called ServiceNow. We anticipate this change having an impact on everyone we support.

On Thursday, May 24, Intersections: Hiring will transition to the new Shibboleth login/sign-out protocol from the Central Authentication Hub (CAH). There is no extended downtime that accompanies this work.

Once the implementation is complete the authentication to Intersections: Hiring will have a new look and feel. See OIT's detailed preview of the new look. Many of you have already seen this change in other applications, so the look will be familiar.

If you experience page errors immediately after logging in to Intersections, restart your web browser to clear them up. Please call 612-624-4357 (4-HELP) if you need any assistance.

On Tuesday, May 8, Intersections: Grad Tracker will transition to the new Shibboleth login/sign-out protocol from the Central Authentication Hub (CAH). There is no extended downtime that accompanies this work.

Once the implementation is complete the authentication to Grad Tracker will have a new look and feel. See OIT's detailed preview of the new look. Many of you have already seen this change in other applications, so the look will be familiar.

Last month we shared information about CLA-OIT's Server Hosting service. As far as research support goes, that's just the beginning. Request the following services or a consultation by contacting the CLA Service Desk at 612-624-4357 or 4help@umn.edu.

• File Backup & Restore on Servers
• Research Clusters
• Unix Environment
• Database Hosting: Oracle
• Database Hosting: Postgres

While Google continues to tweak the interfaces of Apps and Gmail not everyone agrees all changes are improvements. For some reason, I've been unable to retrain my brain to understand the Gmail toolbar buttons, which now have icons instead of descriptive text. If you want the old text buttons back, you have the option to switch them in Gmail's settings.

To toggle the buttons back to text, head to Gmail's settings and, under the General tab, scroll down to "Button Labels". Click on the radio button next to "Text", save your changes, and head back to the inbox to see the new (old) buttons. Enjoy!

CLA-OIT has a new blog dedicated to our research computing services. Our support staff will use the blog as a space to provide news, notifications of changes to research-related technologies, and other helpful information. You can read updates on the CLA-OIT website or add our RSS feed to your favorite reader. For added convenience, you can subscribe to receive news updates via email. Every time we publish a news story you will receive it in your inbox the very next morning. We welcome questions and feedback and invite you to tell us what you think about our blog.

Find out how the University community is using technology to drive innovation in teaching, learning, and research!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Great Hall, Coffman Memorial Union

Light refreshments will be served and the College of Education and Human Development is giving away a new iPad, yes the latest iPad, door prize to one lucky person. The iPad winner could be you!

This is going to be an exciting event with over 75 poster sessions representing 14 colleges and units across campus.

Exhibition Topics

• Accessibility
• Assessment, Evaluation, Quality
• Data Visualization
• Digital Stories and Case Studies
• eBooks
• Information Resources & Repositories
• Mobile
• Online Collaboration/Engagement
• Online Learning
• Simulations/Games
• Technology-Enhanced Laboratories

Sponsors

The Academic Technology Showcase is a collaboration between the College of Education and Human Development, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Office of Information Technology.

Saturday
March 31, 2012
8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Services Affected (avoid these during the window)

• Research servers
• Unix-based file servers (clio and thalia)
• Database servers
• Web servers

Services Not Affected (common services that users often ask about)

• Google Apps (Gmail, Docs, Sites)
• Active Directory File storage (Home, Shared, Project folders)
• CLA Terminal Server

Specific Details

• Hardware Upgrades:
• Upgrade lts.cla.umn.edu, the Linux terminal server, to new hardware.
• Add more capacity to our storage infrastructure.
• Security Patching:
• Perform routine maintenance tasks which will require rebooting most Unix servers.

FAQ

What is a "system maintenance window"?

In order to correct a technical issue, install a security patch, or upgrade server hardware, CLA-OIT must occasionally disrupt normal networked services. Whenever possible, we plan such service outages in advance during times that minimize the disruption to our users.

Can I work during the maintenance window?

In general, CLA-OIT recommends that you avoid using the affected services during the maintenance window. Systems may be available during the maintenance window, but they can and will be shut down without warning and may be unavailable for hours at a time. So, use only at your own risk.

Can't this be done without disrupting service?

Certain tasks require server reboots and/or physically unplugging electricity. We do our best to group these tasks together to minimize the number of outages we schedule each year--which is generally less than five.

Can you reschedule this window to a more convenient time?

CLA-OIT strives to select times that minimize disruption. It isn't possible to pick a time that will not affect somebody. We also have to consider the availability of our staff and central OIT staff who run the data centers and networks. We try to soften the impact by announcing maintenance windows well in advance.

How do I find out more?

If you have any questions or concerns contact us at 612-624-4357 (4-help) or 4help@umn.edu.

CLA-OIT System Maintenance Windows Google Calendar

Subscribe at: http://z.umn.edu/maintenance

Did you know CLA-OIT operates physical and virtual servers for research, instructional, and administrative needs? One size doesn't fit all so we'd be happy to consult with you to customize a solution to meet your needs.

• Learn more about CLA-OIT's Server Hosting service.
• Request a consultation by contacting the CLA Service Desk at 612-624-4357 or 4help@umn.edu.

Please save the date for the upcoming Academic Technology Showcase: Innovation in Teaching, Learning, and Research on April 4 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. in Coffman Memorial Union's Great Hall. This open house will feature over 60 poster sessions ranging from simple solutions to complex projects. An iPad will be given away to one lucky guest (it could be you!), courtesy of the College of Education and Human Development. More information

The Technology Grant Committee has completed the review of proposals for Small Grants, Instructional Equipment Grants, and Tools for Discovery Grants and presented funding recommendations to the College. Decision letters will be distributed soon.

The redesigned CLA intranet will feature a larger font size and a wider layout that matches the main CLA website. The content on the intranet is largely unchanged with the exception of units that worked with the CLA Web Team to update their sections.

All editing access has been frozen while we carefully copy over the content from the current intranet. Website contributors will regain editing access in the new design as early as Friday.

For design or technical questions, contact the CLA Web Team (4help@umn.edu) and for content questions, contact Colleen Ware (warex005@umn.edu).

There will be a widespread information technology service outage beginning Saturday, March 3, 6 p.m., and lasting until Sunday, March 4, 6 p.m. During this time, you will be unable to access the U's PeopleSoft systems and associated web applications, such as OneStop self-service applications (pay statement, direct deposit, benefits summary, etc.). The outage is part of an Office of Information Technology software and hardware upgrade for the Oracle databases that support PeopleSoft. For more information, see IT service outage.

Looking for an easier way to access your documents from off campus? Now you can connect to your AD shares easily with a web browser... and no VPN!

WebFiles, a sharing and management tool, is a pathway into CLA and OIT Active Directory shares through webfiles.umn.edu. You'll be prompted to login with your U of M Internet ID and password. This new feature is being provided in collaboration with the College of Biological Sciences Office of Information Technology.

• Learn more about CLA-OIT's Shared AD Folders service.
• Let us know what you think about this new feature -- we appreciate any and all feedback.

All are invited to submit a presentation for the Academic Technology Showcase: Innovation in Teaching, Learning, and Research.

The Academic Technology showcase will demonstrate how members of the University community are using technology to drive innovative teaching, learning, and research. We are looking for a variety of work, from simple solutions to complex projects. The showcase will be similar to an open house poster session, and presenters may use posters, computer displays, or other technology. We plan to have Over 50 tables showcasing a variety of projects from across the University.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Great Hall, Coffman Memorial Union

If interested, apply by February 24, 2012. If you will be unable to attend, you are welcome to invite a colleague to present in your place. Lunch vouchers will be provided for presenters.

For more information and to apply, visit the showcase website.

The Academic Technology Showcase is a collaboration between the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), the Office of Information Technology (OIT), and the College of Liberal Arts (CLA).

Central OIT is still working towards creating new U of M Internet accounts directly in Google. They hope to have this in place by the end of March.

In the meantime, all new employees will need to migrate from Gophermail to Gmail:

• Submit a request for an invite to 4help@umn.edu, including the U of M Internet ID
• Once invited go to http://umn.edu/google and click the yellow Sign Up button
• Follow the on-screen prompts
• Begin using U of M Gmail at http://gmail.umn.edu

The CLA Technology Grant Committee is now accepting applications with a deadline of Wednesday, January 11, 2012.

Full descriptions of the three types of grants can be found in CLA-OIT's Service Catalog:

• Instructional Equipment Grants
• Tools for Discovery Grants
• Small Grants

We even provide an administrative service to facilitate the process.

If you're not sure if you should apply for a grant, contact us through the CLA Service Desk (4-4357 or 4help@umn.edu) and tell us what you have in mind. We'll connect you with a Technology Administrator, Instructional Technology Fellow, or other expert for an individual conversation about any opportunities or challenges you would like to address.

The University's Enterprise-wide Survey Software Evaluation Committee will have four software vendors on campus for demonstrations January 9-20 to select replacement software for UM Survey.

Demonstrations will be open to interested members of the University community. Anyone who uses UM Survey, or external survey software such as SurveyMonkey, are strongly encouraged to attend. The selected software may also be used by professional offices on campus such as CLA-OIT Survey Services, and feedback from faculty and staff is highly appreciated.

For more information contact committee member, and CLA-OIT Survey Services Coordinator, Thomas Lindsay at lindsayt@umn.edu or visit the project website.

By the end of next summer, WebVista will be decommissioned and Moodle will be the University of Minnesota's sole Course Management System (CMS). In preparation for this transition, the University is engaging in a major upgrade from Moodle 1.9 to 2.0.

We have put together a CLA CMS transition plan that will provide an opportunity to explore and develop courses in Moodle 2.0 and complete the transition of every CLA course in time for fall 2012.

See the CLA Course Management System Transition Plan (PDF) for complete details.

Support

The CLA TEL team is your first point of contact for CMS transition and upgrade support. Contact us at 4help@umn.edu.

For the latest information and additional resources for the CMS transition and upgrade, including free Moodle 2.0 Technology Training, visit the U of M Moodle website.

CLA's deadline has come and gone. Some employees did not migrate before the "switch was flipped" on their account. Anyone needing assistance with reinstating access to their email account should contact the CLA Service Desk at 612-624-4357.

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following departments who have migrated all employees:

• Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature
• German & European Studies

The CLA Technology Grant Program website can be found at http://techgrant.cla.umn.edu. Please update any old bookmarks you used for making reimbursement requests or submitting a grant proposal that pointed to http://infotechfees.cla.umn.edu.

CLA's deadline is tomorrow and there are still employees who need to migrate to Google. Department administrators, please check your Google Docs for today's spreadsheet outlining those who still need to migrate. Thank you!

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following departments who have migrated all employees:

• American Studies
• Classical & Near Eastern Studies
• Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies
• Journalism & Mass Communication
• Linguistics
• Philosophy
• Sociology

CLA's deadline is 3 working days away and there are 46 employees who still need to migrate to Google. Department administrators, please check your Google Docs for today's spreadsheet outlining those who still need to migrate. Thank you!

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following departments who have migrated all employees:

• American Indian Studies
• Communication Studies
• English
• History
• Statistics

You may already be familiar with the CLA Technology Grant Program but did you know we've updated our online information? Full descriptions of the three types of grants can be found in CLA-OIT's Service Catalog:

• Instructional Equipment Grants
• Tools for Discovery Grants
• Small Grants

We even provide an administrative service to facilitate the process.

Most importantly, the CLA Technology Grant Committee is now accepting applications with a deadline of Wednesday, January 11, 2012.

If you're not sure if you should apply for a grant, contact us through the CLA Service Desk (4-4357 or 4help@umn.edu) and tell us what you have in mind. We'll connect you with a Technology Administrator, Instructional Technology Fellow, or other expert for an individual conversation about any opportunities or challenges you would like to address.

CLA's deadline is 8 working days away and there are 70 employees who still need to migrate to Google. Department administrators, please check your Google Docs for today's spreadsheet outlining those who still need to migrate. Thank you!

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following departments who have migrated all employees:

• Anthropology
• Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences

CLA's deadline is 13 working days away and there are 108 employees who still need to migrate to Google. Department administrators, please check your Google Docs for today's spreadsheet outlining those who still need to migrate. Thank you!

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following departments who have migrated all employees:

• French & Italian
• German, Scandinavian & Dutch

Picasa is free photo editing software from Google that lets you organize, edit, and upload your photos in quick, easy steps.

Picasa Web Albums provides one GB of free storage that makes sharing your photos a snap.

Together, Picasa & Picasa Web Albums make it easy for you to organize and edit your digital photos, then create online albums to share with friends, family & the world.

Features

Make a collage: Make a collage and share it with your friends and family. Experiment with six different types of collage, and maintain total control over your collage content and layout.

Use Movie Maker: Combine your photos, videos, and music into a movie and upload it directly to YouTube. You can also trim existing video files.

Back up your collection: Protect those precious memories. Use Picasa to back up your photo collection to either an alternate drive or to CD/DVD.

CLA's deadline is 18 working days away and there are 141 employees who still need to migrate to Google. Department administrators, please check your Google Docs for today's spreadsheet outlining those who still need to migrate. Thank you!

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following departments who have migrated all employees:

• Asian Languages & Literatures
• Center for Writing
• Philosophy of Science
• Political Science
• Spanish & Portuguese

Saturday
November 5, 2011
8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Services Affected (avoid these during the window)

• Research servers
• Unix-based file servers (clio and thalia)
• Database servers
• Web servers

Services Not Affected (common services that users often ask about)

• Google Apps (Gmail, Docs, Sites)
• Active Directory File storage (Home, Shared, Project folders)
• CLA Terminal Server

Specific Details

• Database Upgrades:
• upgrade all MySQL databases to version 5.5 for audit compliance
• Security Patching:
• physically moving servers
• perform routine maintenance tasks which will require rebooting most Unix servers

FAQ

What is a "system maintenance window"?

In order to correct a technical issue, install a security patch, or upgrade server hardware, CLA-OIT must occasionally disrupt normal networked services. Whenever possible, we plan such service outages in advance during times that minimize the disruption to our users.

Can I work during the maintenance window?

In general, CLA-OIT recommends that you avoid using the affected services during the maintenance window. Systems may be available during the maintenance window, but they can and will be shut down without warning and may be unavailable for hours at a time. So, use only at your own risk.

Can't this be done without disrupting service?

Certain tasks require server reboots and/or physically unplugging electricity. We do our best to group these tasks together to minimize the number of outages we schedule each year--which is generally less than five.

Can you reschedule this window to a more convenient time?

CLA-OIT strives to select times that minimize disruption. It isn't possible to pick a time that will not affect somebody. We also have to consider the availability of our staff and central OIT staff who run the data centers and networks. We try to soften the impact by announcing maintenance windows well in advance.

Why wasn't this work performed during the recent University-wide data center outage?

Since the previous maintenance affected such a large number of systems and users, significant efforts were made to minimize the amount of downtime--extra projects like this database work was discouraged. In addition, all the servers were powered off during the window and unavailable for additional maintenance.

How do I find out more?

If you have any questions or concerns contact us at 612-624-4357 (4-help) or 4help@umn.edu.

CLA-OIT System Maintenance Windows Google Calendar

Subscribe at: http://z.umn.edu/maintenance

CLA's deadline is 25 working days away and there are 196 employees who still need to migrate to Google. Department administrators, please check your Google Docs for today's spreadsheet outlining those who still need to migrate. Thank you!

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following department who has migrated all employees:

• CLA Administration
  

Did you know CLA-OIT provides a pickup service for computers and peripherals you are ready to dispose of? We ensure data is securely wiped out and dispose of and recycle equipment following University standards.

• Learn more about CLA-OIT's Computer and Peripheral Disposal service.
• Request a pickup by contacting the CLA Service Desk at 612-624-4357 or 4help@umn.edu.

Did you know you can find out where in the world your department's web traffic is coming from? What about what the most popular pages are in your department's site? View this data, and much more, from your web browser with UMWebstats (aka Urchin).

• Learn more about CLA-OIT's Website Statistics & Analytics service.
• Request access to Urchin by contacting the CLA Service Desk at 612-624-4357 or 4help@umn.edu.

CLA's deadline is 28 working days away and there are 234 employees who still need to migrate to Google. Department administrators, please check your Google Docs for today's spreadsheet outlining those who still need to migrate. Thank you!

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following department who has migrated all employees:

• Institute for Global Studies

CLA's deadline is a mere 33 working days away and there are 335 employees who still need to migrate to Google. Department administrators, please check your Google Docs for today's spreadsheet outlining those who still need to migrate. Thank you!

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following department who has migrated all employees:

• African American & African Studies

While the deadline appears distant at 8 weeks away, CLA has only 37 working days to migrate the remaining 430 employees to Google. That's an average of 12 accounts per day. We still need your help! Department administrators: check your Google Docs for an updated spreadsheet outlining those who still need to migrate.

** KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS ** to the following departments who have migrated all employees:

• Art History
• Austrian Studies
• Chicano Studies
• Immigration History Research Center
• Language Center

Saturday evening, October 1, 2011 beginning at 6 p.m. through Sunday, October 2, 2011 ending at noon.

Services Affected (avoid these during the window)

• Most of the University's web-based and server-based systems (View the full list as a PDF)
• Active Directory File storage (Home, Shared, Project folders)
• CLA Research servers
• CLA Unix-based file servers (clio and thalia)
• CLA Database servers
• CLA Web servers
• CLA Terminal Server

Services Not Affected (common services that users often ask about)

• Google Apps (Gmail, Doc, Sites)

Specific Details

• The University's Office of Information Technology (OIT) will be shutting down its main data center (WBOB) to perform necessary maintenance, testing, and repairs of facility infrastructure. CLA-OIT houses all of its production servers in WBOB.
• Specifically, the Emergency Power Off and fire suppression systems need to be tested to comply with Fire Marshal requirements.
• To prevent damage to critical equipment, University and CLA engineers will be powering down servers, network, and other valuable equipment in advance of the test and returning systems to full operation following some additional overnight maintenance.
• The OIT data center services team intends to leverage the downtime to fulfill some additional data center activities that are less urgent, but require the power to be off. View the full scope of maintenance activities, including the schedule for restoring services (PDF).
• Plans for this outage began earlier this summer. The OIT Change Approval Board and the University of Minnesota IT Leadership Alliance both lobbied for better timing to minimize the impact on instruction, research, and other essential University functions.

FAQ

Can I work during the maintenance window?

In general, CLA-OIT recommends that you avoid using the affected services during the maintenance window. Systems may be available during the maintenance window, but they can and will be shut down without warning and may be unavailable for hours at a time. So, use only at your own risk.

Can't this be done without disrupting service?

To prevent damage to critical equipment, University and CLA engineers will be powering down servers, network, and other valuable equipment in advance of the test and returning systems to full operation following some additional overnight maintenance.

Can you reschedule this window to a more convenient time?

Plans for this outage began earlier this summer. The OIT Change Approval Board and the University of Minnesota IT Leadership Alliance both lobbied for better timing to minimize the impact on instruction, research, and other essential University functions. Unfortunately, circumstances prevent moving the work to a more opportune time during an academic break. However, the maintenance window was shortened as much as possible and moved to night-time hours.

How do I find out more?

If you have any questions or concerns contact us at 612-624-4357 or 4help@umn.edu. During the service interruption, updates will be available on the University of Minnesota System Status page.

During the month of September, the CLA Service Desk will be extending support hours. We invite you to call 624-4357 (4-HELP) Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Over the past two weeks, CLA-OIT's "Meet Your Team" document was emailed to all CLA faculty and staff announcing your department's technology support team. Contact Sarah Knoblauch at sjk@umn.edu or 624-7874 to request printed copies of the materials.

We appreciate your support in notifying your department's faculty, staff, and graduate students on how to request computing and academic technology needs. While our processes have changed, our commitment to personalized service has not. We thank you for your support.

Getting Support

• Call 624-4357 (4-HELP) or email 4help@umn.edu for all support requests.
• The CLA Service Desk and field technicians are responsible for getting you the support you need, following up to make sure you are satisfied, and thoroughly documenting requests.
• The new Technology Administrators (Tech Admins) focus on consulting, planning, and matching needs to the best technology services available.

Gmail Labs allows you to try out experimental new features in Gmail. Here's a small sampling of what you'll find in Labs.

Preview Pane
This Lab provides a preview pane to read mail right next to your list of conversations. For some this will make mail reading faster and add more context.

Inserting Images
This Lab allows you to insert images into a message body. You can upload and insert image files in your computer, or insert images by URLs.

Undo Send
Oops, hit "Send" too soon? Stop messages from being sent for a few seconds after hitting the send button.

Proceed with Caution

If you're going to brave the Labs world, it's important to keep the following things in mind about these features:

• They may break at any time.
• Similarly, they may disappear temporarily or permanently.
• They may work so well that they graduate and become regular features.

Enabling Labs

Want to get started with Labs? You can do this in a few quick clicks.

• Sign in to Gmail and click the gear icon in the upper-right and select Mail settings in the top right of your Gmail page.
• Select the 'Labs' tab and identify the labs you want to enable.
• Click the 'Enable' radio button to turn on a lab and click 'Save Changes' at the bottom of the page.
• Your page may refresh but after the refresh, the lab you just turned on will be available in Gmail.

Saturday
August 27, 2011
8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Services Affected (avoid these during the window)

• Active Directory file storage (Home, Shared, Project folders)
• Research servers
• Unix-based file servers (clio and thalia)
• Database servers
• CLA Terminal Server
• Linux Terminal Server
• Web servers

Services Not Affected (common services that users often ask about)

• Google Apps (Gmail, Docs, Sites)

Specific Details

• Security Patching:
• operating system and application patches for all servers
• Hardware Changes:
• physically moving servers
• perform routine maintenance tasks which will require rebooting most Unix servers

FAQ

What is a "system maintenance window"?

In order to correct a technical issue, install a security patch, or upgrade server hardware, CLA-OIT must occasionally disrupt normal networked services. Whenever possible, we plan such service outages in advance during times that minimize the disruption to our users.

Can I work during the maintenance window?

In general, CLA-OIT recommends that you avoid using the affected services during the maintenance window. Systems may be available during the maintenance window, but they can and will be shut down without warning and may be unavailable for hours at a time. So, use only at your own risk.

Can't this be done without disrupting service?

Certain tasks require server reboots and/or physically unplugging electricity. We do our best to group these tasks together to minimize the number of outages we schedule each year--which is generally less than five.

Can you reschedule this window to a more convenient time?

CLA-OIT strives to select times that minimize disruption. It isn't possible to pick a time that will not affect somebody. We also have to consider the availability of our staff and central OIT staff who run the data centers and networks. We try to soften the impact by announcing maintenance windows well in advance.

How do I find out more?

If you have any questions or concerns contact us at 612-624-4357 (4-help) or 4help@umn.edu.

CLA-OIT System Maintenance Windows Google Calendar

Subscribe at: http://z.umn.edu/maintenance

CLA departments are required to use CLA-OIT's Technology Purchasing service to buy all computers regardless of funding source, need, configuration, or vendor.

Find the complete policy statement online which includes the reason for the policy, details about role responsibilities, an FAQ, and links to related documents.

CLA's deadline for migrating all faculty, staff, and graduate student accounts to Google Apps is November 30, 2011.

Next Steps

• CLA-OIT staff will work with each unit individually to schedule a department-based deadline before October 31.
• We'll provide custom lists to department leadership of the people who still need to migrate.
• We'll offer group trainings, but most likely we'll schedule individual appointments for those who need it.
• We'll provide extra support for those with migration concerns.

CLA employees who have not migrated by November 30, 2011, with the exception of those affiliated with the Academic Health Center (AHC) and Health Care Component (HCC)-related accounts, will be moved to a Google account automatically.

Contact

CLA Service Desk
612-624-4357 (4-HELP)
4help@umn.edu

New Apps are coming to the University's Google Domain on Thursday, July 21: Books, Bookmarks, News, Reader and Maps.

Google Books

Search the latest index of the world's books. Find millions of great books you can preview or read for free. Go to the Google eBookstore for over 3 million eBooks to read on the Web, Android, iPhone, iPad, Sony and Nook.

Google Bookmarks

Access your Google bookmarks from any computer by saving shortcuts to your favorite webpages. Unlike browser bookmarks that are stored on a single computer, Google bookmarks are stored in your Google Account. This means you can access them from any computer with an Internet connection from the Google Bookmarks homepage.

Google News

Google News is a computer-generated news site that aggregates headlines from news sources worldwide, groups similar stories together, and displays them according to each reader's personalized interests.

Google Reader

Google Reader is a tool for gathering, reading, and sharing all the interesting blogs and websites you read on the web.

Google Maps

Google Maps is a map service that you view in your web browser. You can view basic or custom maps and local business information, including business locations, contact information, and driving directions. Click and drag maps to view adjacent sections immediately. View satellite images of your desired location that you can zoom and pan.

ImageNow, the University's comprehensive imaging and document management system, will be upgraded by central OIT to take advantage of new features and bug fixes. ImageNow will be unavailable from Thursday, July 21 through Sunday, July 24.

You may monitor updates during the upgrade through OIT's System Status page.

New Desktop Client

Desktop client users will need to use a new version of the client.

The new client will be deployed automatically to CLA users by CLA-OIT. You may or may not visibly see the ImageNow installer at work. Please do not click cancel or close any installer pop-up windows or the new client will not be installed properly.

Contact the CLA-OIT Service Desk at 4-help or 4help@umn.edu if you experience any issues with the upgraded client.

Web Client

ImageNow users who use the web application (WebNow) will not need to take any action as a result of this upgrade.

Steve Hanson will be leaving CLA-OIT on August 1, 2011. He will be moving to Denver to be closer to mountains, milder winters, and a chance to have an office with a window.

Steve has been with CLA-OIT for seven years. He held positions as student worker, department technician, programmer and business analyst. In all of these positions, he was valued not only for his considerable technical skills but also for his dedication to users and attention to their needs. Most recently a large portion of his work has been in CLA Intersections design and development. He will be sorely missed by both his colleagues and his many happy users.

Jamey Hansen has been appointed Interim Information Technology Director effective July 5, 2011.

Jamey will manage the CLA Office of Information Technology, a department of approximately 100 employees who serve the IT needs of faculty, staff, and students across the college, and he will report to Associate Dean for Planning Gary Oehlert.

Jamey will serve as the leader, manager and advocate for information technology within the college, and IT representative of the college within and outside of the University. Jamey started in CLA in January 2005 as the Coordinator of Administrative Computing, and was promoted in July 2006 to Director of Info Tech Services.

If you or anyone in your units use surveys for research or administrative purposes, please attend a one-hour open forum on either June 23 or June 29.

The forums will kick off the work of the Enterprise-wide Survey Software Evaluation Committee, a team that is taking a close look at the tools used for more than 2,000 surveys conducted each year in classrooms, labs, and offices across the University of Minnesota system.

Our current ad hoc survey landscape does not promote best practices in survey research or allow for meaningful collaborations between units. Units may be conducting similar surveys for the same populations, leading to survey fatigue and poor response rates. External survey tools pose significant costs systemwide as well as practical, ethical, and legal issues for institutional and research security, IRB compliance, and data privacy.

The Enterprise-wide Survey Software Evaluation Committee is an effort by the Office of Planning and Analysis and Office of Information Technology to identify a state-of-the-art survey solution to meet needs across the University system--and to make this tool broadly available by early 2012.

To be successful, the 10-person project committee needs input from faculty, staff, and students who are involved in survey research at any level. If you use surveys for any reason, let us know what features, functions, and technical capacities you're looking for in an enterprise-wide survey tool.

Please contribute to this crucial conversation by attending an open forum on either Thursday, June 23 (1-2 p.m., Science Teaching and Student Services Building 114, East/West Bank) or Wednesday, June 29 (11 a.m.-12 noon, Biological Sciences Center 64, St. Paul).

You can also visit our project website to provide input or to request an info session for your unit, department, or campus. Comments may also be sent to the committee chair, Christina Frazier.

Please forward this message as appropriate within your units. Thank you for your participation in this vitally important process.

The new CLA-OIT website was written as a catalog of our services and designed with the customer in mind. Services offered are described in detail so that you know what we offer and who has access to the services we provide. It's your one stop shop for all things technology-related. Browse our offerings and learn about our services -- you might be surprised to find something new that you didn't know we offer! CLA-OIT website: claoit.umn.edu

CLA's Chief Information Officer Ed Clark left the the College of Liberal Arts on June 10 for a position as Vice President and CIO at Minnesota State University, Mankato. We congratulate him on this new opportunity and thank him for his 17 years serving CLA.

In the interim Gary Oehlert, Associate Dean for Planning, will assume oversight responsibilities for CLA-OIT, and the interim leadership for CLA-OIT will report to him. Dean Parente has asked Gary to explore and implement a thoughtful transition and interim plan for leadership in CLA-OIT. Gary will also lead the development of our permanent CLA-OIT leadership plan.

The college anticipates authorizing a national search for a new CIO/director of CLA-OIT later this year. Placing oversight for CLA-OIT into the portfolio of the Associate Dean for Planning provides important opportunities for alignment given the numerous transitions underway at the University: the impending arrival of President-designate Kaler, the departure of University VP and CIO Steve Cawley, implementation of the recent IT audit requirements, and the planning processes underway in the college, including long-range unit planning, and continued progress towards implementation of the CLA 2015 vision.

The University Technology Training Center's summer training schedule is now available. Choose either in-person or online training at no cost.

• Gmail and Google Calendar Overview
• Gmail: Effectively Managing your Email
• Google Apps: Collaborating in the University Environment - Hands-on
• Google Apps: Collaborating in the University Environment - Online
• Google Calendar: Effectively Managing your Calendar
• Google Calendar: Effectively Managing your Calendar for Executive Assistants
• Google Docs Overview

The 4th Annual Showcase originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 6, 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. has been postponed for a year, due to a low number of entries for presenters. The showcase provides the opportunity for our college community to recognize and celebrate innovations in teaching, learning, research, and service that involve technology. We'll see you next year!

Job Offers; Email Notification; Resubmit for Accountant Review, Withdraw, or Delete; Shorter Account Strings; Filtering Non-match Account Strings

Job offers that have been "Rejected to Department" will now stay in your email notifications (every night) until you re-submit the job offer to Accountant Review, Withdraw it or Delete it.

While drafting a new job offer, your list of account strings will be shorter. We now filter out account strings that don't match your hiring department or job code.

Questions? Contact Scott Appelwick at appel015@umn.edu or call 612-625-7790.

There will be a system outage, Saturday, February 26, 2011, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., for networking improvements in the U's Data Center and for routine maintenance and upgrades to servers.

Saturday, February 26, 2011, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Central OIT is making networking improvements in the U's Data Center.
• CLA-OIT staff will also perform routine maintenance and apply upgrades to servers.
• Systems may be available during the maintenance window.
• Systems can and will be shut down without warning and may be unavailable for hours at a time.
• University Google Apps (Gmail, Calendars, Docs, Sites) will not be affected by this outage.

CLA-OIT recommends that you not connect to these systems and servers until after 6 p.m.:

• CLA-hosted websites
• CLA-managed email (dept accounts such as @econ.umn.edu, mailman lists)
• Research servers
• Unix-based file servers (clio and thalia)
• Active Directory servers (Home, Shared folders)
• Terminal servers
• Database servers
• Online tools and applications (Intersections, CLAIR)

Contact: help@cla.umn.edu

Wednesday, April 6, 1:00-3:30 p.m.
Great Hall, Coffman Union

The College of Liberal Arts Office of Information Technology is pleased to host the fourth annual Academic Technology Showcase. This poster-style showcase will feature exhibits on innovative technologies for teaching and research. Come join us for this exciting event! U of M faculty, staff and students are welcome.

Deb Ludowese has taken a position as assistant for the Chief Information Officer (Ed Clark) in CLA-OIT. Peggy Buckley is now the first person to contact for CLA Fiscal Administration and will be answering the 624-1008 number in Johnston. Deb had been providing temporary coverage for the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty over the last several months. Angie Plambeck (625-1805) is now supporting the Office of the Associate Dean for Faculty as well as CLA Human Resources.

Additional Google Migration & Orientation sessions have been scheduled. Call the CLA-OIT Service Desk to register. See http://z.umn.edu/clagoogle for the most up-to-date information.

CLA-OIT will be following central OIT's lead with a migration blackout from August 26 through September 24. Migration to Google is not advised during this time period. Read more.

Often you want to click on an email address link in a webpage to send an email. By default it will open your local email client (ie. Thunderbird), but it is possible to set Firefox to use Gmail as the default email client, so all messages go through Gmail.

1. Launch Firefox (note this only works in Firefox, not Safari, not Internet Explorer)

2. Navigate to your Gmail account at http://gmail.umn.edu

3. Login to Gmail

4. Copy and paste the code below into the Firefox address bar and hit enter (in the same window your Gmail is open in)

javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto","https://mail.google.com/a/umn.edu/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s","GMail")

5. Click the 'Add Application' button that appears in the top right.

Now all email links should open in Gmail. Thanks to Will Bear, IT Manager in Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, for these instructions.

Please contact the CLA-OIT Service Desk at 624-4357 or help@cla.umn.edu for assistance with this, or other Google Apps questions.

It may still work and you can still get into it to see your past meetings, but for all other intents and purposes UMCal is dead to us. For multi-person meetings and reserving conference rooms in CLA, please use Google Calendar. Do not send invitations through UMCal. If you are a UMCal user who hasn't migrated to Google, please sign up for an orientation and migration session. Our website can guide you through the process: http://z.umn.edu/clagoogle. Need to set a room as a Google Calendar Resource? Email your request to help@cla.umn.edu.

CLA-OIT successfully migrated over 500 people to Google Apps in seven days, but we have over 1000 faculty and staff yet to go. Based on session evaluations, the combined "migration and orientation process" was well received by our Phase I attendees, so we are now planning to use this approach for the next phase of the project. More details will be available in about a week. If you have suggestions, send Karen Swoverland a note at karenb@umn.edu.

Tuesday, August 3, 9:00-10:30 a.m.
135 Nicholson Hall

Hosted by Kate Gallagher (CNES)

RSVP to Jen Mein, jen@umn.edu.

If you rely heavily on a calendar system as part of your daily work and you want more in-depth training on Google Calendar.

Google Calendar Training: Basics for Executive Assistants
Monday, July 26, 1:30-4:00, Ford Hall B53
Registration Code: ttb61k3
OR
Tuesday, July 27, 1:30-4:00, Ford Hall B53
Registration Code: xc61jh4

To enroll, visit: http://uttc.umn.edu/training/courses/description/?designator=GCAL111, click on the Custom tab on the right side of the page, scroll down to find the correct section, enter the provided registration code, click the Enroll button and then follow the registration steps and submit.

Additional Learning Opportunity:

Google Calendar Forum: Best Practices, Tips, etc.

Hosted by Kate Gallagher (CNES)

Tuesday, August 3, 9:00-10:30 a.m., 135 Nicholson Hall

RSVP to Jen Mein, jen@umn.edu.

A hearty thank you to departments for assisting with, and participating in, the Google migration!

Phase 1 Migration & Orientation sessions will continue this week on into next week. Phase 2 details will be announced as they are finalized.

If you rely heavily on a calendar system as part of your daily work and you want more in-depth training on Google Calendar or would appreciate the opportunity to meet with colleagues to discuss how it can best be used, then consider participating in one of these upcoming events.

Google Calendar Forum: Best Practices, Tips, etc.

Hosted by Kate Gallagher (CNES)

Tuesday, August 3, 9:00-10:30 a.m., 135 Nicholson Hall

RSVP to Jen Mein at jen@umn.edu.

Training: Basics for Executive Assistants

Tuesday, July 26, 1:30-4:00 p.m., Ford Hall 53B (Code: ttb61k3)

Wednesday, July 27, 1:30-4:00 p.m., Ford Hall 53B (Code: xc61jh4)

Go to: http://uttc.umn.edu/training/courses/description/?designator=GCAL111, Click on the "Custom" tab. Enter code.

CLA's migration to Google is less than two weeks away. This week, CLA units will hear from CLA-OIT's Sarah Knoblauch to schedule the Migration + Orientation sessions. Details about the Migration + Orientation sessions will be shared at the CLA NOW meeting on Thursday.

Intersections will be down for maintenance July 7-9. During these three days, you will not be able to start new offers, approve offers, or see old offers. Please plan accordingly.

During that time, we will be applying the "Small Departments Fix",
which will allow:
* Small departments to use Intersections
* "Un-jumbled" Grad Student Lists (for departments with incorrect lists)
* The correct Department name on the offer letter (for small departments)
* Better permissions and security

We hope that the maintenance will not take the entire three days, but we ask that you'll be prepared for 3 days of downtime.

In other Intersections news:
* Most newly-admitted grad students should be in Intersections. (Any extra students you see are students you admitted, but decided not to attend. They'll disappear once their official cancellation is processed).
* The Amendments Module will also be ready after July 9th. ("Amendments" allow you to change a "done" offer, by sending the change through the approval process)

If you have any questions or concerns, please email help@cla.umn.edu

Thank you,
CLA-OIT Web Development Team

The Google Apps Implementation presentation slides are available online.

Effective Immediately

Begin routing any and all web-related support requests to the CLA Service Desk at help@cla.umn.edu or 4-HELP (612-624-4357) rather than to webhelp@umn.edu.

Include a due date / deadline for your request.

These changes will aid in the appropriate routing of your requests as well as with prioritization.

Questions? Contact Karen Swoverland at karenb@umn.edu or 626-9638.

Saturday, June 19, 2010, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• CLA-OIT managed systems and servers require routine maintenance and upgrades.
• Systems may be available during the maintenance window.
• Systems can and will be shut down without warning and may be unavailable for hours at a time.
• Actions will be taken to minimize the time public web servers are unavailable.

CLA-OIT recommends that you not connect to these systems and servers until after 6 p.m.:

• CLA-hosted websites
• CLA-managed email (dept accounts such as @econ.umn.edu, mailman lists)
• Research servers
• Unix-based file servers (clio and thalia)
• Active Directory servers (Home, Shared folders)
• Terminal Servers
• Database servers

Contact: help@cla.umn.edu

The Computer Replacement Program (CRP) is in need of rethinking and improvement, so CLA-OIT is establishing a task force to examine the program from top to bottom. The project objective is to improve the process to allow for advanced planning, better budgeting, and a better customer experience. To accomplish this, we are looking for a few volunteers to represent the interests of CLA's departments and administrative units. The team is expected to meet regularly over the summer and produce process, policy, and other recommendations by the end of July. If interested, please inform Jamey Hansen.

CLA-OIT is looking for a volunteer to join the Google Apps Migration project team. We want someone to represent an organizational and end user perspective on the planning team--no technical expertise necessary. Together with the other members of the team (Jamey Hansen, Karen Swoverland, Jen Mein, and Kevin Smith) this person will help oversee the efforts of the pilot, technical migration, and training sub-projects. The team will meet regularly between now and the end of the initial migration phase in July. If interested, please inform Karen Swoverland (karenb@umn.edu).

Reminder: CLA-OIT has opened the Spring 2010 round of the CLA Computer Replacement Program. To ensure the completion of EFS processing in the current Fiscal Year (FY10), it is very important that orders are submitted as soon as possible. Complete your order by the end of the day on Wednesday May 5 at the very latest.

CLA-OIT is opening the Spring 2010 round of the CLA Computer Replacement Program. The online order form will be available Wednesday of this week. To ensure the completion of EFS processing in the current Fiscal Year (FY10), it is important that orders are submitted as soon as possible. Complete your order by the end of the day on Wednesday May 5.

The CLA Computer Replacement Program (CRP), a purchasing program organized by CLA-OIT, is designed to simplify the computer purchasing process for CLA departments and users. CLA provides computer funding for many different types of users to meet technology support and security guidelines. Computers expire in their fourth year, generally replaced at 3.5 years. All expiring PB (Printed Budget and TS (Teaching Staff) computers must be returned to CLA-OIT. Due to funding GS (Graduate Students) computers will not be replaced this fiscal year.

Computer configuration packages and program information can be found online. Feel free to contact your Regional Technician, who has also received this information, or the CLA-OIT Service Desk (624-4357) if you have questions about your inventory or the CRP process.

Questions and answers from the CLA NOW Forum on Google Apps are available online

A post-Forum survey showed the majority of survey takers are excited and interested about Google Apps and Mail. Thank you to all who sent in suggestions for future Forum topics.

Did you attend the CLA NOW Forum on Google Apps & Mail? Did attending the Forum change how you feel about converting to Google? Do you have ideas for future Forums?

Take the post event survey TODAY!

Thank you to everyone that was able to attend the inaugural CLA NOW Forum on Google Apps.

For those that weren't able to attend, Jamey Hansen and Karen Swoverland will be posting a Q&A online -- the link will be available in next week's issue of CLA NOW.

A pre-Forum survey showed many CLA NOW attendees were already interested and excited about converting to Google Apps and Mail. Stay tuned for the results of a post-Forum survey!

Thursday, March 18

9:00 - 10:30 a.m.

1210 Heller Hall

Access Google-powered apps from your University of Minnesota account!

Through a partnership with Google, University of Minnesota students, faculty, and staff can access a suite of Google-powered communication and collaboration tools designed to enhance our ability to work together. The suite includes email, calendar, document sharing,
instant messaging, and website publishing tools.

Join Jamey Hansen and Karen Swoverland, from CLA-OIT, for a special discussion forum. Share your thoughts on and ask questions about the Google initiative.

RSVP today!
http://z.umn.edu/clanowRSVP

NEW! The CLA NOW Forum is an open forum around specific topics in CLA. "Save the Date" for the inaugural CLA NOW Forum.

Topic: Google Apps & Mail
Thursday, March 18
9:00-10:30 a.m.
1210 Heller Hall

** RSVP form forthcoming **

Google Apps

• Still waiting for more info from OIT about saving private data
• Our techs are experimenting with the tools now
• CLA students are getting invited now
• Planning a Q&A session for January or February

Intersections

• Incremental improvements continuing
• Custom offer letters
• Email notifications
• Larger changes/additions are on hold due to unfilled positions

Protecting Private Data

• We are seeing an increase of compromised computers
• New policies coming next year from OITSEC
• more work for tech staff
• will be some impact to many users
• Reminder: all administrative staff must be saving to server, not local hard drive

Quality Fair

• CLA has 4 poster presentations
• Intersections: Hire a Grad
• Enrollment Tracker
• Curriculum Project
• Freshman Research Awards
• February 4
• TCF Bank Stadium

The Office of General Counsel has put together a clearly defined explanation of how to (or not to) work with private data on mobile devices. It also briefly mentions guidelines about personal computers. Please read through it and give us a call if you have questions Service Desk: 624-4357.

Guidelines for Use of Smart Phones for University Business (PDF)