CaTS | Information Technology

Fall Quarter Update for Faculty

CaTS would like to make you aware of some of the changes happening around campus during fall quarter. If you have questions about any of these items, please contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827 or 1-888-775-4827.

1) Important Announcement: Overhead Projectors with Acetate Rolls To Be Removed From Classrooms


During the past two quarters, a Classroom Equipment Preferences Form has been available for instructors to submit to CaTS any teaching and equipment preferences they have for their classroom. With the success of this form, CaTS has learned that the need for overhead projectors with acetate rolls has dropped significantly. In response to this low demand, overhead projectors with acetate rolls will be removed from all classrooms beginning winter quarter 2012.

For those instructors who still need this equipment for their classrooms, please add the “Transparency/Overhead Projector” option to your equipment preferences list using the Classroom Equipment Preferences Form, which can be found at https://support.wright.edu/instructorprefs/.

See what an overhead projector looks like at https://www.wright.edu/cats/images/other/overhead.jpg.

2) Table Top Podium Added to Classroom Equipment Preferences Form


Table top podiums for use in the classroom have been recently added to the Classroom Equipment Preferences Form. The table top podium is the moveable podium already located in some of the university’s classrooms. If you would like to have a table top podium in your classroom, you will need to log in to the Classroom Equipment Preferences Form (linked in the previous announcement) and add the podium to your list of classroom preferences. Please note that if you have filled out this form before, all of your previous preferences were saved, and you will only need to add the podium to your list.

See an example of a table top podium at https://www.wright.edu/cats/images/other/podium.jpg.

3) Reminder: Important Information About Lab Shared Area (N:\Drive)


With the transition from Novell to Active Directory nearly complete, CaTS would like to let you know about a change that will affect how you share files with your students. Currently, instructors can use the Novell N:\ drive, also known as the lab shared area, to store files that students can access.

If you are using the lab shared area, please be aware that after fall quarter ends, this area will no longer be available. Going forward, faculty and student collaboration will be facilitated through Pilot. Pilot offers the ability to share content with your students in an easy, user-friendly manner.

CaTS and CTL would like to help make this transition to Pilot as easy as possible. If you have instructional material located within this lab share area or you plan to move forward using Pilot, please contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827 or send an email to helpdesk@wright.edu to add your name to a list of interested faculty.

4) Clocks Now Being Installed in Classrooms


You asked for it, you got it! Due to high demand from WSU faculty, clocks are now being installed in all university classrooms and computer labs. While the process is still on-going, all classrooms will have a clock by the beginning of winter quarter.

5) Information on RaiderMail, WSU’s New Email Service for Students


Wright State University recently launched RaiderMail, a brand new student email system. RaiderMail, which is built on the Microsoft Live@edu services, gives students a 10 GB inbox, the ability to collaborate on class and club projects, have remote access to documents, and more.

Although faculty and staff do not currently have accounts on RaiderMail, we’d still like you to be aware that you may hear students talking about the new email service, and that any emails you receive from them will come via this new system. Please note, though, that this will not affect your email inbox or change how you communicate through email with your students.

You may have also heard that the H:\ and K:\ drives (network storage drives) for students are going away soon. Students will lose this access in March of 2012, and will have to use another method of file storage such as SkyDrive (provided with their RaiderMail account) to store data. PLEASE NOTE that this change does not affect your H:\ and K:\ drives. You will continue to have access to these network drives.

6) PC Encryption


If a university-owned computer is lost or stolen, and if that computer is storing legally protected sensitive data (social security numbers, credit card information, grades, transcripts, etc.), the university may be held liable for this loss. To combat this situation, CaTS is now installing a software program called CheckPoint Full Disk Encryption on new university-owned laptops.

This software stores data in an unreadable format unless the proper credentials are provided. By using this software, the university can track which computers have been encrypted and can help avoid potential legal and financial risk.

CheckPoint Full Disk Encryption will be licensed when you purchase a new laptop from Pomeroy starting 10/1/11. Because of the network resources required, the software will be installed by CaTS Desktop Services.

Please be aware that at this time, CaTS is initially focusing on new Windows-based laptops for this project. This same software will be available soon for Mac laptops.

For more information about the new encryption process, see the CaTS PC Encryption website, located at https://www.wright.edu/cats/general/encryption.html. You can also call the Help Desk at (937) 775-4827.