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ARTICLES

OIT Planning Aligns with University Strategic Plan
There are approximately two dozen technology-oriented steps within the university's overall plan that have been assigned to OIT for planning and implementation, and there are other more general objectives which OIT is also well-positioned to help accomplish. Full article.

UMITT Winners Recognized at Teaching With Technology Conference
The Office of Information Technology and the Center for Teaching Excellence jointly hosted the 8th Annual Teaching With Technology Conference on March 30, 2001. The conference featured innovative presentations and demonstrations by College Park faculty and instructors and a thought-provoking keynote by Dr. Burks Oakley II, Associate Vice President for University of Illinois Academic Affairs. Full article.

Teaching Nursery and Greenhouse Professionals Online
Interdisciplinary collaborations, non-traditional student populations, and state mandates have yielded a new course which owes much of its success to the technology with which it is deployed. Full article.

Project ICONS: Interactive Learning for Global Education
The International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) Project at the University of Maryland has undertaken a major initiative, aimed at packaging interactive negotiation simulations for use in area studies classrooms. ICONS is targeting African and Latin American Studies programs. Full article

Computer Viruses: How to Protect Your Computer
Once activated, a computer virus can do any number of things. It can destroy your files, take control of your computer, block your Internet connection, send copies of itself to other computers through email or chat programs, or format your entire hard drive. Full article.

Use ARES to Update Personal Information in University Databases
Accessing your personal information such as addresses, leave balances, salary and appointment information is easy. Full article.

Edorm: the Residence Hall for Entrepreneurs
As part of the University of Maryland´s partnership with Avaya Communication, students in the Hinman CEO (Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities) program have access to a unique living-learning environment in Garrett Hall. Full article.

Backup Service Can Save Your Data
Crashes happen. Do you have a plan? What would you do if your data were lost? Do you have a backup service for your servers? The OIT Backup and Restoral Service will automatically save data and allow for easy recovery. Full article.

G3 Voice Communications System Upgrade
The university has begun a phased upgrade of its voice communications system to implement a state-of-the art system that will incorporate recent technological advances with a platform upon which to build enhanced applications that make use of leading edge technologies such as wireless, Internet Protocol (IP), messaging, video, and others. Full article.

OIT Leadership Changes
Recent changes in OIT leadership have been announced. Full article.

Web Tools for Your Web Site
OIT Web Services makes available a number of web tools that can support you in developing and enhancing your web site. These range from the very basic support of providing disk space on the inforM system, to WebHosting, to a special quiz/survey program—a ready-built program that will allow you to easily develop your own web-based surveys. Full article.

Do You Have a University-related Question? Call CIS at 301.405.1000
OIT's Campus Information Services (CIS) is the first point of contact and the main information source for customers calling the University of Maryland. Full article.

COLUMNS

Message from CIO Don Riley
A message from the university's Chief Information Officer. Full article.

Internet Ethics: SPAM, Unsolicited Commercial Email
Spam seems to be infiltrating our electronic inboxes on a regular basis and proving to be a general annoyance and time-waster. Full article.

IT Counts
Data and statistics describing IT use at the university. Full article.

FEATURES

askIT
Answers to your questions about technology use. Full article.

Backup Survey
Do you know if your data is back up? Results will be printed in the next edition of IT forUM. Full article.

Email Survey Results
Results to last issue's survey on campus email usage. Full article.

Help Desk Tips
Answers to frequently asked questions and tips on more effective use of IT. Full article.

Land Grant Training Alliance Online Lessons
These free online tutorials are provided by computing professionals at land grant universities. Subjects covered include word processing, presentation graphics, the Internet, and spreadsheets and databases. Full article

PlaNET UM
OIT and Meteorology Department team up again to provide hands-on family activities illustrating information technology and earth system science. Full article.

Message from CIO Don Riley . . .

As the original 1862 Land Grant institution in Maryland and the only public Carnegie Research I institution in Maryland (until the Carnegie categories changed recently), the University of Maryland plays a unique role in terms of leadership for the State of Maryland. Created in the second half of the 1800s by two federal laws known as the Morrill Acts (1862 and 1890), Land Grant institutions received federal funds "...to teach...agriculture and the mechanical arts...in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes..." (1862 Morrill Act). Translated into modern language, the Land Grant institutions were given a special role to serve the needs of society, especially for economic development. As a result of this legislation, Land Grant institutions traditionally have focused on core programs in agricultural education and outreach to develop and expand our nation's capacity to feed our nation and even others, and on science, engineering and technology to expand economic development. At the same time, our programs recognize the fundamental need to provide a well-rounded education with grounding in the liberal and fine arts and social sciences as well. As our economy changes to an Information/Knowledge Economy, the role of the Land Grant institution is changing to address new societal and economic development needs while still preserving the intent of the Morrill Acts to provide broad access to higher education and play a unique role in the nation's workforce development. Full article