ARTICLES

Fast Facts on File Sharing
Are you interested in learning more about the Recording Industry Association of America and their efforts to curb peer-to-peer file sharing? Full article

New Master of Fire Protection Engineering Degree Available Online
A fire can swiftly destroy anything in its path, leaving devastation, ruined homes, and even lost lives in its wake. Engineers in fire protection work diligently to develop technology that reduces loss of life and property. The University of Maryland offers one of the oldest and highest ranked fire protection engineering programs and busy engineering professionals can now take advantage of its newest component: the online master’s degree. Full article

First Year Book Project Goes Multimedia
Each year, as at colleges everywhere, freshmen at the University of Maryland come with mingled feelings of excitement and fear. There’s the exhilarating prospect of independence but also nervousness about the unknown. For example, how will academic standards be different from high school? For ten years, the First Year Book Project has been a university freshman’s first exposure to the world of college academics, awakening their curiosity and soothing their fears. Full article

Jo Paoletti Successfully Uses IT
Pink for a newborn girl, blue for a newborn boy. How does clothing delineate gender? For more than 25 years, Dr. Jo Paoletti examined the gender construction surrounding clothing and materials as a member of the Department of Textiles and Consumer Economics at the University of Maryland. In 1992, she made the switch to American Studies, where she’s expanded her research interests to examine the intersection of teaching and technology. Now, students in her material culture and diversity courses have benefited from her untraditional use of technology. Full article

Cool Sites for Your Kids to Visit
These great sites have a host of games, facts, and activities for you and your kids to enjoy. Full article

Attack of the Killer Virus
Your computer—usually so reliable—is suddenly unnaturally slow, yet you return to your office to hear your computer’s hard drive churning away, hard at work. Something is wrong. OIT calls with a diagnosis: Your computer has a virus that is spawning spam by the millions and your Internet connection may have been blocked. What happened? Full article

Prospective Students Benefit from New Online Application
Prospective students are given a cutting-edge, visually appealing, and highly interactive experience when they use the new admissions Web application, thanks to a fresh application of technology. Over the course of the last few months, the three campus admissions offices—Undergraduate Admissions, the Graduate School, and International Education—combined operations in both functional and technical areas to better meet prospective students’ needs. The result was the new Web application, known as the Common Web Application. Full article

Pay Sites Offer Legal Music Downloading
Perhaps some music-crazy, computer savvy teen is spouting the latest lyrics of a band that sounds only vaguely familiar to you. Perhaps when you walk by your family’s computer, song playlists seem to be multiplying exponentially. Perhaps you yourself are fascinated by the world of mp3s, iPods, and downloading. The following are a list of legal downloading sites you may not have investigated. From the oldies-but-goodies to the brand-new, there is something for all musical tastes at a reasonable price—and without the fear of potential litigation from the Recording Industry Association of America. Full article

Pump It Up!
The sounds of the New Year celebration have faded and it’s now back to the daily grind, the memory of champagne and Dick Clark a distant one. Yet one aspect of the New Year lingers: your resolution to eat healthier and hit the gym more. In the process of strengthening your health, why not also take the time to pump up your computer’s security? In fact, just five minutes of simple thought and action can bring positive results right away—unlike the gym!—and protect your private information from spying eyes. All you need to do is make your computer’s password more difficult or add a password if you don’t currently have one. Full article

Final Speaker Series Presentation to be Delivered at Teaching With Technology Conference
The “Teaching, Learning, Technology?” speaker series, co-sponsored by OIT and the University Libraries, will culminate on April 9, 2004 at the 11th Annual Teaching With Technology Conference. Dr. Vijay Kumar will deliver the keynote address “Opening up Educational Possibilities through Content, Pedagogy, and Technology” at 2:00 p.m. in McKeldin Library room 6137. Web versions of the previous four speakers in the speaker series can be found using the addresses in the table below. Full article

Spring Cleaning:Computers Need It Too!
IIt’s that time of year again. New flowers are blooming, the air is warm and fragrant, and the birds are singing. Traditionally, the advent of spring is an impetus to clean house. Why not add your computer to the list of spring cleaning chores? The end result will be a faster computer that will let you work, instant message, and surf the Internet more efficiently with fewer problems. Full article

Teaching With Technology Workshops Introduce Technology Options to Faculty
Technology has grown in relevance to teaching—and there are no signs of its importance diminishing. Not only do students benefit from learning technology and its real-world applications, but they can also be intellectually stimulated by the incorporation of technology into the teaching and learning process. The integration of technology with pedagogy is the goal of five workshops hosted by the Office of Information Technology and the Center for Teaching Excellence for Maryland faculty and instructors. Full article

COLUMNS

Message Message from Mark Henderson, Interim Vice President and CIO
The new year and a new semester give us a fresh chance to examine an issue that is salient for faculty, staff, and students: peer-to-peer file sharing. By now, few people are unaware of the controversy that surrounds downloading music, movies, and other files for free despite copyright laws. As a community, we must explore the implications and consequences, as well as the potential benefits, of file sharing. Full article

FEATURES

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

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