Moodle
To stay up to date with the latest and greatest Moodle, we will be updating our Moodle server on June 17th. This new version will sport a modern, mobile-friendly theme, updated Moodle calendar, easier navigation between activities, and resources on a course page and more! Watch for more details from Carly Born as we draw near to the upgrade date.
Before Traveling: Must-read tips
- Conduct your own pre-flight checks with technology related items that will be used while traveling. Are all apps installed, up to date, and operating as you would expect?
- Test your GlobalProtect VPN connection prior to leaving town, from your home or a local coffee shop, to make sure it’s working.
- Print Duo backup codes that can be kept in your purse or wallet.
Services Sunsetting
- June 29th 2018: COLLAB will be going away.
- June 29th 2018: HOME will be going away, but the WebPub part will stay.
Cloud Storage
You’ve been using Dropbox and Google Drive for a while now. Summer may be a great time to re-examine your departmental processes around these storage options, such as naming conventions and how long you’re keeping materials.
Protect and Maintain your Computer During the Summer
Hackers don’t go on vacation just because it’s summer. A great way to prevent yourself from becoming the next target is to keep the software on your computer up to date – call it practicing good computer hygiene. This can be challenging for laptop users who make fewer physically-on-campus appearances during the summer, while those who have desktop PCs tucked away in their offices may wonder how this applies to them.
- Laptop Users: Consider logging in regularly using the VPN in order to get necessary software updates. Beware that if you don’t do this throughout the summer, you may have multiple updates when you return in the Fall which can be run then, but likely will take longer to process.
- Desktop Users: If your computer and/or a refreshing department student computer has been off for more than a month, there will surely be some software updates missing. Consider scheduling time to turn the computers on so they can get their updates.
In the beginning of May a notification was sent regarding a change in how ITS provides software updates to college-owned computers. Necessary security updates will be pushed out once per month. While a number of updates are and will continue to be handled through the K1000 Patch Schedules (such as web browsers and plugins) and through Windows Update, there are other important updates that can’t be delivered through those processes. This monthly update will address those updates. On the first Tuesday of every month, ITS will send out a notification to the campus if there are any security-related updates that need to be pushed to college-owned computers. The notification will include directions on how to install the update yourself (“User Self Service”) as well as a date after which the install will happen automatically. The first of these notifications was sent on May 2nd.
Because these pushed updates cannot be paused, we strongly recommend that faculty and staff proactively update during the week-long User Self Service window. This will allow you to choose the most convenient installation time, rather than risk having the automatic installation interrupt your work. If you have not installed the software during the User Self Service week, the update will automatically be installed on your computer the next time your computer checks in with our servers, while on campus or connected to GlobalProtect VPN, shortly after you log in for the day. Typically these updates will be small and the install will take only a few minutes. In the event that the updates are larger or will require a reboot as part of the install, we will highlight that in the announcement message.
Note: This update method only applies to college-owned faculty and staff computers, student work stations, and unmanaged lab computers. ITS will continue to maintain refreshing lab and classroom software over breaks, to minimize disruptions.