Fall 2012

This is Issue 52, Fall 2012. This is our first issue in the new Drupal-based format. We will be tweaking this as time goes on, please send us your comments!

Director: Frank Roberts
Editor: Susan Brown
Contributors: John Farquhar, Fred Robson, Rick Nichols, Marie Raney, Susan Brown

Canvas Trial Extending Into Winter Quarter

By: 
John Farquhar

Following positive results with the fall pilot of Canvas, ATUS has recently decided to expand the pilot with additional faculty and courses for the winter term. Canvas is a learning management system under consideration as a possible replacement for Blackboard. The Canvas system is being adopted by most Washington Community & Technical Colleges as well as other state institutions such as the University of Washington and Eastern Washington University.

Tags: 
LMS

FREE Microsoft Software for WWU Students

By: 
Susan Brown

A special trial program has been established with Microsoft Corporation to allow all current WWU students to receive Microsoft Windows operating system upgrades, including Windows 8 which was released Oct. 26, and the complete Microsoft Office Professional Suite for Windows and Mac OS at no charge for the 2012-2013 academic year!

Tags: 
software

New Focus on Faculty Development and Web Services

By: 
John Farquhar

ATUS has recently re-organized to create a new emphasis on faculty services in addition to raising our efforts on providing web services to the campus. Newly aligned with ATUS is the Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment bringing into our organization the expertise of Justina Brown. Justina is joining a group led by John Farquhar with the new mission to provide faculty with professional development opportunities, creative instructional solutions, technology and media development support.

Tags: 
people

Kevin Dixey Awarded Top Classified Employee

Our own Kevin Dixey received recognition this fall for his excellence in serving the campus community. The Outstanding Classified Staff Award is given annually to an individual who exemplifies a positive and creative approach to problem solving and innovation that significantly advances the university mission. Kevin has been supporting our Student Technology Center and providing expert advice on the use of applications for instruction and media production.

Tags: 
people

ATUS Welcomes New Employees

By: 
John Farquhar
Marie Raney

ATUS welcomes two Employees this fall: AJ Barse at the Student Technology Center and Max Bronsema in Web Services.

We are happy to announce the arrival of AJ Barse as a Training Specialist providing support for our Student Technology Center and mediated classrooms. AJ has significant skill in the Adobe Creative suite of products in addition to knowledge of video production software and the Microsoft Office Suite.

Tags: 
people

Login and Password Change Designs Updated

By: 
Marie Raney

For the last couple of years whenever you log into Blackboard or MyWestern or any of the other Single-Sign-On (SSO) services offered by Western, you’ve been presented with a sunny image of students in Red Square. Each term when you need to change your password you’ve been presented with an older-style screen with the old Western logo. On November 14th you will see the new applications we redesigned to offer greater accessibility to mobile devices as well as differently-abled people.

Tags: 
accounts
web

College Sites Design Survey

By: 
Marie Raney

Over the summer talented designers from around campus met to design the next new look for the Colleges and academic departments at Western. This new design, or “theme” in Drupal parlance, will be applied to college websites in the new Western Web Edit system based on Drupal.

Tags: 
web

Updates to the Western Template

By: 
Marie Raney

Last year Web Services updated the Western Template for Dreamweaver and Contribute users. The new Western Template design is based strongly on the aesthetic of the new Western homepage introduced in Fall 2011. Since the release of the Western Template in late 2011, we have continued to refine the design with a more robust menu look and new styles for sidebars and for handling photos.

Tags: 
web

Apple Computer Recall

By: 
Fred Robson

Apple Computer has issued a recall for some of the Seagate 1TB hard drives used in iMac 21.5 and 27 inch systems sold between October 2009 and July 2011. Not all iMac’s with 1TB Seagate hard drives sold during this time frame are affected. If you have an iMac purchased during this time you can check your Serial Number on this web site to see if your computer is affected: http://www.apple.com/support/imac-harddrive/

Tags: 
computers

Software Updates

By: 
Susan Brown

Microsoft Windows 8 was released October 26 and is currently being tested across campus. This operating system introduces a new “tile-based” desktop and may be most beneficial for touch screen devices. There are no plans for routine upgrades until compatibility with university systems is assured. When deployed, upgrades to Windows 8 will be available for no charge for university-owned workstations. If you are interested in determining the suitability of upgrading on a particular workstation or device, please contact the ATUS Help Desk, or

Tags: 
software

Search Engine Best Practices

By: 
Marie Raney

I often get asked “why doesn’t my page come up first in the search results?” A search engine looks at the html code of a web page to figure out what the page is about. Let’s discuss some good practices that help the search engines correctly interpret your web pages. In most cases, what makes it clear for the reader will also make it clear for the search engine, but there are a few extra things you can do as well.

Tags: 
web

Locked Out of Your Universal Account? Did You Just Buy a New Mobile Device?

By: 
Rick Nichols

To avoid locking yourself out of your Universal Account after purchasing a new ActiveSync device, you should delete your old device’s connection from Exchange (i.e., Outlook) email. This device could be a mobile phone, tablet, or iPod. Exchange/Outlook may try to login repeatedly to the old device, locking your account after failed login attempts. To remove the device:

Tags: 
accounts