Year: 2014

I work with an amazing team of instructional designers, faculty and educational media designers. These people are good. If you have worked with them before, you will know what I mean.

They know what they are doing mostly because they are constantly learning and collaboratively growing in their craft. Read Full Article →

Michigan State University is committed to accessibility on all levels. As we move toward a higher degree of dependence on the web to access programs, services, businesses, and activities, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that content is accessible to the broadest possible audience.

MSU departments, employees, faculty, and instructors are being asked to update web pages, online course materials, e-texts, PDFs, and any online content that is used for business and academic activities to meet the current MSU Web Accessibility Policy which includes Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Conformance Level AA. Read Full Article →

The MSU IT Council met on November 14. Below are the high-level topic summaries from the meeting.

Mark Notman, Associate Dean and CTO for the College of Osteopathic Medicine, led the meeting by providing an overview of his college’s IT challenges and the work his team is doing to align their Health Information Technology unit to the university’s culture of high performance. Read Full Article →

ANGEL will be retired on May 15, 2015, as MSU moves to Desire2Learn for its centrally supported learning management system. Many resources are available to support instructors and staff as they transition courses and groups to the D2L.

For a timely conversion, IT Services recommends any course materials and groups are converted from ANGEL to D2L prior to February 1, 2015, so users can experiment and get comfortable with the new system. Read Full Article →

Earlier this year we posted an article explaining what goes on behind the scenes when you log into a computer in one of 60 MSU computer labs.

This follow-up article shares some of the exciting advancements we’ve made to improve computer lab login times.

During spring and summer 2014, IT Services installed new computers in six computer labs including Bessey Hall 211 and 317, Business College N12, Natural Resources 218, Olds Hall 12, and Wells Hall B110G. Read Full Article →

Do you have questions about D2L? MSU IT Services Teaching & Learning will be setting up D2L help stations across campus for the next year, and will be visiting a hall near you soon. Our goal is to make ourselves available to faculty who need help, have questions about Desire2Learn, or just want to talk about the opportunities this new system provides. Read Full Article →

Cyber attacks on computer systems and networks to obtain personal information and other confidential data take place on a daily basis.

To maintain the integrity and security of our institution’s data, Michigan State University is taking steps to increase the level of protection in systems amassing sensitive and personal information by implementing two-factor authentication in spring 2015. Read Full Article →

Starting on December 19, 2014, courses that are two years old, development courses that have been inactive for two years, and groups that have been inactive for six months in MSU’s ANGEL system will be deleted.

Associated content and records for these courses will also be deleted.

The ANGEL User Support Team is sending specific messages out to affected course and group administrators listing the courses and groups scheduled for deletion. Read Full Article →

MSU IT Services coordinates Seminars in Research and Instructional Technology in the spring and fall for university faculty, academic staff, and graduate assistants.

Fall 2014 seminars are scheduled for December 16 and 17.

Participants may choose from a variety of sessions over two days designed to support teaching and research at MSU. Read Full Article →

MSU IT Services Teaching and Learning invites you to attend the next session in our ongoing Breakfast Series: Conversations on Online Pedagogy and Best Practices.

DATE:                    Wednesday, November 12, 2014

TIME:                     8:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (8:30 a.m. for refreshments)

PLACE:                  Main Library, North Conference Room, 4th Floor, West Wing

TOPIC:                   “Mixed Media, Instructor Avatar, & Student Comfort”

SPEAKERS:

• Dr.