News Archive
SPARK to SPIRE Grade Upload: Register by Monday, May 12
May 07, 2008
Instructors are invited to register their classes for the Grade Upload process that transfers grades from SPARK to SPIRE.
This is an optional alternative to manually entering grades in SPIRE, particularly useful for large courses.
Register each course by Monday, May 12 (registration is required even if you have used this service in the past). more....
Workshops for Faculty - June 2008
May 06, 2008
Registration is now open for Academic Computing's workshops for faculty. These
workshops cover a wide variety of technology-related topics and most allow you to learn
new technologies while working with content from your own courses. To review our list of offerings and to register for a workshop, visit our Faculty Workshop/Event Registration form.
Extend Your UMail Account After You Graduate
April 29, 2008
Students leaving the University automatically get access to their UMail address
for 6 months after their leave date. Use SPIRE to extend your UMail account for 6
additional months. Learn more....
Sync Your SPIRE Schedule with Your Favorite Calendar Software (Beta)
April 24, 2008
Students and instructors can now download their schedule from SPIRE, then import
it into their preferred calendaring tool (e.g., Apple iCal, Microsoft Outlook.). Please
note that this new SPIRE feature is still undergoing testing. more...
Use SPIRE to Subscribe to Campus Alerts
April 08, 2008
Students, faculty, and staff can use SPIRE to subscribe to Campus Alerts text
messages, a new service that will provide emergency notifications directly to
subscribers’ cell phones. Subscribe by April 30, 2008 and you're automatically entered
to win one of five iPod Nanos. Campus Alerts Web site
Voice over IP (VoIP) Telephone Service Available to North Residents
March 27, 2008
Students living in the North Residence Halls are invited to participate in OIT’s
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) pilot project. Using VoIP, you can make and receive
telephone calls on your computer from anywhere on campus where there is a wired Internet
connection. more...
OIT Moving CGI Scripts to a New Server
March 19, 2008
As of May 14, 2008, OIT will be hosting CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts on
a new server and disabling access to the existing server. OIT’s CGI server hosts
programming code associated with online forms on UMass Amherst course and department Web
sites. more...
Apple Safari: Critical Update Released
March 18, 2008
Apple has released a major update for the Safari Browser, which improves
its security and functionality. We recommend you download and install this update via
the Apple Software Update utility or by downloading the latest version of the browser
from Apple. Please note that OIT does not support the Safari browser on Windows
computers.
New Link from SPARK to OWL in Testing Phase
March 12, 2008
The UMass Amherst Provost’s Office, the Office of Information Technologies (OIT),
and the Center for Educational Software Development (CESD) have developed a link from
the learning management system used for on-campus courses, SPARK, to our online homework
tool, OWL. more...
Email Fraud/Phishing Alert for UMail Accounts
March 12, 2008
Fraudulent email messages asking for personal account information have been
received by some UMail account holders. These emails do not come from OIT/UMass Amherst.
OIT will never ask you to provide your NetID or password via email. Please delete these
messages. Do not respond to these emails or click on any links or attachments.
New Spam Filtering Tool for UMail
March 04, 2008
OIT has installed a new spam filtering tool, Spamhaus, on the campus mail servers.
Spamhaus identifies email messages sent from known spammers and blocks them before they
reach the incoming mail servers. more...
Looking for an OIT Classrooms Computer?
February 25, 2008
Check out our new Computer Availability page, which gives you up-to-the-minute information on
the number of computers available in OIT Computer Classrooms. Make sure you also check
our classroom
hours and scheduled classes information before going to a classroom.
New Resource for Instructors: Photo Rosters in SPIRE
February 06, 2008
Starting this Spring, the Photo
Rosters for UMass Amherst courses will be available to all active instructors who
earn their Security
Certificate. These rosters feature students' UCard photos and are intended to
support your teaching. Please make sure your students’ photos remain confidential at all
times.
Discounts on Adobe Software for Faculty & Staff
October 22, 2007
For a limited time, UMass Amherst faculty and staff can purchase Adobe software
for personal use at a significant discount through the Adobe Select program. The program
is usually only open to students and includes software such as Adobe Acrobat
Professional and Adobe Creative Suite. This offer had been extended through March 2008.
more...
New Version of WinSCP Released - be sure to update!
September 27, 2007
WinSCP, the popular Windows FTP client, has received an important version update
that makes the program more stable and secure. WinSCP is free and available for download
from the Supported Software
& Downloads section of the OIT site.
Take our Copyright Quiz!
September 19, 2007
During the '06-'07 school year, over 1400 members of the UMass community received
notices of copyright violations from the RIAA or other copyright holders. Take our
Copyright Quiz to learn how you can avoid copyright violations. Copyright Quiz
