Spring 2009 Edition

iTunes U at UQ wants you...to provide content!

The iTunes U at UQ project will provide a way to access the University's digital content, such as podcasts, lecture recordings, and PDFs for offline viewing via free subscribed download. The iTunes U project team is looking for contributions from the UQ community now - register your interest by completing the iTunes U at UQ survey.

The service will allow UQ to manage and aggregate its digital content and deliver it in a flexible way.

UQ's adoption of iTunes U will encompass both public (phase one) and private digitial content (phase two) sites, with the former expected to launch in time for semester one, 2010.

Via the public site, a prospective student anywhere in the world could find out about UQ courses and research by downloading a short video, as an example.

Via the private site, a current student could subscribe to the podcast feed of a lecture recording, then have it downloaded automatically to their smartphone or laptop, for example. Materials already published on Blackboard and Lectopia may also be suitable for publication if they are of appropriate quality.

The iTunes U at UQ project is expected to promote discovery, learning, and engagement by providing simple and equitable access to marketing messages, research, student projects, orientation information, instruction, administrative communications, fundraising information, and teaching and learning materials.

The key benefit of iTunes U as a platform for delivery is that digital content can be downloaded onto mobile devices already being used by a large number of UQ students.

For examples of how iTunes U has been used by other institutions, visit:

Griffith University iTunes U site

Melbourne University iTunes U site

Faster Internet access for UQ's Gatton campus

Students and staff at the Gatton campus will soon see the speed of their Internet connection increase tenfold, as part of an upgrade to the campus's link. The upgrade, which will take the connection speed from 100 megabits per second to 1 gigabit per second, is scheduled to occur in November 2009.

The upgrade is good news for staff and students working at the campus, as they will have access to the same speeds as the St Lucia and Ipswich campuses. It will also support the vet school - and the extra 2000 people it will bring - when it relocates to the campus in early 2010.

Popular sites become quota-free

Following recent system updates, sites including Google, Google Earth, Youtube, Yahoo, and many more have become un-metered, meaning they do not consume download quota. This move is part of the Broadhop Internet Operating Systems (BIOS) project, which replaces the current Quotient Internet traffic management system. BIOS offers a tool that allows staff and students to check whether the websites they are accessing are metered or unmetered.

The System in a testing phase that involves several organisational units around UQ and is due to be rolled out across all UQ campuses before Christmas this year. Staff and students can expect to see a new Internet login portal that features UQ's new branding very soon.

Staff and students can expect to see a new login page that features UQ's new branding soon.

Better virus protection for UQ

In recent weeks, ITS, in conjunction with local IT staff, has been working on installing Sophos Endpoint Security and Data Protection anti-virus software on UQ computers. More than 8400 computers have been switched across to the new product, which was found to be faster, more compatible with non-Windows operating systems, and more comprehensive in a recent review.

The software is being rolled out automatically, so the only changes you should notice are a different anti-virus icon on your desktop, and more frequent updates.

As well as providing the software for all UQ computers, the new agreement with Sophos allows staff and students to have a free copy on their home computers. ITS is currently working on a way to deliver this software, and it will be available soon.

Please note: if a Sophos scan finds malware on your computer, please contact your local IT support staff.

ITS staff recognised for their work

Congratulations go to several ITS staff who have been recognised for their work in recent weeks.

• Claire Groves, ITS's Marketing and Communications Coordinator, and Ammi Knight from CTS Ipswich, received 2009 Miracle Worker Awards from the UQ Secretaries and Office Professionals' Association last month.
• The University of Queensland came top of the list of Customer Service Benchmarking Australia's (CSBA) Top 10 Customer Service Providers this quarter. The Voice Operations group within ITS, as well as the UQ IT Service Desk (and teams at the Student Centres) are at the front line of customer service, so this achievement is a recognition of their efforts. It is especially significant because it is a national listing. For more information, visit CSBA's website.

ITS Services Catalogue is now available

After a lot of hard work, ITS recently published its Services Catalogue, a consolidated list of services offered and managed by ITS for the UQ community. It is designed to be a dynamic document that is continuously renewed and updated, and it provides a way for KPIs to be reviewed against services.

The Catalogue is available from the newly-established rm@its site, which is the sharepoint site of the Relationship Management group within ITS. The aim of rm@its is to provide information to, and a space for, UQ's IT community to exchange information and share knowledge and experiences.

Register now to get eResearch 2009 Early Bird rates

The eResearch Australasia conference is being held from 9 – 13 November 2009 at the Novotel Manly Pacific Hotel, Sydney, Australia. Register at www.eresearch.edu.au by Monday 12 October to take advantage of the Early Bird Rate.

More than 400 people attended the conference in 2008. A very rich programme is taking shape, centering on the theme 'No Boundaries' - visit www.eresearch.edu.au/programme for more information. Highlights include:

• The inaugural eResearch Visualization Challenge; the finalist entries will be on display see www.eresearch.edu.au/vischallenge
• The AeRIC eResearch Forum, a town meeting style session hosted by Rhys Francis, will look beyond existing initiatives for fresh ideas in innovation
• An evening reception with live demonstrations and posters

A full programme of nine workshops occurs before and after the conference viz Monday 9 November and Friday 13 November, visit www.eresearch.edu.au/workshops2009 for more information.

For past editions of ITS Update, visit www.its.uq.edu.au/newsletters