Computing Resources at UNT - Finding Your Way Around

By Claudia Lynch, Benchmarks Online Editor

Welcome, or welcome back, to UNT! If you're new, or if you've just been away for awhile, it is our hope that this article will serve as a handy starting point to get you acquainted (or re-acquainted) with the resources that are available to you here at the University.

Students, faculty and/or staff members should all benefit from the information that follows.*

One thing everyone needs to be aware of is that there have been quite a few changes around campus and across the UNT System in terms of IT Services, who is providing them and what they are called. The article Information Technology, Here and There in December's Benchmarks Online discusses these changes, including some name changes. It will take awhile for these changes to be reflected in all the existing documentation so it is a good idea to be aware of this to avoid confusion.

First of all, the organization once known as the Computing and Information Technology Center (CITC) has ceased to exist. Instead we have Information Technology Shared Services (ITSS), IT divisions now under UNT System management, and University Information Technology (UIT). UIT consists of local IT services associated with the UNT flagship campus. These are Academic Computing and User Services (ACUS), Administrative Information Technology Services (AITS), Classroom Support Services (CSS), and Microcomputer Maintenance Services (MMS). As the aforementioned article states, however, "The CITC name and branding will gradually be retired in favor of these new organization names. Since it may take a while to “disentangle” the elements that were formerly parts of the CITC, you may continue to see that name in documentation and be referred to parts of the CITC website until new online resources can be created."  

When all else fails ...

If you have a computing question and/or problem and can't think of who to contact or where to look for a solution, just remember this: Contact the Helpdesk

The University Information Technology (UIT) Helpdesk is located in room 119 of Sycamore Hall (SYMR - formerly the Information Science Library, ISB ), directly beside the The Eagle Commons Library. Their hours are listed on the Helpdesk website: http://helpdesk.unt.edu/. Besides stopping by or searching for answers on the website, you can call the Helpdesk at 940-565-2324 or send mail to helpdesk@unt.edu.

Speaking of the Helpdesk, Benchmarks Online, publishes a column each month called "Helpdesk FYI." This month's article is EagleConnect Mobile.  Following is a selection of articles published within the past year. Perhaps one of these topics is something you've been wondering about:

• EUID Passwords
• myUNT Mobile
• Configuring EagleConnect Email on your iPhone
• EagleConnect Exchange ActiveSync Changes
• IT Outages and Maintenance Events Page 
• Creating a Custom Search Filter in ITSM 7.6 
• Using the Modify All Function in ITSM 7.6 (Remedy)
• Some ITSM 7.6 (Remedy) Helpful Tips and Shortcuts
• Accessing Eaglenet with LION 10.7.2
• How to tell if your account is locked

We hope that new students are familiar with the Tour of Student Computing Services at UNT. There are lots of topics touched on that are of interest to non-students also. For Example, in the Documents for Student Computing area are PDF files of things like a Computer Security brochure and a General Access Computer Lab brochure. Check out the complete website: http://www.unt.edu/helpdesk/studenttour/

General Access Computer Lab System

The UNT General Access Computer Lab System is a collection of 13 computer labs spread across the UNT Denton campus. They have been set up to provide computing to the University community. The GACL website states:

The labs are intended to meet the general academic computing needs of UNT students. These labs are supported and maintained primarily through a portion of the Technology Use Fee.

Students with a valid UNT photo ID card may use any General Access Lab except where noted.

A list of labs and their locations and operating hours is available from the GACL website. The lab in SYMR 104 is an Adaptive Lab. As the website states:

The University of North Texas Academic Computing Services General Access Lab is located in Sycamore Hall, Room 104. The mission of this lab is to provide general services to the UNT community with an emphasis on the special features that Academic Computing Services has to offer including helpdesk support and research assistance. Additionally the ACS lab is the designated adaptive lab on campus providing state-of-the-art adaptive equipment for those who need it. For more information about adaptive services on the UNT campus visit the Office of Disability Accommodation at http://www.unt.edu/oda.

Computer Based Training

Rising costs of training, shrinking budgets and changing technology have contributed to changes in computer-based training offerings at UNT over the last several years. The Computer-Based Training website has a list of training resources currently available to the UNT community.

Online Learning/UNT eCampus

For students, a good starting place is found on the student tour. Faculty will want to visit the Center for Learning Enhancement, Assessment, and Redesign (CLEAR) website and/or the Center itself. The Benchmarks Online article, Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1 Arrives at UNT, will be of interest to faculty members. iTunes U at UNT is an offering that has lots of people excited. Read all about it here.

Other Items of Interest

• Online Student Health Portal (OSH) -- OSH is a web-based portal connecting students to the Student Health and Wellness Center (SHWC) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. See the Benchmarks Online article "Just in time for the fall semester: an Online Student Health Portal" for further information.


• Videoconferencing -- Videoconference Technology allows you to meet with your colleagues on campus, at the Dallas and Ft. Worth campuses, or almost anywhere in the world. See the Benchmarks Online article "Save Time, Money, and Avoid Parking Frustrations Using Videoconference Technology" for further information.


• Ask Us - The UNT Libraries' virtual/online help services; they're available from your computer 24/7. 


• Gartner Research -- UNT students, faculty, and staff have access to Gartner Research at: https://gartner.unt.edu/ Direct access to Gartner researchers is also available. For more information see the article Gartner Core Research Services Available to the UNT Community in this issue of Benchmarks Online. 

• Campus Subscription to Higher Education Newsletters-- UNT has negotiated a group online subscription allowing campus members free access to the Online Classroom & The Teaching Professor higher education newsletters produced by Magna Publications. Click here for more information.


• Statistical and Research Support Services -- "The mission of the Research and Statistical Support (RSS) group at the University of North Texas (UNT) is to facilitate access to current research tools and statistical methodologies and to promote these methods to the research, instructional, and administrative communities at UNT; to encourage a collaborative research environment for researchers through the development and use of innovative computing technologies; to provide training and consultation in the appropriate use of  statistical methodologies and computer software; and to facilitate access to data collection and data management technologies." [From the Research and Statistical Support website]. The RSS Group publishes a monthly column in Benchmarks Online.


• LISTSERV.UNT.EDU -- Listserv web interface makes it much easier to manage your listserv lists. See this past Benchmarks Online article for more information.


• Data Management Services - Services include:         

Exam Grading/Analysis:  See the article Data Management Services Update for more information.  




Research Projects: Key-Entry of survey or research projects (grad student dissertation research allowed!) into a custom data file, ready for analysis. 




Scannable Form Design: Customized scannable survey forms created using any current form, or just a new idea! Our service includes scanning the completed forms into a data file, ready for analysis, quick and easy!




Faculty Evaluation Processing: Scan, edit and process UNT departmental faculty evaluations. Standardized reports provided: Department Overall, By Instructor-Course-Section, and By Instructor. An Excel data file will be provided to run any customized reports desired. See Faculty Evaluation Processing Tips for more information.

          Location: Sycamore Hall (SYMR), north entrance, Room 140. 

          For more information contact: Joann.Luksich@unt.edu 940.369.7416

• High-Performance Computing Initiative - The High-Performance Computing Initiative is available for use by UNT researchers whose research or scholarship requires use of computationally-intensive applications. See these Benchmarks Online articles for further information: Talon High-Performance Computing System now Available for UNT Researchers, High-Performance Computing Research Update, and High-Performance Computing Software: New and Improved!. The HPC website states: "The Academic Computing and User Services division of the UIT supports multiple clusters of 64-bit processor systems running Linux for compute-intensive scientific research. Cluster computing provides dedicated systems for concurrent processing of jobs in a batch environment." 

• Information Security -- "The Information Security Team helps protect UNT Information Technology assets from misuse, abuse, and unauthorized access. The mission of the Information Security Team is to assist and collaborate with UNT administrative, academic, and student communities to help assess, implement, and maintain information security needs." [From the Information Security Website]. UNT Faculty, Staff, and Students are required to read the Security Handbook. Links and further information can be found on the Information Security homepage.
  
  Information Security has recently created an announcement board on UNTRANET to post important security updates/alerts as an additional security resource. See this past Benchmarks Online article for further information on the announcement board.


• Managing Spam -- Actively manage e-mail that is sent to your campus e-mail address. See the article Managing Your Spam for more information.

• Campus VPN -- The Campus VPN is an interface that will allow you to connect remotely to on-campus resources. For more information click here.


• Free or cheap software
  
  
  • McAfee VirusScan  -- Free download or $3 purchase in the UNT Bookstore.
  
  
  • Free Office Live Applications -- Microsoft now includes Office Live applications in EagleConnect. Office Live applications are web-based (cloud) versions of MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and OneNote which provide the full functionality of their Office Suite installed counterparts. Further information can be found here. 
  
  
  • Microsoft Campus Agreement -- UNT has had an agreement with Microsoft for a number of years that allows us to distribute various Microsoft products to employees of the University. According to the agreement, you can "use the software for school-related purposes on a personally-owned computer or an institution-owned computer designated for your exclusive use" and you must remove the software from your home machine if you leave UNT. This agreement does not cover students unless those students are also UNT employees. UNT Health Science Center employees CAN purchase their software on the HSC campus via the ITS Helpdesk.
    
    Employees wishing to install these products on University-owned computers should contact their Network Manager for further instructions. Contact the UNT Bookstore at 940-565-3185 for additional information about the Microsoft products available to faculty and staff and/or visit www.unt.bkstr.com. 
  
  
  • The Microsoft Home Use Program -- Reduced price software for faculty/staff home use. Please contact Claudia Lynch for further information.
  • Student discounts in the UNT Bookstore - As described on the StudentTour.
  • DreamSpark -- UNT students can take advantage of DreamSpark, Microsoft's program that provides free development software to students. Click here for more information.
  • Free/Open Source software -- Two articles on that topic from the RSS staff:
    1. Free ! = Cheap: Open Source and/or Free Alternatives in Statistical Analysis.
    2. Free your research: Open source and other alternatives to cut your costs and improve productivity as a graduate student.

They Moved!

As their website states, "The Microcomputer Maintenance Shop (MMS) supports microcomputers for UNT faculty, and staff by providing expertise and services in order to maintain existing microcomputer equipment and assist with the selection and purchase of new computers and upgrade hardware." The Microcomputer Maintenance Shop (MMS) has moved from GAB 529 to Chilton Hall room 243. All services are scheduled to begin operating exclusively from Chilton Hall beginning 8 a.m. on Tuesday, January 17. Business hours and phone numbers will remain the same.

*Various versions of this article are published each semester. -- Ed.