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UITS

Teaching and Learning

  1. University Information Technology Services (UITS) broadened its technology-based support for many new forms of teaching and learning, reaching communities within the university and in the wider Indianapolis community.
  1. The emergence of podcasting introduced a new way of presenting content. For classroom use, UITS made a community source podcast tool available in the online course management system  Oncourse CL. Using this service faculty can make lecture and course material available by audio, allowing access by students wherever they connect to the IU network. Complementing this is the university’s launch in December 2006 of iTunes U, the proprietary podcast service of Apple Corporation. The site provides podcast content for the IU community and for the broader local and national community, including course-specific podcasts,  information about university resources, and syndicated radio programming. The podcast of the School of Medicine radio program “Sound Medicine” makes the expertise of local faculty and researchers available to a nationwide audience.
  1. Two appointments support faculty in using technology more broadly in teaching and learning across the university, including faculty’s use of, and input into, the Sakai course management software. Anastasia S. (Stacy) Morrone, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning Information Technologies (TLIT), coordinates and technology services in support of teaching and learning, in partnership with academic units and faculty on all campuses. John Gosney, faculty liaison for TLIT, works with faculty to explore and advocate the best use of technology to enhance teaching and learning.
  2. UITS continues its work with the Sakai community source project, and its ongoing mission to develop software that serves teaching and learning, and with the Kuali Foundation and its focus on developing administrative software. Improvements for fall 2007 to Oncourse CL, the university’s implementation of Sakai, include a new look and feel and enhancements to the Gradebook. Portfolio, Privacy Manager, Resources, User Presence, Wiki utility and message functions. During the past year some 82.9% of the loaded users accessed Oncourse CL. Course section adoption of Oncourse CL increased to more than 53%.
  3. The AT&T Fellows Program, formerly the SBC Fellows Program, funds faculty projects that integrate information technology into teaching and learning. Three IUPUI faculty showcased their innovations at the seventh annual IU AT&T Summer Leadership Forum in June 2007, including Rachel Applegate, School of Library and Information Science; Dale Roberts, Computer and Information Science, School of Science; and Chris Thomas, Geology, School of Science. To date, 26 faculty from IUPUI have been selected as fellows.
  4. Support for the use of IT continues to grow with new modes of receiving help and information. New features include, for the Macintosh, the live chat component of ITHelpLive. Using ITHelpLive, users can engage in live chat with an IT consultant; have computer problems diagnosed, and in some cases, repaired remotely; and receive on the desktop news of IT resources and programs, security alerts, and so on. Self-service password reset is also available. UITS provides access to more than 200 Windows and Macintosh computers in 15 Student Technology Centers, including multimedia software and hardware and adaptive technology for students with special needs in the 24-hour lab in IT 131 in the ICTC. Consultants handled some 100,000 contacts over the past year. 

Research and Scholarship

  1. The University’s new Big Red supercomputer, currently the 23rd fastest supercomputer in the world, supports new research in many areas, including the life sciences, weather forecasting, and physics. It will carry out some of the key goals of the Indiana University Life Sciences Strategic Plan, enabling scientists to analyze massive amounts of biological data, including information discovered by IU chemists about the compounds found in living cells. Discovering differences between healthy cells and cancer cells will help researchers discover new ways to diagnose and treat cancer.
  1. Network engineers at the university’s Global Research Network Operations Center housed at IUPUI  activated the northern ring of  I-Light and its nine major network connection points or "nodes" at Indianapolis, Anderson, Muncie, Marion, Ft. Wayne, South Bend, Gary, West Lafayette, and Kokomo. An  important achievement for the state of Indiana, the  northern ring of Indiana’s statewide higher education optical fiber network will transmit network traffic among universities and colleges across northern Indiana, and between those campuses and the Internet as well as national research networks such as Internet2 and National LambdaRail, drawing students and faculty to Indiana universities and colleges. See the article and video in IUPUI Magazine.
  1. Seamless wireless access across IUPUI in a Virtual Private Network (VPN)-secured environment enables coverage to all student, faculty, and staff areas, as well as new campus apartments.

Civic engagement

  1. UITS staff are members of the IUPUI External Affairs Coordinating Council, the External Affairs Advisory Group, IUPUI Staff Council, and committee members for public events. Through cooperation with IUPUI External Affairs staff and IU Bloomington staff, UITS has increased the visibility of the IU, IUPUI, and respective departments at several community events, including the Indiana State Fair, TechPoint Tech Summit, and the Hoosiers for Higher Education and Life Sciences event at the Indiana State House. Throughout the year, leaders from the IT staff engage in discussions with Indiana’s key stakeholders, including state policymakers, economic leaders, and life sciences professionals.
  1. UITS continues its involvement in partnerships with the community via TechPoint, an organization dedicated to promoting Indiana’s high-tech economy. UITS helped to showcase at the Indiana Tech Summit 8 the university's intellectual, technological and scientific support for the state of Indiana's technology and life sciences economy. UITS partnered with IUPUI Community Relations, Pervasive Technology Labs, academic departments, and others to sponsor the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Indianapolis in May, the world’s largest science competition for high school students. UITS also maintained a presence at the IU Life Sciences Day at the Statehouse, and the Indiana Health Industry Forum Innovention events. As a platinum sponsor of the 2007 TechPoint Mira Awards,  university plays a role in helping to recognize today’s emerging technology leaders. 
  1. The Informatics and Communications Technology Complex (ICTC) houses essential tools for scientific research, technical support, and teaching that will help build a stronger high-tech Hoosier economy by supporting statewide IT initiatives. It provides a setting located within minutes of downtown Indianapolis for educating the current and future workforce on emerging technologies. Programs germane to Indiana’s new directions and the much-needed square footage in the form of classrooms, auditoria, and gathering space all combine to help foster civic engagement. 
    • UITS produced two award winning videos to facilitate tours of the Informatics and Communications Technology Complex, specifically for the Global Research Network Operations Center (Global NOC) and the Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Facility (ACF). These videos help build community understanding of the cyberinfrastructure that supports teaching, learning, research, and creative activity at IUPUI and across the university, and of the university’s role in national and international research. Awards included a Telly Award, a MarCom Creative Award, a Distinguished Award from the Chicago Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication, and an Award of Excellence from the international competition of the Society for Technical Communication.