Monthly Archives: December 2020

Patient rounds: Ages-old care & learning concept gets technology upgrade, international collaboration

By | December 24, 2020
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African american man in scrubs taking notes and looking at computer screen

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical rotations were halted for medical students, which meant they could not participate in patient rounds—those bedside consultations with seasoned medical staff to discuss and learn about a patient’s condition. This led Mark Cohen, a professor of surgery and pharmacology who runs the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the Medical School to think… Read More »

Changes coming in 2021 to Zoom for Health

By | December 23, 2020
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A woman wearing headphones uses a laptop computer with an open book beside her.

U-M Zoom has been approved for PHI (HIPAA data). As a result, Zoom for Health at U-M will be consolidated into regular U-M Zoom January 2–3, 2021. New features Thanks to collaborative efforts of U-M and Zoom, users will be able to use expanded features, such as: Cloud recording Live transcription Viewing identifying information in reports Ability to… Read More »

Lessons in architecture: 3-D without leaving the classroom (or living room)

By | December 22, 2020
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Female student wearing VR headset, large monitor in the background.

When architecture professor Jonathan Rule wanted his students to see firsthand the way various building materials came together, he had to find a construction site near campus and arrange for the class to walk through. Finding a suitable project isn’t always feasible, not to mention the logistics and liability involved. So with assistance over the past year from… Read More »

XR Initiative at 1: Milestones met as pandemic brings new challenges, opportunities

By | December 22, 2020
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When leaders at the Center for Academic Innovation announced an XR initiative a little more than a year ago, they knew there was a hunger from a growing segment of campus to advance teaching through the development of augmented and virtual reality technologies. They couldn’t have anticipated, however, that a global pandemic would so disrupt education that faculty… Read More »

Watch: Lessons learned from quick pivots to online education

By | December 21, 2020
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engineering via zoom

The winter term that begins in January will be the third term in a row that instructor David Chesney’s unique software design course will be online, and he has learned from each iteration.  For the past decade, the U-M electrical engineering and computer science lecturer has taught Software for Accessibility, a class he designed in which  undergraduate students… Read More »

HoloLens2 for Nursing: ‘Hands-on’ learning during pandemic and beyond

By | December 21, 2020
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The U-M School of Nursing has one of the most technologically advanced programs around with its Clinical Learning Center, yet leadership in the school wrestled with how to teach hundreds of students the hands-on nursing skills and procedures required to advance in the program, while following COVID-19 guidelines for social distancing and university calls to minimize in-person courses.… Read More »

Founded by CoE alum, SambaNova announces AI-accelerated HPC system

By | December 18, 2020
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Kunle Olukotun and SambaNova logo

As artificial intelligence applications grow and multiply, researchers have been racing to design a new generation of hardware that meets the unique computational needs of those applications. The market for these “AI chips” is booming, and a key player in this new space is Palo Alto based SambaNova Systems. SambaNova, now a unicorn valued at over $2.5 billion,… Read More »

New how-to resources and data offerings on Precision Health Analytics Platform

By | December 17, 2020
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crowd of people with points & intersecting lines overlay

Researchers across campus can now directly query, via SQL server, a de-identified version of the Research Data Warehouse, which includes all 4 million unique Michigan Medicine patients. Learn how to leverage this resource and more Precision Health resources through our updated documentation site (accessible with a Level 1 UMICH login) and video demos and how-to’s. Precision Health has expanded its offerings… Read More »

Sign up for the 2021 Michigan IT Mentor Program

By | December 16, 2020
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Michigan IT Mentor Program logo

Are you interested in helping colleagues reach their professional goals, or striving towards professional goals of your own? If so, sign up to become a mentor or mentee in the 2021 Michigan IT Mentor Program. The Michigan Mentor IT program empowers and enables Michigan IT professionals from all levels to connect and learn from others with similar interests… Read More »

Home for the holidays? (Of course you are…)

By | December 16, 2020
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close up of finger pushing power button on laptop

Normally, we’d remind you about conserving energy and securing your desk and office before you leave campus for Winter Break. However, because many if not most of us are already working from home, we’re changing it up a bit this year. (But if you’re still in the office, check out last year’s article for details on what to… Read More »

Extended reality: U-M online courses make XR accessible to everyone

By | December 15, 2020
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female student wearing VR headset using hand conrollers, monitor in background

A new three-course online specialization on extended reality developed by Michael Nebeling, an assistant professor with both the School of Information and the College of Engineering, and a team at the U-M Center for Academic Innovation has something for everyone—from novices to the most advanced users, designers, and developers. Extended reality, or XR, is the term for technology… Read More »

BlueJeans usage continues to drop as U-M prepares for May 1 service retirement

By | December 15, 2020
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BlueJeans logo

This past fall, Information and Technology Services announced that U-M will retire BlueJeans effective May 1, 2021 due to a significant drop in usage that began with the launch of Zoom last March. For example, in November there were just under 3,000 BlueJeans users across all campuses compared to 16,000 during peak usage in April.  “ITS is committed… Read More »

ResponsiBLUE Guest required for all university visitors

By | December 15, 2020
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Block M with mask icon below

Information and Technology Services (ITS) has been overseeing the technical aspects of U-M’s recent effort to implement the guest version of ResponsiBLUE, the health-screening tool developed to help keep the university healthy and reduce the spread of COVID-19. The State of Michigan now requires all visitors, contractors and vendors through April 14, 2021, to complete a preliminary health… Read More »

Accessibility scanner Deque Comply to become Axe Monitor

By | December 14, 2020
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ax monitor logo

This year, Information and Technology Services has been implementing Deque Comply – a best-in-market, cloud-based enterprise accessibility scanner. The product, which is switching its name to Axe Monitor, is designed to help schools, colleges and units have a clearer understanding of the accessibility effectiveness of their websites, and to be able to assess how they are doing. The… Read More »

U-M vice president for IT honored with leadership award

By | December 14, 2020
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CIO OF THE YEAR ORBIE AWARDS

Ravi Pendse, vice president for information technology and chief information officer, was awarded with the Michigan CIO of the Year ORBIE Award for the nonprofit/public sector by the Michigan CIO Leadership Association (MichiganCIO). The ORBIE honors chief information officers who have demonstrated excellence in technology leadership.  “The MichiganCIO ORBIE winners demonstrate the value great leadership creates. Especially in… Read More »

Season’s Greeting from ITS!

By | December 14, 2020
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Happy Holidays from ITS

As we close out 2020, Information and Technology Services would like to thank our Michigan IT colleagues, faculty, staff, and students for their flexibility and willingness to adapt to so many changes this year. Happy holidays and best wishes for the winter term! Visit the ITS website for IT resources to make 2021 a successful new year.

Virtual 2020 Michigan IT Symposium exceeds expectations

By | December 11, 2020
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Masthead for the Michigan IT Symposium

The 2020 Michigan IT Symposium was held virtually November 10–12, 2020, with the theme “Innovative solutions to support the university mission.” Event highlights included: A leadership conversation between U-M VPIT-CIO Ravi Pendse and Michael S. Barr, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy Pendse’s fireside chat with keynote speaker Eric Yuan, Zoom CEO 18 fascinating breakout sessions… Read More »

Michigan IT CoP activities: November–January

By | December 11, 2020
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Michigan IT CoPS AND SERVICE GOVERNANCE

Michigan IT Communities of Practice (CoPs) are groups where like-minded IT professionals can share information, experiences, and ideas around a particular topic in support of the university’s missions. Communities of Practice The full calendar is on the CoP website. Below you’ll find the list of recent and upcoming CoP meetings.  We invite you to get involved, share your knowledge,… Read More »

Cybersecurity Challenge: Students pass pop quiz to win prizes

By | December 11, 2020
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Cybersecurity Challenge event graphic

Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility at U-M—faculty, staff, and students. For more than 15 years, ITS Information Assurance (IA) has invited UM-Ann Arbor students, including medical students, to take an online quiz to raise awareness about IT security issues and promote best practices during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Over the last few years, this cybersecurity challenge has expanded to… Read More »