Author Archives: News Staff
A new study from U-M School of Information researchers looks at how Facebook “Buy/Sell/Trade” groups work and why they are successful. The research team focused on “Mom-to-Mom” groups (also called Mom-2-Mom or M2M), in which mothers buy and sell gently used baby items, such as clothes, toys, and books. They offer the items for porch pick-up (PPU) on a… Read More »
Growing up in Los Angeles, U-M student Jake Fleshner and his brother liked to visit a local deli, and then nearby stores before heading home. These local businesses often attracted similar customers, so why weren’t they promoting each other to their customer bases? That question eventually led to creating Spade America—a mobile app that lets consumers scan discounts as… Read More »
A new U-M study suggests that when it comes to digital privacy, children often do not see the negative consequences of someone tracking items belonging to someone else. Lead author Susan Gelman, professor of psychology and linguistics, says digital privacy is of growing concern, given the increasing use of technological devices that track object locations, revealing personal information regarding… Read More »
Thursday, May 11, 2pm – 4pm; Wolverine Tower, Suite 18 (map). HITS and Information Quest invite the campus and health system Tableau community to the first ever Tableau Clinic. This two-hour event will be held Thursday, May 11, 2-4 PM at Wolverine Tower Suite 18, and will be an opportunity to interact with Tableau experts and users across U-M. Tables… Read More »
Sean DeMonner, John Johnston, and Zhen Qian from ITS Teaching & Learning represented U-M at the annual Unizin Innovation Summit April 19–20 in Denver. The Unizin Innovation Summit is a two-day conference for members of the consortium to present their work on the implementation of Unizin services, and to discuss issues around the developing the next generation digital… Read More »
Would you rather unlock your smartphone with a plain four-digit PIN or with a series of emojis? For example, is it easier (and just more fun) to remember “🐱💦🎆🎌” than “2476”? Smartphone users commonly use emojis to express moods and emotions in emails and text messages. But there had been no formal study of how easy emoji passwords were to… Read More »
In the early days of the internet, U-M student Jeff Masters and Perry Samson, his College of Engineering professor, developed an idea to bring real-time weather information to our daily lives through an online resource that would come to be known as Weather Underground. It all started in 1991 with Hurricane Bob and a single Sun 4/110 workstation… Read More »
Parents can toss out the owner’s manual for that new smartphone or tablet—they can get all the digital assistance they need from their teens. According to Jan Van den Bulck, professor of communication studies at U-M, more children are guiding their parents on how to use digital media, especially newer media forms such as smartphones, tablets and apps. But… Read More »
James DeVaney, associate vice provost for academic innovation, explores how U-M’s new Teach-Outs might represent the next step in developing an online education model that moves beyond MOOCs to create a “compassionate public square for the information age.” In his guest commentary for Inside Higher Ed, Devaney writes: “While I continue to encourage patience to those who care to… Read More »
Newspapers have tried various ways to monetize online content, with many turning to paywalls, which require readers to buy a subscription to read stories online, sometimes after a set number of free articles. A new study by Ross School of Business researchers Puneet Manchanda and S. Sriram takes a deep dive into all of the side effects of online… Read More »
Delivering bad news in a caring way — and coping with a patient’s reaction — is a key skill for doctors. Researchers at U-M and Medical Cyberworlds, Inc. are studying how virtual human technology helps medical students learn the best approaches. MPathic-VR, a computer application, allows students to talk with emotive, computer-based virtual humans who can see, hear, and react… Read More »
A sweeping study by U-M researchers of an internet communication mechanism common in mobile devices has revealed that so-called ‘open ports’ are much more vulnerable to security breaches than previously thought. The vulnerability is most pronounced in Android apps that let users share data across devices and connect to their phones from their computers. One app, called Wifi… Read More »
On April 13, a panel of experts discussed the development of international cyberspace norms. The event was part of the Dissonance, an ongoing speaker series that explores timely topics at the confluence of technology, law, privacy, and security. Watch the recording Event highlights Discussion points included what constitutes responsible state behavior in cyberspace, the differences between physical attacks and cyberattacks,… Read More »
IT4U74: Windows 10 Features and Changes. Friday, May 5, 9-9:45 am. Windows 10 will soon be the default operating system for new and rebuilt Windows computers. Jen Mruk (ITS) orients you to the new look and feel, interface updates, Windows 10 storage changes–and options. Learn Windows 10 tips and tricks to enhance your everyday workflow. Register at https://goo.gl/4hJkdu.
Buckle up your backpack for a futuristic ride through U-M’s new world of cyber-learning. Imagine being able to predict how students will perform in class and then helping them achieve more. Picture students learning policy development by acting as stakeholders in simulated political events. Envision an online platform that can mentor a whole new generation of civil rights… Read More »
Pauline Jones, director of the U-M International Institute, is passionate about the need for education around some of the most complex topics in the world, like Islam. “Islam is much more than a religion. It’s also a civilization, a variety of cultural traditions and sometimes a basis for political ideologies,” said Jones. “Its diversity, complexity, and geographical expansiveness makes it… Read More »
A cardiologist created a computer simulation of a patient’s blood flow, helping surgeons locate the best placement of a stent to address her rare heart condition. Students and faculty developed a mobile app that helps predict which Flint neighborhoods are at high risk of having lead-contaminated water. And an engineer is using predictive models based on high volumes… Read More »
Barry Fishman, known for his gameful learning approach to teaching, has been named Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year by the Michigan Association of State Universities. Fishman, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Learning Technologies, teaches in both the School of Information and the School of Education, and is director of the Undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Information Program.… Read More »
As a reminder, U-M subscribes to the “Gartner for Technical Professionals” (GTP) online research service, which is available to U-M staff in IT job families. (See the list below for some of the latest relevant GTP research.) To access these documents please log in to the Gartner service via the U-M Library: https://www.lib.umich.edu/database/gartner. Once authenticated, copy and paste the document… Read More »
Jarrod Sandel (Michigan Medicine IT service desk manager), Lisa Callihan (LSA IT customer experience manager) and DePriest Dockins (ITS Identity and Access Management assistant director) participated in the Help Desk Institute (HDI) “Motown Summer Internships, Co-Ops and Mentoring the Next Generation” panel discussion. The meeting, which took place March 9 in Southfield, focused on creating a learning opportunity for all… Read More »