Reimagining Enriching Scholarship
The Teaching and Technology Collaborative (TeachTech) at U-M has started planning for an online 2021 Enriching Scholarship Conference. Here’s what you can expect.
Author Archives: News Staff
Ready to Go Blue offers faculty tech support, resources for winter term
The Teaching and Technology Collaborative (TTC) has curated a set of resources and workshops as part of the Ready To Go Blue (R2GB) initiative to help faculty prepare for teaching this upcoming winter term.
U-M rolls out updated ResponsiBLUE app
The ResponsiBLUE application has been updated and expanded for the winter 2021 semester. U-M first launched ResponsiBLUE during the fall 2020 semester to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, aid in circulating public health knowledge, and ensure student safety. University Information and Technology Services developed ResponsiBLUE in partnership with the university leadership and the Office of Research. The app, which… Read More »
Social exclusion, career limitations hinder LGBTQ STEM professionals
According to new research from U-M, LGBTQ professionals’ pride in their science, technology, engineering, and math work is not reciprocated. These STEM professionals are more likely to experience career limitations, social exclusion and harassment, and devaluation of their scientific and technical knowledge than their non-LGBTQ peers.
45% of adults over 65 lack online medical accounts, which could affect COVID-19 vaccination
Many health systems are using patient portals for vaccine scheduling, but many older adults may need help setting up accounts, especially those with lower incomes and education levels.
Inspired to create: U-M alumnae and the world of international tech start ups
When you think of tech startup companies, what comes to mind? Is it Silicon Valley, black turtlenecks, and billion-dollar IPOs? Or perhaps something about college drop-outs and the proverbial idiosyncrasies of “tech-bro culture”? While stereotypes can be helpful for getting the big picture of things, when you look more closely they’re often misleading caricatures, and this has proven especially true in the case of the tech industry.
Watch: SI’s Cliff Lampe on social media shutdowns
The move by Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat to remove or suspend President Donald Trump’s accounts and decisions by Google, Apple and Amazon that led to a shutdown of Parler continues to bring questions about the unchecked power of social media and the future of the platforms. Watch the video or read excerpts from the interview with Professor of… Read More »
Dell to be U-M’s new strategic supplier for computer hardware
Dell Technologies has been selected as U-M’s new strategic supplier for computer hardware, which includes laptops, PCs, monitors, keyboards and other equipment. The new contract goes into effect Jan. 18 and replaces the current HP contract. Dell was selected by a cross-functional team composed of representatives from the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses as well as Michigan… Read More »
Does Canvas allow faculty to track students online?
Learning management systems like Canvas allow faculty to see some student activity. But UM-Dearborn’s Coordinator of Digital Education Chris Casey says it’s far from being a surveillance system. The rumor he hears most often is that faculty can see if students open other browser tabs or websites outside of Canvas. “This one is definitely false,” Casey says, noting… Read More »
How computer science is changing education
U-M researchers are taking on the big challenges to integrating computing into everyone’s education: Under a grant from the National Science Foundation, Mark Guzdial, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and his colleagues have launched a program that integrate the use of task-specific computer science tools that will allow high school students to build data visualizations into… Read More »
Hacking reality
Where does “computer” end, and “real world” begin? This line, separated so firmly in our minds by apps and user interfaces, is finer than it appears as our devices are under attack in new, increasingly sophisticated ways: microphones that “hear” light; microprocessors that “tell” us secrets; self-driving cars that “see” fake objects; sensors that “feel” the wrong temperature.… Read More »
Precision health in the palm of your hand
Precision health takes into account variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each person. Huge amounts of data are being collected and analyzed to manage our care, but results can be slow in coming, and the wait between testing and diagnosis can be days or weeks. However, recent breakthrough developments in technologies are poised to deliver a new… Read More »
COVID forced psychiatric care online, and many patients want it to stay there, study finds
A year ago, trying to find patients who would agree to see their Michigan Medicine mental health provider through a video screen felt like pulling teeth. But on March 23, all non-urgent health care across the state of Michigan shut down to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Video chats and phone calls became (and remain) the only way… Read More »
Building a testing-free future
Testing is a cornerstone of quality software design. And yet, it’s time consuming, labor and resource intensive, and extremely difficult to do exhaustively. In fact, most software in use today is so complex that thorough testing is practically impossible. A group of researchers from U-M envision a smarter alternative: why not let math do the heavy lifting of… Read More »
$9.95M for ‘smart intersections’ across Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor will soon be home to more than 20 “smart intersections”—capable of gathering and transmitting information in real time to connected cars—as part of a University of Michigan effort to demonstrate the safety potential of connected and automated vehicles. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration has awarded U-M $9.95 million toward the effort, which will… Read More »
Michigan Medicine launches Fluency Direct speech recognition technology
Beginning this month, Michigan Medicine will launch a speech recognition technology called Fluency Direct. Michigan Medicine is retiring Dragon services effective Feb. 3 and Phone Transcription services effective Feb. 15. “Michigan Medicine has seen a steady decline in phone transcription users, but still incurs substantial per-line transcription costs and fixed vendor costs,” said Jeff Terrell, professor of otolaryngology.… Read More »
Managing your digital life
“Digital archiving” might sound like something best left to trained professionals, but with so much of our lives online — photos, videos, financial records, audio recordings, creative projects — we’re all engaged in it these days, if only by neglect. To help people become more purposeful about the organization and preservation of their digital lives, Scott Witmer, digital preservation… Read More »
Patient rounds: Ages-old care & learning concept gets technology upgrade, international collaboration
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
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)
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 »