Category Archives: Top Stories

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Dissonance events explore tech-based policy and legal subjects

Technology changes at an ever-increasing rate, almost always outstripping policy, privacy, security, and legal considerations. ITS Information Assurance (IA) collaborates with faculty, researchers, students, and external industry experts to create a forum, Dissonance, for public discourse on the tensions surrounding technology, policy, privacy, security, and law.

Med student challenges: How HITS combats graduation confusion

There is a growing need for assistance as medical students transition from medical school to other institutions for research or residency programs. Issues such as access to email, U-M Box, and MiChart are relevant worries as more than 150 students near their graduation dates. A recent medical school graduate, Balaji Pandian, also the M4 class’ medical technical representative,… Read More »

MACC network power validation aims to improve reliability

The Network and Data Center (DC) teams recently partnered to perform a power validation for the network devices at the Michigan Academic Computing Center (MACC). The focus of the effort was to conduct a field audit to evaluate the current state of the network device power, identify areas of improvement, and make recommendations for future changes. This validation… Read More »

Profiles in IT: Mahathy Kuchibhatla—Patient Portal expert

Michigan IT News recently interviewed Health Information Technology and Services staffer Mahathy Kuchibhatla, M.S., about her work building and managing the Patient Portal (MyUofMHealth.org). An undergraduate project that used Artificial Intelligence got her interested in computers that has led to a 10-year career in IT that improves patient engagement. Tell us about your background. I have a master’s… Read More »

Unizin institutions join pilot of learning analytics tools developed by U-M

The University of Michigan, Indiana University, and the University of Iowa have announced an initiative to coordinate on a joint pilot of the My Learning Analytics (MyLA) tools that have been developed at U-M and leverage the new Unizin Data Platform. MyLA is a set of visualizations designed to promote metacognition, facilitate self-regulated learning, and provide students deeper… Read More »

M-Write: A model of campus technology and academic collaboration

In fall 2018, Information and Technology Services became the sole technical supporter of M-Write, a program designed to apply “writing-to-learn” pedagogies in university courses. The move represented the culmination of a multi-year journey that provides a model of how campus technology and academic units can collaborate successfully to support teaching and learning. M-Write helps students develop a deep… Read More »

How a simple question grew into a vision for a data-informed future

Some of you may have heard folks from ITS talking about the “Where’s Our Data?” effort that spun up around seven months ago and probably wondered: What exactly does that mean? When our new VPIT-CIO Ravi Pendse arrived on campus last August, he spent several months listening to the U-M community about IT needs and asking questions. With… Read More »

BlueJeans key to success for distance learning partnership in Rwanda

In October 2017, Michigan IT News reported on videoconferencing that enables clinical education in Ethiopia as part a project led by Center for International Reproductive Health Training at the University of Michigan (UM-CIRHT). The year after, UM-CIRHT launched a two-year project with the University of Rwanda. The partnership strengthens family planning training and builds student and faculty capacity… Read More »

Profiles in IT: Mike Marable—Microsoft magician

Mike Marable is the operating system (OS) deployment architect and a senior engineer for the Configuration Manager group at Michigan Medicine, leading Microsoft systems engineering for Health Information Technology & Services (HITS). He has been invited to speak this May at the annual Midwest Management Summit (MMS), an international technical conference where systems management professionals come from all… Read More »

Student Explorer helps advisors target at-risk students

Advisors at U-M have a very important job: they serve as a one-stop resource for students as they navigate U-M and their academic experience. Their portfolios span from helping students stay on track to graduate, to connecting them to resources that allow them to explore new interests, and more. With large caseloads of students and days filled with… Read More »