The University of Michigan-Flint is helping its campus community work and learn remotely in a wide variety of ways. Office of Extended Learning director Nicholas Gaspar and Information Technology Services director Scott Arnst shared an update on support services in a Q&A with University Communications & Marketing. For example, the Office of Extended Learning (OEL), in conjunction with… Read More »
In a matter of days, the coronavirus forced everything to change at the University of Michigan. To promote public safety and to “flatten the curve,” the university determined all courses needed to move online for the remainder of the semester, and faculty had two working days to make that happen. The response from faculty, students, and staff was… Read More »
Alfred Hero, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, has been working on predicting health and disease of people exposed to infectious viral pathogens since early 2007. His research uses machine learning to help discover genes in whole blood that can be used to detect early signs of acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI), as well as improve the… Read More »
As classes moved online last week and most UM-Dearborn staff started working from home, one vital part of campus life was left mostly on the sidelines in the wake of new social distancing measures: in-person university events disappeared from the calendar. Dean of Students Amy Finley says that was a particularly big blow to students and student organizations. But… Read More »
Scammers are taking advantage of the fear and uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 coronavirus. Some of the most common scams include: Fraudulent cure and treatment offers Fake charities Misinformation from scammers posing as experts Phishing Tracking maps that trick you into downloading malware See Coronavirus Scams on Safe Computing for more details. ITS Information Assurance is keeping the page… Read More »
As the U-M community adjusts to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are working from home and connecting online with colleagues, often for the first time. Information and Technology Services (ITS) responded with urgency to help students, faculty, and staff host lectures, access university resources, collaborate with colleagues, and continue to support the university from home. Strong networks In… Read More »
This month, I am sharing information on some providers that have extended their services and are offering free upgrades to help users being impacted by COVID-19. As you know, each day is different and companies are doing their best to keep up with demand. This list only covers some services that I am currently aware of, so keep… Read More »
At the beginning of March, Google announced they would extend temporary access to some premium Hangouts Meet features until July 1, 2020. These features are now available within the U-M domain: Increased participant limit of 250 participants per video call Livestream a video call (up to 100,000 viewers) Record a video call Important: U-M Google is not HIPAA-compliant. Review the Sensitive Data Guide for types of data permitted… Read More »
Across the world, working from home has become a necessity. When you are working from home, follow IT security best practices to protect yourself and U-M: Secure your computer, smartphone, and other devices. Secure your connections to protect data you send and receive. Beware of phishing, scams, fraud, and other tricks and traps. Protect sensitive U-M data by… Read More »
To better accommodate the need for team-based chat and collaboration, Google Hangouts Chat is now available for use at U-M. Hangouts Chat is a G Suite for Education core service. It is free and covered under U-M’s agreement with Google and also can be used for certain kinds of sensitive data. It should not be used for protected… Read More »
Living rooms around the world can become places to learn how to start a business for social impact or to peek inside a museum to see homemade ancient wooden toy horses from Roman Egypt. U-M is providing multiple opportunities to learn and explore online while staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic: U-M’s art and performance organizations and… Read More »
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) advances around the world, a growing number of researchers are using computational models to estimate this spread. Among the first to publish on the subject is a team of Hong Kong- and China-based researchers that includes University of Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS) research fellow Qianying Lin. For the past several weeks,… Read More »
ITS has announced a new option for connecting remotely: Zoom Videoconferencing. Training will be held March 19 with a recording to be published afterward.
In support of attending classes, events, and meetings virtually, ITS will host virtual BlueJeans training and drop-in sessions. Live sessions begin March 12 and continue through the month, with recordings to be published afterward.
The average person touches their smartphone more than 2,000 times a day, surveys have shown. Also, people tend to carry their phones everywhere with them, including the bathroom where most contamination happens. So it’s not surprising that phones can harbor lots of bacteria and germs. Wiping your phone or cleaning it with soap and a little water, or preventing your phone… Read More »
On January 31, 2019, the midwestern United States experienced a period of extremely cold temperatures that drove wind chills to as low as -57°F. In response, U-M and many other academic institutions in the area canceled classes for two or more days. “I teach an introductory course titled Extreme Weather. It seemed wrong to allow such a teachable… Read More »