So, here in the Labs & Classrooms Office, we are diligently toiling away at our new computer lab configurations that are going to be deployed onto the labs & classrooms computers across all of Lesley's campuses..
To TEST these machines, we are placing them in various locations around the campus... at the Library, Science Room(s), Kiosks, etc... and if you see one, please feel free to give it a test drive!
If you notice anything kind of suspicious (e.g. a popup, notification, setting, etc.), OR if you want any additional software, please let us know by posting on our facebook page:
http://facebook.com/lesleylabs
Be on the lookout for these labels:
Also,...
I recently wrote a letter to the faculty....
This is Richard Phung, the Labs & Classrooms Coordinator with UT here at Lesley University.
You are receiving this message because our records indicate that you meet at least one of the following criteria:
- You are a fac/staff who has used- or scheduled- one of our computer-equipped classroom(s) in the past year. --- (e.g. Doble 3rd, 4th, Wolf 2nd, Training/Reading Room)
- You are a fac/staff who has used one of our mobile computing resources for checkout for a class or an event. --- (e.g. Laptop Cart, Classroom in a box, Loaner Laptops)
- You are a fac/staff representing a group that oversees/manages kiosk/public-access computer terminals, special purpose computing workstations and/or related facilities. --- (e.g. Library, Math/Science, Media Center)
- You are a fac/staff representing an academic department or academic support entity (for both faculty and students) who use computer tools for learning or content access. --- (e.g. Instructional Support/eLearning, Academic Achievement, Accessibility, etc)
I am writing to fill you in on some innovations that we have made in the Labs & Classrooms Office and to invite you to join me in a collaborative effort to cater to our community with more efficient and better equipped computer tools.
The first major initiative that I have been working on is a Master Image, a customized computer configuration including the Operating System (MacOSX and/or Windows 7) and desktop applications. This Master Image be applied to all Lab & Classroom computers on the Cambridge campuses, thus ensuring that no matter what location the end-users are sitting-down at, they are greeted with the same User Interface and updated desktop environment.
*The 2nd phase of this initiative will be to custom-cater individual area computing resources to fit the needs of certain areas of academic focus.--- Please contact me directly if this is you.
I invite you and your colleagues to participate in our Master Image TEST DRIVE to get a first-hand look at some of the quality of life improvements and next generation configuration!
For this test-drive, I have installed a Vanilla installation on a handful of Dual-Boot iMacs, Dual-Boot MacBook/Pros, and IBM ThinkPad Laptops.
I will be placing these units in public areas/offices, and they will be available in our office for testing between Nov 10-Dec 1.
It would be helpful to take a minute to do the following:
*IF you are a fac/staff and you have your own computing resources, I would be GLAD to install our latest master image on any of your workstations to test-drive (so long as they meet our system requirements). *Please contact me for details.
- Review your curriculum and course materials on the workstations:
- Test your media on the machine (including classroom documents, video/audio, etc)
- Test your web content: webpages, plugins, myLesley, other content sources
- Note any suspicious behavior: pop-ups, dialogs, prompts, etc.
- Leave feedback
The important dates to note:November 10, 2011 - December 1, 2011 - I will be collecting feedback on these computer configurations.
Software purchases must be completed BEFORE December 1. *normally, this is October 1, but we extended it.
Final Master Image(s) completed by: December 7
Final Area-Specific Image(s) completed by: December 13
Early-bird Image Roll-out: December 14 - December 20
Semester ENDS: December 20, 2011
Image Roll-out: *Varied between December 21, 2011 - January 20, 2012 --- *I will post these date/times on a calendar.
Additional Resources:
For information about the computers on the Cambridge Campuses, please visit the Labs & Classrooms website:
http://www.lesley.edu/ut/academic/software_labs_class. html
To see SPECIFICALLY what software is installed on the Master Image, please visit the Labs & Classrooms Image Version History:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en_US&hl= en_US&key= 0Ak0iCSXaWrKadGlCMC11WDVEQ2FJY TBBVFpzX0Vvcmc&output=html
NEW! To see the evolution of the Master Image since 2009, please visit this site:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/pub?id= 1y6O5O1yzmBI7GvKilvxoGFoEJd9Op vsUsAcICmtbz8E&w=960&h=720
Thanks! And look forward to hearing from you soon.
--- Richard Phung, EdM
Labs & Classrooms Coordinator
University Technology
And there you have it!
