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Archive for the ‘e-infrastructure’ Category

How to prevent a computer from locking

2011/10/08 Leave a comment
  1. If you need to monitor the screen of Windows  computer, but have no time to operate its input devices every so often to prevent the locking policy from kicking in,
  2. check whether you can find help in this thread.
Categories: e-infrastructure Tags: ,

How to add an RSS feed to your Joomla front page

2011/10/06 Leave a comment
  1. Go to Top menu: Extensions / menu item: module manager / upper right corner button: new / radio button: feed display / upper right button: next
  2. Fill out this form, some hints to follow: 
    1. radio button: show title: module name will be displayed on front page,
    2. Position
    3. Order
    4. RTL = Right To Left
    5. title: can give context
    6. image: not if you want a tight display
    7. items: more than 3
  3. joomla-wordpress-newsfeed-module-editor
  4. The resulting feed display looks like this on the Joomla Front Page: 
  5. joomla-wordpress-newsfeed-result1
Categories: audience-is-IT-staff, audience-is-language-learning-center-manager, documentation, e-infrastructure, websites Tags: ,

How to download videos from YouTube.com, and other video sites

2011/10/06 Leave a comment
  1. Don’t know what this institution recommends – here is a list of software that I have accumulated over time  – I stopped a while ago, since there is always something newer coming out -  try googling what is currently most popular.
    1. http://www.viloader.net/addon.htm: You have to click on download, and save the file with the name you want and in the end you have to add .flv that its the video format. Then when the video has been saved to your PC you have to convert the video in a comercial format like wmv, mpg, etc. or download a flv player to be able to see the videos.
    2. Youtube Catcher can download videos from Youtube, Google Video, Myspace Video, Yahoo video Dailymotion Stage6 Veoh. The downloaded videos can be exported to various formats like MPG,AVI, MP4,3GP, 3G2, WMV, PSP, MOV, FLV with the quality you choose: http://www.teknobites.com/2007/08/23/youtube-catcher-youtube-and-other-video-downloader-tool/
    3. zamzar.com
    4. http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/25105,
    5. http://www.googlewatchblog.de/2008/04/13/youtube-video-als-mp4-herunterladen/
    6. MPEG Streamclip can download YouTube files. They  are always opened or downloaded in MP4 (MPEG-4) format, so they can be used in MPEG Streamclip.
    7. this works well as of 8/17/2009 1.Go to http://edtech.nwresd.org/?q=node/157 . You will see the words ""download script"" (in blue – a hyperlink). Right click on that text and then on ""Bookmark this link"" (at least that’s what it says using Mozilla Firefox as a browser). You can move this bookmark within your Bookmarks or Favorites Folder wherever you want. 2.Go to YouTube and locate a video you want to save. While the video is actually playing, go to your Bookmarks Folder and click on the ""download script"" link you saved there.3.Next look in the right hand column on the screen – to the right of the video playing. Just below the section that says URL, and EMBED (right below URL) you will see a text that says download as MP4. 4.Right click on that text and then click on SAVE LINK AS. You can choose where you want the file to be saved and you can even rename the file (for me the default name is ""video""). Just to be sure I’d let the video play to the end before checking to see if it actually where you put it.

      1. if (document.getElementById(‘download-youtube-video’)==null && !!(document.location.href.match(/http:\/\/[a-zA-Z\.]*youtube\.com\/watch/))) {var yt_mp4_path=’http://www.youtube.com/get_video?fmt=18&video_id=’+swfArgs%5B‘video_id’%5D+’&t=’+swfArgs%5B‘t’%5D; var div_embed=document.getElementById(‘watch-embed-div’);if(div_embed){var div_download=document.createElement(‘div’);div_download.innerHTML=’ <br /><span id="\’download-youtube-video\’"><a href="\”+yt_mp4_path+’\’">Download as MP4</a> ‘+ ((navigator.userAgent.indexOf(‘Safari’)!=-1)?'(control-click and select <i>Download linked file as</i>)’:(‘(right-click and select <i>Save ‘+ (navigator.appName==’Microsoft Internet Explorer’?’target’:’link’) +’ as)</i>’))+’</span>’;div_embed.appendChild(div_download);}}void(0)

    8. Updates for the the 2013/4 academic year:
      1. YouTube Center, includes download functionality, more on YouTube center here.
      2. Orbit downloader:
        1. Claims to be a generic downloader, and looks complicated enough to convince me of that Smile .
        2. However, I did not have any luck here, at least I did not find a practical (=automated) way to cobbling these clips together (are media outlets, even if they are under non-US legislation and trying so hard, still bound by the fair use legislation?): image
        3. Also changes your browser home page without asking – I can’t say I like the territory I get myself into with these teacher download requests.
Categories: audience-is-students, audience-is-teachers, e-infrastructure, Film-studies, learning-materials, Media, service-is-learning-materials-creation, software, websites Tags: , ,

How we provide more computer support for walk-up clients at the LRC reception desk

2011/10/05 Leave a comment
  1. We have set up 3 PCs at the reception desk. They all contain an exactly identical software configuration (based on Symantec Ghost imaging and Faronics Deepfreeze).
  2. Except that two (we could not get hold of another monitor) have a secondary screen connected that can extend the Windows Desktop, or mirror it (use CTRL-ALT-F11 and CTRL-ALT-F10 to switch between the modes of the )
  3. coed433-CIMG0001 Stitch
  4. coed433-CIMG0016 (2) Stitch
  5. To aid in this communication over the counter, press CTRL-2 to freeze and on the screen (uses MS-ZoomIt) which helps when pointing out screen elements.
  6. So that LRC staff and clients can both use the university’s most important web applications,  the computers have been configured to automatically launch a number of web browsers on startup, and within each browser, open a number of home pages with(LRC website, Moodle, NINERNET, faculty&staff Mail, WordPress, Excel Web App with he LRC databases for hardware, software, media and learning materials inventories). (When done, instead of closing the browser, use the “sign out” link of each web application).
  7. As a reminder, the most basic instructions (with keyboard shortcuts) have been posted on both primary and secondary monitor.  
  8. Can we also implement a screen sharing solution allowing for MS-remote assistance, to enable reception desk LRC staff to escalate client questions they cannot resolve, like our IT department?
Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, audience-is-language-learning-center-temp-staff, audience-is-teachers, e-infrastructure, Institution-is-University-of-North-Carolina-Charlotte, Reception-desk, software Tags: , , , , ,

Meta: WordPress Categories–what are they good for?

2011/09/29 Leave a comment

wordpress-categories

Not for AND-searches, as a matter of fact.

Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, audience-is-language-learning-center-temp-staff, documentation, e-infrastructure Tags: , ,

How to remove the Calendar by editing the Joomla Menus

2011/09/29 Leave a comment
  1. JEvent was planning to add the capability of loading  ICS for 1.6, but we are running 1.5 and we seem to fade it out instead of upgrading it. It is better anyway for clients use their personal communication environment to personalize the events they need to know about, instead of going to a one-size-fits-all website. So we are removing this menu item. Here is how:
  2. In the Joomla Administrator Control Panel, click on the Menu Manager:joomla-menu-manager
  3. Locate the menu item that you want to remove in the hierarchy.
  4. Open the Menu item – from here you can joomla-menu-editor
    1. either “unpublish” the menu
    2. or, lest you confuse your users, change the type to a page and post an explanation and directions where users can get the information they want in a better way.
    3. replace the Calendar by an Article, then choose first the article format, then the article (article has to exist, you have to author it before editing the menu):joomla-menu-editor-article
    4. Result: joomla-menu-editor-article-result
Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, e-infrastructure Tags: ,

LRC Outlook/Exchange 2010 Resource Calendaring: How LRC staff can group calendars in Outlook 2010

2011/09/28 1 comment
  1. You can save the currently loaded calendars as a preset or “group” from the ribbon in the calendar view of outlook 2010, like so: menu-calendar-group
  2. The group and its members will be added to your calendar tree, and you can load all members with one click, like so:tree-calendar-group
  3. Then you can create multiple presets which correspond to your typical workflows: E.g. when you do not have to check the availability of equivalent sets of equipment, you may want to have an easy overview of staffing in the LRC:   tree-calendar-group-rrooms staffing
  4. Note that – while we have to load individually the calendars of other mailboxes we own –, calendar groups we create in Outlook are automagically mirrored in OWA
    1. But the calendar names get lost in the process? And: the batch select checkbox is missing. And: only up to 5 calendars can be viewed in OWA simultaneously. And: OWA does not support overlay mode for calendars.): owa-tree-calendar-group
    2. It would be great if calendar groups, with the help of ActiveSync, even worked their way through to mobile devices, but apparently they do not: webos-exchange-calendars
Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-manager, audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, e-infrastructure, service-is-library, training Tags: , , , , , , ,

LRC Outlook/Exchange 2010 Resource Calendaring: How to display a Room/Staff/Tutor calendar aggregate at the reception desk using live@edu

2011/09/28 1 comment
  1. The LRC needs an overview aggregate calendar of its many rooms and services for clients in the entrance area. This should be always on display on the higher one of the reception area dual screen computers when screens are in extended mode
  2. From the calendar mailbox in OWA , these calendars can and have been published to the internet.
    1. LRC assistants can load and bookmark multiple (published or shared) calendars in their OWA, but there are limitations
      1. We do not want to clutter LRC Assistants OWA with LRC calendars more than we have to.
      2. OWA displays calendars (currently = 2011) only side-by-side, there is no overlay (=aggregate) mode like in Outlook 2010, and only up to 5 simultaneously, again unlike Outlook 2010 (30) (Students do not have Outlook (although it is being considered installing it on student staffed computers).
    2. A standard web browser allows for display of only one (HTML) calendar at a time in a web browser.
    3. ICS compatible applications like live@edu
    1. can display many (=aggregate) ICS-based calendars in overlay mode.
    2. In addition, it is easy to change the display color (like in Outlook 2010) and display color (unlike in Outlook 2010, for me at least).
    3. In live@edu, this looks promising:
    4. uncc-lrc-calendar-aggregation-with-names
    5. To display more meaningful/less misleading subjects than “Busy” for pseudo-rooms (“offices” like LRC assistants or  language tutors), add a subject (office name “LRC Assistant”or max class-level tutored).
    6. To have LRC assistants easily and consistently load this aggregate calendar view,
      1. we need to give tutors the password to uncc-lrc credentials  – being “friends”  not enough (which makes their own access to SkyDrive which we finally achieved yesterday useless –  unless they log in as themselves and as uncc-lrc in 2 different browsers)
      2. However, I have not found a way to aggregate calendar ics files and display them without password (ideally in Joomla)
      3. Workaround: use a AutoIT auotmation script that runs when LRC Assistant logs in form the All users Startup Folder.
Categories: audience-is-language-learning-center-manager, audience-is-language-learning-center-staff, e-infrastructure, Reception-desk Tags: , , , , , , , , ,