This post is mainly written for the fine IT staff at the College of Public Programs, but if you’re an ASU student and need access to ASU’s AFS servers (more commonly referred to as My Docs), here’s what you do:
In a terminal running as root (you may need to type sudo su and enter the root password):
In the installation process, when you’re presented with the “AFS cell this workstation belongs to” dialog, type in
asu.edu
The next dialog asks about the local AFS cache on your workstation. The default is 50,000KB. I normally accept this proposal.
OpenAFS and Kerberos are now installing themselves on your computer. The process takes about 5-10 minutes depending on your hardware. Quick note, however: the install will look like it’s hung. It hasn’t; it’s just OpenAFS installing its kernel modules into DKMS.
Find krb5.conf at /etc/krb5.conf. Copy krb5.conf from another ASU machine, click here to download it, or modify it manually to contain:
Now the tedious part. Making sure you’re not root, each time you want to authenticate into AFS, in a terminal, run:
kinit asurite -l 1d
being sure to replace “asurite” with your actual ASURite ID. You’ll be prompted to enter your password – it’s the same password you use to authenticate to other ASU services. Then:
aklog
And now you’re in! If you have problems, then run (as root):
/etc/init.d/openafs-client restart
and if that fails, then check your network connectivity by going to a website like asu.edu.
Now, where are my files? Each ASU student gets 4 GB of storage space that can be used for anything, really, but it’s most commonly used with My Apps. If your ASURite id is “asurite”, then your space is accessed at /afs/asu.edu/users/a/s/u/asurite (note the three one-letter folders that correspond to the first three letters of your ASURite id.
And that’s it! Whenever a new kernel is released, DKMS will automatically rebuild the OpenAFS kernel modules into that new kernel. It sure saves the hassle of having to rebuild the kernel modules by hand.
One of the most emergent technologies out there is the rise of cloud computing. It is something that I’m working on in seeing how our College can embrace it. A lot of stuff that we use is out there “on the cloud.” The most popular is Facebook. There are a lot of computers that power the Facebook servers and enable you to hit “refresh” every 5-10 seconds.
If one uses an online storage service like Apple’s MobileMe or Amazon’s S3, then one’s files are said to be stored “on the cloud.”
In non-technical terms, cloud computing is computing resources that are distributed on a network. Here’s a better definition from Educause:
Cloud computing is the delivery of scalable IT resources over the Internet, as opposed to hosting and operating those resources locally, such as on a college or university network. Those resources can include applications and services, as well as the infrastructure on which they operate. [source]
There’s an interesting debate happening on The Economist’s website, economist.com. With any emerging technology, there are those who are quick to jump on its bandwagon and there are those who are cautious and not so keen to adopt that technology.
It’s a debate that I’m going to follow in the coming days and I’ll have their arguments summarized when the debate finishes in the coming week. For now, why don’t you join in the debate by clicking here.
A while back, I promised myself and my fellow students in my NLM501 class why they should know about Google Docs and why they should use it, even if just for a few things and not as their main office suite. The biggest drawback to Google Docs or any software-as-a-service (read: online) office suite is that you must always be connected to the Internet to access your data. In this day and age when it seems like society cannot escape the presence of the Internet, it might not be a big issue. But for those few times, it might.
So, why should you know about Google Docs? First, what is Google Docs? Here’s a quick video from Google outlining their service:
The video outlines the big feature: real-time collaboration. In the case above, authors collaborated on a newsletter. In the academic setting, one can be working on one part of a document while another works on a different part. The changes are seen by all in real time. For a class, it works wonders. For research projects, you’ll wonder how you existed before it. In the Fall 2008 semester, I co-authored a research paper with someone in Canada. Between Google Docs and Skype (more on this in a later post), we collaborated as though we were sitting next to each other.
But there are other reasons to use Google Docs as well. Your documents are available from any computer in the world that’s connected to the Internet. This is big. You don’t have to worry about bringing the correct flash disk. Upload your document to Google Docs and it’s saved there in the cloud. If you’re working on something that isn’t a document, spreadsheet, or presentation, you can upload files as PDFs and the same principle applies. Over the summer, I was in the Camerata Singers, and our practice scores were shared over Google Docs in PDF form. Instead of a lot of attachments floating around,
This leads me to some unusual uses of Google Docs. Users can create forms where the data populates onto a spreadsheet. For a Statistics class project, I created a three-question form that asked age, length of time in Arizona, and affiliation at ASU (student, faculty/staff). The link to the form was sent out to a few students and ASU departments, and within an hour, our group had more data than we could imagine. I then exported that spreadsheet to SPSS and our team ran a lot of statistical analyses.
One of the cool things about Google Docs is that it can convert scanned images of text (e.g. from books) into editable text. This feature is very much in beta at the moment and it’s not even fully-supported, but this is worth keeping one’s eyes opened. The problems with OCR software are twofold: the software is expensive and it takes a lot of system resources to run. With Google’s extensive server network in the cloud coupled with free access, this is wonderful. [Full disclaimer: I haven't tried it out yet but a few have. For more info, check out this post on the Digital Inspiration blog.]
By way of preface, this post is sort of a semantical rant on the state of online learning (or e-learning). I have the unique perspective of working on both ends of the spectrum: having taken courses that are partially (or fully) online to helping faculty and staff in the ASU College of Public Programs develop online learning courses. What’s more, I work with Dr. Colleen Carmean, who knows a thing or two about e-learning best practices.
What really inspired me to write this post was the discovery that the assessments (read: quiz) feature of Blackboard (ASU’s course management system) is incompatible with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8. And then I got to thinking about the big questions of the Internet: the whys and the hows. Over the summer, I was enrolled in a non-ASU online course (the institution shall remain nameless for its sake) that required the use of Internet Explorer and whose accompanying e-textbook was solely for Windows environments.
I understand that I’m in the minority of home computer users: I solely run Ubuntu (a Debian-basedLinux distribution) on my machines. A few programs I use still require Windows, and so I have a virtualized installation of Windows XP on two of my machines that I can call up whenever I need (but if and only if they don’t work in WINE). But in the end, I’d like not to use Windows or have my computer masquerade around as Windows. If the world is moving more toward the Internet, shared knowledge, and cloud computing, then shouldn’t the operating system be irrelevant?
But here’s the big question: Isn’t the point of the Internet (let alone distributed learning and shared knowledge) that it transcends operating systems and Internet browsers? Isn’t that why we have standards like HTML (hypertext markup language)?
Forget Internet Explorer and its slow adoption of Internet standards. Forget the fact that some instructors and institutions mandate certain computing requirements for their courses. As I see it, if an instructor is going to have an online course or if an institution is going to mandate an online course management system, then it shouldn’t just support 90% of computers (read: those that use Windows). It shouldn’t just support the big two operating systems (read: Windows or Macintosh). It should support the entire realm of computing, so the Windows-based instructor can talk to their Ubuntu-based student who can in turn talk to others in class who run Macintosh or Windows.
At the macro level, the Internet, it seems, is a standard. All browsers should support 100% of that standard. Enabling “compatibility modes” in an Internet browser seems silly and stupid, as IE8 users in Blackboard must do.
Today’s State Press (the ASU student-produced daily newspaper) ran an article on emerging technologies that are beginning to be embraced in the classroom. The College of Public Programs‘ own Dr. Colleen Carmean had a few thoughts for the article:
ASU professors are moving away from traditional lecture classes and incorporating technology like YouTube, Skype, Twitter and instant messaging into the learning process.
In an attempt to identify with technology-literate students and simplify teacher-student interaction beyond the classroom, instructors are incorporating more social media into their curriculums, said Colleen Carmean, director of Information Technology Services at the College of Public Programs.
One media tool Carmean called adventurous and fun is the ability to instantly comment on classroom discussions using Twitter, a micro-blogging Web site.
Carmean recommended students bring their laptops to class and chat in real time as a form of participation in lecture classes.
“If it’s going on the screen behind the instructor, it allows everyone to be thinking, sharing, contributing and participating,” Carmean said.
“Social media has changed teaching from a broadcast media to a facilitating media where we’re looking to students to create and form and contribute their beliefs about what is true.”
Something that isn’t really that publicized is ASU’s Online Applications service. I learned about it by accident, really. Without getting into the specifics of how it works, you go to apps.asu.edu, select which program you want to run, and that program runs on ASU’s powerful servers but displays on your monitor, saves to your computer (or ASU’s file storage service), and prints to your printers.
The magic of the Internet, no?
Practically every program a student at ASU could use is hosted. For starters, there’s the Microsoft Office 2007 suite, the Adobe Creative Suite (includes Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat), various statistical software (like SPSS), math software (Mathematica, Maple, and Matlab come to mind), and other useful programs.
Another cool thing is that your computer doesn’t have to run Windows. The client program, Citrix, is available for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux (all distributions). On my computers, I run Ubuntu (a Linux distribution), and so it’s nice to be able to run familiar Windows applications. But if you’re running the Linux version, the installation isn’t as straightforward as it seems, but I found a really useful guide to get you up and running in no time.
This semester is ASU’s first real semester trying out the new ASU on Facebook application. As this blog reported, it was launched at the close of the Spring 2009 semester by Inigral, a company that develops software for the Facebook platform.
We encourage you to try out the software (go to facebook.asu.edu and follow the instructions). Do note that you’ll be presented with the ASU sign on dialog similar to what you get when logging into your My ASU or Blackboard as this is what connects your Facebook account with your student account.
When you’re not in classes or studying, take some time and explore the system. Let us know what you’re discovering – we’re looking for positives and negatives. And, if you need any guidance, then check out “7 Things You Should Know about ASU on Facebook” at copp.asu.edu/facebook.
The College of Public Programs has entered the social media frenzy. The guiding principle behind our adventure is that our presence should be continuous, engaging, updated frequently and that it should foster discussion. This push into new media is being done for many reasons, but mainly to keep the College visible to students by fostering a sense of connection, belonging and identity. Research evidence is great that 1) this sense of connection aids in recruitment and retainment, and that 2) the next wave of public relations and outreach will be through the use of new social media.
A number of outreach methods are being implemented through the Office of the Dean as a means to this end. Through the Student Ambassadors (StARs) program, current students maintain blogs offering their unedited perspective on student life in the College, at the Downtown Phoenix campus, and even in Downtown Phoenix. The StARs are working on a video series that will introduce new students to their advisors, the campus, and the community in which they will study.
We’re asking your participation to create effective presence in a number of other applications. If you have news, events, deadlines or thought-provoking issues related to life at CoPP, please pass your ideas to any Facebook administrator. The more often we post, the more connected our “fans” will feel to their College.
[author's note: Since April 2009, I've been working with the IT and e-Learning side of the ASU College of Public Programs in a new endeavor that combines my passion for technology and the advancement of learning. Don't get me wrong, I'm still working with the Student Ambassadors (StARs). The StARs group we have assembled at the moment is an energetic, passionate, and eager bunch and I'm humbled and honored to call them all my colleagues and friends. Do please check out what these future world-changers have to say. But this added gig lets me work with CoPP faculty to reach out to new students in newer and more innovative ways.]
[editor's note: At least once a week, we'll try and have an e-learning post online wherein we share our thoughts about technology in the classroom, social media, emerging technologies, and anything of the sort. You can find all these assembled posts under the Online Learning subtheme of the ASU theme.]
About a couple of months ago, ASU announced that it had partnerned with Inigral to bring ASU on Facebook (click to launch), a Facebook application that connects students to each other in the same class, major, school, and college. The application also allows students to connect with instructors, view class schedules and find other students from the same hometown. The premise of ASU on Facebook is that it links a student’s Facebook account to the ASU Student Information System via the ASURite single sign-on (SSO) system.
With the introduction of any new system comes lots of questions. Borrowing from a popular format by Educause, I co-wrote (with Dr. Colleen Carmean) 7 things you should know about ASU on Facebook for the College’s e-Learning team. You can click on the image at right to download a nice 1-page flyer (on legal-size paper, 8.5×14) of what this Facebook application is (and is not) or you can check out a more detailed version on the College’s website, http://copp.asu.edu/facebook. In the context of a hypothetical scenario of Sheila, an undergraduate student in the College’s Social Work program, the flyer outlines the what, who, how, significance, downsides, where, and implications for learning of this new application.
The thing that will be interesting to see is how this ASU on Facebook application works with – and quite possibly even complements – the existing Blackboard course management system. Most students are probably on Facebook more than they are on Blackboard (sadly), so will students treat this new application as though it were Blackboard?
Probably not at the outset. Notably lacking from the ASU on Facebook application – and probably by design – is a system where students can submit their assignments and review their grades. ASU can make people use Blackboard, but it cannot make them create a Facebook profile, the crux of this entire system.
ASU on Facebook is an informal approach to discussion and connection in a course. Since many students already use Facebook, this initiative provides a familiar approach for students seeking connection outside the classroom. Will faculty embrace the initiative, accept course invitations to join their students at ASU on Facebook, and embrace informal course communications? Time will tell.
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