Highlighting services and resources each semester

Thanks to everyone who attended our informational, but fun, fall study break!

Student Tech News

Spring 2018

Contents

• OIT Services
• Graduating? Rice Email and Google Drive Ends
• Google Team Drive
• YouTube Access via Rice Google
• Two Factor Authentication and Duo
• Mudd Operations Center Hours Change
• Duplex Printer Refunds
• Tell Your OIT Ambassador Your Suggestions
• Software Available to Rice Community
• OIT Help Desk

OIT Services

Happy spring from the Office of Information Technology (OIT)! If you have computing problems or need technology advice, the OIT Help Desk is ready to help. OIT College Ambassadors will keep you updated about technology issues and events as well as listen to your ideas and complaints. And if you haven’t already, take our undergraduate survey and give us feedback on our services.

Graduating?

Rice Email Address and Google Drive Ends

Seniors, if you haven’t already, set up your alumni account via the Alumni Relations office and begin using it on your applications, resume, and RiceLink profile.  Your NetID email account through Google will be deactivated in the fall.

Also, any Google docs that you have created will be deleted and items that you have shared will no longer be accessible by others once your NetID is deactivated. (Unless you convert them to Google Team Drive, see next article.) Consider this if you’ve got documents in the Google Drive cloud for a class project, your campus job, research for a faculty member, or for a student organization or college.  If you created a document and your account is deleted, no one will be able to view it. Take a quick inventory and get others who will have future needs to use your documents to make a copy. You can learn how to save your Google Drive documents in the KB or KnowledgeBase.

Google Team Drive

Google Team Drive has been enabled for Rice students, faculty, and staff. Team Drive improves the process of collaborating on documents by permitting all team members to share ownership of a drive and its files.

Google Team Drives are shared spaces where teams can easily store, search, and access their files anywhere, from any device. You can access files from your computer using any web browser or you can install the mobile application to access your files from your Android or iOS mobile device. While files stored on Google Drive, also known as My Drive, are owned by the Google Drive owner, the files stored in a Team Drive belong to the team instead of an individual.

Team Drive is ideal for groups of colleagues who often collaborate on documents together, such as work groups or project teams. Anyone can create a Google Team Drive and share ownership of that Drive — as well as any documents stored there —making it easy for all team members to share in the responsibility of organizing and maintaining the files. Team members can be added or removed from the Team Drive at any time. When a team member is removed from the group, all of the files remain in the Team Drive so that the team can continue to share information and complete necessary work.

For more information, see the Knowledgebase article on Google Team Drive.

YouTube Access via Rice Google

YouTube access for Rice faculty, staff, and students using their Rice Google accounts has been enabled.  As a result, you will have the ability to access and upload content to YouTube without having to use a non-Rice account (i.e. personal Google account).

Usage of YouTube must comply with university policies regarding protecting confidential and sensitive information (Policy 808) and the appropriate use of information technology (Policy 832) as well as applicable local, state, and federal laws, including, but not limited to, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Copyright Act (Title 17 of US Code).  It may also be useful to read over YouTube’s terms of service.  Furthermore, all student use of these accounts is subject to the expectations in Code of Student Conduct, which includes the Sexual Misconduct Policy; these are available at SJP.rice.edu.

If you have any questions or need help accessing YouTube using your Rice Google account, contact the OIT Help Desk (713-348-HELP (4357), helpdesk@rice.edu).

Two Factor Authentication and Duo

OIT has been investigating methods to improve the security of accessing Rice accounts using two factor authentication, or 2FA, with the tool Duo Security. After the successful completion of a pilot test, OIT has expanded availability to the entire campus (read recent email announcement).

The first campus service to utilize 2FA is MyNetID (https://mynetid.rice.edu), which is the Rice online account management system that allows individuals to apply for and manage their Rice accounts and passwords. Two-factor authentication adds a second layer of protection to Rice accounts on top of your password. Verifying your identity using a second factor (such as your smart phone or other mobile device) prevents anyone but you from logging in to your account, even if someone knows your password. With the number of hacking attempts on the rise, it is important to ensure the safety and security of Rice data (including your personal data).  Two-factor authentication can help ensure that critical university systems are only accessed by authorized users.

More communication will be sent to the campus as this project progresses or check out the project update web pages. Individuals who enroll in Duo will be required to use Duo on all the systems Rice installs with Duo authentication. Read more in the OIT Knowledgebase: Duo Enrollment Guide and other Duo Documents.

Mudd Operations Center Hours Change

OIT changed the Mudd Lab Operation Center hours to:

• Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 pm
• Saturday and Sunday: noon – 4:00 p.m.

The plotters in Mudd Lab are located in the Operations Center. These printers are attended by OIT staff, who place printouts outside the Operations Center window in the Mudd Lab lobby when they are on duty.  You can access the lobby anytime to pick up your printouts although you will need to use your Rice ID after the building is locked. Please note that there is no access to new printouts when the Operations Center is closed. Your comments to helpdesk@rice.edu will help us evaluate these schedule changes.

Duplex Printing Refunds

In February, students were notified of inaccuracies in pricing for duplex black printing on lab printers. Refunds have been submitted to the Cashier’s Office. Report any future inconsistencies that you suspect to the OIT Help Desk. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank the Thresher for alerting us about the billing error.

Tell Your OIT Ambassador Your Suggestions

OIT hires an ambassador in each college to help spread the word on computing alerts and services to students. Ambassadors are also the eyes and ears for OIT in the colleges. So if you have ideas on how to improve OIT services, tell your ambassador so they can let us know. Or if you prefer, send an email directly to helpdesk@rice.edu.

Software Available to Rice Community

Rice University has a variety of software products that are licensed for university-owned computers as well as products that are available for personally-owned computers of faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduates. Several of these products are paid for centrally while others are available at a discounted price. Before your next purchase, be sure to check the online listings (undergraduates  and faculty, staff, and graduate students).

OIT Help Desk

We can help with computer questions or problems!

helpdesk@rice.edu
713-348-HELP (4357)
(9 am – 5 pm, M-F, except holidays)
http://helpdesk.rice.edu
Mudd 103

Or check out the OIT KnowledgeBase (http://kb.rice.edu), an easy-to-search source of instructions about the services and tools supported by OIT.

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https://www.facebook.com/RiceOIT/

Stay up-to-date on advice, news, and events.

This article is a reposting of an email message.

To: Rice Students

From: Mike Dewey, Director of OIT Campus Services

Sent: February 12, 2018

Subject: Print refunds for black and white Owlnet printing (duplex only)

Dear students,

It was brought to our attention by the Thresher that there could be an issue with print charges around duplex (double-sided) printing in black ink. Upon investigation, we did indeed find that the settings for the billing of duplex printing had been improperly set for the 2017 fall semester. The incorrect charge applies only to Office of Information (OIT)-supported printers (sometimes referred to as Owlnet printers). We apologize for this oversight in our billing process and have taken the following actions:

1. On Feb. 2 we corrected the billing settings on the duplex printers and are now correctly charging 7 cents for double-sided (duplex) print jobs in black ink.
2. We will refund the overcharges to each student for duplex printing from July 1, 2017, to Feb. 2, 2018. We will submit the refunds to the Cashier’s Office on February 14^th.
3. We have updated our KnowledgeBase to clearly reflect what the charges should be for each printer. The article is at https://kb.rice.edu/page.php?id=71577.
4. We have implemented a process to check settings to proactively detect issues if any were to arise.

Moving forward, if you suspect a billing error like this, please report it to the Help Desk at #4357 or at helpdesk@rice.edu so we may resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and we thank the Thresher for alerting us about the billing error. We hope you will continue to use our Owlnet printers and take advantage of the special rate for duplex printing in black ink that is intended to save you money and use less paper, which also benefits the environment.

Sincerely,

Mike

Mike Dewey – Director – Campus Services

OIT’s Undergraduate Internship Program 2018

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is excited to provide internships for Rice students planning a career in the IT industry.

The OIT’s Undergraduate Internship Program is a paid and intensive internship offering Rice students an opportunity to work closely with senior systems analysts, software engineers and systems directors at OIT, and receive an inside look at their potential career path and gain valuable hands-on experience as a professional in the IT field. The program is both professionally and academically beneficial.

Internship Goals

• Gain practical and professional experience in the IT field.

• Further develop data science skills and expertise.

• Gain knowledge of technology stacks behind successful web projects and how to choose a technology stack for web application development.

• Explore career opportunities – participants can gain insights into the daily operations inside OIT and hands-on
experience as a professional in the IT field.

• Find Mentors – senior systems analysts, software engineers and systems directors at OIT can help guide participants through the internship program and expose participants to opportunities to which they can aspire.

Eligibility Requirements

• Currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science or related area of study.

• Must be enrolled in Rice University during time of internship.

• Completed at least one semester at the university to qualify for an internship.

• Able to commit 40 hours per week in the summer.

• Ethics, integrity, and sound professional judgment.

• Strong problem solving skills with the ability to analyze and interpret data.

• Excellent communication and organizational skills.

• Ability to learn new technical skills as needed.

• Other required skills per specific job description.

Online Application Process

http://jobs.financialaid.rice.edu

Additional Information

• Interns will participate in training during the first week of the internship. This training program will expose interns to our culture and provide a knowledgebase to draw upon throughout the remainder of the internship and beyond.

• Compensation – Interns receive a competitive salary based on skill level.

Summer 2018

40 hours per week

5 – 12 weeks

Schedule:  8 am – 5 pm

On campus: Ryon Lab

Internships

• GlobusFTP API Developer

• Drupal Plugin and Web Video API Developer

Specific qualifications and more information on roles and responsibilities for each internship are online (http://jobs.financialaid.rice.edu).

About OIT

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is the university’s central technology provider, supporting research, academic and administrative systems, other core applications and voice, network, and computing infrastructure for the Rice community. OIT is an integral part of Rice committed to supporting the university’s mission through innovative uses of technology and service excellence.

OIT’s Graduate Student Internship Program 2018

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is currently seeking Rice graduate students planning a career in the IT industry for summer 2018 internships.

The OIT’s Graduate Student Internship Program is a paid and intensive internship offering Rice graduate students an
opportunity to work closely with senior systems analysts, software engineers and systems directors at OIT, and receive an inside look at their potential career path and gain valuable hands-on experience as a professional in the IT field. The program is both professionally and academically beneficial.

Internship Goals

• Gain practical and professional experience in the IT field.

• Further develop data science skills and expertise.

• Gain knowledge of technology stacks behind successful web projects and how to choose a technology stack for web application development.

• Explore career opportunities – participants can gain insights into the daily operations inside OIT and hands-on
experience as a professional in the IT field.

• Find Mentors – senior systems analysts, software engineers and systems directors at OIT can help guide participants through the internship program and expose participants to opportunities to which they can aspire.

Eligibility Requirements

• Currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Computer Science or related area of study.

• Must be enrolled in Rice University during time of internship.

• Completed at least one semester at the university to qualify for an internship.

• Able to commit 40 hours per week in the summer.

• Ethics, integrity, and sound professional judgment.

• Strong problem solving skills with the ability to analyze and interpret data.

• Excellent communication and organizational skills.

• Ability to learn new technical skills as needed.

• Other required skills per specific job description.

Online Application Process

Apply online through February 28 via the Rice Job Board:

http://jobs.financialaid.rice.edu

Additional Information

• Interns will participate in training during the first week of the internship. This training program will expose interns to our culture and provide a knowledgebase to draw upon throughout the remainder of the internship and beyond.

• Compensation – Interns receive a competitive salary based on skill level.

Summer 2018

40 hours per week

5 – 12 weeks

Schedule:  8 am – 5 pm

On campus: Cambridge Office Building or Ryon Lab

Internships

• Full Stack Web Developer

• uPortal Developer

• Web Application Developer

• Database & Analytics

• Web API Programmer

• Drupal Plugin Programmer

Specific qualifications and more information on roles and responsibilities for each internship are online (http://jobs.financialaid.rice.edu).

About OIT

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is the university’s central technology provider, supporting research, academic and administrative systems, other core applications and voice, network, and computing infrastructure for the Rice community. OIT is an integral part of Rice committed to supporting the university’s mission through innovative uses of technology and service excellence.

Reposting of e-newsletter sent to undergraduates on 11-16-17.

Highlighting services and resources each semester

Student Tech News

Fall 2017

Happy fall from the Office of Information Technology (OIT)! If you have computing problems or need technology advice, the OIT Help Desk is ready to help.

OIT College Ambassadors will keep you updated about technology issues and events.

Update on WiFi Issues

OIT would like to apologize for the networking issues many students have experienced this fall, especially around wireless connectivity. We are aware of student problems getting and staying connected to the Rice wireless networks (Rice Owls, Rice Visitor, and Eduroam) and are working hard to correct them. We have been focusing extensively on these problems and have taken a number of corrective actions and have additional improvements planned. We would like to thank all the students who are helping us find solutions by reporting any wireless issues via email (location, time, issue) to the OIT Help Desk (helpdesk@rice.edu). Your reports help us pinpoint problems and determine additional technical solutions. OIT will be scheduling evening events in college commons so students can ask questions and have their laptops checked for optimizing wireless connectivity. Your college OIT Ambassador will send you an event notice.

Below are some of the technical details related to our ongoing efforts.

At the end of September, we:

1. Upgraded the operating system for the wireless network components.
2. Made significant configuration changes to improve the system performance so that radio channel and power levels are better managed in an automated fashion.
3. Modified the operating parameters for the radios so that the 5Ghz frequency band is preferred over the 2.4 Ghz frequency band preferred by client devices.

On October 21, we implemented a second change to address a significant problem with the system that distributed IP addresses to client systems connecting to the wireless network. This should greatly improve clients’ ability to connect and stay connected.

In addition, we have a machine-learning system that is analyzing the performance of every single device that connects to the wireless network.  This is helping us diagnose and repair client issues much more quickly.

We have also started planning for the RiceNet Wireless Refresh project. Ultimately, this will allow OIT to replace all of the older wireless equipment with next-generation hardware that can better manage the RF spectrum and can provide a much better overall experience for all client devices. We will be enlisting the help of our OIT College Ambassadors to better inform our decisions.

Mudd Plotters and Color Printer

OIT has made some changes to the Mudd Lab Operation Center hours this semester.  New hours are:

•        Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
•        Saturday and Sunday: 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

The plotters and the color laser printer in Mudd Lab are located in the Operations Center. These printers are attended by OIT staff, who place printouts outside the Operations Center window in the Mudd Lab lobby when they are on duty.  You can access the lobby anytime to pick up your printouts although you will need to use your Rice ID after the building is locked. Please note that there is no access to new printouts when the Operations Center is closed.

The Architecture charrettes will continue to be staffed as they have in the past with extended hours. Your comments to helpdesk@rice.edu will help us evaluate these schedule changes.

Software

Rice has site licensed a variety of software programs for use on university-owned computers and in some cases individually-owned computers for free or at a discounted price. Of particular note, a new agreement with MathWorks, Matlab is now available for free to students for use on personally-owned machines. For a complete list, see Software Available for Students.

Online Information

To learn more about OIT services, go to the OIT web site, https://oit.rice.edu. For an easy-to-search source of instructions about services and tools, use the OIT KnowledgeBase at https://kb.rice.edu.

VPN: Off-campus Access to Rice Only Resources

To access the Rice network when not on campus, use the Virtual Private Network or VPN. Once you download the VPN client software, you can login with your NetID and access private Rice resources, like Fondren journals. Learn more by searching for “vpn” on https://kb.rice.edu.

Amazon Web Services Resources

Learn more about Amazon’s program to provides students and educators with resources to accelerate cloud-related learning. As a student, you will receive $100 in free credits each year. Make sure to sign up for the AWS Educate Starter Account so you don’t need a credit card to join.

OIT News Blog

Check out these recent profiles on fellow students:

Nicholas McMillan

Matthew Hays

OIT Help Desk

We can help with computer questions or problems!

helpdesk@rice.edu
713-348-4357
(9 am – 5 pm, M-F, except holidays)
http://helpdesk.rice.edu
Mudd 103

Like our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/RiceOIT/

Stay up-to-date on advice, news, and events.

Copyright © 2017 Rice University, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Office of Information Technology, Rice University, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251–1892