Participate in National Higher Education Survey

EDUCAUSE, the leading nonprofit association that advocates for strategic use of technology and data in higher education, sponsors an annual national survey at colleges and universities. The survey focuses on the use of classroom technologies and technology adoption by faculty and students.

An ‘invitation to participate’ email was sent to instructors and undergraduates on Monday, Oct. 23. The survey will remain open through Friday, Nov. 17. This is an opportunity for instructors and undergraduates to let UF Information Technology (UFIT) know how the division can better support teaching and learning. All feedback is anonymous.

UFIT activities are driven by the University of Florida’s Strategic Plan for IT: 2020-2025. Several of the goals in the strategic plan will be supported by faculty and student responses to the EDUCAUSE survey. And, since the survey is administered at hundreds of universities, information collected at our university becomes part of a large research project, enabling UF to benchmark its data against other public land-grant institutions. Members of the university community with questions about EDUCAUSE’s survey data collection process are welcome to contact them through their online “Contact Us” form.

Timely Topics the Focus of Teaching TechXploration

The annual Teaching TechXploration will be held on Thursday, Nov. 30, from 1:30-4:30 p.m. This virtual event is part of UFIT’s Tech Byte series and registration is free for the UF community. 

The virtual, conference-style Teaching TechXploration format features short presentations–or lightning rounds–on educational technologies and solutions to teaching challenges. Session topics include: 

  • A faculty panel on AI’s impacts on teaching 
  • Adapting assessments with AI in mind 
  • Tools available within Canvas to enhance your teaching 
  • Podcasting as teaching and assessment strategy 
  • Feedback from faculty using Feedback Fruits, a group evaluation tool 
  • Resources and services from campus partners 
  • Requesting new teaching tools and grants to fund those tools 

Instructors, instructional designers, and graduate students with teaching loads can all benefit from attending and learning about UF’s learning tools and services as you are planning for the spring semester. Once registered, you will be added to the Microsoft Team where the event will take place. Anyone with questions about this year’s Teaching TechXploration may contact UFIT’s Associate Director for Teaching and Learning Technology, Ryan Yang

Learn to Navigate UF’s New T4 Web Template

The University of Florida employs TERMINALFOUR (T4) as the campus’s central content management system for website hosting. UFIT collaborated with the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing and a vendor (Stamats) to create UF’s new template. The template is called the Mercury Theme and aligns with the refreshed UF branding effort, providing a modernized look and feel for UF’s web environment. Colleges, administrative units, and academic and research centers are encouraged to adopt the new template for their website.

UFIT is sponsoring a T4 training for power users to assist campus web managers with the new Mercury Theme template. Register for this two-hour class through myTraining. Seating is limited so interested staff are encouraged to register ASAP:

Date:  Thursday, Oct. 19

Time:  1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Location:  Weil Hall 408-A

More information about the new T4 theme is available on: https://webservices.it.ufl.edu/mercury-theme/about/. Anyone with questions about this class is welcome to contact the UFIT Training team.

Free Python, Java, SQL, JavaScript, C#, and Go Courses with CoderPad

Interested in advancing your coding skills? LinkedIn Learning is now offering Code Challenges, a series of interactive coding exercises powered by CoderPad — a platform used by more than 4,000 engineering companies to assess the technical skills of prospective hires.

New AI technologies are continuing to disrupt the workplace, including the coding landscape. Code Challenges provides more than 30 courses in Python, Java, SQL, JavaScript, C#, and Go, all with real-time feedback. The LinkedIn Learning Code Challenges program will expand to 50 courses by December 2023. All coding exercises are in English, but the courses include a subtitle feature available in more than 20 languages, including Hindi, Spanish, and Tagalog.

Code Challenges is free with your UF LinkedIn Learning account! Faculty, students, and staff can take advantage of this opportunity using their year-round access to LinkedIn Learning. LinkedIn Learning also offers a variety of courses on coding fundamentals, if you would like to continue using their courses. Did you know that UFIT underwrites the cost of LinkedIn Learning for campus? Visit https://elearning.ufl.edu/supported-services/linkedin-learning/ to activate your free LinkedIn Learning account. Anyone who needs assistance accessing their free account may contact the UF Computing Help Desk (352-392-HELP, 132 Hub across from the Starbucks.)


Campus Printing Options

There are times when you need more options than black and white printing or you forgot to print an assignment out before heading to class. GatorPrint is a newly expanded service available to students, faculty and staff, with specialized printing services available at multiple locations.

You can use the Web or Email Print features of GatorPrint to create print jobs from your residence hall or even while on the bus, and then release your print job at any of the GatorPrint locations across campus. GatorPrint has over 50 locations across campus, including all the Smathers Libraries, Norman Hall, Levin College of Law, and all of UFIT’s learning spaces including the Hub. The Smathers libraries locations and 12 additional locations offer standard black-and-white printing, with the Smathers locations and four of the UFIT learning spaces offering color printing as well. Poster printing is available at Marston Science Library (ground floor, in Collaboration Commons), the Architecture Lab (first floor, room 118), and the Computer Sciences/Engineering (CSE-Room E235) labs. Printing costs are published in the UF Printing Services Pricing Guide.

Visit https://print.at.ufl.edu/ to find printing locations, guides for mobile printing, and more. Representatives are available at most locations to assist you with printing. You can also contact the UFIT Help Desk with questions or issues.

Survey Tools: New Options

Researchers at UF often need to survey large populations, utilize advanced survey distribution strategies, and implement specialized survey question types. For these complex needs, UFIT recommends using Qualtrics, available campus-wide. But sometimes faculty and staff need a lighter tool for quick surveys or to create administrative forms. UFIT created a new training–Survey Tools for Non-Research Use–to introduce Google Forms and Microsoft Forms, two easy-to-use applications for creating and distributing surveys and forms. UFIT’s next 1-hour Survey Tools for Non-Research Use training will be held on:

Wednesday, August 30
10:00-11:00 a.m.

Register here

This class will be taught monthly over Zoom. Visit the class homepage for more details, and check out UFIT’s Survey Tools webpage for a comparison of Microsoft Forms, Google Forms, and Qualtrics. Anyone with questions about this class or other IT training offered is welcome to email the UFIT Training team.

What Every Entering Gator Should Know

Welcome, new Gators! We know that adjusting to campus life is challenging, and it takes time. We have resources to facilitate your smooth transition before classes begin.

Looking for technical, academic, or administrative systems support? The UF Computing Help Desk can answer your questions regarding UF systems and services, including GatorMail, Canvas, eduroam, and UF’s VPN. Connect with the Help Desk by calling 352-392-HELP/4357, visiting 132 Hub (located across from the Starbucks), or submitting a ticket.

Use some time before the start of classes to watch UFIT’s Gator Students Playlist. Learn to use several UF tech services and steps to stay cybersafe. Your emotional and physical safety matters and yeah, UF has an app for that. Or two! Download the GatorSafe and the Whole Gator apps. GatorSafe allows you to view transportation information on SNAP, UF’s nighttime shuttle, and RTS, the city’s bus service. You can also get immediately connected to UF’s Police. The Whole Gator app provides wellness and mental health resources, recreation opportunities, and more. UF also provides an online campus map, useful for locating class locations and computer labs before the semester begins. UFIT is here for you, Gators! Let us know how we can help!

Tips for Importing Past Content in Canvas

Faculty often reuse past content by importing it into new e-Learning course shells. However, there are some vital considerations when dealing with imported course content:

Announcements and Calendar Events
When importing content, course-specific items like announcements and calendar events will be copied as well. To avoid unnecessary content, it’s recommended to use the “select specific content” option during the import process. This allows you to choose only the relevant parts of the course. In case you’ve already used “import all,” make sure to visit the announcement page and remove any announcements you won’t be reusing. For calendar events, access the Syllabus tool, locate the events in the course summary, and delete them from the event page, particularly if Zoom meetings are involved.

Groups and Group Assignments
During the course copy, existing group sets will merge into one set named ‘Project Groups’ and any group assignments or discussions will be associated with this group set. To prevent issues with group work, it’s essential to review all assignments and recreate the desired group sets as needed.

For further assistance in preparing your course, consider scheduling a one-on-one consultation with an e-Learning specialist by visiting http://go.ufl.edu/CanvasHelp.

Tech Support For You: How Can We Help?

Welcome, or welcome back to campus!

New faculty and students, we know there are a lot of things to learn before the first day of term. While you are getting settled, rest assured that help with university systems access and general campus tech questions is just a phone call or short walk away. The UF Computing Help Desk (“Help Desk”) is
in the Hub, on Stadium Road between Century Tower and Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Help Desk provides assistance with:

Account Support: Access to UF systems and services start with your GatorLink ID and password. If you experience any difficulties with your GatorLink access or need a password reset, just give the Help Desk a call or stop by.

Technical Support: Help Desk staff are happy to assist with wireless and VPN connectivity issues, GatorMail email questions, discounted software purchases, and more.

Systems Support: Help Desk consultants are experts in enterprise campus systems including Canvas, myUFL, ONE.UF, and other university applications and platforms. Need help using e-Learning or reporting time in myUFL? We’re here to help, Gators!

Call (352-392-HELP/4357), submit a help ticket, or stop by 132 Hub.

UF is #1 in LinkedIn Learning Usage

UFIT provides faculty, students, and staff with FREE year-round access to LinkedIn Learning, the online educational platform with 20,000+ courses available in 13 languages. Popular courses with Gators include Excel, project management, several programming languages, and marketing and branding courses. UF is once again ranked no. 1 in overall usage among colleges and universities with a campus-wide LinkedIn Learning contract. In fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023), the university community clocked in with more than 454,000 videos viewed and logged nearly 22,000 course viewing hours.

Courses are available in a variety of areas–technical, creative, and personal enrichment. In addition to what you’d expect–like spreadsheet and AutoCAD–there are courses like “Chair Yoga” and “Happiness Habits” that allow you to spend a few minutes each day on your well-being, perfect for busy professionals at UF! Users can also track course progress and customize their dashboard with LinkedIn Learning’s goal tracker. Those who prefer podcasts and audio books can listen to book summaries and enjoy a variety of recorded courses.

Whether you’re looking to learn Python, master Adobe Premiere Pro, or practice mindfulness, LinkedIn Learning has a video for you. Log in with GatorLink credentials to start your free access.