Category: Elevate the Stakeholder Experience

Upgrades to UFIT’s Video Production Studios

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New equipment has been installed and is ready for instructor use in UFIT’s video production studios.

Instructors can now more easily share files and discuss visual concepts when filming their course videos. A larger green screen has been installed in one of UFIT’s studios, allowing for much wider shots than before, so the person being filmed has more mobility during their video shoot. Additionally, a 28″ Surface Studio was part of this recent equipment upgrade, providing a touchscreen-based personal computer, interactive whiteboard, and digital pen for use during your video shoot.

UFIT’s video production studios has multimedia specialists available for consult and who will support you and your project throughout the process. The studios are located on the second floor of the Hub. Filming can be done in-studio or in the field, so if you require location shooting for projects like welcome videos or the recording of in-class lectures, this isn’t an issue. Visit https://citt.ufl.edu/services/video-production/ to learn more, schedule a consult, or to book time in the studio.

Anyone with questions about the services offered is welcome to email UFIT Production Manager Greg D’angio. 

What Your Primary Affiliation Means for Digital Access at UF

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The University of Florida’s large and diverse population is comprised of students, faculty, and staff. But there are many other primary roles (known as ‘affiliations’) in our Gator community, and everyone’s affiliation determines what digital services they are entitled to access. Some of these additional primary UF affiliations include emeritus faculty member, consultant, community members who use UF libraries, authorized vendors, and newly admitted students not yet enrolled.

UFIT has an updated webpage showing which affiliations can use the following provisioned services.

UF Email Eligible365 LicenseDropboxGooglePower BI ProZoomVPNEduroam

UFIT maintains the list of primary affiliations for the university. Anyone with questions about their affiliation or the assigned affiliation of a new hire or former employee is encouraged to chat with their department security administrator (DSA).

Participate in National Higher Education Survey

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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.

Learn to Navigate UF’s New T4 Web Template

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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.

Campus Printing Options

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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.

New Templates for UFL.EDU Available

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UFIT collaborated with the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing (SCM) and their agency partner to update the UF web presence. A working group from SCM and UFIT have built flexible, modular website templates with the goal of making them accessible in multiple formats to colleges, departments, centers, institutes, and other administrative units.

The new templates are now available for use. Templates can be accessed several ways:
• Direct access to base code stack (HTML, CSS, JS)
• Terminalfour
• WordPress (WordPress Multisite and WordPress Single Site options)

Visit the ‘Website Templates’ page of the Brand Center to get started. You will find information about the different ways the templates can be accessed as well as the required documentation to use them. If you have any questions, please fill out the contact form on the bottom of the page.

Note: For UF Health entities, including the health colleges, centers and institutes, refer to the UF Health Web Services website for available web templates and resources.

Survey Tools: New Options

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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

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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!

Tech Support For You: How Can We Help?

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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.