Expect More. Achieve More.
Digital Bridges
Building Bridges Between Teaching and Technology
a publication of the Teaching and Technology Center
| Volume 2, Issue 1 | October 2006 |
In this issue . . .
Applications on the Go
The 5 Keys to Managing Your Passwords
Introducing the New Teaching and Technology Fellows
Citrix - Using Applications From Anywhere
Freeing Yourself From the Front-End
Applications on the Go
by Eric LePage
It’s probably happened to you at some point. You’re using a computer that you don’t typically work on, and suddenly 
you’re trying to remember the address for a web site that you KNOW you have bookmarked as a Favorite on your office computer browser. What if there was a convenient way to keep all of your bookmarks with you at all times? Wouldn’t it be great if your web browser and your bookmarks could travel with you anywhere you go?
Welcome to the world of portable applications. Portable applications are software programs which can be stored and run from a portable device, such as a USB flash drive, an iPod, or a CD. Mozilla Firefox, a popular web browser that is Microsoft Internet Explorer’s closest competitor, can be stored right on a USB flash drive. You can bookmark all your favorite links in Firefox and carry around the Firefox browser and all your browser bookmarks (or Favorites) right in your pocket. You could walk down to the Moakley Open Access Lab, stick your USB flash drive into the USB port of any computer, and be using Firefox right away.
PortableApps.com (http://www.portableapps.com) hosts a number of free portable software applications. Interested in doing some extensive photo editing, but Photoshop too expensive? Why not try the free GIMP program, which can be installed and run right from your USB flash drive on any Windows computer. Carry GIMP with you wherever you go (essentially making “GIMP” not so very gimpy). Are you using Audacity to create podcasts? Download the portable version of Audacity right onto your USB flash drive, and you can use this free audio editing program from any Windows computer as well.
Although PortableApps.com services Windows users, there are resources available for Mac folks as well - http://www.freesmug.org/portableapps/. This site includes the portable Mac versions of Firefox, GIMP, Audacity, RSSOwl, and more.
If you don’t own a USB flash drive, and you’re still stuck on 3.5” floppy disks, now’s the time to make the change. USB flash drives typically can store anywhere from100 megabytes to 1 or 2 gigabytes of file space, dwarfing the tiny 1.44 megabytes of storage space on your floppy disk. I own a 100 megabyte USB flash drive (which also functions as my keychain), and it stores many of my important work, class, and personal files all in one place (NOTE: Just remember to always keep backup copies someplace safe!). You can purchase USB flash drives anywhere from under $10 on up, depending on how much space you want. You can pick up a USB flash drive from your local electronics retailer (Best Buy, Circuit City, Staples, etc.) or online retailer (Amazon.com, TigerDirect.com, MemorySuppliers.com, etc.).
The 5 Keys to Managing Your Passwords
by Adam Tavares
“Create strong passwords.” This advice often falls on deaf ears, primarily because the folks providing the advice never bother to first explain what a 'strong' password actually is, and why having one is so important. Unscrupulous attackers want access to your e-mail, Blackboard, credit card, e-bay, and other e-commerce accounts so that they can use your personal and financial information for their own benefit. In this article I will demonstrate how to create strong, secure passwords and provide you with tips on how to easily recall them. The five keys are:
1. Create a password that cannot intuitively be guessed by an attacker who may know personal information about you.
Don't use family members' or pets' names, or your favorite team, movie, athlete, or artist.
2. Create passwords that are a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
I like to use symbols which visually remind me of the characters I will be substituting them for. My normal procedure is to find inspiration in some mundane text I see very often. I manipulate the text by replacing symbols with other less obvious symbols, which greatly reduces the chances that an attacker could hack into my account. For example, I have a water bottle on my desk that has 'new balance' printed on it. I wouldn't want to use just newbalance as my password, but I could change newbalance into n3wb@l@nc3 by replacing the e's with 3's and a's with @'s, and I would have a very strong password. I might also decide to go with ne!^!b4l4nce by replacing the w with !^! and the a's with 4's and I would have another strong password.
As another example, I could rework the word ‘Sasquatch’ as $4squ@tcH (note the capital H in my password).
The more that I mix in numbers and symbols and vary the letter case in my passwords, the stronger my passwords will be.
3. Do not reuse passwords.
Following is a hypothetical situation to better illustrate why this is so important.
I come across a website, http://www.reputablewebsite.biz.ru, which hosts high resolution images of my favorite Norman Rockwell paintings. I want to use the image of the cute rosy cheeked kid getting spanked by a calm and caring police officer for stealing candy from the local drugstore as my desktop wallpaper, but before I can download the photos, the site requires that I create a username and password. I click a link or two, try not to get distracted by flashing ads that ask me which celebrity I'm looking at, and fill out the form using my standard password and my email address as my username. I am able to access the image of the Norman Rockwell painting and make it my desktop wallpaper. It looks fantastic, and I couldn't be happier. Now, to continue the scenario, I leave the next day on vacation and don't touch a computer my entire trip.
It’s now two weeks later and I just arrived home from my trip and I'm checking my mail. I receive my bank statement and I see that someone has made a 150 dollar purchase from http://www.buystuffonline.com. I login to buystuffonline using my standard password to review my recent purchases, and see that someone bought 'The Hollywood Diet Cookbook' , a pair of Nike Shox running shoes size 13, and a the first season of 'Friends' on DVD. I weigh 147 pounds, wear a size 9.5 shoe, and I hate 'Friends', so who bought all this junk? I draw the conclusion that someone involved with http://www.reputablewebsite.biz.ru used my email address and password to buy 150 dollars worth of garbage. Now I have deal with the hassle of convincing buystuffonline that I didn't purchase these items, as well as change my password on every website I use so I can prevent the thief from trying this again – hence why it’s a good idea not to re-use passwords on more than one site.
4. After creating a new password, practice using your password by typing it 15+ times in a row.
Passwords that are used frequently are easy to remember. The sequence of keystrokes is stored in muscle memory with practice, so a password like, gr4ndc@ny0/\/ is no longer understood as a sequence of unrelated characters but becomes a well rehearsed dance routine for your fingertips.
5. Use a keychain utility like Password Safe to store passwords.
Password Safe, and other keychain software utilities store your passwords in the computer's equivalent of a safe, as an encrypted data file. Password Safe refers to this encrypted file as its database (see image above). Encrypted data is data that has been scrambled so that it becomes unreadable to humans (data in this state is called ciphertext) until the data is decrypted, meaning the data is returned to its original state (called plaintext). In order for data to be encrypted and decrypted when necessary, a 'key' has to be created, much like you require a key to gain access to the inner contents of your home. A key is created by supplying a password to a program designed to generate the key. Once the key is created, any text saved in Password Safe is encrypted and not readable to potential wrongdoers unless the password used to create the key is supplied when you try to open the encrypted data file.
So yes, 'Password Safe' requires a password of its own, but once this password is created all other passwords for every other account that you use can be safely stored for reference. So in the future if you don't remember your Web for Faculty PIN or your Blackboard password, you can open Password Safe, type in your Password Safe password, and then easily lookup these and all your other passwords, and you have peace of mind knowing that your passwords are all stored in a secure and easily accessible location and not hidden away in some dark recess of your brain.
To install Password Safe, create the encrypted data file that will store all of your passwords, and add your passwords to the encrypted data file, use the following steps:
Go to http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/
Click the Secure your passwords now! link to begin downloading the installer.
Run the installer program and follow the prompts provided.
Once the program is installed, open it. If you kept the default installation options you should have a shortcut to the program on your desktop.
Click the Create new database... button
Provide the Safe Combination and Verify the combination. The Safe Combination is the password that Password Safe uses to generate the key used for encryption. This is your most important password since it grants you access to the passwords for every account you own, so it’s imperative that you remember it. The password you supply must be mixed-case and contain a number, otherwise you will prompted to create another password.
Select File > Save As... and save the Password Safe database file to a folder of your choice (ex. My Documents, your department network drive, etc.).
Click the Add New Entry button to create a storage entry for an account, such as an e-mail account, Blackboard, e-bay, etc.
Fill out the Add Entry form (see image above-right) and include all the information needed to access the desired computer service.
After filling out the form the entry will appear in the main window (see image below-right).
The next time that you are ready to use a desired website or program, simply open Password Safe, log in with your password key, right-click the website's or program's entry from the list, and select Copy Password to Clipboard. Click in the password field of the website or program and press Ctrl-v on your keyboard to paste the password into the password field.
Introducing the New Teaching and Technology Fellows
by Eric LePage
The Information Technology and Academic Affairs divisions have appointed Dr. Robert Amey and Dr. Martin Grossman as Teaching and Technology Faculty Fellows for the 2006-07 academic year.
In their faculty fellowship roles, Dr. Amey and Dr. Grossman will work to improve support at the College for faculty members interested in using technology for teaching and learning.Their combined expertise covers the areas of notebook integration, classroom technologies, online learning, and more.
With the faculty fellowships, we are working to facilitate faculty-to-faculty conversations about teaching and technology integration issues. We believe it is especially valuable to our faculty to be able to draw upon the advice and expertise of experienced faculty colleagues who have a ‘hands-on’ perspective informed by real classroom experience with technology.
Please contact the Teaching and Technology Center at 508.531.2634 if the Teaching and Technology Center staff and Faculty Fellows can be of any assistance in your teaching and technology projects.
Bob Amey
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
ramey@bridgew.edu
My role at the Teaching Technology Center this year has two main foci: technology in the classroom, and the new TabletPCs. We are exploring a number of possibilities for new classroom toys, such as electronic whiteboards with far expanded capabilities over what they could once do. If you’d like a demo on one, let me know.
There is also a new hardware/software combo called TurningPoint (more commonly known as “classroom clickers”) that could be used in the classroom to allow instant polling – you could ask students how they feel about a certain point, or even use them for quick quizzes. We have a test set of 45 classroom clickers, and I’m working to see how well they work, with the idea to run a workshop on them later.
I am also looking at ways to tie the new TabletPCs into the current classroom technology so that we can be free from the problem of being tied to the front ends. While a remote presenter tool is helpful, with a TabletPC we could – and should – be able to walk around the classroom, computer in hand, drawing on screen, editing, using PowerPoint, etc. There are still a few obstacles to overcome, but that is our ultimate goal. If you would like me to show you the TabletPC, let me know.
Marty Grossman
Assistant Professor
Department of Geography
mgrossman@bridgew.edu
Martin Grossman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management. Dr. Grossman received a DBA in Information Technology Management and a Masters in International Business from Nova Southeastern University and a BS in Computer Systems from Florida Atlantic University. He has over twenty years of IT experience in the aviation and communication industries and has held positions in software development, management, and recruiting.
My role as a TTC Fellow
As one of the new TTC Fellows for the 2006-2007 academic year I will be actively involved in exploring ways to integrate technology into the classroom. Some of the technologies currently being evaluated by the TTC team are podcasts, weblogs, wikis, Tablet PCs, video capture programs as well as a number of e-learning platforms.
Initially, I will be focusing much of my effort on our e-portfolio package, Taskstream, which is being piloted in the School of Education for NCATE accreditation purposes. I will be exploring ways in which the tool can be more fully utilized for student assessment. I am equally interested in determining how the tool may be of use to faculty. One area I intend to investigate is the utility of the e-portfolio as a means of organizing and presenting our reappointment, promotion and tenure materials. I am interested in learning from others about their experiences with Taskstream as well.
Another interest is to improve upon the currently available platform for performing web-based surveys. In the TTC we are currently reevaluating our current license for the Zoomerang survey software, as well as considering several alternatives. Please let me know if you have suggestions.
Finally, I am excited about my newly acquired TabletPC Convertible, and look forward to interacting with the growing community of faculty who have already adopted this new platform.
Citrix - Using Applications From Anywhere
by Dr. Martin Grossman
Now that we have off-campus access to the Citrix Server, it is a good idea to get familiar with the available hosted applications, some of which may be very useful in performing our teaching and research tasks. The Citrix Server allows the end-user to remotely run a number of specially licensed applications from either on or off campus. Simply access the Citrix Server site at http://citrix.campus.bridgew.edu/ from on-campus or https://citrix.bridgew.edu from off-campus and select the appropriate log in options. You’ll need to make sure that the client software is installed on your machine first. For instructions, see http://it.bridgew.edu/FacStaff/citrix/offcampus/). This article briefly describes the applications available via Citrix.
General purpose tools
Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional
Adobe Acrobat is the most powerful document management software on the market. Most of us are familiar with Adobe’s free Reader software which allows the reading and display of PDF (Portable Document Format) files. The professional version provides much greater functionality. Full access to this application allows you not only to read PDF files, but to create them from a combination of documents, drawings and other media content. For a brief introduction to Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional, see http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/pdfs/acrobat7_tour.pdf
Research tools
SPSS 14 for Windows
SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) is one of the most widely used statistical packages among researchers. It provides an integrated environment for statistical analysis, data management and data documentation. Among the commonly used functions available are descriptive statistics (e.g. cross tabulation, frequencies), bivariate statistics (e.g. t-test, ANOVA), linear regression, and factor analysis. See http://www.spss.com/spss/index.htm?source=homepage&hpzone=ad_box
NVIVO
Unlike SPSS, used exclusively for quantitative analysis, NVIVO is a tool that allows you to access, manage and analyze narrative and/or multimedia data. It provides a number of tools for classification, sorting and arranging of textual data, which allows for the discovery of underlying meanings and patterns. See http://www.qsrinternational.com/
MicroCase Explorit
MicroCase ExplorIt is statistical analysis software developed specifically for use in the social sciences. It is known for its ease of use and its suitability for students. For a description see http://www.microcase.com/analysis/mc45des.html
The Survey System 8
This package allows you to work with telephone, online and printed surveys. It performs many of the functions necessary for market research, such as creation of questionnaires and production of tables, graphics and text reports. See http://www.surveysystem.com/
Programming, mathematical and logic tools
Macromedia Dreamweaver 8
The preferred web development tool among professionals, Macromedia’s Dreamweaver product provides a host of tools that can handle even the most sophisticated web applications. For more information on Dreamweaver 8, visit http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/
Microsoft Visual Studio.NET
This is the standard edition of Microsoft’s very popular Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for the development of enterprise applications. For the user who just wants to create a simple web page, FrontPage or Dreamweaver is a better choice since they are a lot less complex. However, if you are interested in creating a robust professional software application, Visual Studio.NET can be an extremely useful tool. In its default configuration, Visual Studio.NET allows you to develop applications in one of the following computer languages: Visual Basic.NET, Visual C++, or Visual C#.NET. For more information see http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/previous/2003/
Maple 10
Maple 10 is used to solve complex mathematical problems and to create executable technical documents. It is a leading tool for engineering, science and mathematics. See http://www.maplesoft.com/welcome/index.aspx?p=Maple10
Graphmatica20e
Graphmatica is a powerful equation plotter application with numerical and calculus features. It includes such features as graphing Cartesian functions, relations, and inequalities, plus polar, parametric, and ordinary differential equations. For a full description see http://www.graphmatica.com/grmat20n.html
KarelTheRobot
Karel is an educational programming language, created by Richard E. Pattis in his book Karel The Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Programming, andinspired by the works of Carel Kapek. Its syntax controls the movements of a simple robot and is meant to introduce the student to computer programming fundamentals. See http://www.mtsu.edu/~untch/karel/
Critical Thinking
This application provides a computer-assisted introduction to critical thinking and logic. Among the functions included are: argument identification, anatomy of an argument, cogency conditions, use and abuse of definitions, use and abuse of language, informal fallacies, categorical logic, propositional logic. More information is available at http://www.critical-thinking-lab.com/
Looking ahead
Although some of these applications are quite specialized and may be not be relevant to your particular discipline, it is definitely nice to have such a selection of powerful apps at our disposal. When considering software applications for your teaching and research projects, keep Citrix in mind as a potential resource for hosting specialized applications such as these.
Freeing Yourself From the Front-End
by Dr. Robert Amey
Technology classrooms have a number of good qualities… and a few drawbacks. We’d probably all like to see that fortress in the front of the room where all the computer and audio-video stuff is stashed go away, although we don’t want to see the equipment itself go anywhere. I’m hoping to look into what possibilities there are for that in a future newsletter.
For now, though, there is a compromise that will work with the computer (sorry, doesn’t work with the digital camera or VCR) – the “presentation remote control.” No, this does NOT mean that you can flip from PowerPoint slide to PowerPoint slide without leaving the 
comfort of your office chair, but it does mean that you don’t have to stay leashed fast to the computer keyboard at the front of the room. A “presentation remote control” is basically a wireless mouse with a few extra control-specific buttons. And many of them have a built-in laser pointer as well.
AT RIGHT: These remote pointer/controllers do a fine job. The models shown here are plug-n-play compatible with Windows XP and cost between $40 and $60. The Targus has a thumb-pad control for the cursor, if you need that for use beyond PowerPoint. The Kensington has no cursor control on this model – it’s pretty much limited to use for PowerPoint (and only if you do not have imbedded links to external info). The nice think about the Kensington is that the USB receiver (that other gizmo in the picture) slides up into the remote itself for storage. For me, that means as long as I do not leave it attached to the last computer I was using, I’m at least somewhat less likely to lose it.
AT LEFT: These are all made by Interlink. They’ve been making these longer than just about anyone. Interlink products tend to be a little more expensive, but they have a good reputation. AND, if support is important to you, the IT folks only support the two Interlink models on the left (far left – the Presentation Pilot Pro, and, middle, the RemotePoint Navigator 2.4). If you have one of the Targus or Kensington models and it doesn’t work, you’ll have to contact the store you bought it from or the manufacturer—just so you know. All of these Interlink models do have the advantage of having the USB receiver (not shown) tuck into the unit for convenient storage. The Pilot Pro (about $60) has a thumb-pad cursor control, the Navigator ($120) does not. Once again, these two models are the models recommended and supported by IT on campus.
I included the model on the far right, the RemotePoint Presenter – Special Edition because it does have another interesting feature – the USB receiver. In addition to being able to easily store away in the unit, it also acts as a USB memory device. With this unit, you could take your presentation and the remote controller and plug it into any computer and you’re set to go… assuming, by the way, that that computer has both Windows XP and PowerPoint installed. (There is a work-around for PowerPointless computers, and that is to save your presentation as a PowerPoint viewer file – .pps – and then you can run it without actually having PowerPoint installed on the computer, but you will still need the viewer program, which is free).
The catch? Well, there’s two. First, this little bugger costs $200. If you can convince your department chair that “…and I’m worth it…” then go for it, BUT not before you realize that the USB memory is limited to a pretty measly 32 Mb. (You could buy the Pilot Pro and a separate 1 gigabyte USB memory thingamajig for less, but you wouldn’t be nearly as cool.) Oh, yeah, the other thing – you’ll have to try to get your department to buy one, or use some of your professional development dollars, or fork over the money out of your own wallet/purse/pocket/sock. There’s too many of us for IT to buy one of each of us. The idea of putting one in every technology classroom hasn’t worked as too many of the units have, let’s just say, “disappeared.” The Kensington and Targus models are available at almost any electronics or office supply store these days. The Interlink models you can get from AdTech (one of the college purveyors of goods) or online from Interlink directly. You’re probably not going to find them at Best Buy, Office Depot or Radio Shack.
LAST WORDS. The advantage of having one of these is that you can plug it in and run your PowerPoint slides from anywhere in most any classroom on campus, allowing you to walk away from the fort. No, these won’t run any of the other stuff hidden in that cabinet, but it’ll get you out from behind the walls at least some of the time. Go on, take the leap… it’s really not so bad out there.
Adtech Systems. Contact Ed Oppenheim at 508-358-0077 ext. 621.
Interlink Electronics. http://www.interlinkelectronics.com
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