Benchmarks Online

Campus Computing News 
UNT Participates in National Survey of Technology

Have you noticed the posters around campus inviting students to participate in the Future of Technology Survey? University Information Technology, the Office of Data, Analytics and Institutional Research and CLEAR have entered into a joint project to support UNT’s participation in a national survey March 21-April 24 asking undergraduates about technology in their lives. Read all about it.

Also in this Edition

Hours Change in Data Management Services to Support Final Exams
CRAN Issues a User Update
ServiceNow Implementation Team Provides Update and Training
CLEAR Presents: April 22 Forum on Teaching and Learning
Ian Parberry receives Distinguished Scientist Honor from Computing Association
American Statistical Association Takes a Stand Against P-Values
Microsoft Home Use Program for Employees
News Roundup for EDUCAUSE
Trumpet Solo Wafts through Sage Hall
Samsung Video: High Tech for Hearing Impaired
Techie Trivia Question; Googling Not Allowed!

Hours Change in DMS to Support Final Exams

The hours of UIT's Data Management Services will be extended to accommodate increased usage during the 2016 final exam period, May 7-12, said JoAnn Luksich, manager, DMS. The adjusted hours are as follow.

May 7, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.   |   May 9-12, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

CRAN Releases User Update

Attention, researchers: Did you know that CRAN recently released a new update of R; from R 3.2.3 to R 3.2.4? CRAN is a network of FTP and web servers around the world that store identical, up-to-date versions of code and documentation for R software. Contact Jon Starkweather, R&SS, for more information.

CLEAR Presents Renowned Teaching and Learning Expert

Make your reservation today to hear Alan November at the University Forum on Teaching and Learning April 22, 2016, 8:30-10:30 a.m. in the University Union. November will discuss how to apply emerging tools to make thinking visible in new ways and patterns. Read more about it and register today!

ITSM Provides ServiceNow Implementation Update and Training 

By Wil Clark, chief technology officer, ITSM, UNT System IT Shared Services

This month we hit a major milestone in the IT Service Management implementation of ServiceNow. Acorio, our implementation partner, completed its work for ITSM. With user-acceptance testing complete as well, the ITSS team will focus on completing the Service Catalog request items and templates used for incident reporting and change requests.  We have a significant amount of work left to prepare for the May 2, 2016 go-live for ITSM. Read more about it.

American Statistical Association Takes a Stand Against
P-Values

By Jonathan Starkweather, Research and Statistical Support, Research IT

The American Statistical Association recently convened a committee to evaluate the prospect of issuing a statement regarding the use of p-values. A p-value is a function of the observed sample results – a test statistic – about a statistical model, which measures how extreme the observation is. Read more about it.

Microsoft Home Use Program for Employees

The UNT System has a site license for Microsoft products. Employees are automatically eligible to use Microsoft Office Professional and Microsoft Learning on their home PC or Mac.  If you are an employee of the UNT System, UNT, UNT Dallas or UNT Health Science Center, there is no longer a fee throughout your employment. Read more about it.

Techie Trivia Question 

Technology has changed the way we play games. Select the correct order in which the following game consoles were created, from oldest to newest. No Googling for the answer!

a. Xbox, PlayStation®, Nintendo Entertainment System 

b. Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation®, Xbox 

c. PlayStation, Nintendo Entertainment System, Xbox 

d. Nintendo Entertainment System, Xbox, PlayStation® 

Answer

Editor's Note: Please note that information in each edition of Benchmarks Online is likely to change or degrade over time, especially links to various websites. For current information on a specific topic, search the UNT website, UNT's UIT Help Desk or the World Wide Web. Email your questions and comments to the UNT University Information Technology Department or call 940-565-4068.