Help for "Stranded Instructors." If you are an instructor teaching in a classroom equipped with multimedia equipment (computer, projector, etc.) and something goes wrong during class with the equipment, follow this process to get a quick response from ETS:

1. Use the phone in the classroom to contact the Call Center at ext. 8324.
2. As soon as the phone is answered, press the 3 key.
3. Leave a message with the following information:
1. Your name
2. Location - Classroom number and campus (DA or FH)
3. Telephone number where you can be reached
4. The problem you are experiencing

The system will immediately page a Call Center employee, jumping your call to a high-priority call. If he or she is unable to respond, the system will escalate the page to Sharon Luciw, director of Networks & Client Services, who will respond. The individual who responds to the page will immediately contact you at the phone number you provided in the voice message. If the problem cannot be resolved over the phone, a technician will be immediately dispatched to your location.

This process is only for instruction-related emergencies in a classroom. Please do not use this process to attempt to jump ahead in the call queue. Call Center staff will not escalate the service call to Tech Services if the call is not strictly related to a situation that is impacting instruction. This system will only work if we recognize that teaching and learning take priority. We want to help our instructors and students succeed in the classroom. Thank you for your understanding.

Portal Project. We are making good progress developing the District portal. ETS programmers have successfully created "home-grown" portlets, and we are also migrating "off-the-shelf" portlets into our environment. We are on target to implement a "beta test" of the portal environment during the spring quarter with approximately 100 District employees. If you're interested in beta testing the portal, send an email message to Willie Pritchard.

Internet Explorer Security Vulnerabilities. Many people believe the primary vulnerability to the computer security is via email. However, there are many other ways computers are vulnerable to invasion, identity theft and corruption. Many attackers use the Internet Explorer (IE) browser to attack systems. Because IE is "programmable" by other users, it is very vulnerable. In fact, it's becoming such a problem that the District Hardware and Software Standards Committee is recommending that Windows and Mac users begin to use another browser, specifically recommending Mozilla Firefox (for Macintosh or Windows) or Safari (for Macintosh). However, because many websites are designed to run optimally under IE, there may be times when you simply cannot use another browser effectively. In those situations you will need to use IE, but you should do most of your Internet work using a different browser and only use IE when absolutely necessary. For more information about the vulnerabilities of IE, see http://secunia.com/advisories/12048/ and go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/critical/default.mspx to download patches for IE. If you don't have Mozilla Firefox on your computer you can download it at http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ or contact the Call Center at ext. 8324.

Windows Icon Vulnerability. Microsoft has issued a recent warning about vulnerabilities in its Windows operating system that would allow an attacker who successfully exploited the most severe of these vulnerabilities to "take complete control of an affected system, install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts that have full privileges." For more information about this problem go to the Microsoft site at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms05-002.mspx. If you need help contact the ETS Call Center at ext. 8324.

Identity Management and User Authentication and Authorization. In order for the District to move forward with the portal project and pervasive wireless access on campus, we need to implement a security system that can prevent unauthorized access to District resources. Instrumental to that security system is an Identity Management solution (often referred to as IdM). ETS staff members are currently working to create a bid document that will be sent to IdM vendors as part of a sealed bid process. We plan to move forward with the bid process over the next couple of months, and will begin to implement the IdM system during the spring quarter.

Evening Audiovisual Support for Faculty. Due to budgetary constraints, the ETS Call Center is closed after 6 p.m. However, if you need help after this time, please contact your respective evening coordinator for your campus (Karen Lemes, ext. 7711, at Foothill, and Al Guevara, ext. 8333 at De Anza). The evening coordinator will then contact an ETS technician who will respond as quickly as possible. Response time at Foothill will be slower because the technician is stationed at De Anza. As a result, Foothill evening support is only for classroom emergencies.

Protecting our Projectors. During the first week of the current quarter, two data projectors were stolen out of classrooms on the De Anza campus. One was secured with a metal security cage and it was still stolen. There has been a rash of thefts from classrooms with multimedia equipment. Equipment has been stolen in the morning, during mid-day, and in the evening. We all need to pitch in and practice good physical security along with our practice of good "cyber-security." If you teach in a room with multimedia equipment, whether you use it or not, please be sure to lock up your classroom before leaving.

Workflow Processing and Automated Forms. We are pressing forward with developing an online method for handling our business processes. (For more information about this project see the previous issue of News Bytes. It is our goal to begin testing timesheet processing in March. Once we have worked out all the bugs, we will roll it out to all employees who must fill out a timesheet each month.

Project Update. ETAC has been working on revising our current Technology Strategic Plan, which was developed and shared with the Board of Trustees in 2000. It is clearly time for a new plan! The process is nearing its final stages and ETAC will want input from you. The committee has established its vision and the guiding principles, and is finishing up its assumptions about technology, the District and the culture in which we live. Next on the agenda is to lay out the plan's goals and the strategies it will recommend to accomplish those goals. A draft of the plan will be completed by the end of this quarter and in the spring quarter it will be shared widely with the larger FHDA community, including via the participatory governance process on each campus. Minutes of the ETAC meetings are available on the ETS website, and the 2000 strategic plan is also available there.