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Welcome to the Fall Semester at the University of St. Francis !
As the warm weather of summer fades to the cool breezes of autumn, it's time to start focusing on our studies once again, with the Fall 2006 semester at the University of St. Francis.
If you should find you need any assistance this semester, please don't hesitate to contact us at 815-740-5080 or toll free 1-866-337-1497.
Meet the CID Staff
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Glen Gummess
Instructional Designer |
Glen Gummess is entering his eighth year as an instructional designer for the University of St. Francis. Glen spearheads "technological innovations" for both the online program and in-class instruction, including various uses of multimedia and streaming video and audio. He brings the experience of a 12-year prior career in television and radio journalism to his work as well as 17 years in education with a focus on instructional technology. Glen was born and raised in Los Angeles, where he earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Southern California. He spent about 20 years in Hobbs, New Mexico, as a radio news director, television correspondent, community college technology coordinator and interim library director. He earned a masters degree in educational technology leadership from The George Washington University in 1998 before moving to Joliet in 1999. Duties include:
- Developing multimedia instructional tools for online instructors.
- Creating streaming media applications for live and recorded video with audio.
- Coordination and deployment of interactive real-time meeting experiences via the World Wide Web.
- Technology training and consultation for instructors and other constituents of USF.
- WebCT course design and support.
Glen is married to Margo and has two children - one in college and one in high school. He is a lifelong movie buff and bookworm and enjoys outdoor activities with his family.
Technical Tidbits
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Company Firewalls and your USF Online Course |
Using your computer from work may result in problems reaching your USF Online course. Many companies today are running firewall software or using hardware that could restrict your ability to access material over the Internet.
If your company is running a firewall system and you have problems accessing your USF online course, you should consult with your company's technology department to determine whether they are willing to make adjustments to their firewall system for you. USF cannot do this since it is a private company's firewall that is blocking your access to the university . Please note that some companies have policies that prohibit the personal use of the Internet.
If your technology department is willing to make changes to their firewall for you, please contact the Center for Instructional Delivery at 866-337-1497 for the specific information that they will need to allow you access.
Ad-Aware and Spybot are two freeware programs that remove both adware and spyware from your computer.
Adware and spyware will install components on your computer that will send marketing information to their sponsors whenever you are online. This can cause your computer or programs to run erratically, or cause a multitude of popups. Below is a list of symptoms of a computer infected with spyware or adware:
- Endless pop-up browser windows
- redirected to unwanted web sites
- unexpected toolbars in your web browser
- unexpected or new icons task tray
- browser's home page suddenly changes
- certain keys fail to work in your browser (e.g. the tab key)
- random Windows error messages appear
- your computer suddenly seems very slow when opening programs or processing tasks
By running Spybot and Ad-Aware periodically, you can rest assured that your computer is running at its optimum potential.
Please check the Online Program webpage for the most up-to-date beginning and ending dates for your classes. Please remember that students will not have access to their courses until 12 Noon (CST) on the day the course starts.
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Tips for the Online Student |
as taken from "100 Things Every Online Student Ought to Know" by Frank L. Christ and Loy R. Ganey Jr., PhD.
Copyright 2003 The Cambridge Stratford Study Skills Institute |
Online Students Ought to Know:
How to distinguish websites that have academic credibility.
The Internet contains millions of web pages many of which are written by persons with no academic background. Your instructor will most certainly demand that you use credible sources for any research that you do for the course. The information you find on a web site may be partially or totally unacceptable to your instructor, who will probably require you to document your sources in a format that indicates the address of the webpage on which you located the information and the date on which you retrieved it from that page.
If you are ever in the mood for some great alternative music, think about listening to WCSF Radio, 88.7 FM, the radio station of the University of St. Francis. What if you don't live near the University to pick up the radio signal? No problem there. The Edge is now streaming, which means that whatever the station is broadcasting on the radio will also be heard online.
Putting the radio station online allows more students, whether in the community or USF distance students nationwide to tune in. The station has expanded its listening audience from what was a 25-mile radius to reach audiences all over the country.
We broadcast at approximately 100 watts on the frequency 88.7 MHz. Our signal reaches approximately 250,000 potential listeners in Will County and surrounding areas. We broadcast twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. Live DJs are scheduled at various times between the hours of 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 midnight, Monday through Friday. Specialty shows featuring music off our regular format usually run from 10:00 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday. Holiday programs feature specialized music for the appropriate season or holiday, be it the Christmas season or Cinco de Mayo.
To listen live online, go to the Edge's homepage at http://www.stfrancis.edu/theedge a nd click on the "listen live" button.
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