In an effort to share ways members of the UNCW community can "do more with less" and reduce our carbon footprints on the planet as well, we are pleased to bring you the WatchYour BudgIT e-mail newsletter. It includes tips for cost and operational efficiencies we can all implement. We will send you ideas that may help you save a significant portion of your budget for hardware, software, and energy usage, on a regular schedule. We will also emphasize ways you can help save our environment through savvy use of your UNCW information technology.
We invite you to share your ideas with the UNCW campus community. We'll pass your ideas along. Watch for ways to Watch your BudgIT!
This week's newsletter: Current Issue
Refill your ink cartridges at B1NAR1ES
by Tami Violette
B1NAR1ES, your tech store, located in the University Union, can refill about 85% of inkjet cartridges on the market, including most HP, Dell, Lexmark and Samsung cartridges (black and color but not photo). (Excel List of refillable cartridges)
What are the benefits of refilling and re-using inkjet cartridges?
- It’s green – this Web page has some really great facts on printer cartridges - http://www.cartridgeworldusa.com/section.aspx?id=6934
- Saves money over purchasing a new cartridge – For the refills black is $9.99 and color is $14.99.
- Convenience – you can get cartridges refilled on campus, while you wait.
- Faculty and Staff that would like to refill cartridges for a university-owned printer can do so via Inter-departmental Invoice (IDI). If you are considering ways of stretching your technology budget, this is a good alternative. The inkjet cartridge refill service is for UNCW faculty, staff and students only.
The regular operating hours of B1NAR1ES are 9am – 5pm Monday through Thursday and 9am – 3pm Fridays. Bring in your empty ink cartridge and they will test it (to see if it is undamaged) and refill it for you as you wait.
Manage power consumption for immediate cost savings
by Lynn Allen
"Power management is probably one of the easiest, low-cost ways to get big, big savings," according to Katharine Kaplan, product manager at Energy Star for Consumer Electronics and IT at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Kaplan points out that using power management features on desktop PCs can save $50 per computer per year. Enabling power management tools on monitors can save another $12 to $90 annually per monitor. (See PC World article, cited below.)
Other facts:
- Of the total electricity used by computers, only 35 percent is used for actual computing. The remaining 65 percent is wasted while computers run idle.
- Screen savers do not save energy! They actually consume 40 to 100 watts, even though the monitor appears to be inactive. Screen savers also prevent your power management from activating. Most modern LCD computers do not need screen savers at all.
- The average American is responsible for almost 22 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the largest source being electricity generation, representing approximately 30 percent of emissions.To power a conventional computer all day costs between $115 - $160 in electricity per year, releasing 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air. The average Dell desktop uses 85 watts to idle, even if the monitor is off. If it is only in use or idling for 40 hours (average work hours a week) instead of 168 a week more than $40 worth of energy costs are saved a year.
- By enabling the power management features on a computer, up to 60 to 80 percent of a computer's energy consumption can be conserved by switching it into sleep mode when not in use. All ENERGY STAR qualified computers (which promise up to 70 percent reductions in energy usage) carry this power management feature, though it may not be enabled at the time of purchase.
For instructions on how to enable your PC's power management feature, visit Energy Star Power Management Users Guide
or simply call the UNCW Technology Assistance Center at 962-4357 or TAC@uncw.edu
External Links for more information:
ENERGY STAR - Save $25 to $75 Per Desktop PC Annually Through Power Management
US Department of Energy - EERE Consumer's Guide: When to Turn Off Personal Computers
PC World - Going Green to Save the Green
Clicker classroom technology helps large classes stay engaged.
How does the faculty engage students in the learning process in a large-scale learning environment? They use an exciting new technology: the “clicker” classroom performance system. “Clicker” technology is an audience response system that can significantly change faculty/student interaction by enabling instructors to assess their students' knowledge, maintain their attention, provide immediate feedback and encourage broader student participation. Implementing classroom response systems as a learning tool allows students to instantly provide feedback and collectively answer questions in real time posed by their instructors.
“Clicker” technology is easy to use and takes virtually no training. Faculty members report that they are up and running within minutes of being introduced to the devices.
The logistics are simple: Each student uses a "clicker," a portable, handheld device that allows students to vote by "clicking" on the appropriate button of his or her choice.Theinstructor uses a light, portable receiver powered through any computer’s USB port.Theinstructorpresents a question and enables polling. Students respond by “clicking” their vote. A wireless signal is sent immediately from each responding clicker to the receiver. The receiver, through the clicker’s easy-to-use software, logs and stores the data of each individual student. The instructor can then display voting results to the class. The results are also available for later analysis, grading, and exporting to any grade book software or course management system.
The “clicker” classroom performance system is ideal for encouraging class participation in any size classroom from small enrollments of 10-15 students to large enrollment classes up to 250 individuals. An added benefit is that clicker technology integrates 100% into Microsoft® PowerPoint – allowing instructors to author, deliver, assess and report without leaving PowerPoint. It also operates seamlessly with other computer programsincludingWord, Excel and Blackboard Vista.
Dr. Rick Olsen, Chair of Communication Studies, found his students to be enthusiastic supporters of clicker technology. Student feedback has been positive. He states, "One of the best SPOT comments I’ve gotten was [that] 'The clickers really made me keep up. This is the only textbook I’ve ever read cover to cover.' ”
He continues,"I have found the clickers to be an ideal way to create some basic accountability for attendance and doing the reading even in a large class. I’ve had up to 200 students in my class and I can still take daily attendance, do a short quiz on the reading and even reward students for doing the practice quizzes online that come with the textbook. The fact that [students] can see the results of their responses right away is a big help."
ITSD provides complete support for the Turning Technologies "Clicker" student response system. For information regarding this exciting technology, please contact
Jarrett Piner at ext. 23141; pinerj@uncw.edu ; or refer to the following link:
http://www.uncw.edu/itsd/Student_Response.htm
How do spammers get my e-mail address?
Your UNCW e-mail account has very effective spam-prevention measures in place, but almost everyone has an alternate e-mail address. If you have a cellular phone, spammers can even figure out that associated e-mail address and send spam to your phone.
Spammers ferret out your e-mail address by sending a huge volume of messages to randomly guessed addresses at major domains, including uncw.edu. Short addresses at common domains--such as gmail.com, yahoo.com, or aol.com--are easy to guess.
To reduce your chance of being victimized, use eight characters or more, including numbers and punctuation, in your address. A strong user name like w3d_op*Jr @aol.com is less likely to be guessed by the spammer's software than tricky1976@aol.com, for example. You may want to avoid using your own name as a user name, as well.
Spammers also harvest your e-mail address when you register or sign guest books on web sites. A way prevent this method of gaining access to your real e-mail address is to sign up for a “throw-away” account to use when you must register with a web site, participate in a forum, or purchase something online. http://www.sharpmail.co.uk/ is one such free service. You can even set the option for it to disable itself after receiving one reply and the number of aliases is unlimited.
When you do receive spam, it is just as important that you don't click any links inside the message (including any "unsubscribe" links), or even load the images. (Gmail and our Outlook 2007don't load images unless you tell them to.) Both can be ways to verify that your address is active, which will ensure that you get much more junk e-mail.
IT Sustainability/Green Computing
Greener faxing saves money
Use Post-it style fax labels instead of a cover sheet. It saves paper, time (you fax one less sheet of paper) and toner or inkjet ink on both sides of the fax machine.
Scanning a document you would ordinarily have faxed, and sending it as a .pdf file or a .jpg image attached to an e-mail message eliminates the need for your recipient to deal with a printed copy at all.
Recycle your cell phone. It’s an easy call.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Fact Sheet EPA530-F-09-004 February 2009
Did you miss the opportunity to recycle your old cell phone during the “Recycle Your Cell Phone. It’s An Easy Call” campaign? The campaign, which ran April 6 through April 12, 2009, was designed to increase the public’s awareness of cell phone recycling and donation opportunities, with the ultimate goal of increasing the nation’s cell phone recycling rate. It’s not too late, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. You can recycle your old phones at any time.
Recycling: an Easy Call: Every day there are thousands of opportunities to recycle cell phones and accessories. Many cell phone retailers, manufacturers and service providers have ongoing collection programs where phones can be dropped off or mailed in—regardless of the age or brand. Some charitable organizations and state or municipal solid waste programs also offer cell phone recycling. In most cases, cell phone recycling is free.
Recycling: a Green Call: Recycling cell phones helps the environment by saving energy and keeping usable and valuable materials out of landfills and incinerators. Cell phones are made from precious metals, copper and plastics—all of which require energy to mine and manufacture. Recycling these materials not only conserves resources, but also prevents air and water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, if all of the 100 million cell phones ready for end-of-life management in the U.S. are recycled, we could save enough energy to power more than 18,500 U.S. households with electricity for one year.
Recycling: a Social Call: Donating your cell phone also benefits your community. When cell phones and accessories are in good working condition, some programs donate them to a number of worthy charities or provide them for discounted sale to those who need them. In addition, many recycling programs use the proceeds to raise funds for charitable organizations, schools, churches and other social causes. In some cases, programs buy the phone back from the consumer.
Plug-In To eCycling partners supporting this campaign are AT&T, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. Take your old cell phone to any of these partner stores or authorized retailer for local recycling. Call one of our local homeless or domestic violence shelters to inquire about their need for cell phones, as well.
One last thing! Don't forget to remove your SIM card and/or delete your data before recycling your phone!
Don’t throw it away—fix it and save money!
You can repair many consumer electronics yourself, even if you have never pried the back off of a remote control device in your life. Some handy web communities will give you step-by-step directions on how to troubleshoot and repair many consumer electronics yourself. Most allow you to ask your question, receive guidance from other users, view technical documentation and user manuals you may have misplaced or never received, and save you the cost of tech support telephone calls to the manufacturer.
Some starting points:
- Fix Ya http://www.fixya.com
- Fixed 4 Free http://www.fixed4free.com/
- Fix it Now: Samurai Appliance Repair Man http://fixitnow.com/
Google or Ask.com can lead you to more of these sites, which are increasing in number as more consumers are repairing rather than tossing their gadgets and appliances. Whether your issue can be solved or not, it’s worth a look before you throw away or surplus an item you really need. Of course, we do not endorse any information included on these websites.
Save money and the environment with rechargeable batteries
By Lynn Allen
Every year Americans buy approximately three billion batteries to run their
cameras, cell phones, toys, watches, flashlights and all manner of
electronic gadgetry. We also throw away 15 billion single-use batteries
each year. These batteries go into our landfills where they will eventually
leach toxic metals into our ground water, lakes and streams. The good news
is that alkaline batteries can and should be recycled.
Many people mistakenly believe it is acceptable to dispose of alkaline
batteries in household or office trash. In 1996, mercury was banned in the
manufacture of alkaline batteries, but even so, unavoidable traces are
present in alkaline batteries. This is due to the mining processes of the
zinc and manganese used for manufacturing batteries.
[http://www.batteryrecycling.com/Categories/iRecycle+Kits/195]
Battery Solutions helps consumers recycle alkaline batteries. It costs
an affordable $34.00 to purchase a pre-paid postage kit to recycle a
year’s worth of household batteries.
Brunswick County residents can recycle single-use alkaline batteries with
automobile batteries for no charge at the Brunswick County C&D Landfill /
Transfer Station at 172 Landfill Road NE (Off Galloway Rd.), Bolivia,Monday
through Saturday, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
Even better than recycling alkaline batteries is using rechargeable
batteries. They save you a great deal of money and save space in the
landfill and put fewer poisons into the environment. The newest rechargeable
batteries can quickly and easily be recharged, and they actually hold their
charge. They can be reused up to 1000 times!Even though they cost a little
more to buy initially, rechargeables give a tremendous cost savings over
their life span.
The average price of one AA single-use alkaline battery is $1.62. It can be
used once, and you have to replace it with another one. The price of one AA
rechargeable battery is $3.66. It can be used up to 1000 times before it
must be replaced. You will spend $1,620.00 for 1000 alkaline batteries.
Today’s rechargeable batteries can be recharged in as little as 15
minutes, and the USBcell NiMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries can be
put into any computer’s USB port for on-the-spot recharging. (Available on
line at usbcell.com, Brookstone or REI stores currently).
Choose rechargeable Lithium-ion or NiMH batteries whenever possible (NiCD
batteries contain more toxic materials), and save a significant part of your
budget for other things. Be sure to recycle rechargeables (mandated bylaw)
as well as alkaline batteries. Never put them in the trash.
Recycle rechargeable batteries in any of the campus collection boxes, as
well as Radio Shack, the New Hanover County Recycling Site at Monkey
Junction, Brunswick County Recycling sites, Best Buy,and Batteries Plus.
5 ideas for "greening"
your meetings
Even though we may not have the budget for them, we still need to have meetings in order to conduct the business of the university. It is, however, possible, and it's certainly desirable to hold environmentally responsible meetings.
1. Have a conference call, video conference or meeting online (for example, meet on UNCW’s Second Life island) and cut down on the greenhouse gasses that would be created by travelling to the meeting place. Contact TELearn (Technology Enhanced Learning) at 910-962-7282 for help setting up your virtual meeting.
2. Avoid printing agendas or documents as much as possible. Use SharePoint to share documents so that people can review them beforehand, and follow up
using SharePoint’s collaborative tools.
3. Try to book your meeting in a room equipped with a projector so that participants can look at documents on the screen rather than having paper copies.
4. Serve fair trade coffee to ensure that small-scale coffee farmers receive a fair price for their work.
5. Avoid using Styrofoam or paper cups, paper plates, plastic flatware and bottled water as much as possible. Use reusable glassware and dishes, or ask people to bring their own.
Sustainability Tip from the ITSD Green Team: Phone charger - Unplug your phone charger when it is not charging your phone. As long as it is plugged into an outlet, it is using electricity!
Recycling news from YOU!
Recycle those old cell phones:
“In case anyone asks about cell phone recycling in response to the EPA piece, Domestic Violence Shelter and Services collects old cell phones and gives some to clients for emergency communication and sends others for resale and makes money for their services.
The UNCW CARE office is a collection site, so people can drop their phones off with us or even send them to us in campus mail. We’ve done cell phone drives in the past and it’s a great reminder to do another one soon.”
Rebecca Caldwell, Director of Crossroads & CARE, 2112 Westside Hall
Recycle discarded CDs and DVDs
"You can place them in the multi-use container in your building in the area labeled ‘plastic’. If you have CDs that have confidential information on them, there are some shredders that come with a slot for CDs. After shredding, this material can also go in the recycle bin. You can also bring discarded CDs and DVDs to the TAC for recycling."
Phoebe Tseh, Manager of the Technology Assistance Center and member of the ITSD "Green Team" and Kevin Farver, TAC specialist.
Sustainability Tip from the ITSD Green Team: Conserve paper--Print double-sided and set your printer to "low toner mode."
Ecofont
Andrea Brame, financial assistant in Continuing Studies told us about a unique way to save paper, ink and toner every day:
“I found another way to cut down on ink. There is a downloadable font out there called “Ecofont”. It only works if you use it in 10 or 12 pt. font, but it has tiny holes in the font that you can’t see, and this way it saves 20% of toner when printed. I’m using it in this email right now, and you can find it at http://www.ecofont.eu/ecofont_en.html.”
SPRANQ Creative Communications, a Dutch firm, has developed a new font--the Ecofont--in an effort to make ink cartridges last longer, saving money and the environment. After extensive testing with different shapes, the best results were achieved using small circular holes in each letter. The result is a font that uses up to 20% less ink. The Ecofont is free to download and use.
At the size shown in the image above, one can see the holes, but at a regular font size the holes are not visible. The results will vary depending on your software and your screen settings.
The Ecofont works best in OpenOffice, AppleWorks and MS Office 2007. Use a laser printer for the best printing results. The Ecofont is based on Vera Sans, an Open Source font, and is available for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux.
by Tami Violette
Tip: Use the free Microsoft Office 2007 PDF Add-In instead of buying Adobe Acrobat licenses for your department.
In the past, in order to create a PDF document, individuals had to purchase Adobe Acrobat. This could cost anywhere from $51.24 per machine (if purchased through UNCW’s discount) up to $449.00 per machine (if purchased directly from Adobe). There is now an add-in to Office 2007 that allows you to create a simple PDF file from any Office document without the need to purchase Adobe Acrobat!
The instructions are here - Microsoft Office 2007 PDF Add-In (and click on PDF Add-In under Microsoft Office).
Note: If you need to make pdf fill in forms, you will need to use Adobe Acrobat, but for most purposes, this Add-In will work and will save each department across campus a significant amount of their software budget.
EndNote ® essential for scholarly research, writing and publishing
by Anne Pemberton, Randall Library
What do these products do?
Bibliographic management systems allow users to store, organize and format
lists of references and citations. Users create “libraries” of citations
that can include references to books, journal articles, images, web pages,
and more. Users can search through these libraries, insert citations into
papers, and instantly create bibliographies in any style format such as APA
or MLA formats. There are hundreds of formats to choose from.
How will these tools help me?
These programs allow you to organize references in a searchable database
and format a bibliography instantly as you write your paper or manuscript.
If you have difficulty organizing your citations or finding them when it
comes time to write your paper or manuscript or if you have trouble
formatting a bibliography, then EndNote or EndNote Web would be an excellent
tool for you.
EndNote and EndNote Web are two bibliographic management systems available
from Thomson Reuters, a company that specializes in bibliographic research.
EndNote is a desktop software program while EndNote Web is available online.
In general, EndNote (the desktop software) is more powerful, easier to
use, and allows users to save .pdf articles within the program but is only
available through purchase.
EndNote Web has the advantage of being completely online which allows for
access anywhere and is available to all UNCW students,faculty, and staff
through Randall Library at no cost to the user. EndNote Web seems to meet
the needs of most researchers.
There is a comparison of the products online:
http://www.endnoteweb.com/encompare.asp.
Where can I use them?
EndNote is not currently not available in labs on campus. Faculty may
contact their department to purchase a copy or purchase a copy individually.
EndNote can be purchased online:
http://www.endnote.com or
http://www.journeyed.com/ (for students). Prices range from $99 to $300
depending on whether or not you are enrolled as a student.
EndNote Web is accessible online and is provided by Randall Library at no
cost to UNCW students, faculty, and staff. You can register for an account
here:
http://library.uncw.edu/web/research/citation/myendnoteweb.html. After
registering, you can go directly to http://www.myendnoteweb.com to use the product.
Where do I go if I need help?
Thomson Reuters provides free guides, tutorials, and support for both
products and Randall Library has created guides as well.
EndNote
http://www.EndNote.com/training/ and
http://www.EndNote.com/encontact.asp. A free 30 day trial is also
available: http://www.EndNote.com/endemo.asp
From Randall Library:
http://library.uncw.edu/web/instruction/workshops/EndNote%20X2.pdf
EndNote Web:
http://www.endnoteweb.com/support/enwebsupport.asp
From Randall Library:
http://library.uncw.edu/web/research/citation/Endnote%20Web%20Guide.doc
Workshops on both products are offered by Randall Library throughout the
academic year:
http://library.uncw.edu/workshops
You may also contact Anne Pemberton, Coordinator of Instructional Services,
Randall Library at pembertona@uncw.edu or
962-7810 for questions about EndNote or Lisa Williams, Coordinator of
Research Services, Randall Library at
williamsl@uncw.edu or 962-3688 for questions about EndNote Web.
TealWare: Your Software Anywhere--
is available now!
ITSD can now provide improved access to your department-specific software and help you save money. TealWare allows you to stay on top of things by accessing your university software anytime, anywhere!
TealWare offers you 24/7 access from off-site locations to the software applications that you use in your office or on lab machines (Microsoft Office, SPSS, Maple and others). The application resides in our UNCW “cloud” (TealWare), and is available to faculty and staff. Applications, including discipline-specific and productivity, are available to students based on licensing.
Whether you are at home, in an internet cafe or borrowing someone’s computer, as long as you have an internet connection you can access your UNCW software. Simply log in with your e-mail credentials. VPN is not required. More information: www.uncw.edu/tealware/info
Pass it on: Free Microsoft
Developer Software for Students!
Current university or high school students can download professional Microsoft developer, designer, and gaming software through DreamSpark at no charge. DreamSpark enables students to download and use Microsoft tools to unlock their creative potential by advancing their learning in the areas of technical design, technology, math, science, and engineering! As long as one is a current student in a verified, accredited School and uses the tools in pursuit of advancing your education in one of these areas these tools are free from DreamSpark.com, including:
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
- Microsoft Expression Studio 1.0
- Microsoft Expression Studio 2 Trial Edition (includes Web, Blend, Media, and Design)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition
- IT Academy Student Pass
- XNA Game Studio 2.0
- Visual C++2008 Express
Save your training dollars by making the most of Technology Enhanced Learning!
by Jeff Stanfield, TELearn
The Department of Technology Enhanced Learning sponsors several learning programs designed to enhance your business and
technology skills and give you unique opportunities to further your professional development at no cost to you. TELearn offers both instructor-led and online self-study sessions in Information Technology and business applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Design Curriculums and University specific courses. Online offerings include:
- Skillport – Over 4,000 courses on IT and Business related topics. Specific programs can be developed to address the training needs for supervisors and their staff.
- Books 24x7 – Over 9,000 current Business and IT titles. Great for just-in-time answers to your everyday questions.
- Microsoft IT Academy – Offers comprehensive IT training, resources and Microsoft certification opportunities to enhance
knowledge and encourage life-long learning.
For further information on these opportunities please visit http://www.uncw.edu/itsd/help/index.html
Department of Technology Enhanced Learning, ITSD
New online community for UNCW
Web content managers announced
The webmaster, Andrea Schwandt-Arbogast, recently
announced a new online community for UNCW Web content managers, featuring:
- Wiki: Exchange tips while building a knowledge base for future content managers.
- Discussion Board: Communication is key to resolving shared issues and learning why and how we do what we do.
- Shared Resources: Snippets, assets, tools and
reference material to help make your job easier.
Web content managers are encouraged to join this
community to keep current on UNCW Web site issues, news, changes and updates. Join the group to find answers and get help with problems, share what you know, and help us keep the UNCW Web site current, contemporary and useful to our readers and our colleagues.
https://share.uncw.edu/communities/home/ug/web
- To quickly move between multiple workbooks or worksheets
- To move between open workbooks, press Ctrl+Tab.
- To move to the next sheet in a workbook, press Ctrl+Page Down.
- To move to the previous sheet in a workbook, press Ctrl+Page Up.
- Did you know that you can now look up campus telephone numbers and office locations for any member of the faculty or staff at UNCW right from your Outlook 2007 client? Simply click on the Address Book button in your Standard Toolbar. When it opens, select the Address List you wish to view (.All Faculty & Staff is a good one), and type in the name of the person you want to locate.
