Robert McKenney, FAAMA, Director

    With the help of two funded projects, the Information Systems Office has been working with faculty, staff, and medical students in delivering an enhanced Web presence, including the development of the “24-Hour Classroom.”   Specifically, work has been underway to deliver text, images, and sound files across the Internet and Intranet within what has been defined as a “reasonable” timeframe (based on minimum requirements like a 28.8 modem).

In addition, the activities of the IS Office involve the research and development of applications and processes that are to be user-friendly. The browser is a tool easily used by the recipient to navigate through various materials.  The ability to make educational materials Internet/Intranet-accessible should be equally easy for the provider of such materials.

The Office has worked to deliver three lectures via the Web using an application developed by a faculty member.  Also, the Office has “published” a sample of IS staff members’ presentations as an example of how PowerPoint presentations may be made available via the Web.  With all of these developments, the visitor will notice that the College’s site is becoming more dynamic and interactive.  When you visit the College’s Web page (www.med.ohio-state.edu), don’t forget to try out the site’s new searching capability :)

Robert McKenney, FAAMA, Director 

   It was stated in a recent edition of a trade magazine that some are taking a “wait-and see approach” to the year 2000 (Y2K) problem.  Others have noted that you if you haven’t started, then it is already too late.  One federal agency is looking to spend over $100 million in just two years to work toward Y2K compliance.

   The College’s IS Office started such discussions and activities last year.  The Office has worked to upgrade existing hardware and software in the College, and the IS staff members are looking at the adding of Y2K links from the College Web page to provide assistance on how one may discover if they may be impacted.  Secondly, the Office is planning discussions/presentations future IS Roundtable sessions to assist in the sharing of Y2K information.

Brian Wilson, Systems Manager
 
    As computers have become more and more essential to the academic experience for our students, we have been asked to field questions concerning student computing issues.

Beginning August 21, 1998, Friday afternoons from 1-3PM will be set aside as a designated time for students to pose any questions.  These questions could range from e-mail and Internet issues, to recommendations for a computer purchase, to subscribing to the student Listserv.

Please inform your students of this time whenever they ask a computer-related question.  We are happy to provide this weekly time as a way to guarantee students that their questions and concerns will be addressed quickly.

Brian Wilson, Systems Manager

    As most of you know, the IS Office has been exploring the issue of upgrading our current browser (Netscape Gold 3.0) to either Netscape Communicator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.  After much research and debate, we decided to follow the Netscape path.

   One of the factors we always consider when making decisions about software and hardware upgrades is to look at what is popular with other businesses.  A new survey shows that Netscape still holds a substantial lead in market share in medium and large businesses.  56.3% of these businesses use Netscape, while only about 25% use Microsoft Internet Explorer. (Source: Network World, July 6, 1998).

Brian Wilson, Systems Manager

    Since some time has passed since the installation of Microsoft Word 97, now is a good time to offer some shortcuts to make you more productive.

   The first tip deals with the AutoCorrect feature in Word 97.  AutoCorrect changes certain common misspellings to its correct one.  For example, if I type :) (to signify a smiley face), Word automatically changes it to ?.  If I like it the way I typed it, I can hit Ctrl-Z to override the AutoCorrect.  This is true for any word that is in the AutoCorrect list.

   Most of you probably know that you can use the Find command from the Edit menu to quickly search through a document for a specific word or phrase.  Here’s a quick way to locate the last word you used Find for without going to the Edit menu or pressing Ctrl-F.  Just go to the bottom right corner of the vertical scroll bar and click the double blue arrows.  To search forward in a document, click the down arrows.  To search backward, click the up arrows. The word you’re seeking will be highlighted and you won’t have to deal with a dialog box.

   If you have a form letter that you use frequently, Word can automatically insert the current date every time you print. Just insert the date with the "Date and Time" command (Insert menu) instead of typing it and be sure the "Insert as Field" option in the lower left corner of the dialogue box is on. Word will insert the current date every time you print.

   When you're working with multiple documents in Word, you can save time by using the Close All command instead of closing the documents one by one. Just hold down the SHIFT key and pull down the File menu. Where the Close command normally appears, you'll see the Close All command. Click Close All, and Word closes all open documents. As usual, you'll be prompted to save any changes to documents before they're closed. So take a shortcut next time and save on seconds and clicks.