Computing Resources for New Instructors

Orientation to Computing here: The Department's computer systems group maintains a number of documents that include information about computing at Michigan and in the Department.

Spreadsheets: On Mac computers in the Department, you should have access to Excel, which is the spreadsheet program that most people know. On Linux computers, OpenOffice provides a spreadsheet with the same functionality. It even knows how to read and write Excel formatted spreadsheets. Type scalc or oocalc at the command line to start OpenOffice's spreadsheet.

Pine Email: Annoyed that your email client operates with multiple windows, has pretty icons, and uses convenient pull-down menus? Try Pine for the relief you need. With an all-text interface, it's almost impossible to go wrong! You'll need to log in to a server that knows how to get your mail: at the command line, type ssh login.itd.umich.edu, and then type pine at the command line.

Class email lists: Some students really like professors who keep in touch via email. There are two ways to do this: one is to go to Wolverine Access (<http://wolverineaccess.umich.edu/>) and navigate to your course roster (Faculty business -> Faculty center -> Roster); there is an option there to e-mail your class. Alternately, if you don't want to log in to Wolverine Access every time you want to send an e-mail, you can up a class email list through a service provided by ITD (Information Technologies Division) which builds class email lists from the registrar's enrollment database —Very convenient. You can start with the ITCS Listserver Home Page.

Student Info forms: The Department has a system to allow students to submit their "about me" data to be made available to the instructor online. If you use this system to get student feedback, you have to promise me that you'll read it! Accessible from the Department's instructional technology site.

Online Gateway Exams: This is not so much a resource for you as a resource for your students. Of course, this means you'll have to know it fairly well in order to help them use it properly. Each intro level class (105, 115, 116, 215) gives one or two gateways each semester, testing rote mechanic ability. The students use the basement computer labs (a proctored environment) to take the tests. They are automatically graded, with errors identified and tutorials generated on the fly to help students with problems on particular topics, like the quotient rule. Again, see the Department's instructional technology site. Also be sure to ask your course coordinator about these.

Other On-line Resources: For other on-line instructional resources offered in the Department, see the