Tech Tips for the Home Stretch

Whether you are a 1L, 2L or 3L, you have technology related housekeeping that must be done…soon!

Everyone should ensure that they have a current plan in place for active data backup on an hourly basis. Whether you use an external device, network storage, or some cloud based solution, there is no excuse for having a data disaster as the term’s end draws near. Keep in mind that there is free cloud storage available through your outlook.com (@law.wlu.edu) account.

3Ls—Bar Apps, Laptop Warranty Status

Bar Apps can be a real pain. While they are time-consuming and often a pain to print, they are essential documents that often have a hard deadline! Start your bar application early and email lawtech@wlu.edu if you need assistance. Don’t let this deadline sweat you at the last minute!
If you purchased a laptop with a three year warranty prior to entering law school, keep in mind that your warranty is about to expire. Stop by the helpdesk with any concerns about performance or hardware function. You can even make an appointment to have us run diagnostics on your machine in an effort to detect any emerging problems or put your mind at better ease as the summer approaches. Short-term loaner laptops are available at the circulation desk for you to use if needed.

2Ls—Summer Adventures Ahead, Exams Around the Corner

Uh, do I need to remind you not to prioritize these items in the order listed above?! Keep your machine’s operating system updates current on at least a weekly basis and go into each exam having printed a test page to your favorite printer. Also, have an active backup solution plan for your exam writing time if using a laptop. Bring traditional technology solutions along (pencil and paper) to use in the event of a catastrophic failure. If your backup solution was used, simply keep pounding away at the answers and return to your backup copy at the end to print it and attach to your exam.
During the summer, ensure that your antivirus software stays up to date, and pay close attention to emails from Law Technology…we don’t send many, but the few we do send will save you scads of time on return to school. We will NEVER ask you to verify password information or click on links in our emails to you.

1Ls—You Don’t Have to Be the Ant, But Don’t Be the Grasshopper Either!

You’ve made it (presumably) through a tough first year. Enjoy a well-deserved rest and some recreation, but don’t ignore the fact that an increasingly competitive job market faces you down the road. Find a way to do some self-directed learning over the summer on technology related topics that are salient to the practice of law. For example, E-discovery (and electronic document management in general) are considered by some folks as new areas of essential learning. With the increasing importance of technology in the practice of law, you can balance an easy pace for a relaxing summer with some weekly reading on relevant blogs and journal articles on the topic. If you need suggestions, contact me: briggsja@wlu.edu.
Have a Great Summer!

W&L Law Technology History—Trivia or Trivial?

Obviously technology touches nearly every aspect of higher education nowadays, and change, sometimes rapid change, is the norm. Who knows what the future holds, or even if from my limited perspective this view of the past is even completely accurate?  Submitted for your approval…

Did you Know…?

1] That there once was a PC computer lab for students in “The Cage?” (Or, that there IS a cage?)
2] That John G. Keyser,(Associate Dean for Administration and Technology, Lecturer in Social Science and Law) was the first employee of the Law School’s very own Technology Services “department?” Among his first projects was to plan and implement the placement of a (then contemporary) computing lab in the space that is currently occupied by the Tax Clinic.
3] That since the very beginning of Lewis Hall, Professors have had the option to video tape lectures? Or that the camera was too heavy for the average person to safely lift?
4] That Tommy Williams, Director of Law Media Services, has been with the Law School since 1979? That he used to literally run from classroom to classroom at the beginning of each lecture, pop in a video tape and press the RECORD button? That automated video recording of lectures for professors who wanted it began in 1990?
6] That W&L Alum, Dirk Van Assendelft worked in Technology for the Law School twice in his career? The second time he was here he served as Director of Technology services. Among the many technology innovations that he developed was a wireless network that he and Keyser custom built for Lewis Hall one morning from 5-9AM, after which they surprised University Computing with the kind but unexpected request to “please flip the connection on now for our wireless network,” to which the reply was: “YOU HAVE A WIRELESS NETWORK?!” Mr. Van Assendelft is currently an IT Systems Architect with W&L University Information Technology Services.
7] That when the Tax Clinic displaced the computer lab, Technology Services hired a local wood worker to custom build the solid cherry carrels that line the hallways on Levels 2 and 3 so that most of the PCs could be in service for students? That those carrels are now student carrels? That the wood worker is a database administrator for W&L University Information Technology Services? That he also built the Lewis Hall recycling cabinets, the preservation case for the Whiskey Barrel, did the woodwork for the Brief Stop, and built all- custom furniture for Ron Fuller’s office?
8] That when the University migrated to a new content management system for the W&L website, Our Director of Communications, Peter Jetton, along with the aforementioned Dirk, opted to continue to host our own site? That we continue to host the site, along with the W&L Law Library website to the present day, and that—no jinx intended—the site has not crashed in over 8 years?

Spring Immersion 2013–Technology Support Update

The inbox rules seem to be working and students appear to have a better grip on effectively maintaining their laptops. The technology services staff have seen a few support calls from the Immersion Program so far, but mostly everyone seems to be running smoothly.
“The students seem to have caught on to using their pair number as an identifier,” said Bri Kleinert, the Faculty Services administrative representative to the Immersion Program. “When they email me, they mention it.”

Despite the fact that most technology so far has been running trouble-free, Technology Services is offering lunchtime support during the Immersion Program. “We know that the Immersion schedule is rigorous and demanding,” said Ben Hartless, Director of Technology Services. “So we’re going to be there just in case.”

Check with the circulation desk to find out where the tech support person is located on any given day this week.

Support Site for Immersion Students

Have a question about what to do with technology during the 2013 Spring Immersion Program? Check out our informational website at this link!

Also, for Immersion students, technology help will be available during the lunchtime hour (Noon-1PM). Check with the Circulation Desk for locations.

Sharepoint Program Tabled for Spring Immersion

While the official details on which technology tools students will use for the Spring Immersion Program next month, one thing is clear at this point:
We will not be using SharePoint. During testing, our experience was that the challenges of access and consistency across software platforms might prove more distracting than beneficial to the needed support for the curricular activities.
Likely, students and faculty will use an email document sharing approach, possibly with some use of inbox rules for students who are concerned about keeping their Immersion materials organized. Faculty will likely use inbox rules, which will be set up for them by the Lewis Hall Technology Services Staff.
More on this as it develops. Meanwhile…if you have not updated to the latest version of Microsoft office (2010 for PC; 2011 for Mac), you should do so now. See the technology webpage for this upgrade under “software downloads.”

WebPrint Memory Upgrade

After a analysis of exam printing demands, Director of W&L Law Technology Ben Hartless doubled the RAM (memory) of our student print server. “The memory that was there was enough for day to day demands,” Hartless said. “But it made sense to push the capacity during exam time.” In addition to the memory enhancement, Hartless upgraded the software in other ways that may be invisible to students, yet still improve performance. “The updates will make the options for duplex or single-sided printing work much more fluidly,” he added.
As always, if you have questions or suggestions for Law Technology Services, email us at lawtech@wlu.edu .

Confronting the Challenges of Instructional Technology

In education, instructional technology is “the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning.” At W&L Law, we strive to utilize technology in any way possible that will enhance student learning.

For those of us who work in Technology and Media Services, the drive for innovation comes from many different constituents within our school. Among these, a frequent source of inspiration is the Third-Year Immersion Program. The most significant technology goal relative to the Third-Year Program now is to prepare a SharePoint environment for instructors and students for simulating key aspects of law firm work.

While for us support staff this is an exciting undertaking, we also realize that no technology tool can perfectly simulate the performance context of a real lawyer working for real clients in a real case. Nevertheless, because we are applying the principles of instructional technology, our goal is to understand the learning goals of the curriculum designers so that we may select, adapt and deploy an imperfect technology solution in the best possible way realtive to the teaching and learning needs.

Success for us would be that students and faculty experience as much concreteness of a real case experience as possible with a minimum of “noise” (distractions) for the learners caused by the imperfect functioning or lack of familiarity with the technology tools. In order to advance this goal, we will reach out to students in the coming weeks with some readily accessible information and introductory experiences in SharePoint which will allow students to be better prepared for the core learning with the minimum “up-front cost” of their time and energy.

Look for more information next week…