| 9 | AMPEL |
| 31 | Wesbrook (CWSEI) |
| 47 | ampel |
| 53 | Home |
| 56 | Chemistry |
| 60 | Buchanan |
| 62 | VGH site |
| 63 | NCE |
| 73 | AMPEL |
| 88 | I come to the Dept only once or twice amonth |
| 103 | Life Sciences Centre |
| 110 | TRIUMF |
| 115 | Off-campus (BC Cancer Agnecy) |
| 120 | UBC and VGH Hospitals |
| 129 | off campus |
| 133 | UBC Hospital |
| 144 | Home |
| 145 | TRIUMF |
| 149 | Triumf |
| 157 | UBC Hospital |
| 164 | AMPEL |
| 167 | Life Science Centre, BC Cancer |
| 176 | UBC Hospital |
| 178 | home, Oak Bay |
| 180 | koerner's |
| 182 | Chemistry D-wing |
| 192 | Vancouver Cancer Centre |
| 196 | Triumf |
| 199 | UBC Hospital; Boston Univ |
| 207 | AMPEL |
| 211 | home... |
| 226 | retired |
| 236 | NCE |
| 238 | NCE |
| 246 | TRIUMF |
| 252 | Life Sciences |
| 255 | BCCRC |
| 262 | Chemistry |
| 264 | * |
| 269 | triumf |
| 10 | I am not aware that I need to make use of any of their services. |
| 36 | I did not know they exist |
| 53 | I am just starting to ram up my activities |
| 63 | I have IT support in another dept. |
| 68 | Got some help with setup, but now on my own |
| 76 | sometimes we do, but on most probelms we did not get either a prompt enough or precise enough support |
| 81 | what services do they provide? |
| 98 | at TRIUMF most of the time |
| 110 | I get computer support from TRIUMF |
| 115 | Sicne I am at the BC Cancer Agency, I am forced to use their IT services |
| 142 | adjunct position |
| 157 | I'm off site - but I like to receive updates from them |
| 166 | I look for help in AMPEL |
| 196 | because I am in Triumf |
| 199 | only seek help for email support |
| 225 | I have a MAC |
| 234 | My appointment at UBC is adjunct, primary appintment is at the BC CAncer Agency, I therefore rely on IT from the BCCAgency for my computer needs |
| 238 | use services from MSL |
| 264 | I am not located at UBC |
| 269 | i work a t triumf |
| 271 | mostly use Chem service |
| 9 | lab group specific networks |
| 10 | I honestly have no idea what services they currently provide (and have never used them). |
| 15 | open source replacements of proprietary software |
| 26 | Mac Printing |
| 31 | iPhone OS (mainly for mail configuration) |
| 243 | Not sure about expanded services when I don't really know what the support is! Although I am certain that PHASIT staff are stretched and don't need MORE work, I should like a clearer view of what PHASIT staff will do for me and what they will not. How long do I need to struggle with a linux/macOS issue before asking PHASIT for help? (Of course some personal struggle is always educational! - but there is a limit.) And who do I approach when? Can more guidelines be issued. I think intimidated students (I do speak to them!) would particularly welcome some more clarity on this matter. |
| 49 | licenses to install matlab/mathematica/maple on our work computers would be great |
| 60 | Usually I need help with UBC Course Admin Record inputs. Irritated by interminable changes in the system. However help from PHAS is excellent. Ta ever so !!! |
| 65 | help in initial set up and configuration of new computers/devices |
| 67 | Some training in the use of systems like vista/webct mathematica/maple management systems portal |
| 68 | n/a |
| 76 | more "field" support. come out to labs to check out some of the problems with experimental setups, data acquisition, etc. and provide solutions. |
| 77 | support for UNIX and work station |
| 85 | Honestly, unless they get funding there is little more they can be expected to do. This subset of the physics and astronomy staff are already quite knowledgeable with the existing hardware and software. |
| 88 | I almost only access the system remotely, so I dont have much comments to make |
| 114 | I would like to see an easier way to print to the phas printers. The current solution of print to a pdf, ftp the pdf to my account, then login to my account and lpr the pdf is much too cumbersome. Isn't there a way to serve up the printers natively over the network? |
| 120 | Sorry, I can't think of anything now. I seem to get superb help from the PHAS IT staff on any problems that arise |
| 123 | Windows operating systems. Nearly impossible to find a Windows computer to work on, print from. |
| 127 | none |
| 134 | hope we can print by our laptops more easily than now. |
| 151 | how to print on a mac, running jobs on clusters, compiler options |
| 153 | n/a |
| 160 | Everything is great! I think they are very good team! |
| 166 | I don't have any requirements at this time. |
| 185 | providing a generic PC and/or laptop as part of a bulk departmental buying. |
| 197 | Support for Macs. For example, how to set up a printer on a Mac. This info is not on the web, and yet dozens of people could have benefited from it. Thanks! |
| 198 | VPN |
| 201 | help on linux, like some linux help. |
| 203 | providing central license server for software common (used by few groups) to use in PHAS |
| 206 | no |
| 240 | An improvement of feedback/individual support systems. |
| 255 | External linkages to networks out side UBC |
| 258 | Linux |
| 264 | - Microsoft products - web publishing software |
| 76 | telephone+email |
| 120 | email or walk-in |
| 212 | Walk-in is best, but the email and telephone also work well. |
| 243 | I used it once and got no satisfaction from it. |
| 158 | Why add a layer of new ids and passwords when we have e-mail already? |
| 203 | I didn't get a prompt reply and I did not know who to follow up with |
| 260 | Electronic requests have not help with the course data base problems |
| 10 | n/a |
| 15 | You should publicise the web interface. |
| 31 | I think you assigne the TT. Was not aware to the fact that I could open a ticket. |
| 243 | In my admittedly singular experience, the solution did not work, and there seemed no way of taking the issue further. |
| 39 | no problems |
| 61 | I don't think the system was ever explained to me. |
| 65 | good: response is always fast. |
| 67 | no idea how it works |
| 73 | Has improved significantly over the past year or so. |
| 77 | need more advertisment |
| 85 | If it makes the job of organizing incoming issues easier, then I fully support it. Otherwise the IT staff always managed to fix my problems through regular e-mail, so it makes no difference to this user. |
| 87 | Not sure what you mean by it. I send an email and get a reply with a TT number on it, which I always just ignore. |
| 90 | needs to be better placed on the website. |
| 106 | slightly annoying to require a username/password (just one more to remember...) |
| 118 | could make easier to access-ie desktop access and no acct set up necessary |
| 120 | I really should start using it! |
| 123 | I've sent email to IT staff and they converted that into a TT. So I end up seeing it as a TT in their replies, even though I didn't send a TT. |
| 135 | good method of ensuring problems stay on the radar |
| 137 | I'm sure I will get used to the system |
| 144 | Good idea! |
| 147 | An auto-response email with approximate resolution time would be great, if feasible. Makes one feel that it's not going into virtual space, though I'm sure that it's not. |
| 149 | What trouble ticket system? |
| 157 | I am happy I know about it now. |
| 176 | I can totally understand the reason for using the TT system (MedIT does it too), there is something I don't like about sending an email to not a real person. I guess part of me doesn't trust my message will be read! (even though that's never happened!) |
| 177 | I think my supervisor has helped me deal with these issues, so I haven't had to directly do them, though IT helped me... |
| 180 | has this EVER been advertised? |
| 186 | I think that it is very useful, and understand that it is probably best for the IT staff if we use it. |
| 193 | Works fine. |
| 201 | never used |
| 212 | I am not sure what is meant by the TT system. |
| 216 | Never heard of it. |
| 240 | I find a direct email (which generates a TT) is more accessible to me. |
| 258 | Whenever i needed help this systems has been efficient. |
| 260 | TT system works for some problems, however, some problems it is not useful for. |
| 10 | n/a |
| 13 | It's often out of date and incomplete, eg wrt email clients |
| 16 | instructions to print from mac os/x |
| 20 | I tried to find information on how to set up printing from Windows. I found the info, but it didn't work. |
| 31 | navigation is not always the easiest, and design is fairly outdated. I have no concrete ideas, though. |
| 243 | My issues are usually too specific to be addressed by a website. |
| 37 | I don't remember |
| 39 | lots of good info |
| 65 | fine |
| 67 | no comment since never used it |
| 73 | Sometimes out of date, hard to navigate. |
| 77 | Some information isn't included like how to connect SSH. |
| 101 | More Mac-specific instructions. The last time I used those pages (a while ago), there was often only instructions for Linux and Windows users. |
| 106 | labour intensive to keep up to date. |
| 114 | I have googled for answers within the phas website before, so it's possible that I have used these computer support pages, but I wasn't aware of it. |
| 127 | some information is incomplete or out of date |
| 131 | I've found the best way to locate information on the PHAS support website is to google "UBC PHAS" + my query, and inevitably it finds all of the infomation I need. It's all there, and very easily searchable through an external search engine. |
| 135 | possible to simplify struture of support pages? |
| 137 | I use it at infrequent intervals and sometimes need to seek clarification |
| 147 | I'd like to see it set up like tax forms. For example, ticking box 1 for Windows XP then takes you to box 2, etc... so that you're only see what impacts you, and not all the other info which makes it a bit cluttered. |
| 151 | need to be updated |
| 158 | Some properties of our system are quite hard to find. |
| 176 | I went there to find out about how to set up Thunderbird email. I was happy. |
| 180 | see 2c |
| 197 | Need more support for Mac, see comment above (on printers, for example) |
| 201 | good |
| 208 | Pretty good for all your basic set up tasks. |
| 211 | I don't find it *bad*, but would appreciate more info regarding network structure, firewall rules, etc. |
| 223 | intrudctions for setting up mail box is not very clear, I wasn't able ot connect "secure login" directly with filezilla, which is what the page is for |
| 258 | Just to update the printers information, soemtimes i dont tknow which printer is which.. but all the info is very good and they are well written. |
| 260 | The course stuff is problem for large courses. |
| 10 | Again, I have no idea. (Sorry my feedback is so lame.) |
| 26 | I've had problems with printing a few times, and they still happen sometimes. That's the ony one issue I've had so far though. |
| 33 | Everything great so far. |
| 35 | better communication about planned outages as well as unplanned ones would be good |
| 243 | More transparency; more proactive - I think some of these issues will be addressed by the measures outlined above. In general I have a very positive view of PHASIT staff! |
| 39 | doing a great job already |
| 60 | For me the personal interaction route is the method of communication I prefer - I hate web sites and phones with an infinity of push button options (i.e. I am an old fart! |
| 61 | The newsletter is a good idea. Sometimes things happen in the IT area that people are not aware of, the newsletter would help. |
| 65 | Right now Shaun Woodruff helps with teaching technologies (computer set up for clickers, + any IT devices used in classroom teaching, etc) might be a good idea to include Shaun "in the PHAS IT loop" |
| 67 | updates of the ubc web page are very slow this is a serious matter when it affects the information that is available to students about courses. |
| 71 | Overall I'm happy with everyone on the staff except Gerry. He is not approachable, makes it seem like it isn't his job to help you, and is not courteous. |
| 73 | Test solutions before "closing" ticket. More uniformly helpful to all clientele. |
| 77 | Chatting with user |
| 85 | If the department would make this group of staff all full-time employees they would have more time to dedicate to general problems. Otherwise they are doing just fine. |
| 87 | Increase reliability of printers! |
| 88 | I have no current complaints |
| 114 | See my former comment about printing. |
| 123 | Having someone always available for walk-up traffic. That is, at least one IT staff in their offices at any time. |
| 127 | current system of short email at time of problem works well |
| 129 | Give users priviledges to install software, so that IT staff need not be asked every time. |
| 131 | I like the idea of dept updates - can these also be archived on the web as well? One thing I've found is that there is often very useful information sent out by email, but unless I hold onto that specific email I lose the information. An online searchable record of all IT emails sent out to "Everyone@phas" would be a nice addition to address this. |
| 134 | Let us be aware of the existing resources. |
| 137 | For my purposes the service is fairly impressive already. |
| 147 | For those of us who use paper forms of various types, it would be incredibly helpful if they could be put online so that they could be filled out online rather than in paper format. |
| 158 | Reliable schedule estimates on large jobs would help. I am thinking of teaching lab-set up etc. |
| 167 | even though it'd be interesting to read a newsletter, I would not want IT to divert resources from doing its core work. Occasional emails addressing updates on latest security threats, helpful hints IT have come across, planned service outages, etc. can be sent in a less formal then newsletter form. |
| 176 | I think they are all awesome and fabulous. No improvement needed as far as I can tell! |
| 185 | difficult to see how the IT service could be improved; i.e. I have very happy. |
| 186 | I think the IT staff are doing a great job. No comments for improvement. |
| 198 | by using a faster network |
| 201 | sometimes the email system is not working well. I even received a email sent out 7 days ago. |
| 208 | Having at least one person where they can be found at all times. |
| 223 | I think it would be good to know when an update happens (or at least have a place to check whether an update just happened) since sometimes some service disruptions are related to the work done by IT staff. |
| 240 | Have a more accessible technical support system. Currently I look at the list of sysadmins and email one of them directly. Already having to look up an email address on the website is a barrier for people. |
| 256 | The printers are often out of order. The computers in Henn. 205 perform slower and slower, and some in Henn 203 do not work at all. |
| 258 | The Physics IT staff is very competent and I think we need more staff members and more equipment, since they already do everything they can and they work at 100%. They are overworked and we need one or two more members, plus new computers with good graphic card and enough memory in 205 to use matlab or maple efficientl,y for courses such as 210 or 410. (yes you are right, this is ben:) ) More staff member will allow more time for the staff to concentrate in new projects, since we users are always overwhelming them with requests. We are very luck yo have them around. |
| 265 | More information . |
| 9 | forward to gmail |
| 14 | Forward to Gmail |
| 15 | gmail |
| 16 | forward to gmail |
| 20 | Forwarded to Gmail |
| 22 | gmail |
| 31 | iphone mail |
| 37 | forward to gmail |
| 47 | seamonkey |
| 77 | gmail |
| 107 | Mozilla Firefox |
| 110 | Gmail |
| 111 | I redirect it to gmail. |
| 123 | iPhone and iPad mail |
| 125 | iPhone |
| 129 | forwarded to gmail |
| 130 | gmail |
| 138 | seamonkey |
| 142 | eudora |
| 155 | forwarded to gmail |
| 165 | Gmail |
| 189 | see comments below |
| 197 | gmail on Firefox |
| 204 | gmail |
| 211 | auto-forwarded to gmail |
| 236 | GMail POP checking service |
| 240 | SquirrelMail |
| 265 | Opera |
| 13 | Would have to maintain all aliasing of usernames and phas/physics/astro so that no one has to change their email address. Would security be as good? Would spam filtering be set up? Would we have access to an account to log into to set up forwarding, vacation messages, etc.? |
| 15 | Exchange sounds like a bad idea. I would be afraid they'd botch things up at some point. Could I still use procmail? |
| 39 | in case interchange servers are down, then unable to use phas.ubc.ca email |
| 47 | -phas can provide the storage for the large amount of data in my email archive - i can current by save large data files from email directly to hyper then scp them to a host only reachable from the phas domain. At this moment, I can do this outside, say from Shaw ISP domain, by opening one Ssh section. Moving to a general UBC domain would likely cause more problems. For example, I'll need to download file to my local computer, upload it to a phas host accessible from outside, then upload again to the protected host |
| 49 | i enjoy having the @physics.ubc.ca email suffix |
| 54 | My past experience with the UBC IT hosted mail system (interchange.ubc.ca) has been spotty at best; while I have seldom experienced problems with the PHAS mail system, there have been many times where the Interchange system has been quite slow or down. |
| 56 | worse support |
| 60 | I know how to operate the current system and have no interset in learning any new ones. One very sannoying freature of all IT sytems is the passion they hqave for incessant change!! |
| 67 | the email system works fine, why change it? |
| 75 | If it happens I do not want any restriction on mailbox size and security settings. I do not want to be told how to manage my mailbox, etc... |
| 85 | UBC as a whole makes a lot of decisions unilaterally, and have a "wait to see if they notice" attitude. I worry that the UBC IT staff will follow the same dumb procedure and hope in the end everything works out. If UBC IT can ensure that the PHAS IT staff will have an up-to-the-minute accounting of any major changes then I suppose that the change-over would not be as ugly as UBC typically likes to manage things. |
| 87 | I believe that when problems happen we will have an infinitely easier time getting help from PHAS IT than from UBC IT. |
| 120 | I would like to see a longer time-out interval on the web calendar (or the ability to change the time-out myself). I would also like a faster way to access the web calendar; i.e. a single keystroke. I have never used Exchange, so I am not competent to comment on it. |
| 125 | - Outlook webmail is a disaster that doesn't work properly with firefox. - Less local customization |
| 127 | severe limitation on mailbox size of Exchange makes it useless |
| 147 | Having UBC be our email host, it would give us less control over technical problem resolution, and and longer resolution times. |
| 167 | - I have seen more UBC exchange outages than PHAS email outages (this might be a skewed datapoint) - I am happy with the quota system PHAS email can handle. I am nervous about exchange being able to do that. - My opinion can change if I learnt the PHAS IT time spent on email and what it'd be used for instead. |
| 177 | phas allows larger emails (which I need) and larger inbox sizes than other services. would this change? I worry that quality of service will go down if this service transferred. I've had problems before where interchange was down, so I used phas. Though this has gone both ways... |
| 186 | Will the UBC IT people be able to solve any problems for us as quickly and reliably as the PHAS IT people? |
| 193 | The e-mail service is one thing that works very well in the Department. I wonder if it would be wise to go through this change and what would the benefit to us be? |
| 201 | I don't trust Exchange of UBC. |
| 204 | Just want to make sure I can continue to forward my emails to my gmail account and delete the local copy. |
| 212 | The use of the UBC IT system might work very well. It probably would lead to more efficient use of the Departmental team's time. However, in general, I find that local control is better..more responsive to local needs and easier to turn to for help. |
| 222 | Moving to UBC administered servers would likely result in a negative impact on service and email server reliability. |
| 251 | potential privacy issues |
| 260 | Since e-mail is used most communications, moving the service outside of the department seems to add more chance of problems with support etc... |
| 268 | local staff much more preferable than distant UBC IT when inevitable problems arise UBC IT may not maintain support for clients, namely pine, that are uncommon outside of physics for very long. |
| 10 | n/a |
| 13 | It's mostly fine as-is. |
| 14 | We have a web calendar? |
| 15 | I currently just forward my mail elsewhere but have in the past appreciated the flexibility possible with procmail etc. |
| 31 | In general, and exchange system would be great, since it would also allow for Push notifications on iphone and other syncing options for mac. |
| 33 | I would not mind moving to Exchange only if POP secure connexions are possible with Exchange. I really dislike IMAP. |
| 243 | I am very appreciative of being allowed to `archive' all my mail for the last several years on the system, secure in the knowledge that it is backed-up regularly. |
| 39 | okay |
| 48 | Farming out the email terrifies me. I could probably live with IT services doing it, but I fear the day will come when they'll want to contract it out off campus, and I think that would be a catastrophe. The email appears to me to have been working smoothly in recent months - but I do appreciate the effort taken to getting there. |
| 53 | I have not used it much. It seems fine so far. |
| 61 | Twice most of my e-mail folders have disappeared. Some was recoverable from backups but we could never figure out what the root cause was. For this reason I don't trust the system 100%. |
| 63 | I find the Phas system a bit slow, particularly when attachments are involved. |
| 65 | If UBC IT hosts the mail system, will they impose limitations like some places do: ie I don't want to see a limit to size of attachments (assuming reasonable size). I don't want to see UBC IT start imposing all kinds of restrictions that interfere with how we work. If our system goes down on the weekend, it gets fixed on the weekend, would UBC IT do the same? |
| 67 | the current mail system is very reliable. |
| 68 | I hit a hitch with getting Tbird to forward my mail to gmail, once I overcome my laziness I intend to resolve this because I much prefer the gmail organisational system to that of any of the supported clients |
| 73 | MUCH better since changing the way folders are handled. Only interested in calendaring of Exchange if it can be integrated with Outlook. |
| 77 | The user interface is not convenient. |
| 85 | As far as I know, the problem with the mail system in the department comes from people abusing it. Unfortunately the users find it difficult to abide by some rules about cleaning their inbox which makes a mess for everyone else. |
| 88 | Spam cannot be avoided altogether, but I am pleased that I get less than I used to. |
| 106 | I greatly value being able to use pine directly on the server while travelling (due to the lightness of the interface). |
| 109 | I really mix using OUTLOOK. Outlook is the way to go. |
| 112 | I already use the UBC exchange system exclusively and it works very well for me. |
| 114 | I might be interested in using the exchange calendars, but I'm not sure. It would depend the features and the time required to get it working. (and I have no data on either) |
| 118 | PHAS email -missing some useful features that Outlook has, ie. Calendar, reminders |
| 120 | Works great for me! |
| 123 | System is running much better after last upgrade. |
| 130 | please consider using the google calendar system |
| 131 | I've been very happy with the up-time and access through the PHAS servers for email. I do have all incoming email automatically forwarded to gmail as a backup whenever PHAS goes down, but I've only had to resort to using that 1 time (possibly 2?) since I set it up 5+ years ago. I'm very happy with the level of service and access. |
| 135 | sending of e-mails often takes multiple attempts before it goes through, connections issues with SMTP server |
| 137 | I am satisfied with the current system. |
| 138 | If it ain't broke... |
| 140 | It is nicer to show our email addresses as username@phas.ubc.ca rather than username@exchange.ubc.ca. |
| 144 | As long as the performance/reliability was the same, and similar mailbox quotas were allowed. |
| 146 | I am worried that the assumptions may not turn out to be correct in practice. |
| 149 | So long as my inbox, and email address remain the same, I don't care. If you can't accomidate that, don't do the change. |
| 158 | could one keep physics as an address? |
| 166 | I need help to remove some obsolete mailfolders that somehow got re-installed and I cannot now remove them. |
| 167 | Great service as far as I am concerned |
| 176 | I can't answer the last question as I don't know anything about the calendaring features of Exchange... |
| 180 | why waste the IT staff's time, gmail is superior in all ways. |
| 185 | I currently use Goggle Calendar. I cannot see how the department IT could compete with Goggle or similar types of calendars. |
| 186 | Alpine has lots of extra characters inserted for commas, apostrophes, and CRs. That has me thinking of switching to another mail client. |
| 189 | I just have my email forwarded to another account that I have all my email go to. Thus I'd have no problems with a move to UBC IT as long as I could continue to forward my mail. |
| 198 | I am using the Linux based e-mail system (pine) and do not really interested in the Exchange service. At the end of the day the Windows system is still not "very secure". |
| 201 | sometimes my message can be delayed from several hours to several days. |
| 223 | My experience with exchange is that some of the services/options are only available when one uses internet explorer (I used it a while ago, but things like drag and drop, expanding folders, etc, I wasn't able to use when I log in through firefox). Since a lot of people use firefox it would be useful to find out whether we can actually utilize Exchange well with firefox. |
| 224 | Regarding moving to UBC servers, I like having the straightforward @physics.ubc.ca address and I hope that alias would still function. |
| 225 | sometimes it is too slow |
| 256 | It works well, and I like it. |
| 258 | I Would like to be able to use alpine even after this service migration. It is my only concern, and also to have our mailboxes and folders backed up in a reliable way as now. |
| 260 | Present mail system is good. |
| 267 | Web mail is very limited in not being able to display graphics. Many messages are incomprehensible. |
| 127 | none |
| 149 | Alot of it ends up locked behind a password wall, that even if I have passwords for some courses means I can't even get a syllabis for others. It's very frustrating. |
| 14 | WebCT only seems to make my life more difficult. |
| 65 | online grades, bulletin boards, easy to upload lecture notes and class materials |
| 73 | only use it to securely post marks, and then only rarely |
| 86 | I'm not a fan of WebCT except for recording and distributing marks, but students seem to like the discussion forum feature |
| 131 | secure logins for students (easy to post up info that is student-specific and secure) |
| 138 | Actually I HATE Vista. |
| 149 | Uhg. Don't get me started. If there was a nice open source alternative, go with that. If not, bow your heads in silent mourning. |
| 186 | Display of individual marks for students |
| 268 | security; reliability |
| 10 | Having a common product across departments sounds like a good idea. |
| 15 | Open source sounds like a good idea. |
| 16 | Very good idea. Make sure TA's can easily access/edit info on the course they're TAing |
| 27 | I would be happy to try something else. I find WebCT rather confusing and difficult to use for both students and TAs (can't speak for the faculty). |
| 33 | Open source is always good! |
| 35 | probably a good idea. the redundancy of effort (see the system developed by stats and math, for example) is silly |
| 37 | I approve of open source software in general, and it seems like a good idea to implement the same product in many departments. |
| 39 | easier mark entry than webct |
| 48 | I like the idea of using an open source product. I don't have any investment in either Carchive or WebCT so switching would be no burden. If there is to be a switch, sooner rather than later would be good. |
| 60 | No interst in using commercial learning systems. It seems to me their main function is to provide profits to the companies who manufacture them. They will constantly change systems so that next year's system is incompatible with this year's and the unfortunate users will, have to learn new systems for ever and ever amen! |
| 65 | .. I hate changing systems every two- three years. It adds a huge time overhead to the instructors. Right now, I use the interface to upload clicker marks to WEBCT, I use the WEBCT/TurnitIn interface in WEBCT and after several years of using it, I feel I have finally "mastered" WEBCT enough that the student and I can use it efficiently. Changing to yet another new system means we all have to learn yet another new system, and the extra time it takes to do things is a waste of time.. WEBCT/VISTA is great. What are its shortcomings? what motivates the change? If it works fine and students and instructors are happy, why change things? If it's just to save money, please consider the huge cost extra instructor time and convert that to $$$. UBC should have one system for all campus, not just Science faculty. Right now students log into WEBCT and get all online course materials.. in science, arts and all electives. Now will they have to sign in to several different systems if they are taking courses in several faculties.. no thanks. I'll stick with WEBCT unless the whole university changes.. |
| 67 | I find Vista very complicated, cumbersome and generally difficult to use. Students must get the impression that we are in the software stone age when they use it. |
| 68 | I've found Vista to be serviceable, but by no means exemplary. I look forward to trying a different program. |
| 73 | The students and I really like Carchive, and I hate Vista. If the replacement is more like Carchive than Vista I would be happy I guess. |
| 87 | I really hate WebCT. It is slow, hard to use, and awkward. The most important use for Vista for me is to post marks. |
| 88 | I did not use Web CT because I feelt that any course material that do not raise privacy concern should be open to the public. If I go to the trouble of preparing course material I would like as many as possible to be able to access it. I also feel that with restrictedaccess to course material we are constantly reinventing the wheel. |
| 91 | Sounds good. |
| 106 | -I find WebCT to be poorly documented when it comes to doing simple initial setup as well as hard to do some simple things. It also renders differently on different web browsers. I was a first time user last year and did not enjoy the experience. - The product needs to be very simple if students outside Fac of Science (who may not use it very much for other courses) will use it. |
| 114 | Sounds good, as long as the UI is easy to use. |
| 116 | Only if it works! |
| 120 | I would support this. I confess that I am behind on course archival. I found one of the systems cumbersome to use. |
| 123 | Sure, as long as it's compatible with the iClicker marks upload (currently, daily clicker marks can be uploaded directly into the WebCT spreadsheet.) |
| 126 | Good idea; having things so spread out is a bit cumbersome |
| 127 | Current Carchive is buggy and unreliable |
| 130 | it would be just great. Vista is just horrible in terms of user interface and the implementation. |
| 131 | Would like to retain secure logins for individual student access (easy to post up info that is student-specific and secure) |
| 138 | Good. Vista sucks. There must be something better out there; I just don't know what, since I write all my own Web sites. |
| 146 | WebCT fails because it is set up for people who know little about computers, so it is frustrating to use for instructors who are not used to clicking on icons to do stuff! |
| 149 | YES. OH GOD YES. PLEASE. GOD. YES. If you havn't ever read about the history of webct, you should. It's an interesting story of UBC getting screwed over, from an originally in house software package which was licenced out and then back in. We're now coming back to where we were a decade ago. |
| 151 | Good! |
| 158 | Using such a system has to be easier than ignoring it and writing all your own web pages. VISTA, at least, fails this test. |
| 167 | strongly in favour. Even though I understand the reasoning behind Carchive it seemed impractical to maintain Vista dor mark entering and Carchive for content. A system that does both is the main criteria. |
| 169 | common grading tables that TA's and instructors can access is important. Archiving information, and providing access to that info for students during term is also vitally important. |
| 177 | Vista already has problems with loading grades. would this be improved on the new system? for example, if two TAs simultaneously upload a spreadsheet with grades, all grades are lost... |
| 185 | I am no longer teaching; however, if I were, I would stick with a personal webpage for my courses. |
| 186 | I find VISTA not easy to use. After a period of non-use, it takes time to get up to speed again. CARCHIVE sometimes breaks down. A new common system might be a good alternative. I will have to test it. |
| 201 | I would strongly agree to replace WebCT, since I don't have good experience with this system. |
| 221 | It needs to run faster and with fewer glitches than WebCT vista. It should have similar features. It would be great if vista courses could be transferred to the new system. |
| 224 | The Vista user interface is quite bad. In all likelihood any alternative would be an improvement. |
| 225 | good I hate webct/vista |
| 231 | Only problem I foresee is that the iClicker response system used by first year physics classes has Vista integration for uploading results and downloading student registrations. The new system would need a similar plugin for receiving/sending iClicker data or there would be a large amount of extra work involved for instructors using them. |
| 240 | Something that is not big and bulky like WebCT Vista would be good. I found it difficult to use on the hyper machines in the student computer lab and even on faster machines. Maybe something with a flash interface instead of java? |
| 242 | Anything more user friendly than WebCT Vista would be much appreciated! This is the worst mark entering system ever! |
| 246 | good idea |
| 251 | you have my full support |
| 258 | If the opensource system is reliable lets do it! |
| 260 | Make sure it easy for the students! |
| 267 | Another system to learn how to use! |
| 268 | If it's secure and reliable I have no objections. One complaint I have about vista is that the ability to do spreadsheet-style calculations on marks is extremely limited. Of course full spreadsheet functionality would be too much. Another is that there is no ability to transfer final grades directly from vista to the Faculty Service Centre. This would not only simplify the process but also reduce the chance of errors. |
| 37 | grad forum (briefly) |
| 61 | shop databases |
| 112 | Student machine shop course bookings |
| 158 | reference letters, etc--oftem impossible to find or read. |
| 167 | GradStudent db |
| 175 | grad program/database/etc |
| 263 | course info |
| 10 | n/a |
| 13 | Documents are not in obvious places. Where should one look for teaching assignments, for example? |
| 24 | allow admin. staff to correct spelling mistakes |
| 35 | organization makes no sense to me |
| 39 | has good info |
| 48 | There are a few things in odd places, like grad student applications? |
| 54 | The documents section is a bit disorganized. The message board is rather underused (no new posts - visible to me at least - in months); maybe its existence could be (re-)advertised. |
| 65 | it's fine. |
| 67 | It is usually difficult to find what I am looking for there. |
| 73 | Fine, but tend to have to click an awful lot to get where you want to go. |
| 85 | If anyone complains about the PHAS website, tell them to try to find things on the Southampton homepage. |
| 96 | It would be helpful if the login didn't time out. |
| 106 | I find the catagories poor; I seldom find it obvious which group I should be looking under to find what I want, and find this lessens the site utility. |
| 131 | I think it works very well for what it is intended to do - forms and dept administration is handled very cleanly through this system. |
| 135 | calendar function somehwat "clunky". Not enough people use it to make meeting planning effective |
| 144 | Adequate for my basic needs. |
| 146 | It's sometimes hard to find things I've never visited before. |
| 157 | I used to use it, but I haven't used it for a long time now. It was very useful for getting information about others in the department. |
| 167 | I find the organization a little ideosyncratic. What is the difference between an form and a document? Some sort of quick search feature would be handy. |
| 185 | seems to be well organized |
| 186 | Very useful |
| 201 | good if you are aleady familiar with it. |
| 223 | navigation is not really straight forward. For example, to find my vacation hours I go to "forms," which does not really make sense to me... |
| 240 | I tried to find information about travel expense claims, but found absolutely nothing. Turns out that I can find that on a UBC webpage, but a link would have been nice. |
| 258 | I use it little but when necesary its always been efifcient and easy to use. |
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| 31 | email - would be great to print from the wireless network. So I could walk with my laptop to the printer, see how the printing came out, and update the file accordingly. I wonder wether there is a simple way to work with the AFS (e.g., set up an FTP client). Probalby there is one, I just haven't studied the topic too much. |
| 35 | It would be good if users of particular machines/services were kept in the loop about any outages etc... For example, if there were difficulties with hyper, an e-mail that they have been resolved would be nice. |
| 52 | I just would like to mention that in contrast to staff in Windows Site, the staff in Linux Room is not useful at all. He never helps you and treats really "impolite" and rude. It's not just me but I have seen nobody who is satisfied of his service. I would like to thank for warm and polite treatment of other staff. |
| 65 | - |
| 67 | I have a high opinion of our IT staff. I have always found them to be friendly and helpful and their help at various points worked well and was absolutely crucial. |
| 73 | Good for you for doing this. |
| 77 | The wireless connection. It's bad in the basement. |
| 107 | Keep up the great work everyone - the Admin. Staff value your support and services. Cheers, |
| 130 | Please try to have less blackouts of the terminals in the computer room as it is necessary to print materials for course teaching fast sometimes. Other than that, thank you! |
| 138 | This would have been a good time to remind people to update their personal profiles in the faculty database. |
| 147 | How is this anonymous if you can tell that I hadn't yet filled out the survey, and if my name was on the reminder email? Hmmm... |
| 158 | I know IT covers a rapidly changing body of detailed knowledge, but I have been occasionally surprised about gaps in our IT staff's expertise. |
| 177 | I don't like the idea of phas IT services being moved out of the department. |
| 178 | as you can imagine - my contact is limited basically to e-mail with the department - for technical computer support I rely on UVic and HIA |
| 193 | It used to be that when printing consecutive jobs by the same user only one cover page was generated. Now, each job creates a separate cover page wasting sometimes a lot of paper. |
| 201 | is this mandatory? |
| 208 | no comment |
| 220 | Since I am retired, my usage of departmental information has declined, so my answers are more typical of my earlier usage. |
| 223 | Thanks for putting this survey together!! One suggestion (which came up when I was making the exit survey) is that sometimes the scales for the options run in opposite directions. For example, from good to bad it is from left to right, but from agree to disagree it is from right to left (probably on p1 or p2 of the survey). It would help to keep that consistent so people won't have to switch directions from question to question. |
| 258 | Great work, thanx. |