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Orange Online: March 2025 Newsletter

This message was originally shared to all students via email on March 5, 2025.

Orange Online at a Glance

Each month, Information Technology Services provides tech tips for the Orange community. Pressed for time? Here are this edition’s topics:

Research Computing Series

Join us for our upcoming Spring 2025 Research Computing Series. On April 2 at 1:30 p.m, HTCondor’s Christina Koch will discuss high-throughput computing. Then, on April 16 at 1:30 p.m, postdoctoral researcher Sadjad Arzash will talk about his research with Lisa Manning’s group. Register.

Behind the Monitor: Episode 5

In this episode, we chat with Shannon Glennon, Technology Transformation Specialist at ITS, about her role in helping faculty and staff adopt new technologies. She talks about tools like Copilot and ChatGPT, common tech concerns on campus and the future of AI in higher education. Video.

Digital Accessibility Tip: Consider Spreadsheet Accessibility

Are you creating a spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel? Screen readers and other assistive technologies start reading the sheet from cell A1, which you can use to your advantage to benefit all users. If the sheet is long or complex, consider putting instructions or an overview of the sheet in cell A1. Office Hours.

Information Security Tip: Beware Phishing Attacks

Watch out for an increase in phishing emails targeting the University community. These attacks often appear to come from trusted sources and aim to steal your credentials. Be cautious of unexpected emails with links, validate suspicious requests by phone and never share MFA codes sent via email or text. Learn More.

MakerSpace History

Discover the history behind the ITS MakerSpace’s journey! In this edition, MakerSpace Manager John Mangicaro talks about the space’s time in Kimmel Hall before its relocation to Marshall Square Mall. Learn about its evolution, past innovations and what’s next for this creative hub. Video.

AI Insights Newsletter

AI Insights is ITS’s newsletter for AI trends, tips and resources. Stay informed with news from higher education and tech, a weekly AI tip and prompt and valuable tools to explore. Whether you’re looking to integrate AI into your work or just stay updated, AI Insights has you covered. Subscribe.

Automatic Email Forwarding Ends March 26

As part of the University’s ongoing efforts to maintain and secure our email services, the ability to automatically redirect emails from University accounts will end March 26. At that time, any redirect rules set up in a mailbox will be deleted and emails sent to an @syr.edu address will no longer be automatically forwarded to other email accounts. You can learn more about this change on Answers. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at help@syr.edu or 315.443.2677.

Helpful Resources

ITS and the campuswide information technology community are available year-round to help with your tech questions. Resources include:

Thank you for reading. Go Orange!

Tech Tips: March 2025 Newsletter

This message was originally shared to all faculty and staff via email on March 5, 2025.

Tech Tips at a Glance

Pressed for time? Information Technology Services (ITS) has you covered. Here are this edition’s topics:

Research Computing Series

The Research Computing Series offers a great opportunity for faculty, staff and students to explore the latest resources and advancements in computational research. This spring, join us for two insightful sessions featuring expert speakers.

On April 2 at 1:30 p.m., HTCondor representative Christina Koch will discuss high-throughput computing and how researchers can leverage these powerful resources. Then, on April 16 at 1:30 p.m., Sadjad Arzash, a postdoctoral researcher wrapping up work with Lisa Manning’s group, will share insights from his research.

Join us to learn about cutting-edge computing tools and techniques that can support your work!

AI at Work (Video)

Recorded live on Thursday, Feb. 13, from the K.G. Tan Auditorium in the National Veterans Resource Center, the second installment in our AI at Work series featured use cases, guidelines for responsible use and tips for achieving better results. Video.

Blackboard Day (Video)

Faculty and staff participated in Blackboard AI Day on Friday, Jan. 31. The morning began with a panel about the use of artificial intelligence among faculty, followed by breakout sessions about Blackboard Ultra’s AI Assistant tool. Video.

Digital Accessibility Tip: Consider Spreadsheet Accessibility

Are you creating a spreadsheet using Microsoft Excel? Screen readers and other assistive technologies start reading the sheet from cell A1, which you can use to your advantage to benefit all users. If the sheet is long or complex, consider putting instructions or an overview of the sheet in cell A1. Office Hours.

Information Security Tip: Beware Phishing Scams

Watch out for an increase in phishing emails targeting the University community. These attacks often appear to come from trusted sources and aim to steal your credentials. Be cautious of unexpected emails with links, validate suspicious requests by phone and never share MFA codes sent via email or text. Phish Bowl.

Behind the Monitor

In this episode, we chat with Shannon Glennon, Technology Transformation Specialist at ITS, about her role in helping faculty and staff adopt new technologies. She shares insights on tools like Copilot and ChatGPT, common tech concerns on campus and the future of AI in higher education. Video.

MakerSpace History

Discover the history behind the ITS MakerSpace’s journey! In this edition, MakerSpace Manager John Mangicaro talks about the space’s time in Kimmel Hall before its relocation to Marshall Square Mall. Learn about its evolution, past innovations and what’s next for this creative hub. Video.

Gradescope

Grading midterms? Gradescope, integrated with Blackboard, streamlines grading, organizes work and provides insights with robust analytics—saving you time and effort. Contact gradescope@syr.edu for on-campus Gradescope general support and inquiries. Resources.

AI Insights Newsletter

AI Insights is ITS’s newsletter for AI trends, tips and resources. Stay informed with news from higher education and tech, a weekly AI tip and prompt and valuable tools to explore. Whether you’re looking to integrate AI into your work or just stay updated, AI Insights has you covered. Subscribe.

Automatic Email Forwarding Ends March 26

As part of the University’s ongoing efforts to maintain and secure our email services, the ability to automatically redirect emails from University accounts will end March 26. At that time, any redirect rules set up in a mailbox will be deleted and emails sent to an @syr.edu address will no longer be automatically forwarded to other email accounts. You can learn more about this change on Answers. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at help@syr.edu or 315.443.2677.

Helpful Resources

ITS and the campuswide information technology community are available year-round to help with your tech questions. Resources include:

AI Insights for February 21, 2025

This message was originally shared to subscribers February 21, 2025.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our AI at Work event on Feb. 13. If you were not able to attend, or if you would just like a refresher, a recording of the presentation is available on the ITS website.

Would you like to share an article you found or a tip for taking advantage of AI? We’d love to hear it! You can share your links and ideas using our Microsoft Form.

If you received this email as a forward from a helpful colleague, you can subscribe online.

News and Views

Government

  • Blackburn Charts Senate Path on AI, Quantum, Cyber Legislation (MeriTalk)
  • Vance calls for more open AI policy at Paris summit (Nextgov)
  • The new AI world order emerges in Paris (Politico)
  • White House Seeks AI Input as Congress Eyes New AI Task Force (MeriTalk)

Higher Education

  • An AI-Driven Optimism for Transforming Higher Education (Educause)
  • DeepSeek and shallow moats: what does it mean for higher education? (Times Higher Education)
  • How Higher Ed Institutions Are Using Built-In Generative AI Tools (EdTech)
  • How to encourage students to write without AI (Chronicle of Higher Education)
  • Survey Indicates Students Feel Unprepared to Use AI in the Workplace (EdTech)

Industry News

  • Generate Value From GenAI With ‘Small t’ Transformations (Sloan Review)
  • Elon Musk Leads $97.4 Billion Bid to Control OpenAI (New York Times)
  • Sam Altman Dismisses Elon Musk’s Bid to Buy OpenAI in Letter to Staff (Wired)
  • Google to test using AI to determine users’ ages (CNBC)
  • Elon Musk unveils Grok 3 and ‘Deep Search’ tool (Mashable)
  • Elon Musk’s xAI releases its latest flagship model, Grok 3 (TechCrunch)
  • Large Language Models Pose Growing Security Risks (Wall Street Journal)
  • Mira Murati’s New AI Adventure: Thinking Machines Lab (OpenTools)
  • Nvidia launched Signs, a free AI-powered tool that helps teach American Sign Language (Signs-AI)

Journalism

  • New York Times goes all-in on internal AI tools (Semafor)

The New York Times adopts AI tools in the newsroom (The Verge)

This Issue’s Tip: Changing the Subject

When using generative AI tools, starting a new chat for different subjects ensures clarity and relevance in responses. It helps the AI to focus on the specific context of each query, avoiding confusion from previous interactions. To start a new chat, look for an icon (usually a pencil or a plus sign) in the top-left or top-right corner of the chat window, depending on the tool you are using.

This Issue’s Prompt: Project Planning

A prompt is how you ask generative AI tools to do something for you (e.g., creating, summarizing, editing or transforming). Treat it like a conversation, using clear language and enough context to get the result you have in mind.

To get more practice, use the generative AI tool of your choice (for example, Microsoft Copilot, Open AI ChatGPT or Anthropic Claude) to execute the following prompt:

“Explain how AI can assist in creating project plans, generating progress reports, and predicting potential risks to ensure timely and efficient project completion. Then provide a sample project plan with the goal of hosting an event to educate University staff about generative AI’s applications at work.”

Helpful Resources

 

Thank you for reading. Go Orange!

AI Insights for Feb. 7th 2025

This message was originally shared to subscribers February 7, 2025.

There is still time to register for our second AI at Work event on Thursday, Feb. 13, from 1-2:30 p.m. in the K.G. Tan Auditorium (and online via Microsoft Teams). The presentation will feature updates from ITS leadership and campus community members who will share how they have incorporated generative AI into their daily work. We hope you can join us!

Would you like to share an article you found or a tip for taking advantage of AI? We’d love to hear it! You can share your links and ideas using our Microsoft Form.

If you received this email as a forward from a helpful colleague, you can subscribe online.

News and Views

DeepSeek

  • AI’s energy obsession just got a reality check (Technology Review)
  • How DeepSeek could spell trouble for LLM startup valuations (PitchBook)
  • The dawn of the efficient AI model (Runtime)

Government

Higher Education

Industry News

  • Now Wanted in Silicon Valley: Ho-Hum Businesses With Thin Profit Margins (Wall Street Journal)
  • Meta’s Advanced AI Memory Personalization: Remembering You Better than Ever! (OpenTools)
  • What Are AI Agents? (BCG)
  • OpenAI: Introducing deep research (OpenAI)
  • No One Knows How to Price AI Tools (Wall Street Journal)
  • Canalys projects 60% of PCs shipped in 2027 will be AI-capable (Canalys)

Religion

  • Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence (Vatican)

This Issue’s Tip: Start Small Experiment 

If you are just getting started with generative AI, you can begin with small, manageable projects. For instance, instructors could use AI to generate quiz questions or team leaders could use AIto generate a meeting agenda. As you gain confidence and familiarity, you can explore more complex applications.

This Issue’s Prompt: Find and Summarize Information

A prompt is how you ask generative AI tools to do something for you (e.g., creating, summarizing, editing or transforming). Treat it like a conversation, using clear language and enough context to get the result you have in mind.

To get more practice, use the generative AI tool of your choice (for example, Microsoft Copilot, Open AI ChatGPT or Anthropic Claude) to execute the following prompt:

“Create a summary of the latest trends in generative AI and their potential impact on higher education. Please provide the summary as a bulleted list and cite your sources.”

Helpful Resources

Thank you for reading. Go Orange!

Tech Tips: February 2025 Newsletter

This message was originally shared to all faculty and staff via email on February 5, 2025.

At a Glance

Pressed for time? Information Technology Services (ITS) has you covered. Here are this edition’s topics:

You’re Invited: AI at Work 

The next installment in our series about leveraging generative AI at work will take place on Feb. 13 from 1-2:30 p.m. at the K.G. Tan Auditorium and online. The presentation will feature ITS leadership and campus community members. Register.

Phishing Scam Targets International Students

The ITS Information Security team has received reports of a scam targeting international students. Attackers impersonate government agencies via email and phone calls, falsely claiming visa or immigration issues. Learn More.

Automatic Email Forwarding Ends in March 2025

As part of the University’s ongoing efforts to maintain and secure our email services, the ability to automatically redirect emails from University accounts will end in March 2025. At that time, any redirect rules set up in a mailbox will be deleted, and emails sent to an @syr.edu address will no longer be automatically forwarded to other email accounts. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the ITS Helpdesk at help@syr.edu or 315.443.2677.

Sign Up for the AI Insights Newsletter

AI Insights is the University’s go-to newsletter for all things artificial intelligence (AI). Stay ahead of the curve with tips, insights and the latest news tailored for the Orange community. Subscribe.

Use WAVE to Check Web Accessibility

Are you building a webpage or online form? Use the WAVE evaluation tool to check for accessibility. WAVE quickly scans web content and identifies many barriers to persons with disabilities. Learn More.

Spring Grading with Gradescope

Gradescope is a grading tool integrated with Blackboard to improve the effectiveness and reduce the time associated with traditional grading. It helps digitally collect, organize, and store work; streamline grading workflows for paper-based exams and assignments, bubble sheet exams, online homework, and programming projects; and identify student and class trends with robust statistics and dashboards. If you’re grading student work, this tool will be helpful to you! To learn more, view the Syracuse University Gradescope flyer and visit the Gradescope resources page for short videos on how to get started, and full-length workshop recordings. Contact gradescope@syr.edu for on-campus Gradescope general support and inquiries.

Digital Maps

If you haven’t already done so, check out our digital maps on maps.syracuse.edu, where you can sort by a range of location types (buildings, parking, dining, etc.). You also can find wheelchair wayfinding routes by clicking on “Wayfinding” and selecting “Show Only Wheelchair Accessible Routes.”

Tech Tips Video Series

The Tech Tips video series features workshops, presentations and instructional videos designed to help you make technology work for you. Topics covered include generative AI, Microsoft apps (e.g., Teams and OneDrive) and more. You can sign up to receive notifications when new videos are available.

Helpful Resources

ITS and the campuswide information technology community are available year-round to help with your tech questions. Resources include: