FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, September 14, 2000

INDIANA UNIVERSITY IS "MAKING IT HAPPEN!"

September awareness campaign to focus on information technology resources and services for students

World-class technology labs and research facilities, groundbreaking software agreements, state-of-the-art classrooms, and an award-winning education program — not to mention the internationally-acclaimed Knowledge Base — are among the many information technology (IT) resources and services that take the spotlight during "Making IT Happen!" to be held on Indiana University campuses September 18-21, 2000.

Sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology and University Information Technology Services (UITS), the four-day event is designed to increase awareness of the information technology resources, services, and initiatives that benefit IU's nearly 100,000 students.

"We're listening to what students tell us in our user surveys," said Garland Elmore, associate vice president for Teaching and Learning Information Technologies. "We hear from students, who after three or four years at IU, are not familiar with the full depth and breadth of IT resources at their disposal. 'Making IT Happen!' is part of a continuing effort to make certain that all students are aware of the IT resources available to complement and enhance their academic work."

Each day of "Making IT Happen!" will highlight different IT resources:

Monday, September 18: Supporting IT!: Support for student technology is at the heart of IU's IT infrastructure. Kicking off the University-wide campaign are events and activities that feature core IT support services for students, such as the Knowledge Base, IUware, life-cycle funding for technology, and the Adaptive Technology Center. The day is capped off by a grand opening of the Support Center at IUPUI and open houses at the Adaptive Technology Center and the newly renovated Residential Technology Centers at IUB.
Tuesday, September 19: Learning IT!: Education and training are center stage on Tuesday with opportunities to learn about the many programs designed to help students master IT skills and augment their academic work, including distributed education courses offered through the School of Continuing Studies; NETg, a new online service that brings technology training to the desktop; Oncourse, IU's online teaching and learning environment; and the UITS Education Program, which offers hundreds of classes designed to help students (and faculty and staff) stay ahead of the technology curve.
Wednesday, September 20: Exploring IT!: The focus goes global with an emphasis on Web resources. The entire university community is invited to take a tour of IU's innovative, leading-edge digital libraries, explore UITS Web services, or take a look at IU's online student information systems.
Thursday, September 21: Using IT!: Rounding out the event is a showcase of the teaching, learning, and research resources and facilities that encourage creative uses of IT by students and faculty. Stop by the Advanced Visualization Lab (at IUB or IUPUI) for a "virtual" experience, visit one of the new state-of-the-art technology classrooms, or see what's new at the Teaching and Learning Centers.

"Through 'Making IT Happen!' we are celebrating the varied and consistent richness of IU's technology landscape and are helping to make all of our students aware of the resources available on their home campus and throughout the University," noted Elmore.

In conjunction with "Making IT Happen!", Brian Hawkins, President of EDUCAUSE will speak live (and via Webcast) from both the IUPUI and IUB campuses. On Monday, September 18, Hawkins will speak on the current state of distributed education at IUPUI, followed on Tuesday, September 19, by a discussion of the future of digital libraries on the IUB campus.

Want more information? Details for "Making IT Happen!", including specific campus events and Webcasts, are available at IT@IU at:

http://it.iu.edu

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