IT Services:

Policies and Procedures:

1. Laptop Insurance - Overseas Travel
• Employee must obtain approval from the Department Supervisor.
• Laptop must be insured for overseas trips, FAD shall organize the insurance
• Payment of premium will be the employee's responsibility
• Premium amount: 1-30 days AED 200, 31-60 days AED 350
• Payment of insurance premium must be made at least one week prior to the departure date
• Minimum one week notice is required by FAD to organize documentations
• There will be no refund of insurance premium once the policy is issued
• FAD shall provide the employee with a copy of the policy

If an employee is required to carry the laptop to overseas for business purpose, the only exception to the procedure is that the insurance premium is paid by the college

1. Password Policy
2. Email Policy
3. Technology Acceptable Use

Support:

Staff members are able to report problems related to technology using an online reporting system - the Get IT Request System. Users can track their requests and they receive solutions and updates on how the request is completed. Staff can also walk in to the End User Support Office (B105) to report any urgent problems in person. They can also avail of one-on-one training sessions with the End-User Support staff to improve their IT skills. Any laptop related problem can be fixed at the ThinkAid Center , where software and hardware support is available throughout the day.

Staff Computing:

1. Printing: HP Laser printers are available in staff areas for printing. Both Black and White and Color printers are available and can be installed from the Staff Links - Printers - Add Admin Printers list.
2. Laptop: All staff members are issued with a laptop (IBM ThinkPad). All laptops are enabled with wireless connection, enabling them to remain connected anywhere on the campus. New staff members are setup and connected from their first day at work. Orientation sessions follow to train new users on using laptop technology.

Resources:

1. Collaboration Systems: Sharepoint, Project Server, MS Office 2003, Exchange Server, LCS
2. Video Conferencing: These facilities are available in two of the boardrooms in the Director's wing. The equipment is available for classroom and administrative use. For booking please contact Alison Harding in the Director's Office.
3. Printing: HP Laser printers are available in staff areas for printing. Both Black and White and Color printers are available and can be installed from the Staff Links - Printers - Add Admin Printers list. An HP laser printer has been placed in all classroom block lobbies for use by students in the adjacent classrooms.  Students are given 50 pages free at the start of each semester.  When this is used up, the students can purchase more printouts at a rate of Dhs 10.00 for 50 pages and Dhs 20.00 for 100 pages.  All printing balances are removed at the end of the academic year.
4. Wireless Connectivity: DWC has extended wireless coverage to almost all areas on the campus. This includes all classrooms, Administrative wing, Conference Halls, Cafeteria etc. This will be extended to include full campus through Phase III project. DWC has used Cisco Aironet 1200 Wireless Access Points to implement wireless coverage. All these access points Will use A/B/G. All the laptops on campus have Wireless adapters and are configured to use the DWC Wireless Network. This gives anytime, anywhere network capability to the laptops. With the implementation of new infrastructure project, we will be upgrading all the wireless Access points to Aironet XXXXX. Most of these devices will use POE (power over ethernet) which means they would not require separated Power Socket to power them and will run power over ethernet to the access points. Some of these units will be external units (enclosed in special casings to protect them from adverse environmental conditions). We will also be implementing 802.11 X on the DWC Network so that only authorized users who have an account on the DWC Active Directory can use the wireless networks. This will also stop rogue network components from accessing the network. We would also be able to do QOS (quality of service) etc with the new equipment. As with any relatively new technology, there are many issues that affect implementation and utilization of wireless networks. There are both common and specific issues depending on the type of wireless network. Some of the common factors include electromagnetic interference and physical obstacles that limit coverage of wireless networks, while others are more specific, such as standards, data security, throughput, ease of use, etc.
5. Software: MS Windows XP and the MS Office 2003 suite are installed on most desktop computers and laptops.   The HCT has an institution-wide Microsoft Campus Agreement which allows us to install and run the latest versions of Windows, Office, FrontPage, Visual Studio, Project and Encarta on every computer and laptop.  Students purchase the software at a substantial discount and take the latest version on their laptops when they graduate.  ( FAQ about the MS Campus Agreement)
   Apple computers and iBooks run Mac OSX v.10.2 and Office 2004 for Mac. 
   In addition, there is a wide variety of software applications installed on individual laptops and desktop computers according to program requirements. Licenses on most software titles are limited, but if you are interested in trying a particular software we will be able to tell you where on campus it is available. Most software for program use is purchased through the Program Teams and channeled through Academic Services. If you are interested in a new package, Educational Technology will try to get an evaluation copy for you to test the product.  Contact Catherine Namour for more information.
6. Calendar Room Booking: One of the important features of the Collaborative Learning Environment at DWC is Shared Calendaring and booking of Resources. Not only can staff and students have access to each other's Calendars and be able to book a time with them, they can also book Rooms, Conference halls, Boardrooms and all other available Resources at DWC. *With the added facility of Resource Central, a tool for booking rooms along with other Resources such as Audio Visual equipment, computers, lunch and light snacks and so on. With just one click of a button, all required resources can be booked without generating too many emails to persons responsible for different roles.

Laptop Program:

Introduction: http://share.dwc.hct.ac.ae/sites/edtech/laptop/default.aspx

Only machines purchased through the DWC program will be supported by the ThinkAid Center

DWC will not provide support for computers found to have problems caused by the installation of unauthorized software. Only software licensed and endorsed by the student's program of study is supported.

DWC reserves the right to uninstall any unauthorized software which may conflict with authorized software applications, violate licensing policy, or otherwise cause instability to DWC equipment

Support ( ThinKAid Center )

1. Procedures : The ThinkAid Center staff will do the best they can to solve software problems. Generally, these problems are solved by adjusting the configuration settings.
   If, after a reasonable time, a quick solution can't be found, the laptop will be reimaged. Our goal is to have the laptop functioning again within a 2-hour time period.
2. Onsite Engineers: A Hardware engineer from Jumbo is present daily between 8 - 5 pm for hardware support. The engineer handles all hardware related requests from students and staff.
3. Standby Units: The hardware engineer ensures there are enough standby units available in stock. If a machine under warranty has a hardware problem and is going to take longer than two hours to fix this, a standby unit will be issued to the user.
4. Warranty: http://dwc.hct.ac.ae/thinkaid/i-cover.html
5. Hours of Operation: The ThinkAid Center is open daily from Sat - Wed from 8 am - 5 pm.
6. Home Support
7. Insurance: http://dwc.hct.ac.ae/thinkaid/i-cover.html
8. Data Backup: Users are advised to ensure that they take regular backups of their data and before leaving their machine at the ThinkAid Center , they need to make certain that they have an additional backup copy of their files. The ThinkAid Center and IT Services are not responsible for the data loss of any machine.

Purchasing Information:

1. This Year's Model
2. Price
3. Frequently Asked Questions
4. Financial Aid
5. Important Dates
6. Specifications

Software

1. Microsoft License Agreement: Microsoft Campus Agreement Graduates who show their Microsoft License (received during their final software check before graduation) can obtain copies of the Microsoft software they are licensed for from the library. The software can be used in the library only. It is not available for signing out.
2. Copyright: The UAE copyright law, Federal Law No. 7 enacted in July 2002, grants protection to authors of creative works including computer programs, software, databases, and other digital works.  Procedures for the installation and use of computer software licensed by Dubai Woman's College ensure that UAE copyright law, as well as individual software title copyrights are complied with.
3. Graduation Procedure: Before students can collect their final graduation marks, they need to uninstall any software and programs that are not part of the Microsoft License Agreement (for example, Macromedia Studio, Adobe Photoshop, Java etc). Then they need to bring their machines to the ThinKAid Center and have this verified. Once this has beendone, ThinkAid Center staff informs the concerned department to release students grades information. This policy is to ensure DWC does not violate copyright laws and to minimize the administration required to ensure all machines have only legal software.

Common Problems: A list of problems most frequently reported at the ThinkAid Center , along with detailed step-by-step solutions has been drawn up under the Common Problems link on the Think Aid Center website.

Laptop Sign-Out: staff or students? New staff collect their machines from the End-User Support Office and are required to sign a Laptop Issue form.

Accolades: IBM Case Study#2: This solution highlights the server, storage, and backup solution that enables us to run our collaborative learning environment, along with other things.

http://www-306.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/CS/DNSD-63RCNZ?OpenDocument&Site=eservermain

ITP Award for Brent Pienaar: http://www.itp.net/features/details.php?id=2283

ITP Middle East Award:

The 2005 IT Weekly Arab Technology Awards, sponsored by Etisalat and held in association with the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX), celebrated 25 years of innovation across the Middle East . The award ceremony honoured the technology pioneers, leaders and educators of the Arab World, and celebrates those local and foreign heroes that have made the Middle East IT market what it is today.

The senior editorial panel of ITP, the leading IT and Business publisher in the Middle East and publisher of IT Weekly, recognised DWC's unparalleled contribution to regional IT industry, and awarded the college in the category of Outstanding  Achievement in the Use of IT in Education.

http://www.ameinfo.com/69192.html