Fall 2008 Announcements
End of Semester Lab Hours
Posted December 5, 2008
The Lab will be open normal hours with Lab Monitors present through Sunday December 14, after that the lab will continue normal hours with intermittent Lab Monitor presence through the 16. From Wednesday, December 17 through Friday, December 19, the labs will be open from 10 AM to 6 PM. After the 19th the Labs will be closed until the start of the next semester.
If you need to print of are having a problem with the computer and there is no Lab Monitor present as always please go to L-317 and ask MJ Craig or Alissa Miller for help.
| Date | Open | Close |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, December 15 | 9:00am | 9:30pm |
| Tuesday, December 16 | 9:00am | 9:30pm |
| Wednesday, December 17 | 10:00am | 6:00pm |
| Thursday, December 18 | 10:00am | 6:00pm |
| Friday, December 19 | 10:00am | 6:00pm |
| December 20–January 20 | CLOSED | |
Thanksgiving Break Lab Hours
Posted November 24, 2008
The Comm Labs will be open the following hours for the Thanksgiving Break:
| Date | Open | Close |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, November 26 | 9:00am | 12:00pm |
| Thursday, November 27 | CLOSED | |
| Friday, November 28 | CLOSED | |
| Saturday, November 29 | CLOSED | |
| Sunday, November 30 | 12:00pm | 9:30pm |
Eye On Democracy Video Contest
Posted October 1, 2008
On November 4, 2008 millions of Massachusetts residents will go to their local polling places with the intention of voicing their opinion on who they want to be in their local, state, and national government. Most will have no problem casting their ballots on Election Day and will feel empowered. Some however will face administrative challenges that prevent their voices from being heard. Whatever the case may be, we want to hear their stories through you.
Filmmaking 101: Anatomy of a Final Cut Express Project
Posted September 25, 2008
Before you can make movie magic, it helps to understand how your editing program organizes and manipulates all of those sequences and clips you've been shooting. In this sample chapter from Final Cut Express 4 Visual QuickStart Guide, author Lisa Brenneis shows you how to manage a well-organized project in Final Cut Express. Read More →
Lab Staffing Changes
Posted September 3, 2008
As I’m sure many of you are aware, Briana Martino will be beginning a Ph.D. program at Stony Brook University in Comparative Literacy and Cultural Studies this fall. Briana has left some very big shoes to fill. I look forward to the challenges in the coming months as the new Communications Department Lab Manager, following in some very large footprints.
To fill the position of Assistant Lab Manager we conducted a search and interviewed many qualified candidates. Of all the candidates interviewed for the position, it was not surprising to find the most qualified, best fit individual for the
job to be one of our very own, Simmons’ educated women: MJ Craig. Please
join me in welcoming MJ Craig to the Communications Department as the new Assistant Lab Manager!
— Alissa Miller
Fall 2008 Technology Update
Posted September 3, 2008
Communications Labs Orientations and Temporary Accounts
Lab Orientations
All students are required to complete a Communications Lab Orientation in order to use the labs. To find out if you need to attend an orientation, follow these guidelines:
- Students who have previously gone through the orientation do not need to do so again.
- If you are enrolled in any of the following classes, you will receive an in-class orientation:
- COMM 121 Section 3: Visual Communications
- COMM 123 Sections 1 & 2: Communications Technology
- COMM 220: Video Production
- COMM 222: Animation
- If you are not in any of the classes listed above and do not already have a Comm Lab login, you must email commlab@simmons.edu to schedule an orientation.
Temporary Accounts
In order to accommodate class work at the very beginning of the semester, each computer will be set up with a temporary login. If you do not have a login, make sure to email commlab@simmons.edu to schedule an orientation immediately. You may use the temporary logins for your classwork until you receive your normal logins. The temporary logins will only be available for the first two weeks of the semester.
To use a temporary account, look at the name on the top right of the computer. That name is both the username and the password. So for the computer Ivy it is Ivy/Ivy, Oracle will use Oracle/Oracle and so on.
Lab Computer Changes
Operating System Upgrades
All of the Comm Lab computers have been upgraded to OS X 10.5 (Leopard) for this semester. While Leopard offers some new flare, if you have used any of the previous versions of OS X in the past you should feel right at home using the new version.
New Applications and Updates
We have upgraded several applications in the Comm Labs:
- iLife ‘08 (includes iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, iDVD and GarageBand)
- iWork ‘08 (includes Pages, Keynote and Numbers)
- Microsoft Office 2008
- Final Cut Express 4
- Adobe After Effects (On Ivy, Storm and Psylock)
- Transmit 3 (FTP software)
iMovie and Final Cut Everywhere
For those of you using iMovie in your classes, you might already be aware that iMovie ‘08 is a very different application than the previous version (iMovie ‘06). This semester both applications will be available on the Comm Lab computers. Unless you are moving an iMovie project from a home computer, you will most likely be using iMovie ‘06, which is located in /Applications/iMovie '06.
In anticipation of the changes in iMovie ‘08, we have purchased Final Cut Express for all of the lab computers. While slightly more complex, it is the application that most closely resembles the functionality of iMovie ‘06. If you’re interested in video, make sure to check it out!
For those of you that need the most advanced video editing, Final Cut Studio and Adobe After Effects are available on Ivy, Storm and Psylock.
Lab Hours
| Day | Open | Close |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9 am | 9:30 pm |
| Tuesday | 9 am | 9:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 9 am | 9:30 pm |
| Thursday | 9 am | 9:30 pm |
| Friday | 9 am | 5 pm |
| Saturday | Closed | |
| Sunday | Noon | 9:30 pm |
Lab Monitors will be on duty in the labs starting on Monday, September 22.