ENR/FR/RRM 1001 Orientation and Information Systems


Lab 1 - Week of September 12


One objective of this course is to familiarize you with the capability available in the CNR Computer Lab and to be sure you understand how to make proper use of that capability. Consult the User Guidelines document for information regarding use of the Lab. In particular you should understand that no food or drink is allowed in the Lab and that computer system settings should not be changed by Lab users. In this and other CNR courses the course instructor and TA are your primary source of help for course work to be completed in the Lab. Other students in the course are a secondary source. Lab monitors are not responsible for assisting you with course-specific questions.

All work you complete in the CNR Computer Lab must be consistent with the University policy on Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources.

The CNR Computer Lab has Windows-based computer systems. Information on getting started on these systems is available in the User Guidelines document. If you prefer to use Apple computer systems, e.g. have one at home, that is fine in most instances. All assignments except those for labs 2 and 3 can be completed on either system type.

You will need to be familiar with the use of Internet Explorer (or a similar Web browser) to complete work in this course. If you need help on the use of this software start here. Further background on the Internet and the Web can be found at these sites:

A good bit of what you need to know about surviving at the University of Minnesota is available at various Web sites. Here are a few of those sites:

E-mail is an indispensable part of life at the University of Minnesota. If you have not setup your University e-mail account you should do so as soon as possible. See computer Walk-in Help and Services. E-mail is accessed in the CNR Computer Lab using Web Mail.

The University provides students secure Web space for publishing selected academic information. The system is called Portfolio. With Portfolio you may choose what information you wish to make available to which people. For example you could make your current class schedule and proposed courses for the next semester accessible to your advisor in preparation for a meeting. In the assignment below you are asked to begin using your Portfolio account.

To get started with Portfolio go to the Web site http://portfolio.umn.edu and login using your University Internet ID and password. There are three main sections in Portfolio. Use Enter to see what types of data are available for sharing and to fill in forms with self-reported data. Use Share to define folders containing particular information content, and to make those folders available to others. Use View to review portfolios made available to you by others. The FAQs link, always available at the top of the Portfolio screen, provides additional information on using Portfolio. Portfolio Tips are also presented at each step of the publishing process.


Assignment (due BEFORE the beginning of your lab the week of Sept 19)

Enter the following information into your portfolio (categories and labels generally correspond to what you'll see on Portfolio):

      Personal Information
            Identification Data (under Personal Information in Portfolio)
                  Name of Record
                  University of Minnesota Photo (optional)
            Contact Information
                  E-Mail Address of Record
                  Additional E-Mail Address (optional)
                  Phone Number of Record
                  Additional Phone Number (optional)
            Personal Interests (one named list)
      Education
            Academic Plan (for spring 2006)
	    Academic Record
                  Advisor(s)
                  Registration Record (for fall 2005)
            Learning Differences (optional)
If there are data items you do not wish to share, don't. Add other data items as you choose.

If you need more help getting started, refer to the resources at http://www1.umn.edu/pfolio/.

Create a presentation using a custom template containing the information you entered above. Share this folder with the TA (U of M Internet ID wind0044) and your academic advisor (lookup your advisor's U of M Internet ID at http://umn.edu/lookup if necessary - if you have not been assigned an advisor you may pretend, lucky you, that it's Tom Burk). Also send your advisor an e-mail telling her/him why you did this (and that you are one of their advisees); cc the TA on that e-mail.

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