The Technograph

The University of Illinois has a vast amount of information and resources online. So many, in fact, that as a new student it can be hard to understand them all. The Technograph has compiled a short list, or ‘cheat sheet’ if you will, of resources that every new student must know about.

Forwarding @illinois.edu Email to Gmail

As a new freshman, you now have a cool HYPERLINK "mailto:NetID@illinois.edu"NetID@illinois.edu email address. If you haven’t found out yet, the interface to check your email – CITES Express Email – is really painful to use. The good news is you can forward your email to any other email address. We at the TG recommend you use Gmail. Gmail has many advantages. For example, it has conversations, labels, and essentially infinite storage space. Plus, when you sign up for a Gmail account, it comes with a Google Calendar, Google Documents, Google Reader, and more.

To sign up for Gmail, go to HYPERLINK "http://www.gmail.com"www.gmail.com and follow the instructions. After you are all set up with a Gmail account, log into CITES Express email (HYPERLINK "http://express.cites.illinois.edu"http://express.cites.illinois.edu). Click “Options” in the top-right corner, click “Forwarding,” and type in your Gmail email address. We recommend you not check “Keep a copy of each forwarded message” because eventually your CITES Inbox will reach its limit, causing problems beyond your wildest imaginations.

To make the email that you send from your Gmail account appear like it is coming from your school email, go to you Gmail inbox, click settings, click “Accounts” and then click “Add another email address you own” and follow the instructions.

Get a good calendar

“If you plan to learn, you must learn to plan”

Illinois accepts the top students across the nation and the world. You undoubtedly have a system for keeping your school events and assignments organized. May I suggest you take this time to consider an all digital solution. One nice thing about having an online calendar is that you can never lose it, it is available from multiple locations, and you can easily share your calendar with others for easy scheduling. One good option is Google Calendar, which was explained above.

Illinois Websites

As an Illinois student, there are a variety of websites that you will need to use often, so you should know how to use these.

The first is Illinois Compass, located at HYPERLINK "http://compass.illinois.edu"http://compass.illinois.edu. This is a course management system, which means it’s an easy place for your teachers to post documents, grades, and assignments. Not every course will be on Compass, but most likely a few will each semester.

Next is the course Information Suite at HYPERLINK "http://courses.illinois.edu"http://courses.illinois.edu. This is where you go to choose your classes and schedule for next semester. You can also find here the requirements for your major (“Programs of Study”) and classes that satisfy humanities or social studies credit (“General Education Requirements”). Bookmark this site – you’ll visit it many times in your four years here at Illinois.

DARS is a resource that you may not have heard of yet, located at HYPERLINK "http://registrar.illinois.edu/dars"http://registrar.illinois.edu/dars. This resource will tell you how much of your degree program you have completed, and what classes you still need in order to graduate. There are instructions on the website; it is generally a good idea to check out your DARS report at least once a semester to see if you’re on track to graduate in time.

Do you want to know what class you need to take in summer school to make up that F in Chemistry? Transfer.org is the website for all Illinois schools, allowing you to look up what credit transfers where for what.

Netfiles

Netfiles is an online storage application, where you get 500 MB of online space to upload files. You login at HYPERLINK "http://netfiles.uiuc.edu"http://netfiles.uiuc.edu. This tool is more powerful than simply uploading files, though, and many students do not take advantage of all the features. You can use Netfiles to publish websites, share files with others securely, access your Netfiles account on your desktop, and even set up wikis. More details about these cool features can be found at HYPERLINK "http://www.cites.illinois.edu/netfiles"http://www.cites.illinois.edu/netfiles.

CITES WebStore

Have you heard about all those great deals on software that students are supposed to get? The CITES WebStore (HYPERLINK "http://webstore.illinois.edu"http://webstore.illinois.edu) is where you can get your student deals. Here you can find free anti-virus and spyware software, and deeply discounted prices for Acrobat, Office, and many others.

Wireless internet and VPN

The Illinois campus is almost completely covered by wireless internet access. The “QuickConnect” login process, however, sometimes is not so quick. A little known fact is that you can avoid the QuickConnect login by using the CITES VPN or connecting using the WPA2 connection. Details on the CITES website: HYPERLINK "http://www.cites.illinois.edu/wireless"http://www.cites.illinois.edu/wireless.

When Gavin isn’t writing amazing articles for the TG, he writes for The Quad, where you can get more great tips for learning about the University of Illinois student resources. www.thequadblog.com

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