The new UW Blogs Network makes it easy for UW faculty and staff to create and use a UW-branded WordPress blog that is accessible publicly. Just activate this UW NetID resource and log in to create your blog and posts without worrying about how it all works. UW-IT will keep the features up-to-date and provide UW-specific templates and plug-ins that let you track visits, add a contact form, and feature content from Twitter. Learn more.

More than 1800 UW Seattle faculty, TAs, and students participated in the 2011 UW-IT Technology Surveys, providing insight into trends that will help inform future campus technology decisions. Technology use is increasing, proficiency with and student access to technology is high, and technical obstacles are low. Read the surveys’ key findings and see where classroom technology, wireless access, course information integration, Green IT, and data management ranked as a priority. The full report will be available later this quarter.

This academic year, 108 UW faculty on all three campuses have been involved in piloting Canvas, a feature-rich learning management system. They’ve been teaching nearly 6000 students in 88 courses—from chemistry to sociology—using the new tool. Canvas simplifies course management activities like calendaring and grading, while providing ways to collaborate and deliver materials to students. UW-IT and the Office of Educational Assessment are evaluating Canvas as part of a broader effort to improve the student experience. Learn more.

Need to know the thermal conductivity of platinum? Want to know how to design a seawall, or make your own hair styling gel? Find answers in Knovel, a collection of over 650 online reference books covering engineering; earth sciences; food science; pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and toiletries; and safety and industrial hygiene. Data analysis tools such as interactive graphs, equations, and tables allow you to extract data for further analysis. This UW-restricted e-resource is provided by the UW Libraries.

More apps are continually being added to UW Google Apps in response to requests from the UW community. Additions since September include Google+, Blogger, YouTube, Maps, Reader, Picasa, Voice, Analytics, Moderator, Webmaster Tools, Bookmarks, and Books. Feature enhancements for the apps are also being added. One useful new feature now in the core UW Google App Calendar is Appointment Slots, which makes scheduling office hours easy. Apps must undergo an enterprise risk assessment before being added by UW-IT. Support is provided by Google.