Using Brightspace Learning Analytics to Enhance Course Engagement and Teaching Strategies

Brightspace’s learning analytics tools help instructors track student engagement and optimize course design. Tools like Class Progress, Content Reports, and Quiz Statistics provide insights into student interactions, enabling targeted support and course adjustments for improved learning outcomes.

RICHAMP wins award at PEARC!

Received a wonderful note from Dr. Ginis: Pranav Sai received the award for the best abstract at PEARC24 held in Providence last summer. He presented RICHAMP and its implementation on URI nodes at MGHPCC for real-time storm forecasting. 

Quantum Computer at the MGHPCC!

A state-of-the-art neutral atom quantum computer, facilitating open-access research, hardware innovation, and hands-on training for students.

New Email Ticketing System for Faster Support

The IT Service Desk has launched an Email Ticketing System! Now, your support requests are automatically converted into tickets for faster resolutions and centralized updates.

Action Needed: Update Pearson Integration in Brightspace Courses

Faculty using Pearson in Brightspace must update to the new LTI 1.3 standard by the end of December. Existing links will not migrate automatically.

Major Upgrade to UNITY HPC/AI Infrastructure

UNITY HPC/AI resources expanded by 50% with 1,000 new CPU cores and 24 advanced GPUs, enhancing research capabilities at URI.

CCR supported student awarded fellowship!

Matt Paolella, a CCR-supported student, received the Moissan Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the American Chemical Society.

URI receives $795,000 boost for high performance computing and cybersecurity

URI receives $795,000 boost for high performance computing and cybersecurity

Speed Networking Event AI, Quantum, and Computationally Enhanced Research & Innovation

Join us on October 11th for an interdisciplinary speed networking event to explore research collaborations in AI, quantum, and computational innovation. Register by October 4th to secure your spot!

The Better Scientific Software (BSSw) Fellowship Program

The Better Scientific Software (BSSw) Fellowship Program recognizes and promotes leaders and advocates of high-quality software.

New Unity HPC/AI Quick Start Guide!

Fall ’24 workshops on Python, R, Statistics Software, etc.

Workshop series covering topics like Python, R, Statistics Software, Unity HPC and more.

Enhancing Online Courses with Panopto

Vince Petronio uses Panopto to enhance his online asynchronous course: The Art of Storytelling.

Discover the Key Features of Rhody Connect: Your Essential URI Mobile App

Whether you’re a new student, a current student, faculty, staff, or a visitor, we are excited to introduce you to Rhody Connect, the all-in-one mobile app designed to enhance your experience at URI.

Brightspace Integrations: Pathway from LTI 1.1 to LTI 1.3

ITS is excited to announce an updated process for Brightspace integrations to reduce the technical burden on faculty and save time. Starting August 2024, ITS will handle all LTI integrations and upgrade older ones to LTI 1.3. Submit integration requests by early August to ensure timely review and implementation.

Expand your reach with Course Merchant for Brightspace Engage

URI is streamlining public access to courses with Course Merchant on the Brightspace Engage platform. This user-friendly tool allows easy class searches, payments, account creation, and enrollment.

RhodyBuy

URI will be implementing a new procurement system, RhodyBuy, this Fall. The integration of punch-out and hosted catalogs provides an “Amazon” like experience and will improve purchasing for high-volume suppliers, reducing reliance on manual processes.

ServiceNow 2024 – Expanding Service Management at URI

ServiceNow is approaching its second year at URI and is now in use by 75 work groups at URI across numerous departments for Incident Management, Request Management, Knowledge Articles and Problem Management.

Capeverdean American Community Development (CACD) Summer Program at URI AI Lab!

We are delighted to share the highlights of an incredible summer program hosted at the University of Rhode Island’s AI Lab, organized in collaboration with the Capeverdean American Community Development (CACD) and supported by the United Way of Rhode Island.

Funding for student travel to SC24

There is funding available for student travel to the major Supercomputing ’24 conference (Atlanta) this November and IPDPS conference (Milan, Italy) in June ’25.

IT Contract Review and Fiscal Year 2024 Wrap-Up

As we conclude Fiscal Year 2024, the University of Rhode Island’s IT Contract Review team proudly reflects on a productive year.

Planning Grants to Create AI-Ready Test Beds

Planning Grants funded through this DCL are expected to cultivate research teams that actively address the expansion or enhancement of an existing test bed to evaluate the impact on and interaction with users of novel AI methods.

Exploring the Future: Integrating Generative AI at URI

We are thrilled to share our exciting journey toward integrating generative AI technologies into our university’s ecosystem. This transformative initiative aims to enhance learning, teaching, and administrative processes.

4th Annual Tech Day on August 22, Come Join Us…

Join us for Tech Day 2024, where faculty can explore and embrace EdTech for evaluating learning. This event offers something for everyone, from EdTech novices to seasoned users, and aims to enhance teaching strategies and learning environments.

Enhance Your Summer: Discover Our EdTech Support, Professional Development, and Events

As we move from spring to summer 2024, we're excited to support your professional growth and technological advancement. The IT Teaching and Learning Services Team offers tailored training and support options for our faculty.

Gaurav’s research on black hole “hair” gets some attention!

Black holes are mysterious, yet also deceptively simple − a new space mission may help physicists answer hairy questions about these astronomical objects.

NAIRR Pilot Resource Requests to Advance AI Research

The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot has opened calls for projects with a 12 month duration for computational resources.

MGHPCC and UNITY shutdown May 20 — 24th.

UNITY HPC shutdown next week (May 20 — 24) to coincide with the annual MGHPCC shutdown.

R, Python, SAS, SPSS, Unity, Bioinformatics and more workshop recordings available!

Recordings of all the workshops we ran including R, SAS, SPSS, Python, Bioinformatics, Unity and others.

Enhancing Student Engagement with PointSolutions

Professor Dombi incorporates the PointSolutions response system in his large chemistry classes to create dynamic and engaging learning environments that foster interactive learning.

Congratulations to Roxanne for prestigious international research grant!!

GSO Professor Roxanne Beinart awarded international research grant to investigate symbiotic relationships among microorganisms

PEARC and IEEE HPEC Conferences

Two computational research conferences coming up in the next few months: PEARC and IEEE HPEC.

Eclipse viewing event planned for the URI Quad on April 8 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Don’t be left in the dark: URI professor provides lowdown on Monday’s total solar eclipse

AI – Big Data Forum

Join us for the third AI-Big Data Forum at URI.

Call for Student Research and Project Posters Competition

We are seeking students to submit posters to be shown to the university community that describe computationally enhanced research and projects that students are working on this semester.

AI Fireside Chat — Transforming Research and Higher Education with Generative AI and Foundation Models

AI Fireside Chat — How to anticipate risks in AI-enhanced research

AI Fireside Chat — Accelerating Materials Design and Discovery Using Machine Learning

AI Fireside Chat -- Accelerating Materials Design and Discovery Using Machine Learning. Thursday February 29 12:30-1:30 – Conference Room A, Library

One of our own featured in Rhody Today!

URI physics professor Gaurav Khanna, Ph.D., an expert in black holes and gravitational waves, co-authored a waveform modeling white paper for the LISA project.

AI Fireside Chat on Bioinformatics — Feb 1st

Fireside chat with Chris Hemme on Feb 1st with the title, The Changing Paradigm of Bioinformatics: Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, and Multiomics.

The Future of Learning: URI Augmented Learning Apps

High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) VR is a way to provide virtual training in the use of HPLC prior to using the actual instrument.

Spring ’24 semester workshops: Python, R, SAS, SPSS, Unity and more

Our Research Computing / AI Lab Spring '24 semester workshop program can be found now on the URI Events Calendar: https://events.uri.edu/group/ai/calendar/

ITS Research Computing & Center for Computational Research move to Library 227

ITS Research Computing & Center for Computational Research have relocated to Library 227 (formerly DataSpark space). This makes our team much more accessible.

Funding opportunities for AI related research

List of funding opportunities for AI related research. Agencies include NSF, NIH and DoD.

Major AI Event: Keynote by Dr. Ruha Benjamin from Princeton

Please mark your calendars for a major AI event on Feb 22nd led by the Harrington School and partially funded by our Center. A reception and keynote by Dr. Ruha Benjamin from Princeton!

Recent training videos: Unity HPC

New tutorial on using Unity -- our new HPC/AI platform that is a collaborative, multi-institutional high-performance computing cluster located at the MGHPCC.

TechSmith Camtasia and Snagit Access Extended

Notice to faculty, staff, TAs and GAs in instructional support roles at URI that access to the Camtasia and Snagit bundle is extended to 2024.

Twelve computational research projects benefit from National Science Foundation funding

URI is the anchor institution for CAREERS in Rhode Island and this academic year ’23 -- ’24 is leading 12 distinct research projects within this program in a wide variety of disciplines.

New publication supported by URI HPC resources

Dr. Fang Wang just sent us a copy of his new paper that utilized URI HPC facilities.

Enhancing Engagement with Lumi

Alissa Cox uses a free app called Lumi to build interactive and engaging content that can be seamlessly integrated into a Brightspace course.

Creating Your Own Content for Students

Options to create interactive and engaging digital content at URI are expanding…Sign up for pilots starting soon.

Engage with the Public

Engage gives the URI community the ability to offer for-profit learning opportunities to learners outside the URI student body. Share your expertise, your research, and your knowledge with the world through URI’s public facing Learning Management System, Engage.

To Merge or Not to Merge Course Sections in Brightspace

Merging two or more sections into a single Brightspace class centralizes your course management, increases content consistency, and eliminates the need to juggle multiple classes. Learn how to merge here.

URI Panel in the MGHPCC Booth at Supercomputing ’23 Conference

The MGHPCC will be showcasing several computational projects from URI at their Booth in the large Supercomputing '23 Conference in Denver next month.

MGHPCC story on RI-CHAMP live tracking hurricane Lee using UNITY!

Live tracking of hurricane Lee using UNITY -- our HPC system at MGHPCC.

CI Compass Fellowship Program (CICF) for Undergraduates

A fellowships program open to all undergraduate students with an emphasis on computing.

CCR Seminar: One Size Does Not Fit All: Towards AI for Everyone

The first lecture of the AI distinguished speaker series, delivered by Prof. Rada Mihalcea.

CCR new initiative — funding available

A major new initiative that invests funds back into the URI computational researchers community.

Research Computing Workshops — Fall 2023

See some of the research computing workshops you can take this fall.

Research Computing Topical Workshops — Fall 2023

Fall research computing workshops -- more coming soon!