Electronic Activity Reports¶
As was done last year, faculty activity reports will be filed electronically. The basic setup is simple: Each faculty member has a secure folder in which they place their activity report, CV, preprints, reprints, teaching evaluations, and any other supplementary material. The only restriction is that all files must be in PDF format.
These secure electronic activity folders can be accessed from any computer, as described below, but first the answers to some obvious questions.
How do I know that my report will be correctly viewed by the EC?
Every few minutes, the server combines all your files into a single PDF file which appears in your folder as “NETID.pdf” where NETID is your university-wide login name. It is precisely this file that EC members will view.
What about documents I only have in paper form?
All of the copiers in AH 250 can scan documents and email you the resulting PDF file. Indeed, if you prefer keeping your file in paper form, you could do this with your entire file. Simply put the resulting PDF in your electronic activity folder, and you’re done.
What about the standard cover sheet (aka the goldenrod form) that Sandee used to provide?
It is automatically included as the first page of the combined file “NETID.pdf”. As before, please contact Sandee with any corrections or updates.
How to access your electronic activity folder¶
First, you’ll need your NETID, which is your university-wide login name, and your active directory password. The Active Directory password is the one you use with the campus VPN, the math department’s webmail, and the department teaching preferences system. Then follow the instructions below for your kind of computer: Linux, Windows, or Mac OS X.
Linux¶
These instructions are for the department’s Linux computers; for others try cadaver. Start from the “Places” menu at the top of the screen, and select “Connect to server”:
Enter the information shown below, where NETID is your campus-wide login:
For instance, for a user with the netid jsmith4, you would type “activity-jsmith4” (without the quotes) in the “Folder:” field, and “jsmith4” (without the quotes) in the “User Name:” field.
When prompted, type your active directory password. Then you activity folder will open up, and you can access its contents just like you would any other folder.
Windows¶
These instructions are for Windows XP which is used on the department’s office computers. If you are using Vista or Windows 7, adapt these instructions or use the free program BitKinex. First open a new file browser window and select “My Network Places” as shown:
Then select “Add a new network place” under “Network tasks”. When the Add Network Place Wizard appears, you want to “Choose another network location” and then then give it the address:
https://webapps.math.uiuc.edu/activity/REPLACE-WITH-NETID
where NETID is your campus-wide login, and the “s” in https is important. For instance, for a user with the netid jsmith4, the URL would be
https://webapps.math.uiuc.edu/activity/jsmith4
When the login window comes up, give it your NETID and active directory password (you may have to do this twice, and then once more as the Wizard finishes). When the Wizard quits, it will open a new window with the contents of your electronic activity folder. You can treat this just as you’d treat any other folder, and so just copy your files into the subfolders labeled “1_Activity Report”, “2_CV”, etc. The exception is that if you want to delete a file, you should use “Delete this item” from the “Folder tasks” sidebar instead of dragging the file the recycle bin.
Mac OS X¶
In the Finder, select “Connect to Server” from the “Go” menu at the top of the screen. Then give it the address:
https://webapps.math.uiuc.edu/activity/REPLACE-WITH-NETID
where NETID is your campus-wide login, and the “s” in https is important. For instance, for a user with the netid jsmith4, the URL would be
https://webapps.math.uiuc.edu/activity/jsmith4
When the login window comes up, give it your NETID and active directory password. A new icon will appear on your desktop, named after your NETID. Opening it gives a folder which you can treat like any other, so just copy your files into the subfolders labeled “1_Activity Report”, “2_CV”, etc.