Google+ is being made available to staff and students over the age of 18 from 1st February 2012. Google+ is an optional service and is not activated for you by default, if you would like to use it you can choose to 'opt-in'.

Google+ offers many possibilities for collaboration and communication within an institution. It is excellent for video conferencing and you can have status update discussions with your own defined 'circles' of contacts. However, Google+ should be considered an external service and should not be used with sensitive University information.

For more information about using Google+, including how to get access see:

Google+ at Sheffield

For general information about Google services including Google Apps and Google+ see our new Google pages:

Google Apps Plus at Sheffield

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CiCS is piloting a series of drop-in sessions for staff, covering Google Apps for Education, specifically Google Mail, Calendar, Docs, Contacts, Groups and Sites. If you have questions about using any of these apps you can just turn up at a drop-in session, without needing to book beforehand, and ask a member of CiCS staff. This pilot service is running throughout February and takes place every Monday from 2pm -3.30pm in room K17 of the Hicks building. See you there!

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To help us support excellence in learning and teaching, MOLE 2 is being upgraded and will be unavailable from 5pm Wed 1st Feb - 9am Mon 6th Feb. Full details about the upgrade including the benefits and the timing are available via the link below.

About the MOLE 2 Upgrade

Notifications in MOLE 2 are handy for letting you know what's been updated and where - but we've had feedback that if you are enrolled on several courses these may feel like they are getting out of hand and the volume of email may be unmanageable. How to manage these? It's not quite as straightforward as it might at first appear so we've produced a guide on adjusting notifications which will make it all much clearer.

How to Manage Your Notifications

In response to our recent training and migration survey a series of six sessions on MOLE 2 has been developed. Each session lasts two hours and places can be reserved by emailing the MOLE 2 helpdesk. Full details with times and dates are available from the link below:

MOLE 2 Staff Spotlight Workshop Sessions

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CiCS is organising an exciting launch event following the recent upgrade of the research computing facility, Iceberg. It will feature internal and external speakers talking about the new facility, emerging technologies and cutting-edge research projects taking place at Sheffield. This one-day event takes place on Wednesday 4th April so you may wish to mark this in your diary. More details will follow.

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CiCS has been asked for our advice on using Dropbox to store University work. As with all non-University services you are free to use it if you wish, but you must not use it to create manage or store sensitive University information. See the following web page for details:

External IT Services

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CIS users should be aware that CIS will currently not work with the upcoming Java 1.7 update. If you use CIS and are invited to download and install Java 1.7 you should decline. Following a major CIS Upgrade during 2011 it is now much easier, and less intrusive, to upgrade CIS as updates become available. Once CIS has been upgraded and will work with Java 1.7 we will let you know.

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As previously reported, the PC antivirus software at the University (McAfee 8.5) is due to expireand can no longer be relied upon to protect your PC from viruses. CiCS is taking the opportunity to move to new AntiVirus protection provided by Microsoft Forefront and suggests you install Forefront as soon as possible. Instructions are available via the link below. Installation is very easy but should you require any assistance please contact your departmental technician or the CiCS helpdesk.

Install Microsoft Forefront

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The following courses are available to book through the Learning Management System:

• Introduction to uSpace (CIC309) 1st Feb 10.00 - 12.00
• Introduction to Google Calendar (CIC226) 3rd Feb 10.00 - 12.00
• Getting started with CMS - (CIC310) 9th, 21st,and 24th Feb 10.00 - 12.00

To book a place on a course, log into the LMS via the link below and browse the course catalogue or search for the specified course code.

Log into LMS

The following courses are available as drop-in sessions with no need to book beforehand:

• Induction for new staff, introduction to CiCS services 9th Feb 2.00 - 3.00, 22nd Feb 10.00 - 11.00
• Web drop in for CMS and cPanel 14th Feb 14.15 - 15.15

All drop-in sessions take place in room K17 on floor K of the Hicks Building.

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• Google+
• Google Drop-Ins
• MOLE 2
• Iceberg Launch
• Dropbox
• CIS & Java
• Antivirus
• Courses

The CiCS service web page shows planned, potential and actual service failures and maintenance periods. It is updated in office hours 8am-6pm Monday to Friday and also over weekends of significant service maintenance.

CiCS Service Status Page

CiCS uses Twitter to support staff and students, and it is especially good for finding out when there are problems with services, hearing about temporary workarounds and then finding out when problems are resolved and services come back online. You can also use Twitter to ask us questions or leave feedback.

twitter.com/cics

Did you know the Director of CiCS maintains a blog? Typically updated several times a week, Dr Christine Sexton shares her work life with you but is keen to point out that the views expressed are hers alone.

From a Distance - Director's Blog

For a regular supply of news from CiCS including project news, service improvements and security updates keep checking the CiCS news blog.

CiCS News Blog

The monthly email newsletter from CiCS aims to keep you informed of developments within CiCS, whilst reducing the total number of emails sent. For information about this email list, including how to remove your name, please visit

Announce Distribution List