New Student Resources
 Welcome to the Information Networking Institute. Upon receiving word of your acceptance, you've probably been ready to find an apartment, connect to the network and get started. This section of the INI site serves as a convenient reference to you to help you become oriented with the INI, Carnegie Mellon and the City of Pittsburgh:
Choose one of the following topics, or scroll for information on coursework essentials such as Andrew accounts and library services.
Coursework Essentials
Find information below on Andrew Accounts,
Blackboard, INI
Computing Support,
Library Services,
and the Inside the INI Podcast series and the Facilities Contact.
Your Andrew Account
The key to accessing Carnegie Mellon computing resources
All members of the Carnegie Mellon community receive an Andrew account. Your Andrew account includes a user ID and a password that you use to access Carnegie Mellon computing resources. Upon first receiving an Andrew account you need to change your password. The web page at www.cmu.edu/myandrew is the first stop for changing your password, settings and accessing the services your Andrew account offers.
Common uses of the Andrew account by INI students include signing on to Blackboard course management system, accessing and personalizing the university portal, forwarding your email, and accessing Carnegie Mellon resources (computer clusters, network, etc).
For a list of services your Andrew account provides, visit Computer Services.
Blackboard Course Management System
Online course materials and discussions
Blackboard is a central web location for faculty and student course materials. Professors set up an area on Blackboard for each course they teach, and students may log on to the areas in order to view information.
Users access the Blackboard system via web browser at http://cmu.edu/blackboard/ and they use their Andrew account user ID and password to log in. Once logged in, a student can see a list of courses in which he or she is enrolled, and can click the course title to access its materials. Note: the professor must set up a course on Blackboard before it will appear in the student's list of courses.
Blackboard can hold a number of valuable course resources in a password-protected area. Students may view the course syllabus, download readings, upload homework and papers, send group emails to the class, or participate in forums.
The INI's distance learning courses in particular use Blackboard for sharing and disseminating course materials and information. Classes that take place in a Distributed Education Center are recorded and the videos are often archived in Blackboard.
Computing Support
The College of Engineering's department of Electrical and Computer Engineering manages and maintains the desktop and network computing support for the INI. This support includes all desktop and laptop computers for faculty, students and staff, network managed machines, printers and networked fax machines.
ECE manages requests via an online help system called gripe. Students should email their requests to gripe-ini@ece.cmu.edu for all question, problems and issues that require computing support. Typically, ECE resolves requests within 3 days.
For faster service, please review the instructions on submitting a good gripe email.
If a student's request is not resolved or responded to within 3 days, notify George Klippel.
Library Services
The Carnegie Mellon libraries offers a catalog and a number of databases online. Additionally, the Carnegie Mellon libraries offer an interlibrary loan service called ILLiad that allows students to request items, track requests, and renew loans from other campus libraries.
To use ILLiad, students must create an ILLiad account. You can do this online at the Carnegie Mellon library site.
For INI students, Carnegie Mellon libraries provide links and references that are helpful for information networking. For further assistance, contact Missy Harvey, Computer Science Librarian.
WebVPN - Almost all electronic resources available through the University Libraries are licensed for use by current Carnegie Mellon students, faculty and staff only. Accessing these resources is no problem if you are using a computer on the campus network or if you dial-up locally via Andrew. However, many Carnegie Mellon users are remote users, may be using wireless on campus, or may be using their own Internet Service Provider. To be able to access licensed resources, these users must authenticate (login with Andrew user ID and password) using WebISO or connect through the WebVPN.
Computing Services provides further details on WebVPN, Cisco VPN Client and Virtual Private Networking.
WebVPN is not required to access some online resources. WebISO automatically connects users to course reserve readings listed in Cameo; audio reserves listed in Cameo; SciFinder Scholar software download; and CTMS/MatLab.
Inside the INI
The INI produces a podcast series called Inside the INI that features in-depth interviews with the leaders who shape the special projects and student life at the INI. A new edition is broadcast monthly, and past editions are archived on the INI website. If you have ideas for future podcasts, please contact George Klippel.
Facilities Contact
George Klippel
Manager, Classroom Technology and Distributed Education Support
Office: 4616 Henry St., Office 126
Telephone: (412) 268-9722
Helpful Links
New students may also be interested in these other areas of the INI site:
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