Looking for a Course?

Aberdeen College facilities photo

Induction

Mission Statement:

"Aberdeen College exists to provide a high quality education and training service appropriate to the needs and aspirations of its clients, in a supportive and caring environment conducive to learning."

Our vision for the IT Centre:

"The IT Centre provides a vibrant learning community where, in partnership with our friendly team, you can shape your learning to fulfil your individual needs."

Success in delivering this vision will depend on the co-operation of all those working within the Centre. We also depend on your feedback in helping us to improve the service and environment that we provide.

You, as a user of the centre, have access to 260 state of the art machines in a new and unique facility, which reflects the College's commitment to both Information Technology and You. Please respect both the Centre and other users during your time here.

The staff of the IT Centre are trained IT professionals and are here to help you. Please do not be afraid to ask for help from any of the IT Centre staff. They will be able to assist you in any areas where you may be experiencing difficulties or answer any questions you have relating to Information Technology. Remember: Our job is to help you learn.

In the following pages, information regarding the IT Centre will be given. Please read this carefully, and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask a member of the IT Centre Staff.

IT Centre Equipment Specifications

The IT Centre is equipped with the very latest hardware and software. For your information, the available resources currently include:

Personal Computers: 3Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 40GB Hard disc, CD burner, Drive, 17" flat screens with full multimedia capability.

Apple Macintosh's: The Macintosh computers are iMac G5s. 1Gb RAM, 250GB Hard disc, 17" monitors

Printers: Printers: Printers are black and white and colour printers attached to both the Macs and PCs.

Scanners: Colour flatbed scanners are available on both the PCs and Macintosh computers.

Multimedia Packages: The Centre holds a wide range of Multimedia Packages covering everything from keyboarding skills to advanced spreadsheets.

PC Software: All the PCs in the centre have Windows XP as an operating system, with Microsoft Office 2003 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, Project, FrontPage, Visio, InfoPath), AAT Book-keeping Certificate, Acrobat Reader, ASP.net Web Matrix, Audacity, BlueJ, Borland C++ Builder 6, Borland Delphi 7, Derive, Exceed, Firefox, InQuizitor, Jbuilder, Java, Learning Essentials, Mind Manager, MSDE 2000, MS Visual Studio .Net, Power DVD, Read I.R.I.S., Sage Line 50, Sage Payroll, Microsoft Student with Encarta 2007, Lunar, TextHelp Read & Write Gold

Additional software on the Flexible Use PCs: Microsoft Office 2000, Adobe Creative Suite 3 (Acrobat Distiller 8, Acrobat 8 Professional, Bridge CS3, Contribute CS3, Device Central CS3, Dreamweaver CS3, ExtendScript Toolkit 2, Extension Manager CS3, Fireworks CS3, Flash CS3 Professional, Flash CS3 Video Encoder, Illustrator CS3, LiveCycle Designer 8.0, Photoshop CS3, Stock Photos CS3), AutoCAD 2008, Autodesk Inventor Professional 2008, LabVIEW 6.1 & 7.1, Mathcad 14, MathType, Measurement & Automation, Principles V9.2, QBASIC, Vernier and Micrometers, wxMaxima, 3D Studio Max, Auralog Tell Me More.

Mac Software: Mac OS X, Microsoft Office 2004, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Director MX 2004, Dreamweaver 8, Fireworks 8, Flash 8, Freehand MX, Photoshop 7, QuarkXPress Passport, Safari

NOTE: There are no Apple Macintosh's or colour printers at Clintery IT Centre.

Back to Top

Health & Safety Information

In order to make your visit to the IT Centre more comfortable and for your own health and safety, please inform the IT Centre staff of any medical or physical problems you may have with the use of computers.

Fire Action

Any person discovering a fire

On hearing the evacuate alarm (continuous tone)

On hearing the alert alarm (pulsed tone):

Do not use lifts.

Do not re-enter the building for any reason until authorised to do so.

Back to Top

IT Centre Computer Regulations

If you are using IT facilities at Aberdeen College please read these regulations. Download the Aberdeen College Acceptable Computer Use Guide

Introduction and Definitions

These regulations cover the use of all computing facilities administered by the Aberdeen College Information Technology Centre and the Management Information Systems Team, including use by staff and students of Aberdeen College and contracted agency staff and by any person outside the College authorised to use these facilities. "Computing facilities" includes central computing systems, personal computers, work stations, peripherals, networks and all programmable equipment, and any associated software and data, including data created by others.

Regulation

  1. College computing facilities are provided solely for use by staff and contracted agency staff in accordance with their normal duties of employment and for students in connection with their studies. Without prior written permission from the appropriate College authorities, the College computing facilities and data obtained or accessed through their use are not to be used for consultancy or services leading to commercial exploitation, or work of significant benefit to the employer of a student on an industrial placement or part-time course. Computing facilities should not be used for personal or recreational purposes. The uploading or downloading, holding or distribution of computer files containing obscene or offensive (e.g. racially abusive) material will be treated as a serious breach of these conditions.
  2. On special applications being made, the College may authorise the use of computing facilities for work outside the scope of normal College purposes, including consultancy and use by external users. The charges for the provision of such facilities are determined by the Director of Finance and Administration and any person authorised to make such use of the facilities must accept responsibility for any payment of such charges.
  3. The use of particular facilities may require pecific authorisation. Such authorisation may impose restrictions on use, additional to those contained in this document.
  4. No person or persons shall wilfully or recklessly take or omit any action which damages, restricts or undermines the performance of computing facilities, the communication network, systems programs, or other stored information or data.
  5. Access to personal data is restricted in terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. All users of computing facilities must comply with the provisions of that Act.
  6. The Computer Misuse Act 1990 creates three criminal offences in relation to computer misuse:
    (a) A Unauthorised access to computer material. This makes illegal the activity of "hacking", whether by a "remote" hacker, working from a distance, who attempts to gain unauthorised access to any program or data held in any computer, or by local users who may have limited authorisation to use computing facilities but knowingly exceed that authority. The hacking need not be directed at a particular computer, program or data. For example, it is unlawful, without proper authority, to use another person's user name or password in order to access a computer.
    (b) Unauthorised access to a computer system with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of a further offence.
    (c) Unauthorised modification of computer material. This offence is designed to cover deliberate erasure or corruption of programs or data, including the introduction of viruses or worms.
  7. The Copyright Designs and Patent Act 1988 explicitly recognises a computer program as a "literary work" for the purposes of affording copyright protection. Only the copyright holder has the right to copy, or permit another person to copy software. Every user must comply with the requirements of this Act and, in particular, must not copy software except to the extent (if any) permitted in the relevant licence agreement.
  8. In addition to observing copyright, every user must comply with the terms of any licence or other agreement, made by the College with a third party, which governs the use of software or the provision of data or which otherwise affects or relates to the use of the College's computing facilities. Every user must satisfy himself or herself that the use of any item of software is within the terms of the relevant licence agreement. Some typical restrictions (in the case of software licences) are:
    • The software may be used only for the purposes set out in the agreement and only on computer systems covered by that agreement (Note: Use for other than educational or research purposes is usually prohibited).
    • The copyright statement must not be removed or altered on any copies of the software.
    • The software may not be transferred or lent to another person.
    • A modified version of the software may not be incorporated in any other program without express permission from the Licensor.
    • No attempt must be made to reverse engineer or decompile the software or to translate the software into another language or code.
    • All copies of software held by an individual person must be returned to the appropriate College authority (IT Centre manager, Course Leader) when that person ceases to be a legitimate user or when requested to do so.
    The College reserves the right to take legal action against individuals who cause it to be involved in 3rd party claims or legal proceedings as a result of violation of its licensing or other agreements relating to the sue of the College's computing facilities.
  9. Access to computing facilities outwith those administered by the College is subject to the conditions of use applicable to these facilities. This includes use of Janet (i.e. College Internet connection) and other external networks, and access to computing facilities available over such networks.
  10. The College will not accept any liability for loss or corruption of the information held, or for damages, injury to third parties or expenses which may result from the use of computing facilities.
  11. The Board of Management of Aberdeen College may withdraw the use of computing facilities from any user who contravenes these regulations. Where a serious offence has been committed, the circumstances will also be reported to the Police.

Back to Top

Student Guide to Computer Use

Aberdeen College operates its computer facilities for the benefit of the whole College community. These facilities are provided to support education and training, enhance the learning process, and provide students with the skills that they will need in the modern world. In order that all can benefit fully from these facilities, all users must agree to abide by certain regulations.

As a student of Aberdeen College, in signing the enrolment form you have signed a statement that you will abide by the College Computer User Regulations. These regulations are displayed in the IT Centre and in other locations. A copy can be obtained from the IT Centre reception. If you break these regulations, you will be subject to disciplinary action, which may include withdrawal of access to computer facilities or dismissal from the College. If in doing so you also break the law, then the matter will be referred to the Police.

The following is a brief guide to your obligations to the College and to other users:

User ID and Password

If you are given a User Id and password as part of your course, you must keep this secret. You must not allow it to be used by other students. You should not use anyone else's User Id or password. You must not harm, modify or destroy the work of other users.

Electronic Mail

As part of a course, you may be given access to electronic mail. You will have a "mailbox" on the e-mail system which is solely for your own use. You must not allow others to use your mailbox. You should not use anyone else's mailbox. You must not read email intended for another user without their permission.

Unauthorised Access ("hacking")

You must not try to obtain unauthorised access either to facilities on the College system, or through the Internet, to other systems.

Unacceptable Materials

You must not use the Internet to access unacceptable materials. Examples of these are pornographic, violent or racist materials, and materials that violate the College's Equal Opportunities Policy.

Downloading of Software

You must not install software downloaded from the Internet on College computers unless this is a specific part of your course. If this is the case, your lecturer will have obtained clearance for you to do so. You must not install software obtained from other sources such as friends or computer magazines. If you feel a particular piece of software would be a useful addition to College facilities, you can place a suggestion in a College suggestion box, or talk to one of the IT staff.

Web Pages

All pages to be uploaded to the World Wide Web as part of a course must be seen first by your lecturer. Unauthorised uploading of pages is not permitted.

Copyright

You must not use or copy copyright material without the express permission of the copyright holder. Talk to your lecturer if you are not sure how you would go about getting permission.

Netiquette

Is good manners for the Internet. You may learn about Netiquette as part of a course. In general you should be polite to other Net users. You should avoid aggressive language, or language and behaviour which might upset another user. You must not use offensive language on the Internet.

Viruses

You must not deliberately put viruses onto College computer systems. Do not use disks which might have been infected with a virus. If a machine you are using identifies that a virus has been introduced onto the system, you must tell an appropriate member of the College staff immediately.

Safe Surfing

For your own safety, and that of other users, you should not reveal your personal address or phone number to anyone on the Internet. You must not reveal the details of other users. If you feel that you are being harassed by anyone on the Internet you should report this immediately to a lecturer, or directly to a member of the IT staff. Where possible you should keep evidence such as copies of electronic mail messages.

Quality of Information on the Internet

The quality of information on the Internet varies. Please talk to your lecturer if you are unsure of using information from the Internet as part of your course work. Information obtained from the Internet is used at your own risk.

Software Theft

You must not attempt to copy software from the College's computer systems, whether this is for your own personal use, for resale, or for exchange.

If you find any evidence that College regulations have been broken, you should inform an appropriate member of College staff.

Back to Top

IT Centre Opening Times

View opening hours here

Back to Top

 

© 2013 Aberdeen College