Y2K Contingency Plan - Staffing and System Arrangements
In view of the importance of a smooth transition to the year 2000, we have set up a Y2K contingency plan which covers the centrally-managed network and computer systems in the University.

The following points are some of the key details of the staffing and system arrangements during the critical few days of the changeover to the new millennium:

• To facilitate the isolation and resolution of potential computer system problems, no new systems are to be introduced during the period from one month before to one month after January 1, 2000.

• No professional staff and technical staff will take normal leave during the first two weeks of the year 2000 so that there are adequate standby staff in case of any emergency.

• A full backup of all data will be performed just before the turn of the millennium.

• Comprehensive system checks will be performed between December 31, 1999 and January 2, 2000.

Updates to the Y2K contingency plan, and the implications for system users will be announced through the Y2K homepage: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/y2k and in coming issues of ITSC Digest ( http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/digest ).

Update on Dial-up Access
If you have some flexibility to schedule your dial-up access time, you can choose to use the system at low-access times. You can now check the most recent line usage patterns of the campus dial-up network to find the 'easy' access periods over the previous seven days. An "easy access period" is defined as a two-hour time slot when the utilisation rate of the modem pool falls below 95%.

The information on line usage is updated daily at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/services/dialup/ .

In addition, starting from July 5, the default weekly quota units of staff and student users will be increased by about 50%. The increase has been allowed by

• the addition of 276 lines to the quota-controlled lines (29330800 and 29328000), and
• the redistribution of the number of quota-controlled and quota-uncontrolled lines as proposed in the Review of Dial-up Access Quota System (Paper II).

Training Programs for Teachers - Using WebCT to Enhance Teaching and Learning
The ITSC has begun a major initiative to improve teaching and learning within Chinese University through the use of multimedia and learning technology.

One of our current projects is to promote the use of web-based teaching and learning. WebCT, a frequently used tool in Learning Technology, was introduced in March through a pilot project to help our teachers to supplement in-class lectures and tutorials using the Web.

WebCT allows communication with students, the distribution of course materials, and other teaching functions such as presenting and scoring quizzes, all using the WWW. This programme requires minimal technical expertise on the part of teachers.

The progress of the WebCT project was demonstrated at the "Teaching and Learning Technology On Campus" seminar in June. Teachers shared their experience of using WebCT, as well as their vision of web-assisted instruction. To expand the implementation of this already successful project, we are now ready to support 50 courses using WebCT course environment in the coming September.

If you would like to use WebCT to assist in the delivery of your course(s) in the coming academic year, please join our training sessions which will be held between August 9-13.

For details of the Web CT training sessions, visit http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/itsc/learning/