1

2

A word from CIS Chair A word from CIS Chair A word from CIS Chair Dr. Eng. Manal Farrag Dr. Eng. Manal Farrag Dr. Eng. Manal Farrag

I feel very much honored to write the introductory word for the 9th Issue of the CIS

Newsletter.

As we are coming towards the end of a fruitful academic year 2012, I would like to

express my sincere thanks to all my dear students, especially those who represented

the CIS department and Prince Sultan University in many events and showed outstand-

ing performance.

Then, I like to thank my respected colleagues in the Computer and Information Scienc-

es Department for their hard work and dedication. Their great contributions in improv-

ing the department will help us in achieving a pioneering role in the area of educa-

tion.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the PSCW management especially Dr. Noura

Aba Al-Khail, Dean, College for Women and Dr. Martiam Al-Oraifi, Vice Dean, Academ-

ic Affairs and Scientific Research for always supporting and encouraging me to add a

value to the CIS department.

A word from Student Editor A word from Student Editor A word from Student Editor Lamis Abu salehLamis Abu salehLamis Abu saleh

3

You can make a difference: Choose to be Positive "Your life is your message to the world, make sure it's inspiring."

Dr. Manal Farrag

Computer and Information Sciences, Chairperson You can choose to be either negative or positive in your life. The CIS Department is tar-geting excellence in education with high quality. Therefore, students and faculty are encouraged to add value, share their knowledge and try to help wherever and whenev-er it is possible. Creativity, Innovation and Success are the 3 pillars of the CIS depart-ment. The rule the department is trying to follow is "if you can add a value then be creative and start immediately implementing your ideas". Everyone is encouraged to be positive. A positive attitude is contagious, don't wait to catch it from others; be a carrier and pass it on. For example when knowledge is shared; it is not halved but doubled. I read this nice story: "A boat builder decided to retire to spend more time with his family. His employer said that he would be sad to see him go. One last request was before he went that he would build one last boat. The boat builder reluctantly agreed and rushed to complete a six birth cruiser to the luxury standard specified. The workmanship was poor and the finish was below standard. On the day the boat builder was due to complete his work, his employer arrived. The employer handed the key to the boat builder saying “This is my gift to you!” The boat builder was shocked. He thought, "If I had known this was for me I would have built the boat perfectly." Now he was not sure if he even wanted this gift. We do the same in life. We sometimes do not give ourselves, our families and our work the best effort and seem disappointed with our situation when we realize we could have done it differently. " Life is so short. Let us help each others: students and faculty in spreading this atmos-phere of acting positively in life with Allah satisfaction as our ultimate goal. We can achieve success if we change our perspective by being the best that we can be while bringing out the best in others. Start with a smile and be optimistic and if you think you don't make a difference in this world, remember, one rain drop raises the ocean. There are nine requisites for con-tented living: HEALTH enough to make work a pleasure; WEALTH enough to support your needs; STRENGTH enough to battle with difficulties and forsake them; GRACE enough to confess your sins and overcome them; PATIENCE enough to toil until some good is accomplished; CHARITY enough to see the good in your neighbor; LOVE enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others; FAITH enough to make real the things of God; HOPE enough to remove anxious fears towards the future. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Last tip: “Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.”

4

MUST TO DO for CIS StudentsMUST TO DO for CIS Students 1. Attend the classes in first week of semester as your marked absent in week 1 2. Attend the Student orientation session in the start of each semester. 3. Carefully read the new DN policy (attached below) 4. Try to give all quizzes and major exams as there is no makeup major exam or quiz accord-

ing to the new policy ( except the cases mentioned below. 5. Convey your concern or problems to the Department chair as she has an open door policy

for all students.

List of Excuses Accepted by the College CouncilList of Excuses Accepted by the College CouncilList of Excuses Accepted by the College Council Death in the family (an immediate relative). Student should submit the funeral announcement from the newspaper OR a copy of the death certificate. The student must pass by or contact Student Affairs Office first. Upon notice, the Student Affairs Office is responsible for contacting the instructors and chairpersons by e-mail. Major Surgery Students to present her condition to S.A.O., in which the office is responsible for informing the instructors and chairpersons. Student must provide a valid medical report with the physician’s recommendations made clear (recovery duration must be specified). Pregnancy/Delivery Students to present her condition to S.A.O., in which the office is responsible for informing the instructors and chairpersons. Student must provide a valid medical report with the physician’s recommendations made clear (recovery duration must be specified). Other Includes: traffic accident reports, severe/terminal medical conditions, and exceptions granted from Higher Management. Sick leaves and/or medical excuses will NOT be accepted.

New DN PolicyNew DN PolicyNew DN Policy 1. Students with absences exceeding 25% of their contact hours by the 4th week of the se-

mester will be given their 1st Warning. For example if student got absent 8 times in 2 con-tact hours class.

2. Students with absences exceeding 25% their contact hours by the 6th week of the semester will be given their 2nd Warning.

3. Students whose absences exceed 25% of their contact hours after the 6th week will be giv-en a DN (equivalent to a Failing Grade F). The DN form will be submitted by the instructor to Student Affairs Office immediately.

4. Those students will be advised by their instructors to withdraw the courses with a W Grade before the end of the 9th week.

5. Students with a DN will not be permitted to attend classes and will not be permitted to take their Final Exams.

5

We hear you!

Are you facing any problem? Do you have certain expectations from

CIS Department?

The CIS Department is in the process of achieving quality in the ar-

ea of “Teaching & Learning”.

Since the students are the most important factor in this process. I

would like to hear your voice and consider the constructive ideas

given by you, which will help us to achieve success.

Help us improving the quality of our program. We need new ideas

and suggestions. You can contribute in improving your department.

Students are advised to submit their written suggestions, ideas, and problems to mfar-

rag@pscw.psu.edu.sa

Moreover, you can put your letter in the suggestion Box near my office #315

Note: You don’t have to mention your name and your data will be treated in a confidential way.

6

Few days ago, I had the honor to witness a great achievement, which is, winning in the Most Competitive

Youth competition awards ceremony. Thirty young people had the opportunity to be honored and recognized

in one of the most famous events “The Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF)”, which is attended by leaders

and businessmen from all around the world.

The feeling of being recognized and honored in front of these people is simply, incredible. It may be one‟s

greatest achievement, and the fuel for the rest of his/her life. People from the globe, including public fig-

ures, are here for your appreciation, and your parents are among those people, smiling at you proudly, as if

you have done an extremely noble work despite the fact that what you have done is a simple work. Luckily, I

had the opportunity to feel the same as they did since I was one of the winners last year, and that‟s why I am

able to describe it.

The winners were all nervous although most of them knew their ranks earlier, as they were published before

the event in one of the newspapers. They weren‟t able to eat their lunch properly, and sat on their chairs

anxiously waiting for the honoring to begin. I was a chaperon for the Technology winners, so I was sitting with

them on the same table, but I was also able to see the other two categories winners, innovation and Art, so I

had the chance to observe them all. Unluckily, this was a long journey for the Technology winners. They had

to wait for two speakers, Dr. Naif AlMutawa, creator of The 99, and Mrs. Christean Ozdon, Pearson President

Middle East, Africa and Caribbean, in addition to the honoring of the innovation category as they started with

them.

Finally, it is the time. Microsoft representatives Dr. Mamdouh AlNajjar, Deputy GM of Corporate Social Re-

sponsibility, and Mr. Adel AlMassarani, Developers and Platform Group Director, were asked to the stage to

join HRH Prince Saud Bin Khalid AlFaisal, Dr. Naif AlMutawa and Mrs. Christean Ozdon for the honoring of the

Technology winners, and here we begin. The presenter started announcing the winners starting with the

tenth place and ending with the first. The winners were: in the tenth place Awni Ahmad, in the ninth place

Toqa Mukhiemer, in the eighth place Zubayda Musa, in the seventh place Hajir Abu-Khamsin, in the sixth

place Sara Tuza, in the fifth place Lamis Abusaleh, in the fourth place Lamya Bafaqir, in the third place Dua'a

Al-Hajjar, in the second place Aseel AlOmran, and in the first place Rahaf AlHarbi.

These few minutes while you are on stage, receiving the certificate and stepping in the world of fame are

priceless. They give you the power to think and dream about your goals and your next steps, as one of the

winners said: “When I was back home, I started thinking about what to do next”. Wish you all, have the same

feeling one day, and wish all the winners the best in their lives. Written By: Salam Al Khouja

7

No individual should stop improving…

-Ms. Buthayna Al Wehaibi

By Lamis AbuSaleh

Interview with the first & only CISCO Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Saudi female Ms. Buthayna Al-Wehaibi studied and graduated

from PSU. She finished her COOP in Cisco Systems

and then worked as a Research Assistant at King Ab-

dulaziz City for Science & Technology (KACST). She

went back to Cisco to be a Network Consulting Engi-

neer there. Her journey took her from Riyadh to

Jordan, India, Dubai, and finally back to Riyadh.

Cisco has a widely spread IT certification programs

that are well known around the world. There are five

levels of general certification Entry, Associate, Profes-

sional, Expert and Architect. Ms. Buthayna has man-

aged to reach the “Expert” level and to receive the

final certificate offered by Cisco, the Cisco Certified

Internetwork Expert (CCIE). Our team in the CIS News-

letter has managed to interview Ms. Buthayna, hoping

our CIS students would benefit from her experience.

Do you know how many CCIE certified females engi-

neers are there in Saudi Arabia?

“I was told that I‟m the first CCIE Saudi female, no other CCIE Saudi females as of yet. I encourage fe-males to pursuit network engineering. Hopefully, we will see more CCIE female engineers in the near fu-

ture.”

We know that CCIE is in more than one field, which

is your field?

“I‟m CCIE in Routing and Switching (CCIE# 24392).”

CCIE is not an easy certificate, what motivated you to go after such a challenging certificate? “Working in networking companies demands a cer-tain level of skill set. CCIE is viewed as the most prestigious networking certification in the indus-try. It was my motive to work in Cisco as a Net-work Consulting Engineer, which requires an ex-pert knowledge. Thus, having CCIE was a necessity

in my career development.”

Where did you apply for the CCIE and how long

did it take you between the CCNA and the CCIE?

“I studied part of CCNA in PSU, as an elective

course. When I joined Cisco as a COOP, I studied

and passed CCNA and CCNP, in 2007. I then joined

Cisco Global Talent Acceleration Program (GTAP)

as a Professional Network Consulting Engineer, for

9 months. I spent 6 months in Jordan where I re-

ceived technical and soft skills training. I passed

the CCIE written exam there in March 2008. Then I

spent 5 weeks in India working as a Customer Sup-

port Engineer in Cisco TAC (Technical Assistance

Centre). Afterwards, I came back to Saudi Arabia

and worked as a Network Consulting Engineer in

Cisco Advanced Services. I passed the CCIE lab ex-

am in May 2009, in Dubai.”

What are your plans for the future? Are you planning to go for another CCIE in a different

field?

“As of now, I‟m working as a Routing and Switching engineer. There are several interesting CCIE fields. No individual should stop improving, developing and going to the next level as suitable for their

career.”

Ms. Buthayna is truly a pioneer and a great role model to all of us. We find in her the true spirit and determination of an intellectual woman and a groundbreaker. She sets an example to all Saudi women to pursue the highest degrees and certifi-

cations to flourish in their careers.

8

“The light of the human knowledge.”

The project started out as a proposition of the students of the Project Management course as a

requirement of their course. The projects’ goal is to provide basic computer knowledge to female

Saudi women who have financial difficulties, such as that they are not capable of gaining knowledge

by themselves. The project is sponsored by Bunyan Organization, Intel, MSI, the CSCEC department

and Golden Brown Bakery. Bunyan Organization will provide the trainees. Intel Company will pro-

vide the course curriculum (Intel learn series), laptops for the trainees along with USBs. MSI Com-

pany has also contributed laptops for the trainees. As for Golden Brown it will be providing the

snacks throughout the duration of the project. Students of Prince Sultan University of different ma-

jors at different levels have volunteered to teach those women how to use some applications from

Microsoft Office. First the students have been trained by an ICT instructor form. Aftre that they

have delivered the training to the trainees at Prince Sultan University campus in the evening, from

the 25th of February till the 14th of March, 2012. It has been conducted for 4 days per week from

4:00 to 6:30 pm. The project was a great success and in the closing ceremony the trainees have

received a certificate signed from Intel as well as Prince Sultan University. Hopefully this certificate

will provide an opportunity for them to find a job.

After all, by this students of Prince Sultan University are given the opportunity to serve the commu-

nity, gain experience, and even pass out their knowledge. As Margret Fuller have said," If you have

knowledge, let others light their candles at it." Written By: Aseel Omar

“The three weeks in Mishkat are the life experience

that I will never forget. I was attending classes in the

morning, then teach in Mishkat in the evening, and

then I‟ll spend all night studying for the next exam.

In those three weeks, I was wonderfully productive,

and I had energy that until now I don‟t know where it

came from. I was waiting all the day for the moment

that my class at Mishkat starts. Mishkat was a posi-

tive and intimate environment, where it lets every-

body shine, and be the best they can be. I discovered

my students hobbies, strengths, and each one of

them taught me something. We shared stories,

laughed, and faced the challenge of learning togeth-

er. I will never forget those days, I will never forget

my students”.

Mishkat teacher: Rawan Al Furaih, IS Student

“Mishkat experience was one of a kind as it was a volunteer work for a good cause to contribute to my society and teach unfortunate people things that most of us would take for granted. Mishkat has taught me the meaning of time as it was hap-pening during weekdays from 4 PM to 7 PM, so I had to arrange my time and plan ahead my stud-ies and not let it affect my courses. As well as, it has taught me patience. Most importantly, it has given me a chance to know the hard work that every instructor goes through, I was in our teach-ers‟ position and it made me respect them more and appreciate all the work they do. I have never imagined I have such skills that appeared in this amazing experience. Seeing all these women very excited to learn and improving themselves in a very short time is the blossom of all our hard work. In addition, I was very proud of them when I saw their results in their final exam. At last, they made me realize that it is never too late to learn anything as long as you have the will to do so. “Whenever there is a will, there is a way””. Mishkat Teacher: Shahd Al-Qunaibit, IS Student

“Three weeks passed like hours. We spent in the most beautiful moments. Trained and played and laughed. Always wonderful days go speeding, leaving behind great memories of those people and moments we have lived with them. Great friends and greater trainers. Word of thanks and gratitude to all those I saw and I did not see where they were there watching from a distance behind the scenes. Thank you to my colleagues, trainers, the creators of the idea, those who sponsored and supported, and to those who contributed to our presence in this magnificent institute. I need a lot to express my feelings about this amazing experience, in spite of its few days. I will miss you and I will always remember you”. Mishkat Trainee: Hanadi

9

On March 14th 2012 and under the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) initiative of orienting Saudi Students towards higher education, the CIS graduating students were invited to attend an ori-entation day and to visit the KAUST premises in Thowal, Rabegh. As many students have described the trip” a fascinating most memorable trip”, I would add being in a great academic monument that is rare to find.

Mrs. Omarine Al Rafie, CIS Lecturer and Coop coordinator

" It was an amazing visit to KAUST. I enjoyed the most, the museum of the Islamic innovations throughout the

years. The best thing was that we visited the housing for students."

Al-Hanouf Alyahya

" It Was one of the best trip I've ever been too. Everything was wonderful and perfect from building to facili-

ties to faculty to student. In short I can say it's dream land in Saudi Arabia ;p."

Mariam alarfaj

King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) invited some of Prince Sultan University's stu-dents for a day‟s tour. I am very fortunate to had the chance to visit KAUST. In a few words, I would like to share the agenda and the highlights of our trip. Upon our arrival, with our CIS teacher, Ms. Omarine Al Rafie, an introduction to KAUST and their divisions was given. There are three divisions in KAUST: Chemical and Life Sciences and Engineering (CLSE), Mathematical and Computer Sciences and Engineering (MCSE), and Physical Sciences and Engineering (PSE). After that, we were taken on a tour of the University library. The library's building has quite a unique architecture. But, the most interesting feature about the library is the group meeting rooms that students can use to work and discuss group projects. After the lunch and prayer break, where we met some staff from the admissions department, our tour continued. We visited their museum and some of the core labs. The museum, in a very creative way, provides an insight to the work of Muslim scien-tists. As for the labs, they are equipped with world class machinery to aid the students in their research. To-wards the end of the tour we met the head of the MCSE division - Dr Hany Ramadan. Our day concluded with a bus tour of the KAUST community. The community is just as intriguing as the academics and has many facil-ities such as gym, bank, super market, clinic, school, and entertainment center. It was actually a wonderful trip and I wish more students get a chance to experience this.”

Ebtisam Bakhsh

“KAUST trip was very beneficial for CIS senior and COOP students, who are planning to apply for master de-

gree and complete their educational journey after graduation. KAUST staff showed hospitality and excellent

organization of the trip. KAUST has great potentials and it is highly equipped to provide the required environ-

ment for postgraduate researchers and students to apply their master and PHD degrees. The labs, library,

community and all the resources that are needed by students are provided with the best recent technology.

The faculty has great experience in their fields of study and the multi-cultural backgrounds of the faculty and

the students create a competitive environment where the innovation is the main goal. Finally, interdiscipli-

nary research is an open option that students can apply their study not only in one field but in more than one

related fields such as biology and math or math and computer science.”

Enas Yaghi

10

Equalization of CS 151 with CS175

The students who have taken CS 151 in semester 102 with Ms. Fatima Khan will not be asked to repeat CS 175. This prerequisite to CS 330 (Operating system) has been waived. The committee along with the course counterpart on the men‟ s section Dr. Fukhary M. Khellah assessed the course contents especially the lab activi-ties, assignments & exams the committee and has come to a conclusion that the level of the course was ade-quate in order to take this decision. A part of the course with computer organization which was not covered by the students would be taken by the students in CS 330; this was possible with the cooperation of the course in-

structor for CS 330, Ms. Jalila Zohair.

Introducing MyProgrammingLab in CS 101 & CS 102.

MyProgrammingLab is introduced to the students taking introductory programming courses. MyProgram-mingLab provides the students will gain first-hand programming experience in an interactive online environ-ment. It gives immediate personalized feedback. The error messages include both the feedback from the com-piler and plain English interpretations of likely causes for the incorrect answer. Your students' submissions are automatically graded, both saving you time, and offering students immediate learning opportunities. A dynamic

roster tracks their performance and maintains a record of submissions.

The suggestion to introduce the programming lab to improve the quality of introductory programming courses was discussed by the committee members following whom the programming language course group members reviewed the significance and possibility of adding this component to the course. The Report submit-ted by Ms. Layal Kazma (programming course group coordinator) supported the idea. The course instructor Ms. Amani Al-Saleh followed up closely with Pearson and was successful in getting the access codes free for the stu-

dents taking the course in semester 112.

A report

ACTIVITIES OF CURRICULUM REVIEW COMMITTEE IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2012

Proposals for Improved Digital Lab & Robotics Lab.

The committee is following up with proposals to have improved labs for Digital Logic & Robotics lab. Ms.Saba Jalal a committee member has taken the initiative to study the present infrastructure and propose improve-ments so that the course instructors could implement a significant practical component in their respective

courses.

Proposal for Security Lab.

The committee is following up with proposals to have a security lab for various CS and IS program security relat-ed courses. Ms. Salma Idris (instructor) has given the proposal to establish a security lab to give better oppor-

tunity to students to do Hands on Tutorials, Assignments and Projects related to their course.

11

System Develop-ment unit (SDU) was

established in the se-cond semester of 2009 with the vision of providing opportunities to students where they can apply skills and knowledge gained from their various courses taken in (CIS) depart-ment, so they can be ready for the employ-ment field when they graduate. It accomplish-es its vision through two activities: workshops

and projects.

In projects, students can work on three types of projects, either initi-ated by faculty, initiated by students themselves, or they are an ex-tension of one of the CIS courses. The unit has accomplished many pro-jects like virtual computing lab: a Cloud based solution for Academia; a smart card based application to mobilize patient data, and PSU CO-

OP System which is still an ongoing project.

The unit also has three different projects this semester and the stu-

dents are invited to work on them.

Training Program Information System

Mobile agent for a secure e-commerce application

Multi-touch Interface application

If you have an idea for a project, want to exceed one of your CIS courses projects, or interested in joining one of the projects, contact the unit‟s vice president: Athoug AlSoughayer on

Athoug_s@yahoo.com.

The other activity; workshops, is designed to give the students the knowledge they need to complete their projects, to give them a prac-tical training on what they have taken in their courses, or to introduce them to new technologies. Workshops will be given by faculty mem-bers or students from the CIS department. This semester, the unit is planning five workshops. Two provided by students and three by facul-

ty members.

Student’s workshops

Game development by Ms. Salam Al-Khouja

Design Mobile Phone Applications by Ms. Athoug AlSoughayer

Faculty Workshop’s

How to write research papers by Dr. Ajantha Dahanayake

Power Designer (modeling tool) by Ms. Nermeen Hakim

Linux Administration by Ms. Salma Idris

Also, there will be an award in the workshops given to the students for the best game and mobile application designed through the workshop. If you are interested in giving a workshop, contact the chief officer:

Ameerah Kharrat on ameerah-kh@live.com.

To stay updated about the unit‟s activities you can vis-it our website: www.sdu-psu.webs.com or check our board in front of class W360 in building #1. If you have any questions or con-cerns about the unit, feel free to contact the presi-dent: Salam Al-Khouja on

salam.khouja@hotmail.com

System Development Unit (SDU) A Real Life Experience

12

The department of Computer and Information sci-

ences has adopted a novel way (MY IT LAB: virtual

lab) of delivering the introductory (CMP) courses

to the students. The adoption of this new technol-

ogy in teaching would reduce a lot of effort which

was invested by the CMP instructors as well as the

IT center in organizing the Labs, and Exams for the

students.

With the vision of structuring and organizing the

CMP courses in a better way in the department of

Computer and Information Science at Prince Sultan

University College for women, The GO! Series was

suggested in semester 102 by Dr. Manal Farrag

CIS Chairperson.

Apart from the excellent contents the book sup-

ports an excellent learning environment called as

the MYIT Lab.

Features of MY IT Lab

Open simulation of Microsoft Office 2010 al-

lows students to complete an activity exactly

as it is taught in the textbook or by using any

method the actual Office 2010 applications

will accept.

The MYIT Lab has readymade exams which

can also be customized. The system evaluates

(automatic correction) and the result is dis-

played to the students the moment they sub-

mit their exam. Students will have their indi-

vidual accounts and can save their work.

Apart from accessing the e-resources from GO!

About 4-5 e- text books from Pearson which

are called (exploring series) are available for

the students.

A full-functioning grade book will let you man-

age all of your course grades in one place

You can test and train students on entire pro-

jects just like in your textbook, Go series

(which is recommended for CMP011/012 cours-

es).

The coordinator of the course could monitor

the status of all the sections by entering in the

course itself. This helps to monitor the pro-

gress of each instructor closely.

Progress with the Action Plan to Imple-

ment MY IT LAB in CIS department

CMP instructors attended two workshops which

were conducted by the PYP Coordinator Ms.

Fatima Khan. These trainings were conducted

to introduce and train the faculty with MY IT

Lab.

The CMP instructors also attended training

from a representative from Pearson, Ms.Dalia

Leil, who enlightened us further with the ben-

efits of MY IT Lab.

The CMP instructors have trained the students

in order to use the new environment.

Class activities, quizzes, majors, final exams

and promotional exams were conducted using

the automated environment.

Feedback was taken from the CMP Instructors,

who have shown their strong willingness to

use the new environment.

PROGRESS IN COMPUTER ORIENTATION PROGRAM AT PRINCE SULTAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

IMPLEMENTING MYIT LAB

IN CMP COURSES

Continued on next page

13

Evaluating MYIT Lab Experience: Limitations

There was an apprehension among the instructors that the students would get used to using the Virtual en-

vironment and would have less practice with original Microsoft Office 2010.

Grader projects would be given as home works. These projects allow the students to download files from

MY IT Lab and do their assignments normally without any simulation. Following which the student can sub-

mit files to the simulation tool which does automatic assessment instantly.

The time taken to open the simulation is approximately 5-10 minutes. The time depends on the network

load.

A proposal as been submitted to the higher management for better internet connection to the students and

the faculty especially those associated with the preparatory year program.

Winners

The first Winner: Huda Yasin - Finance Depart-

ment - Topic: NISSAN: Motivation and Attitude

The second winner: Arwa Abu Shmais and Rana Hani - Information System- Topic: Data mining for

Fraud detection

The third winners: Dua'a Al-Hajjar and Batoul

Burghel - Computer Science - Topic: Bionic Eyes

Rana Fakeeh - Computer Science - Topic: Evalua-

tion of Approaches to Odor Digitization.

14

The students got accepted to participate in

Computer & Information Sciences Research

Council at the Oxford University in London in

June 2012. The students have submitted their

research paper to IEEE for which they have

been acknowledged and the paper would be

released on September 14th 2012.

Student’s Projects

Achievers of CIS

Virtual Computing laboratory: A Cloud based solution for Academia

Project supervised by Ms.Fatima Khan Nayer under CS 336 (Network Operations & Administration)

Students Names: RanaRezk, Hadeel Al-Mansour, Maha Al-Azizy

In this project the students developed small Virtual Computing laboratory (VCL) pilot using “U Forge Appliance Factory” that would automate the creation and maintenance of software image templates and usable software appliances that can be instantly deployed on physical, virtual or cloud environments. The images were published

using the “Google Mega Cloud”.

The Virtual Computer Laboratory pilot is a technology that provides applications for the students/faculties and makes them on the go. This technology provides scalable, high performance computing resources requested through an Internet browser and accessed through either a remote desktop connection or server/client ma-

chines.

Such deployment provides academic faculty and students with numerous resources and flexibility as well as countless applications. In other words, instead of having to limit the students and/or faculty to use only one software in a particular classroom, they can access different applications depending on their wants and needs

from their comfort of their homes.

A Smart Card Based Application to Mobilize Patient Data

Project supervised under The System Development Unit

Students Names: LatifahAlmojil, MshaelAlameer, AlanoudAlabdulwahed ,BatoulBurghleh , RanaFakeeh , and Dua'a

Al-Hajjar

Supervised by: Ms. Fatima Khan Nayer& Ms. Saba Jalal. This project demonstrates the use of a Smart Card Based Application to Mobilize Patient Data to improve access-ing patients‟ information for quick retrieval and/or editing, in a convenient and secure way. The smart card will hold information such as the patient's medical history, medications, test results, personal information, medical insurance details and patient‟s medical records which will allow prompt access of data. The students completed the analysis and design part of the project in semester 102 in the course CS 225 (Software Engineering) and are now implementing the same project under the System Development Unit.

The students got accepted for the poster presentation at the Fourth Annual Undergraduate Research

Conference on Applied Computing at Zayed University which will be participating the month of April.

15

Student’s Projects

Achievers of CIS

Construction without distraction, is that possible?

Students Names: AthougAlsughayer(CIS) ,Adwa Alsoughayer, Lama Alsherif, Sara tukaifi,

One of the participants AthougAlsughayer, student Information Systems Department, was declared the overall winner. She spoke on “Development with destruction – is it possible?”. She was given the task of visuals, and com-ing up with a solution to the problem. She designed a website, she used an idea where we use our everyday trash to make something usable out of it, and the money we make out of the purchases from the site would be used to plant trees in the gulf countries. Ms.Fatin Mubarak a CIS faculty supervised the website. The energetic young lady also designed a Mobile application which would calculate the energy consumption e.g. how much water they con-sume, and how much paper they use etc. The Mobile application was supervised by Ms.Fatima Khan a CIS instruc-

tor. Adwa Alsoughayer, Lama Alsherif, Sara tukaifi worked on a lovely research to support the project.

Pervasive Computing: Toward more Connected Education

Community

Project supervised under Ms. Salma Idris (Computer Networks CS 331)

Students Names: Mariam AlArfaj, Norah AlTuwaim, Arwa AlTuwaijri

One of the developing areas in information and communication technology is pervasive computing, which is also known as ubiquitous computing or ambient intelligence. Pervasive computing can be applied in many filed from health and home care to environmental monitoring and intelligent transport systems. However, pervasive computing is one of the promising technologies that would make a great enhancement in higher education. The students researched how pervasive computing can be applied in edu-cation and what are benefits education community can get out of it. Students proposed a sample pervasive net-

work for schools and universities.

This Research project got accepted for the poster presentation at the Fourth Annual Undergraduate

Research Conference on Applied Computing at Zayed University in the month of April.

The PSCW students winners at GCC-wide public speaking competition in Dubai.

The two PSU teams with the competition judges, 2011 Althoug Al-Sughayer holding the winner's trophy, 2011

16

Students & Conferences

Undergraduate Research Conference

Zayed University, Dubai Campus

Earlier this year, Sheikh Zayed University has announced the launch of its Fourth Annual

Undergraduate Research Conference on Applied Computing (URC2012). Their objective

was to provide the students with a forum to present their work and thus promote re-

search activity in the Gulf and Arab Area.

PSU‟s finest students jumped at the chance of participating in such an beneficial confer-

ence. Hoping to represent their school by presenting their premium work and research,

numerous students applied for both oral and poster categories, and over 14 students

from PSU got accepted.

In honors of these students, and as an acknowledgement of their achievement, the CIS

Newsletter decided to present their names and research titles in this issue. Hopefully,

PSU would show better support to its active and dedicated students in the future. We

also wish to see more students participating in valuable conferences.

Student Name Research Title Type of presenta-

tion

Lamis Abusaleh Greenovation Oral

Arwa Abu Shmais,

Ghazal El Ajou, Rawan Al

-Furaih

Open Source Operating Systems and Their Importance

in Education Poster

Batoul Burghleh, Dua’a

Al-Hajjar, Sara Al-Saif Cluster Computer Systems Poster

Abeer Alharbi, Asma

Almosa, Lina Alfawzan

Above the Cloud: An Introduction to Cloud Computing‏

and its Role in Higher Education And Research Oral

Dua'a Al-Hajjar, Batoul

Burghleh, Sara Al-Saif Networking Educational Tools Poster

Rana Fakeeh, Dua'a Al-

Hajjar, Batoul Burghleh,

Mshael Alameer, Latifah

Almojil, Alanoud Abdul-

wahed

Electronic Heath Records on Virtual Smart Cards

Poster

Mariam AlArfaj, Norah

AlTuwaim, Arwa AlTu-

waijri

Pervasive Computing: Toward more Connected Education

Community

Poster

UR

C 2

012

17

One of the most annoying things that happens to you when you are using your laptop or desktop is that it is not responding to your request or sometime it is taking too long to open a program. The most common case is that the program is doing something else and cannot process your request until it finishes the previous one. But, if this happens too frequently, then you should consider doing the following:

1- Run a Defragmentation Over time, the data portions on your hard drive get scattered, making them harder to retrieve so by doing defragmentation, you can fix this problem. This reduces the frag-mentation in your hard drive.

2- Fix registry problems Your registry is like a directory of all the information about the programs, installed in your system, so when you uninstall a program some of the files remain in the registry, to solve this problem you can use a registry fix software.

3- Have enough Memory Space Having larger memory can make a difference in your laptop‟s speed. So, be sure to have enough memory according to your needs.

4-Check your Ventilation Sometime the system is overheated and causes the CPU to slow down, in order to avoid damaging itself. This is typically due to the bad ventilation. Check computer‟s fans, heat sinks and CPU temperature. Clean out any dust in the case and Make sure that nothing is covering up the air outputs.

5- Run a Disk Cleanup Over time, unnecessary files are kept on your laptop. For this, consider making a disk clean up to make your computer, run faster. Disk clean up removes temporary and un-used files from your hard drive.

6– use good Quality Anti-virus program Anti viruses and anti-spyware run and use all your CPU time. The best way to solve this problem is to have a good anti-virus program and run a scan once in a while.

At the end, you should keep your operating system up to date. Some problems can be fix through an update and also avoid downloading unsecured files that could harm your system. Just take care of your system and start doing the above mentioned steps once in a while to make your computer more responding to you.

written by: Dina AlSharif, IS student

Biography - A Journey With History’s

Most Influential People

Care for a nice read? Have an iPad? Then here is a title that

might be of interest to you. It is called Biography, and just

like its name suggests, it takes you on a journey through the lives of the world's most

influential people.

The application gives in-depth information about some of the greatest personalities

who have left their mark on society with their talents, inventions, and discoveries. It includes one of the greatest

scientists, freedom fighters, writers, poets, philosophers, mathematicians, and rulers the world has ever seen

before. Every biography covers their early lives, major accomplishments, significant events, and includes a list of

notable quotes too. Also, to enrich the experience even further, each biography is accompanied by high quality

images and audio content. Written by: Mshael Alameer

18

Last semester, my colleagues; Madawi Al-Rayes,

Daliah Al-Mazroa, and I had a chance to work on a

project called “Green Computing” for the course

IS201; Introduction to Information Systems with Ms.

JalilaZouhair. Our research included, studying the

students‟ awareness level about this topic. There-

fore, we prepared a survey for which over 80 female

students in PSCW responded. Shockingly enough,

only 11% of the participants in the survey knew what

the concept of Green IT was. Therefore, this article

aims to educate you and inform you about green

computing and how to apply it.

Green computing is based on the idea of reducing

the power consumption and the negative impact

that computing has on the environment. Most peo-

ple are not aware of it, but manufacturing and de-

ploying technical devices requires various materials

and huge power consumption. The consequences of

this industry include the disposal of hazardous

chemicals and materials such as lead and mercury.

Increased heat and electronic waste are also some

of the negative effects. Hence, green IT is defined

as the idea of applying the right practices, which

ensure saving resources while using technology. This

includes designing and manufacturing eco-friendly

devices, utilizing them appropriately, and eventual-

ly, disposing and recycling them efficiently.

It is known that businesses and organizations impact

the environment more than any other. However,

several of them have recently taken a green ap-

proach. Google and Amazon are great examples.

They own huge databases and data warehouses that

are used to store and process thousands of terabytes

of information. However, they are creating a web

that is better for the environment by using re-

sources efficiently and supporting renewable power.

How can I help?

Well, there are several green solutions that are easi-

ly applied by any individual. These solutions revolve

around power management, saving on paper and

ink, choosing eco-friendly devices, as well as recy-

cling old devices.

1. Adjust your power management proper-ties.

The computer must be set to hibernate or go to

sleep mode after a few minutes of non-use. This

way computers would be saving energy consump-

tion and decreasing heat emission. Interestingly

enough, “hibernate” mode consumes less energy

than “sleep” mode. On the contrary of common

belief, screensavers do not save energy unless the

screen is set to turn off. Moreover, power saving

should not be limited to computers, but extended

to all other technical devices, such as printers,

faxes and even television sets. When not in use,

those devices must be turned off.

2. Save energy, ink, and paper when print-ing. Adjusted your margins as much as possible

in order to save paper. The print preview must be

inspected, as well; before printing in order to en-

sure that the document is in the proper form to

avoid reprinting it. Furthermore, it is a good prac-

tice to save documents in a fitting format such as

PDF rather than DOCX and consequently avoid re-

printing.

3. Look for “Energy Star” labels The Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) launched “Energy Star” labels, which can be

found on technical devices. EPA‟s goal is to help

the nation, save both energy and money, as well as

protect the environment through these efficient

products. Therefore, those labels indicate that the

device uses less toxic com- ponents

and saves power.

4. Recycle or donate. Old devices must

not be thrown away. By

doing so the amount of e-

waste would increase and thus harm

the planet. Instead, those devices must be recy-

cled. Another way to dispose of them would be to

contact the solid waste authority to pick them up

and deal with them properly. Certainly, usable de-

vices could always be donated to charity.

Greenovation

By Lamis Abu Saleh

19

Student Starts is a local competition presented by

Microsoft and sponsored by Saudi Hollandi Bank. This

competition is targeting students of all ages and

majors. Student Stars has three main categories:

App Star, Idea Star, and Video Star. Students have

the choice to participate in one or more categories.

App Star requires the competitor to develop an ap-

plication using Microsoft technologies such as Win-

dows Phone 7 and Game Development.

Idea Star asks the student to propose an idea for

technical, functional, or business features to tech-

nologies such as Office 2010, Kinect, Skydrive and

online services.

In Video Star category, you need to create an

eLearning video that teaches a specific technology,

or an illustration video that explains a technology

concept.

Student Star prizes include Samsung Slates for first place winners, Windows Phone Device for second place winners, and Xbox with Kinect for third place winners. To participate in this competition visit

http://imaginecupsaudi.com/ and sign up.

Deadline:

May 16: Last day for registration.

May 16: Last day for entry submission.

June 2012: presentation.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICROSOFT CLUB!

Celebrating two years of hard

work and success

Student Stars Competition

Microsoft @ PSU Club is one of the first clubs estab-

lished in the CIS department, and the first among oth-

er Microsoft Clubs in Saudi Arabia. It was founded, in

2010, by the university‟s Microsoft Student Partners.

The students intended to promote and increase

knowledge of IT and Microsoft technology, as well as

to keep the CIS students in PSU updated with the lat-

est terms in the technical world. This is fulfilled

through training sessions and tech discussions. Moreo-

ver, the executive council will keep the members in-

formed about Microsoft related activities and arrange

trips to attend major events.

Microsoft Club is supervised and has direct con-

nections with Microsoft office in Saudi Arabia, which

gives it a great opportunity to achieve its goals. It is

also connected with the other Microsoft club‟s in Sau-

di Arabia such as Microsoft club @ Imam University

which collaborated with us in organized the Mega

Event on 23 Feb 2012. The club is run and managed

by four Microsoft Student Partners, which are the

president; Salam Al-Khouja, the vice president; Lamis

AbuSaleh, the Public Relations Officer; Aseel AlOmar,

and the treasurer; Toqa Aiman.

On April 6 2012, Microsoft @ PSU Club will cele-

brate its second birthday. So, happy birthday Mi-

crosoft Club!!! And, thanks to all of our members that

were committed and supported us until we reached

our second year, and wish our club more success and

achievement.

Visit: www.microsoftatpsu.webs.com

Contact us at ms.psu.cub@hotmail.com

Students Power

By Lamis AbuSaleh

CIS students are always wondering whom to follow to get

the latest updates on technology and business. Microsoft

Saudi Tech Students Community always has the latest

updates. It is the first unified community of local student

technology clubs across Saudi Arabia, coming hand in

hand to learn and share technology for a better tomor-

row. It is a technical community for students to share

knowledge, participate in tech-events and enhance their

skills. This community is run by Microsoft Student Part-

ners in Saudi Arabia and it is open for everyone to join.

20

Microsoft Mega Event: A Fruitful Collaboration

By Lamis AbuSaleh

On February 23rd, the Microsoft club in Prince Sultan

University in association with the Microsoft club in

Imam University held the Microsoft Mega Event, which

took place in Prince Sultan University. Nearly 500 peo-

ple from various schools, and organizations and of var-

ious ages attended this event.

1. Opening Keynote

At first, Ms. Aseel Al Omran, a Microsoft Student Part-

ner in Imam University, welcomed the guests and

talked about Microsoft Academic Programs such as the

Microsoft Student Partner program and Tech Clubs.

She also talked about global competitions such as Im-

agine Cup and Local competitions such as Student

Star.

2. Introduction to Windows Azure

The new trend in the technical and the business world

is moving towards the cloud approach. Therefore, one

of the topics discussed in this event was Windows Az-

ure presented by Lamis Abu Saleh, a PSU Microsoft

Student Partner.

3. Build Your Career

Ms. Rajaa AlShareef and Ms. Laila AlJindan, two Mi-

crosoft representatives, gave students and attendees

tips on how to succeed in your job. They have offered

numerous advices for building your career.

4. Explore Kinect

Ms. Najla AlAriefy, talked about Microsoft‟s Xbox and

Kinect. Some of the lucky attendees had a chance to

try it out. She has also aided attendees in activating

their dreamspark codes.

5. Windows Phone Development

Ms. Nada Abu Himed, another Imam University Mi-

crosoft Student Partner, has introduced Windows

Phone 7 and gave a demo on how to create a WP Ap-

plication.

Many thanks to all the organizers of this event includ-

ing Nour Khouja, Aseel AlOmar, Salam Khouja, Toqa

Aiman, Muna AlAmeel and Noura AlSheikh.

Certificates were presented to the attendees from the

Microsoft Innovation Center. Many attendees took ad-

vantage of twitter as they were tweeting about their

favorite quotes & sessions through #MME1.

It was an overall great event that was planned and

launched by students. We look forward to similar

events in the future.

To know more about this event visit https://twitter.com/#!/

Students_Power & https://www.facebook.com/Students.Power

IEEE S

tudent B

ranch @

PSU

Last May 2011, PSCW has been proud to launch the female student branch of one of the

largest professional associations in the world IEEE, which stands for Institute of Electrical

and Electronics Engineers under the supervision of a CIS lecturer, Ms. Salma Idris, and an

electronics engineer and a physics lecturer, Ms. Hajira Rizwana. The main reason this

branch was launched is to provide various opportunities educational, technical, and profes-

sional development and foster our society‟s innovation. Further, IEEE has the means for

you to remain technically current through award winning publications and technical socie-

ties. Our branch will students‟ start to help the humanity, structure the education system,

get recognized, network easily with professionals and those who have similar interests, and

enhance their CV‟s. For many students, IEEE membership is a just a professional organiza-

tion to get access to world to world journals and conferences. However, IEEE is much more

that that! It allows you to acquire new skills and advance your professional development,

especially for technical students who chose a major that is in continuous change. By the

time they graduate, some of the devices they heard about in the classroom may no longer

be used in such rapidly changing technologies. To join, open the webpage www.ieee.org

and click on Join IEEE and choose as a student member. Then, create your IEEE account

and fill the required application, and proceed to checkout if you have a valid credit card to

pay the dues or pay in cash to the IEEE treasurer and she will complete the payment pro-

cess for you!

P.S. the new student membership dues is equivalent to SR 51.0 By: Duaa Al Hajjar

Intro

ductio

n

21

For the first time in the world, a girls-only video gaming convention will take place in Prince Sultan University‟s college for women campus on the 11th and 12th of April. An event that is long anticipated from the population of female gamers aimed at advocating the culture of video game development and professional gaming, GCON as-pires to inspire as many potential female developers in the region, paving way towards having a subtle game de-velopment industry and a proper academia resourcing.

The event will sponsor a bundle of activities, commencing with a workshop hosting a group of sessions with a vari-ety of topics (from introducing development on a 3D engine, to an ADHD in gaming insightful session). The event will include numerous gaming tournaments with different games (including the aim-and-shoot genre, racing and others), alongside a high quality exhibition from Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and In-Motion-Club (a gym that imple-ments Exergaming – exercise via gaming), all of the four will put out their latest technologies and games to the public. Moreover a variety of other activities exist, from a cosplay competition (costume competition aimed at the enthusiastic actresses) to a corner for artists to express their impressions of the event.

The idea of the event was seeded at the IEEE Student Branch under the supervision of Mrs. Salma Idris and Mrs. Hajira Rizwana, from there on three students took over the mission of flourishing the idea into a tangible out-come. As the event is not preceded by any alike, it has received nothing but celebration and enthusiasm from

females in the region, and its organizers plan to have it annually.

CIS Inter Quiz Competition

One of the most interesting and original events that was

organized and successfully done by IEEE team is the Inter

quiz Competition. The event was held on February 29th,

2012, and was attended by PSU/CW Dean Dr. Nora Aba

Alkhail, Vice Dean of Academic Affairs and Scientific Re-

search Dr. Mariam Al Oraifi, CIS department‟s faculties,

and PSU students. The participants were 20 computer

science and information systems students from different

levels (seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen) who were grouped in

five teams: Smash, Alphas, Cyber Crew, Coldplay, and PSU Brilliants. The

competition consisted of three rounds. The questions in each round were

based on general knowledge alongside technology aspects. At the end of the

event, the first three teams -Smash, Alphas, Cyber Crew- who answered

most questions correctly and earned most points got medals which were

distributed by Dr. Nora. The team who won the first place –Smash- won also

the inter quiz trophy shown here. Certificates of participation were distrib-

uted to all participants to appreciate their enthusiasm and excitement. The

event got very positive feedbacks as it was very informative, exiting, and

the first of its kind. As Dr. Mariam Al Oraifi said: “It was a good Team Work

from CIS Faculty and Students. Well organized. Reflective of the CIS Hard

Work and innovative attempts to involve PSCW in their interests and CIS

endeavors.” IEEE is thinking of repeating this successful experience and

also it plans to do similar competition on a higher level between universities

in Saudi Arabia.

First Prize Winners

Competition Trophy

22

Education and technology combined together can increase your

performance and knowledge as a student. Therefore, in our new

club “EdTech”, founded by Ms. Jaila Zouhair, we will learn to-

gether the new ways of combining education with technology to

enhance our communication and collaboration skills for the process of delivering them

in projects and various class works. EdTech will also offer other activities throughout

the semester such as guest speakers, field trips, and free torturing.

Some of the topics that will be discussed in the club include Prezi, Blogger,

and social networks. So if you want to learn and practice various educational tools

then come and join us every Tuesday at break time in Lab C. you can follow the club‟s

activities on twitter @EdTechPSCW , or contact one of the club supervisors Basma

AlFayez alfayez.basma@gmail.com and Lamis Abu Saleh lamissaleh@hotmail.com.

Educational Technology Club

By Basma Al-Fayez

By Lamis AbuSaleh

Glogster is a unique social media that is based on

creating Glogs –or graphical blogs- and sharing them.

Glogs are interactive posters to which you can load text,

graphics, music, and even video. It has been founded in

2007, by Roman Smola, Martin Santorcl and Patrick

Prespsl. It was originally developed as a better alternative

to offline boards, posters or complicated web tools. Ac-

cording to Glogster site stats, there are over 6 million ex-

isting Glogs, and over 2 million users. This is considered a

powerful tool, which can help you in your education. So

sign up and start using Glogster. To learn more about this

tool or how to use it contact the Educational Technology

Club in PSU (@EdTechPSCW).

A common challenge that we all face today is organiz-

ing our tasks and remembering them. 6Wunderkinder

GmbH is a company that realized this issue and presented

us with a simple solution by the name “Wunderlist”. This

easy to use app permits you to create lists and add tasks to

each of these lists. You may add tasks and lists as well as

remove them at any time. Certainly, this app exists for iPh-

one, iPad, Android, Windows, and even Mac users. Once

you update your lists on one device they would automati-

cally synchronize with the app on other devices. More im-

portantly, if you wish to share a list with a friend or a pro-

fessor, perhaps, you may choose to do so by sharing it with

their account, you may export the list.

Gliffy is a web-based diagram editor that can be used to draw any type of diagrams or flowcharts. It would be useful for CIS students for it helps them with courses that need diagrams such as IS223 and IS225, which need ERDs. Business students can make use of this tool as well because it helps them with courses such as marketing for the SWOT Analysis. It can also be of great use to ID students as they can create and design floor plans. You can simply create an account and start using Gliffy for your charts. When you’re done, you may export your diagram as a .JPEG. You may also save your work and edit it later by logging in.

Wunderlist

Introduced By:Shahd Al-Qunaibit

Written By: Lamis AbuSaleh

Ed

ucati

on

al Techn

olo

gy Clu

b

Introduced By: Samaher AlHijji & Hind AlAsker

Written By: Lamis AbuSaleh

23

Google Lost its Gravity!!

Tired with Google being so weigthless all the time?

Try to bring it down on earth.

Go to Google,and type 'Google Gravity' and en-

ter“I am feeling lucky”.

Wait for two seconds. Something cool will hap-

pen! The search bar, logo, and buttons collapse

into a heap at the buttom of the page!

Play with it for a while by clicking, dragging, and

releasing them.

Then, write any word in the Google search bar

and press Enter.

Wait and see. Something even cooler will hap-

pen.

Google’s Barrel roll!

Go to Google‟s homepage. Type the command

“Do a barrel roll” without the quotes into Goog-

le‟s search bar and click Enter.

Did the Earth move for you? The image in your

browser should!! Google‟s search interface per-

forms a 360 degreehorizontal spin before your

eyes!

elgooG!

„elgooG‟ (Google spelled backwards) is the literal

mirror image of the engine searcher; not only is all

of its content a reversal of Google, the search

terms must also be written in reverse in order to

yield the desired results.

To try it, type the word „elgooG‟ in the search bar

and click “I am feeling lucky”.

ASCII Art Search!

ASCII art is imagery made of monospaced

letters named after the storied character en-

coding scheme. Search for ASCII art on

Google and you get a fittingly adapted Google

logo.

By Duaa Al Hajjar

24

CIS Newsletter Team

CIS Newsletter Coordinator: Ms. Salma Idris

CIS Newsletter Team: Ms. Ishrat Khan, Dr. Afraz

Student Editor: Lamis Abu Saleh

Graphic Designer: Ms. Arwa Jobran

We believe in