IT Covid-19 Impact Page

IT Services Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Impact Website

Updated January 13, 2021

IT Services has in-person appointments available, but on a limited, scheduled basis. Due to the pandemic and isolation requirements, most of our personnel are working remotely from home. While we do maintain an on-campus staff, it is a small number of personnel so planning is crucial for us to assist you in-person.

If you need our assistance face-to-face, please contact us at least two (2) business days in advance. This gives us the ability to coordinate our so we may schedule to meet with you.

Support Hours

Beginning Tuesday, January 19 through January 29, 2021, the IT Service Desk hours will be Mondays – Thursdays from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM with extended phone support available until 8:00 PM. Friday hours will be 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM.

Beginning Monday, February 1, 2021, the IT Service Desk and phone support will be available Mondays – Thursdays from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, and Fridays from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM.

Note: If inclement weather and/or road conditions occur, these hours are subject to change.

• Phone: 304-876-5457 (Main Campus)
• Email IT Services at itworkorder@shepherd.eduPlease include a full description of the issue you are experiencing and include a phone number.
• The IT Services Desk in the basement of the Library

Zoom security updates May 8, 2020

Starting tomorrow May 9th; Zoom is requiring passwords for all meetings. Waiting rooms and screen share by host only will be turned on by default.

Encrypt Zoom Meetings April 28, 2020

Log into Zoom at zoom.us .
Go to My Account.
Click Settings on the left.
Click In Meeting (Basic).
Select Require Encryption for 3rd Party endpoint.

ZoomBombing April 7, 2020

Additional Zoom Tips
Securing Your Zoom Webinar
Zoom: How to keep out unwanted guests
ZoomBombing Resources

ZoomBombing (or maliciously taking over a Zoom conference session) is increasing with the proliferation of the use of this video conferencing service for online classes and remote business meetings. Here is a link to a resource with methods to prevent your video conferences from falling victim to this cyber crime.

Zoom Patch Release April 2, 2020

Zoom has released patch version 4.6.9 to resolve a known vulnerability.
Zoom should automatically prompt you to install the latest version. To check your version click on the down arrow next to your name, and select “check for updates” to manually download.

If you have trouble please follow the video instructions below.

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362233-Where-Do-I-Download-The-Latest-Version-

Students

• • Office 365: Students, faculty, and staff members can use Office 365 online with browser-based applications of Office products such as Word, Excel, and Outlook.
    Log in at office.com with your SU credentials.
  • OneDrive: Students, faculty, and staff members have free online storage connected to their Office 365 accounts. Files can be shared with others (view only or edit access).
  • Encrypt Secure Email Messages: Students can send securely encrypted documents through Outlook on Office 365. Click new message, then at the top of the message click on the “lock and shield” icon to encrypt your email. Encryption adds a layer of security to your email message to prevent unauthorized access to confidential information. When you receive an encrypted message Outlook will prompt you to click on the message and then login to Office 365 to securely view the message.

• Sakai: Sakai is accessible on the internet; you can find a link at the top of the main Shepherd University website. Login to Sakai using your Shepherd network id and network password.

Employees

• • Office 365: Students, faculty, and staff members can use Office 365 online with browser-based applications of Office products such as Word, Excel, and Outlook.
    Log in at office.com with your SU credentials.
  • Encrypt Secure Email Messages: Employees can send securely encrypted documents through Outlook on Office365. Click new message, then at the top of the message click on the “lock and shield” icon to encrypt your email. Encryption adds a layer of security to your email message to prevent unauthorized access to confidential information. When you receive an encrypted message Outlook will prompt you to click on the message and then login to Office 365 to securely view the message.
  • OneDrive: Students, faculty, and staff members have free online storage connected to their Office 365 accounts. Files can be shared with others (view only or edit access).
  • Banner: During this time, IT Services has made security provisions to allow Banner users to have direct internet access to Banner via a web browser – Citrix is not needed. Existing Banner users who wish to access Banner remotely, will need to send an email request to itworkorder@shepherd.edu with the subject line of Banner Web Access.Please note Banner 9 training will no longer be held in-person, on-campus. IT Services will be publishing an online version soon for all users to access/use.
  • Phones: Faculty and staff may forward their desk phone to a personal phone number or another phone on campus if needed. Dial *72, wait for a pause, enter the 4 digit extension or dial 9 and the outside number you would like the phone to forward to. To unforward dial *73, wait for 2 beeps and hang up.

Users can check their voicemail from off-campus by dialing 304.728.1242, then enter your full phone number (304.876.xxxx) and then your pin (xxxx).

• Computers: Faculty and staff with a university owned laptop may choose to take their device home to work as normal. Updates will be communicated based on additional information released next week.
  New computers and related equipment can be purchased through Dell or Apple typically take several weeks for PCs to receive. Apple has already announced supply disruptions and we expect further delays if the coronavirus continues to spread.
• Webcams: Recent laptops come with webcams, but older models and desktops do not. A webcam will allow you to join video conferences. Look for one with a microphone unless you already have a headset with a microphone. IT recommends Logitech c920 or c922 or other WPA2 enterprise webcam.
• Headsets: If you are connecting to online meetings, you may need a headset. Desktops do not have built in microphones, and sound quality on laptops varies. You can order a headset from Amazon. IT Services has a limited number to loan out.
• M Drive: Use is available by logging into Citrix.

Academic Instruction

CTL and IT tools for Faculty use can be found at https://www.shepherd.edu/ctl2

Please note at this time we do not plan to implement or demo any new products. Success for our students will be best attained, keeping our focus direct and the delivery simple.

Sakai is reliable and meets the majority of Faculty’s instructional needs. IT Services in collaboration with CTL agree that Sakai will be the primary option of delivering any distance learning mechanism should that be the direction provided in the coming week.

Zoom: A webcam is not necessary to use Zoom.

• Go to zoom.us and click “Sign Up, It’s Free” to create a free basic account using your Shepherd email address.
• Basic Zoom accounts allow for up to 100 participants and unlimited presentation time for education email addresses. If you decide to purchase a webcam, please purchase one that does 1080p or HD. Most laptop computers have a built-in microphone but you can also use a phone for audio.
• Log into Zoom using your email address and password.
• Click Schedule a Meeting. Enter your meeting details by selecting your date/time, for ease of use please select personal meeting id and you can enable/unable a meeting passcode or waiting room. Note: If you select a waiting room you must let individual participants into the room. Zoom does not notify you of late attendees in the waiting room.
• Selecting the option to use your personal meeting id ensures your same meeting id number will be used and allows you to schedule recurring meetings in Outlook.
• Click save.
• When you are ready to start the meeting click on meetings on the left menu, find the meeting you want to begin, and click start.
• Make sure to “share” the screen you want shared (PowerPoint, word doc, etc.)
• Make sure to click “record” if you want to upload your lecture/presentation to Sakai for later viewing.
• End meeting
• Once finished, stop the recording and save the file to your computer.(Recording will take a few minutes to process)
• Upload the mp3 or mp4 recording file to your OneDrive account (you already have this on Microsoft Office 365 here at Shepherd)
• Copy the link to your Resources area in Sakai
• Here is a link to a FOSL video featuring faculty member Ben Bankhurst using Zoom: Zoom Training Video
• Here is a link to a video showing you how to upload a Zoom recording to OneDrive and post on Sakai: Upload Zoom to OneDrive

Microsoft Teams: Teams is a virtual conferencing tool similar to Zoom. To request a team creation please submit the name of your team to itworkorder@shepherd.edu

Adobe: Adobe is a full set of graphic creation/editing tools and is available via the internet. With changes in licensing for higher education, users can request Adobe and/or assistance by emailing itworkdorder@shepherd.edu

Citrix
Citrix is our virtual desktop/lab and can be utilized by all users via the internet to access approved software. However, please keep in mind that we have a limited number of licenses and we need to ensure our student population is given primary use of them. For users with Citrix needs and Citrix alternatives, please contact the IT Services Desk.

Faculty members who use teaching labs/software may want to leverage Citrix, but this will require specific directions as Citrix has limited licensing. Faculty will need to collaborate with IT and CTL so we may best understand your exact needs. Submit a request to itworkorder@shepherd.edu detailing your request; for example “requesting Citrix access for use of SPSS”, so it can be determined if Citrix is a viable solution.

We urge you to frequently check the Coronavirus webpage, the importance of checking your email, and Sakai regularly.