The deadline for requesting software to be included in our physical labs, virtual labs, and classrooms is approaching. Software requests for Summer and Fall 2019 are due by May 1 (Summer deadline extended). All software requests must be renewed each semester. Please see our Wiki page for information about this process. 

Requests for licensed software must include: (1)  Proof of purchase and license information, and (2)  software media and installation instructions. Please contact us if you have questions about the appropriate license volume or type to purchase. Requests to install unlicensed software, software with license modes incompatible with our labs, or software with system requirements incompatible with our labs, may be rejected. DoIT will make accommodations for such requests to the extent they are practicable. 

Software requests must be submitted via an RT ticket containing the required information. You can create a ticket at https://rt.umbc.edu/, or by contacting the Technology Support Center (TSC) at 410.455.3838, if you require assistance. Software requested after the deadline is not guaranteed to be made available. DoIT will notify the requestor when the requested software is available in the lab. The requesting faculty or instructor is responsible for testing the software to ensure it is working as expected.  

Software requests for one-time events:

If you need software installed for a one-time purpose (for example, a 2-day workshop in which all users need access to the software), the request should be submitted no less than six (6) weeks prior to the first lab reservation for that class. The software will be removed once you are finished.

We in DoIT know that numbers alone can’t capture the time and effort UMBC students, faculty and staff have put into coping with the disruption caused by the Coronavirus global pandemic. However, after the start of campus-wide online instruction last week, we wanted to provide a “bird’s eye view” of the various systems and tools that now make up everyone’s virtual UMBC.

For example, consider the following changes we’re seeing in just a few related tools (Collaborate, Webex and Panopto) compared to the first week of March, when “academic continuity” and “business continuity” were still becoming common terms like “social distancing.”

In terms of campus Blackboard usage, UMBC already started from a strong position. Apart from averaging 25k total logins per day last week, prior research has shown that UMBC’s Blackboard usage is higher compared to most institutions. Obviously, this reflects the hard work and dedication of faculty (especially preparing for last week), but we also want to extend special thanks to faculty serving as Academic Continuity “Ambassadors.” Through a brief survey last week, we learned Ambassadors have already provided support to more than 100 colleagues and peers, primarily through one-to-one direct assistance. The most popular topics include Collaborate, Assessments and Panopto. 

DoIT’s Instructional Technology & New Media group has also seen similar high volume interest in these topics. To date, we’ve hosted 216 and 194 participants in virtual “drop ins” and “pop up” focused training workshops, respectively. For a glimpse of what these sessions are like, check out this brief (3 min) clip of DoIT's Collin Sullivan demonstrating how to use OneNote in Blackboard for shared annotations, taken from a recorded virtual drop-in workshop for the Math Department last Friday, March 27. In addition to several DoIT ITNM staff responding to a robust "back channel" chat, the workshop was attended by 16 math faculty. Special thanks again to Math faculty member (and Academic Continuity Ambassador) Liz Stanwyck and Department Chair Animikh Biswas for the invitation and support. More info, including new evening drop-ins twice a week, are available on the DoIT Academic Continuity and Training sites.

UMBC’s Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) knowledge base has also increased 45% from March 2019 (66,154 pageviews) vs. March 2020 (95,974 pageviews). By contrast, phone calls and Request Tracker (RT) ticket volume for DoIT’s Technology Support Center (TSC) have been relatively flat compared to FAQ usage. Tip: See the FAQs about FAQs, including why campus support offices and staff should use the FAQs to help users help themselves.

Beyond everyone's continued health and safety, we know there is obvious concern with how well students are able to make the transition to online learning. We know there are challenges, but if you haven’t seen it already, please check out (and share) DoIT’s tips for students about getting online, getting a computer, and getting software. 

In particular, in terms of software, we’ve just added a faster, more user friendly Virtual Lab Environment for all students and faculty to use for classes and instruction. The new system allows students to use all University software without having to download or install those applications on their own computers. It leverages UMBC’s computing resources, and can be accessed from any type of device, including Chromebooks, tablets, mobile devices or regular computers, making it easier than ever for students to get access to the tools they need for their classes. Instructions for accessing the system can be found at umbc.edu/go/vde-faq. 

To help faculty quickly determine if, and how frequently, students are keeping up during the move to campus-wide online instruction, DoIT’s Analytics and Business Intelligence group has also recently provided new Report Exchange (REX) reports focused on days since last login, dependence on mobile devices, and “Student at a Glance” reports showing patterns and trends across all courses a student is enrolled in that use Blackboard (Reminder: accessing REX reports from off campus requires logging in with the Virtual Private Network (VPN) to emulate an on-campus connection). Similar, more detailed reports the new reports are derived from are also available inside every Blackboard course. 

Finally, as more of us move to work and life online, DoIT’s IT Security group has provided important updates about such topics as home network security, telework security resources, and the rise in COVID-19-related scams, including insurance offers, unexpected calendar invites, and fake Docusign phishing messages. Similarly, DoIT’s Business Systems Group (BSG) made sure Human Resources has what they need to track leave, process payroll and make sure employees still get paid. BSG also quickly developed and added Docusign exception request forms so researchers can come to campus to maintain facilities and experiments, and students can seek approval of applied learning experiences.

Keeping your classroom on topic and safe from trolling shouldn't be something you have to worry about when teaching. Unfortunately, misbehavior can and does happen. These tips should help you keep your class on track and safe from disruption when using Collaborate or Webex for live, remote instruction. (Many of these tips are applicable to business meetings.)

• Avoid sharing your guest link via email or social media. The guest link allows anyone to access a meeting so if a stranger clicks the link, that person can also join. 

• Collaborate: Tell students to use the Course Room link or specific session that's available in the Blackboard course unless you have no other means to get the link to them. Do not share the guest link. The Collaborate link is associated with your student usernames for tracking attendance while the guest link lets students enter any name and share the link with other people. Do not share the guest link with students!

• Webex: Limit the use of your personal meeting room for class or large meetings by generating a new session link per meeting through the Google Calendar integration. A passcode is automatically added for extra security. This link cannot be shared since it is uniquely coded to each invited person.

• If you do have a disruptive participant in the session, you can remove that person.

• Collaborate: Remove Attendees

• Webex: Expel a Participant

• Take note of the default settings participants have to share their screen. Unlike Zoom, both Collaborate and Webex do not allow participants to share by default.

• Collaborate: Only moderators and presenters can share their screens. Participants must be promoted to presenter to share their screen with the room.

• Webex: Default settings in Webex prevent attendees from sharing their screen unless the host allows. To allow an attendee to share their screen, right click on the attendee and select Make Presenter.

• Chat, voice, and webcam functionality IS available by default to participants. Collaborate and Webex handle these settings differently.

• Collaborate: You can disable these functions by default through the Session Settings before or during a live meeting. Ask students to raise their hands in the session if they want to speak and then promote them to presenter. Once they are finished, you can demote them back to participants.

• Webex: You can control the permissions your attendees have when scheduling the meeting via the web. Under Attendee Privileges, default settings allow attendees to view participants, request remote control, and participate in private chats with presenters, hosts, and other participants. Once in the meeting, the host has the power to mute other participants or disable individual video feeds.

• Turn off private chat. 

• Collaborate: This setting must be disabled in Collaborate BEFORE the live session. Turning it off prevents someone from messaging another participant during the live session.

• Webex: By default, chat is enabled. When scheduling the meeting via the web, you can disable chat through Advanced Options. The meeting options allow you to disable public chat while attendee privileges allow you to turn off private chat.

• Don’t use Zoom: It’s not licensed or supported by UMBC.

Additionally, you and your class may want to observe some general tips for presenting and attending in a live session:

• Establish expectations early. Review any netiquette guidelines with your students.

• Remind students to check their microphone buttons in the session. When participants do not need to talk, they should turn their microphones OFF.

• Be patient during a live session, especially if your class is large. A co-moderator is essential to manage large numbers. Tell students to raise their hands if they have a question or use chat. Some instructors have students use private chat to ask a moderator a question directly.

• Remind students that their peers and/or instructor are also working from home and they may have children in the same space. Let your audience know if content will be sensitive, especially if you think minors may be in the background. 

• Anyone who is asked to share video should check the background area to avoid inappropriate content within view.

• Be aware of ambient noise (televisions, barking dogs, flushing toilets, doorbells). If someone is speaking, make sure people in the space around know not to interrupt.

As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection 

• Open a ticket via RT

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

After completing the deployment of a new Comcast television streaming service for resident students during the fall 2019 semester, the campus is discontinuing the Direct-TV service we had in place. Unfortunately, the Comcast service license only applies to resident students and is not cost-effective to license for departments. DoIT has worked with procurement to select an internet streaming service, Youtube TV, that departments can purchase for their spaces. Youtube TV allows for cloud recording, a channel guide and HDTV among other new features. DoIT and procurement have worked together to provide easy access to YouTube TV that can be purchased with a departmental P-card. For more information please see our CATV FAQ. To ease the transition to a new service DoIT will continue to serve local channels over the legacy TV system through Spring 2020 semester for administrative and academic departments. 

For additional questions or assistance setting up your YouTube TV subscription you may contact DoIT through our TSC at 410-455-3838 or https://doit.umbc.edu/tsc/.

The DoIT Technology Support Center is looking to hire additional consultants to work during the Spring semester and beyond. Please see our job description below and visit our job posting on UMBCWorks to apply. (Search for TSC Student Consultant.) The application will be open until January 15th.

We're specifically looking for students available to work during the following hours:

• Mondays 12pm-6pm
• Tuesdays 2pm-6pm
• Wednesdays 4pm-8pm
• Fridays 8am-2pm

TSC Student Consultant Job Description

Technology Support Center (TSC) student consultants are the first points of technical contact for the UMBC community and those who do well often go on to work in other areas of the Division of Information Technology (DoIT). Minimally, consultants are expected to provide initial triage and support for a wide range of information technologies including accounts, hardware, instructional technologies, networking, software, telecommunications, and basic web development.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Provide technical assistance to users by phone, online and in person;
• Answer TSC phones in a professional and courteous manner;
• Create, update and resolve tickets in the Request Tracker (RT) ticketing system;
• Create, update, suggest and recommend relevant FAQ articles to users (www.umbc.edu/faq);
• Provide direct assistance to users on technical issues they cannot easily resolve on their own;
• Complete in-person or online training about quality support as defined in umbc.edu/go/ticketrubric;
• Respond to all work-related communications in a timely manner;
• Escalate urgent problems to the Full-Time staff, as appropriate.

Required Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate by phone or in person.
• Demonstrated writing ability.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve successful outcomes in handling difficult situations and customers.
• Demonstrated analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• Ability & willingness to learn coupled with a clear understanding of one’s technical abilities, so as to triage and escalate an issue that leads to an effective solution for the user.