OIT Technology News: Winter 2019 Edition

In this edition of OIT’s Technology News, we highlight the move to protect my.SMU with Duo, the relocation of the Plano data center, LinkedIn Learning, the Phone Replacement Project and more.

Security is No Joke: Let’s Duo Beginning April 1, 2019, all matriculated students will be required to use Duo Security’s Two-factor authentication (2FA) when accessing my.SMU. Yes, we know that’s April Fools Day, but this is no joke! Microsoft Teams Coming to Campus Collaborating efficiently with your colleagues is an essential part of everyday work. There are all kinds of collaboration and communication platforms that have popped up in recent years, allowing teams to come together to share and store information quickly. One of these is Microsoft Teams, and it will be available in the coming months.

Phone Replacement Project Update: Winter 2019 Progress continues on the Phone Replacement project. This project is designed to replace all of the faculty and staff phones throughout SMU and is comprised of multiple stages. New Version of Zoom Client: One Window, More Features Zoom has been SMU’s video conference system of choice for a couple of years now, and recently, Zoom released an update to their desktop client. Here are some highlights.

Fall in love with LinkedIn Learning this Valentine’s Day Love is in the air at SMU this month, so why not fall in love with learning? LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform offering over 13,000 digital courses taught by industry experts with content from Lynda.com. Just a reminder, you can win an Apple TV 4K just by watching at least one LinkedIn Learning video by the end of day on Valentine's Day.

2019-2020 Classroom Upgrades Approved by ATC Plans are underway for the classroom technology upgrades scheduled to occur this summer. We have posted a list of rooms that are expected to receive partial or complete technology upgrades approved by the Academic Technology Council in January. SMU-in-Plano Data Center on the Move The University's SMU-in-Plano campus data center houses backups, redundant email services, and servers for the Plano campus. Once the contract for the sale of the Plano campus was signed, it would take a Herculean effort to move the data center to the new location.

New In-Person Training Available This Spring This spring, we are offering several in-person training courses for SMU students, faculty, and staff; including courses on Sitecore, Adobe Acrobat, Box, and DocuSign.  Microsoft Certifications: 700 and Counting Over 700 Microsoft Office Specialist certifications which validate the technical skills of faculty, staff, and students have been issued since the MOS pilot program began in September 2017. Find out how you too can be certified.

Updated Classroom Support Videos Now Available New instructional videos on using classroom equipment are now available for viewing. Each video is around three to four minutes long and contains basic information to assist you in getting up and running quickly in your classroom.

Microsoft’s Windows 7 Update Support Ends January 2020 Like Windows Vista and XP before it, Windows 7 will soon reach the end of its update support cycle. So, what does the end of Windows 7 support mean for us at SMU? Canvas Corner: January 2019 Edition This month in Canvas Corner, we cover new enhancements to the Link Validator, WalkMe guides, and adding comments to a rubric in Speedgrader.

Office 2019 is Available Microsoft has recently released the latest update to the Office suite. Office 2019 offers a few new features including new motion graphics, editing tools, formulas, and more.  Adobe Users: Do Not Upgrade to Creative Cloud 2019 Adobe recently updated their application licensing technology. This means the latest Adobe Creative Cloud software will follow a different licensing structure for University devices – One that is currently incompatible with our environment.

The IT Help Desk: Your Tech Support First Responders The IT Help Desk provides support to the entire campus community and is available to answer questions regarding any of the services that IT provides and any of the software applications that we support. Many of the Help Desk staff are HDI certified, and all are committed to providing exceptional service.

SMU's University Operators: More than a friendly voice. Much of the time, information can be found on the SMU website but many times, people want someone to talk to directly. When they do, the University Operators are there. The Desktop Support Team: Your Local IT Support They are the ones that rush to you when tech goes bad. They diagnose and resolve your software and hardware problems. Meet the Desktop Support team.