Welcome to Information Technology Remote Services and Support Website
Information Technology (IT) provides many tools and resources for students, faculty, and staff to work remotely in the event of an unexpected campus closure. This website contains the necessary information to point you to the tools you'll need to carry on with instruction, to keep up with classwork, or to work remotely in the event that campus is closed. Follow the links below to navigate to the appropriate section of the website for the type of work you're trying to accomplish.
As always, if you have questions or find yourself needing help, don't hesitate to reach out to the IT Service Desk at (319) 273-5555 or raise a request for help using Service Hub at servicehub.uni.edu.
Teaching Remotely
Are you aware that UNI has many tools available to you to teach remotely? Are you ready to teach your on-campus course remotely using those tools? Whether you're brand new to teaching using online tools or you've been doing it for years, the following links and resources have something for you! At UNI every course in the SIS is in our Blackboard Learn system so you can easily continue to teach your class even though you cannot physically be in your classroom. You might be closer to teaching with these digital tools than you realize!
Plan
Just getting started? No problem!
- Follow the simple steps on our Academic Contingency Planning website for guidance.
- Consider the use of the Quality Matters (QM) Emergency Remote Instruction Checklist, nationally recognized, faculty-driven techniques to ensure the quality of online instruction.
- In the world of remote instruction and learning, there are many considerations to take into account, including Internet bandwidth capabilities, IT has published some guidelines and recommendations for using various tools available to UNI faculty under varying bandwidth constraints.
- Here's a presentation about "Remote Possibilities: Considering your Students' Bandwidth" done on March 25 between the CETL and IT-ETMS
- Watch this presentation titled, Are you Prepared? - Presentation given to CBA faculty on March 13, 2020.
Learn
Looking for faculty/staff workshops to learn more about a particular tool in the eLearning Suite? Visit the Faculty/Staff Workshops Calendar to review all that are being offered.
We also have some videos to get you started with Blackboard, Panopto, and Zoom.
- Getting Started with Blackboard Learn
- Academic Contingency Bb Learn Template for Spring 2020 (Google Doc)
- Video Tutorial for using the template and other tips
- Getting Started with Panopto
- How to use Zoom with your Class
- Adding the Library Remote Resources page to my Blackboard Learn Course
- Remote Possibilities: Considering your Students' Bandwidth (workshop presentation on 3/25)
Not sure which workshop to take? Visit our suggestions page for information on how to get started and what workshops might be the best fit for you!
Ready to sign up for a particular workshop? Visit the Online Training Registration System to get registered.
Implement
Below is a list of tasks you might find yourself working through during this temporary disruption of your face-to-face classes. To support you better, we recommend that you only use tools that are listed below to teach your UNI courses. If you use other, non-supported technologies to teach your course, you will be directly responsible for supporting your students.
Use the chart to review various activities associated with teaching your course and the corresponding resources IT offers to assist. Remember, we're always here to help and you can reach out by opening a request via Service Hub at servicehub.uni.edu.
Inside Higher Ed provides some practical advice for those who need to temporarily move their in-person course to online.
Learning Remotely
Students should contact their instructors to receive information on how they're going to continue their classes if campus is closed. Below are some helpful resources for the UNI eLearning Suite of tools.
| Tools | Help Resources |
|---|---|
| Blackboard Learn | Blackboard Learn Help for Students |
| TurnItIn | TurnitIn Student Manual |
| Zoom | Zoom Self Help |
| Panopto | Panopto Viewing Help |
| Apps | UNI eLearning Suite Apps |
| Tool Status Page | UNI eLearning Suite Tool Status |
| Course Applications | Citrix Virtual Desktop and Applications |
| MyUNI App | MyUNI App |
| Remote Library Resources | Library Guide on Remotely Accessing Resources |
Working Remotely
There are multiple ways faculty and staff can work remotely and still have access to the necessary IT services to fulfill work requirements. We recommend that faculty and staff work with their IT support staff by submitting a ticket via Service Hub or by contacting the IT Service Desk at 319-273-5555.
| Tasks | Tools |
|---|---|
| Use Remote Desktop (RDP) to connect to your on-campus Windows computer in order to have access to your network drives, software, and other UNI-resources. | Remote Desktop (RDP) |
| Use the VPN to connect your UNI-owned and managed laptop to the campus network from home. | Virtual Private Network (VPN) |
| Check your UNI Voicemail from off campus. | Voicemail |
| Standard call forwarding for your UNI phone to home or cellular | Call Forwarding |
| Forward your UNI phone extension to cellular service (EC500). Provides more flexibility with enabling/disabling - limited licenses | EC500 |
| Collaborate and meet with team members using Zoom. | Installing and Using Zoom | Zoom Self Help (It is recommended to use the Zoom client on a local computer and not through Remote Desktop) |
| Software phone to emulate desk phone - requires VPN software | Avaya one-X Communicator |
Internet Access
To better support our students as we adjust to online courses, we wanted to make you aware of the many ways Internet access and connectivity will continue to be available through UNI as well as other universities and extension offices across the state.
WiFi at UNI
Outdoor wireless locations can be found on the UNI WiFi Locator Map and at it.uni.edu/remote.
Service Providers
A new Federal Communications Commission pledge ensures that Americans will not lose their broadband or Internet connectivity for the next 60 days (read the FCC agreement for full details). In response, several service providers have announced incentives and accommodations for customers:
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Mediacom: "Qualifying families who subscribe before May 15, 2020, will receive 60 days of complimentary Mediacom Connect2Compete service."
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Comcast: Free WiFi for 2 months to low-income families; all Xfinity hot-spots are free to the public during this time.
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Charter: Free Internet offer for 2 months.
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AT&T: Open hot-spots, unlimited data to existing customers, and $10/month plans to low-income families.
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Verizon: No special offers at this time, but following the FCC agreement.
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Sprint: Following FCC agreement and providing unlimited data to existing customers. Starting Tuesday, 3/17/2020, will allow all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge.
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T-Mobile: Following FCC agreement, plus unlimited data to existing customers, and, coming soon, will allow all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge.
Eduroam
UNI uses eduroam for our WiFi authentication. Eduroam (education roaming) is the secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community.
Eduroam is available in thousands of locations in more than 100 countries. The service allows you to use your UNI credentials to login to the wireless network at any participating organization’s location.
To use, simply visit a participating institution and type your CatID@uni.edu and passphrase to login to the local “eduroam” service. Go to the Eduroam Locator Map for a list of participating institutions.
For assistance with setting up your device to use eduroam, follow Eduroam Set-up instructions or open up a Service Hub ticket and a technician will assist you.
There are a variety of institutions using eduroam throughout Iowa and other states. Iowa State University and University of Iowa campuses both have drive-up WiFi access that UNI students can access.
Additionally, Extension and Outreach offices, which are operated from Iowa State University and are located in every county of the state, use eduroam. The extension office in your county might offer drive-up WiFi access. Due to reduced operations of the offices, ISU recommends students call their county’s extension office, check for signage, or check their website for details.
Local Libraries
Your local public library may offer WiFi access. Contact them directly for more information. Public libraries across the U.S. have been asked to boost their WiFi signals to extend into parking lots while their buildings are closed to the public.
