This is the penultimate Continuity and Community digest; our final issue will arrive in your inbox on Wednesday, September 30.
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ISSUE 15: September 16, 2020 |
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SCHEDULED NETWORK MAINTENANCE |
Friday, September 18
This Friday morning between midnight and 6:00 a.m., OIT will be working with our network service provider (CENIC) to build in additional network security. We do not expect this work to impact the campus network or services. If the work is delayed or there are any unforeseen consequences, we'll communicate the details via the OIT Twitter account.
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Friday, September 25
Next Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., OIT will be performing planned preventative maintenance on the campus datacenter.
This maintenance will not require a network shutdown and should not impact normal campus business. In the unlikely event of a simultaneous utility power outage, we have taken steps to protect the datacenter and will communicate any other impacts via the OIT Twitter account.
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ZOOM: CHANGING SETTINGS DURING MEETING |
Did you know that there are a number of Zoom settings you can change while your meeting is in progress? You can make the following changes by clicking on the Security button in the bottom bar of your Zoom meeting:
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Lock Meeting: When checked, prevents any further participants from joining the meeting.
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Enable Waiting Room: When checked, participants joining the meeting will be placed in a waiting room and the host will need to let them into the meeting.
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Share Screen: When checked, any participants will have the ability to share their screens to the meeting.
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Chat: When checked, the Chat option will appear for all participants to use.
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Rename Themselves: When checked, participants can change the way their name is displayed in the meeting.
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Unmute themselves: When checked, participants will have control over unmuting and muting their microphones.
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GENERATE 2FA BACKUP CODES |
You've planned for every other contingency this semester—but do you know what to do if your primary 2FA authentication method fails to work or is lost/consumed by fire/stolen by a murder hornet?
Be prepared for this possibility by generating 2FA Backup Codes. Backup Codes are one-time use codes that allow you to complete the 2FA process and access UC Merced secured services.
Note: Backup Codes only work when you create them ahead of time, so avoid more 2020 catastrophe by generating your codes today.
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TIPS TO STREAMLINE YOUR TECHNICAL HELP REQUEST |
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Trying to get help with a technical issue remotely can feel a lot like a “Who’s on First” routine. To try and expedite the process, you can follow these guidelines to help you navigate technical support interactions: |
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The first thing to include is a summary of the issue. The following questions can help you summarize quickly and effectively:
- What tool/feature/or device were you using (or trying to use)?
- What was the desired behavior? What was supposed to happen?
- What problem did you run into? What did or didn’t happen?
- When did the issue occur or start? Or when did you notice the change?
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Be sure to include information on any steps you've taken to try to resolve the issue and the results you experienced:
- Clear Cache and cookies? Result:
- Incognito Browser? Result:
- What Browsers have you tested on? What version of browser are you on? Result:
- Have you tested on a second device or adapter? Result:
- Anything else you have tested and the results.
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While not required, the following will be very helpful to your technician and may speed up the troubleshooting process:
- Photos/screenshots or videos of the error or experienced behavior.
- Links to the site or tool with issues.
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BACK UP YOUR WORK WITH CRASH PLAN |
When was the last time you backed up your computer? If you're not sure, you should know that OIT provides a secure and encrypted cloud back up solution for all UC Merced faculty and staff: CrashPlan.
CrashPlan works on Mac, Windows and Ubuntu (Linux). Once the tool is installed and folder configured, CrashPlan runs automatically in the background and you don't have to do a thing.
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RECORDING AVAILABLE:
TEAMS TRAINING
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Did you miss our Teams training sessions last month? You can now view a recording of one of the trainings and get up to speed on Teams features. |
OIT has created a Teams page with a number of resources to help you get started with the new platform. Visit the page today to learn more! |
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Do you know Box automatically keeps file version history every time you update a file? This eliminates the need for you to save different versions of the same file with different names. This makes it easy to view or restore previous versions. |
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To view version history:
- Click the ellipsis (…) next to the file
- Open the "Properties" tab
- Open "Version History"
The list of versions will be displayed on the right side bar.
Box will only keep the 100 most recent versions of a file for viewing and restoring. Any other prior versions will still be listed in the version history, but they will not be accessible.
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Do you know how many times an important file has been viewed, edited or downloaded? There is a Box feature called Access Stats where you can find this information.
To view Access Stats:
- Click the ellipsis (…) next to the file
- Click the "Properties tab
- Click "Access Stats"
The list of Access Stats will be displayed on the right side bar. You can click each stat to view detailed information.
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LIBRARY: RESIDENTIAL DELIVERY |
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The UC Merced Library has launched a Residential Delivery service allowing faculty, graduate students, and staff to request items be shipped to their home.
Eligible items include previously delivered Interlibrary Loan (ILL) items and local items not currently available through HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (HT ETAS).
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ZOOM: CATCOURSES SETTINGS CHANGE |
On Monday, September 21st, OIT will be turning off the setting that automatically adds instructors and TAs as co-hosts to meetings created via the Zoom tool in CatCourses.
Faculty feedback has indicated that this feature, originally enabled during Spring 2020, is not as helpful as it should be and has unintended side-effects.
After September 21, instructors and TAs who create Zoom meetings in CatCourses will have to add their own co-hosts. You can manage this via the Alternative Hosts box, which is found in the meeting settings when you create the meeting.
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NEW GRANT TO DOUBLE UC MERCED SUPERCOMPUTING CLUSTER |
The grant, along with additional funds supplied by the UC Merced Office of Research and Economic Development and OIT, will double supercomputing power on our campus. The funds will be used to purchase hardware and software for a new shared high-performance computing cluster called “Pinnacles.”
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RESILIENT TEACHING IN TIMES OF CRISIS |
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The impact of the current pandemic and social and political unrest has heightened mental health issues for many students and faculty across the nation. The recent fires in our state have added to the already high levels of stress, anxiety, trauma and uncertainty, leaving a path of destruction for many in our neighboring communities.
Active Minds surveyed over 2000 students with regard to the impact of COVID-19 and the findings are quite alarming. In the current context of our teaching, it is important to implement pedagogies of care and trauma-informed pedagogy. Check out the Active Minds report and other resources for resilient teaching in times of crisis:
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CETL is here to support your work. We have a variety of workshops running through the month of September to assist you in various pedagogical contexts. |
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CURATED RESOURCES FOR FACULTY |
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Have a great resource that you'd like to share? Tell us about it! |
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CURATED RESOURCES FOR STAFF |
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Have a great resource that you'd like to share? Tell us about it! |
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Missed an issue? Explore past issues of Continuity and Community
to look back on important news and updates.
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