On Wednesday October 6th the certificate for the eduroam wireless network will be updated. DoIT recommends that you forget and rejoin eduroam using the instructions below before the certificate update takes place. Doing so ahead Wednesday night's work will allow for a seamless transition.  

For many, including most Windows users, no action will need to be taken. If you know that you have already used the eduroam install utility when the network was originally set up your computer should automatically trust the new updated certificate. However, if you did not use the install utility or aren’t sure you can follow the instructions below anytime before Wednesday. 

For anyone who is unable to reconfigure their eduroam network before the certificate transition, you may receive an error when connecting the first time. Again, following the instructions below will allow you to reconnect and continue using eduroam, DoIT’s recommended wireless network. 

You can fix this ahead of time by following the new eduroam setup instructions listed in our wiki: https://wiki.umbc.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=36766369 . 

Should you experience any challenges getting connected to eduroam, we want to help! Please contact our TSC for assistance or to submit a support request. 

Ray Soellner

Assoc. Director - DoIT

rays1@umbc.edu

The UMBC Instructional Technology Update is provided by the Division of Information Technology for students, faculty and staff. If you have questions or need help, please consult the Blackboard Help FAQs or directly at www.umbc.edu/blackboard/help.  You can also contact the Technology Support Center at 410.455.3838 or submit an RT (Request Tracker) ticket via the myUMBC Help Menu or directly at my.umbc.edu/help.

HEADLINES

What’s New

• PIVOT Selected to Receive OLC Effective Practice Award

• PIVOT courses associated with improved SEEQs and tool use 

• FYI: Faculty Research on PIVOT: Assessment of Online Professional Development on Faculty Teaching Virtually

• Reminder: Scantron Test Scoring Moving to Akindi Bubble Sheets

• 13 tips to get your Blackboard course ready  

• What’s new in Ultra for FA2021 

• FAQ: Is Ultra right for me?

• UMBC piloting Collaborate automated transcription recording 

• FA2021 Courses Created in Blackboard on 07/26/2021 

• Reminder: Blackboard Courses Scheduled for Server Retirement in FA21 

Training & Professional Development (view all events | recording archive)

• Instructional Technology workshops for FA2021

• Classroom AV Training

• Akindi Bubble Sheet Training

• GO Chat: UMBC's Instructional Technology staff talks about all things instructional technology and Going Online.

• Read our recaps or listen to previous episodes via Apple Podcasts or Panopto 

Other DoIT & UMBC News

• DoIT Upgrades & Adds Classroom AV for Return to Campus

• Five Faculty Receive UMBC Learning Analytics Mini Grants 

• Return to campus and eduroam may require password reset

• Campus phone system replacement project update

The DoIT Technology Support Center is looking to hire additional consultants to work during the fall 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 September 3, 2021.

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

• Tuesdays 12 noon-8 P.M.
• Wednesdays 12:30 P.M.-2 P.M.
• Thursdays 12 noon -6 P.M.
• Fridays 12 noon -1 P.M.

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;
• 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.

The deadline for requesting software to be included in our physical labs, virtual labs, and classrooms has been extended to August 13th. Software requests must be entered by this deadline to ensure the application is available in the labs for the Fall 2021 semester. Note: 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. 

The DoIT Technology Support Center is looking to hire additional consultants to work during the fall 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 August 6th.

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

• Tuesdays 2pm-8pm
• Wednesdays 8am-2:30pm
• Thursdays 8am-12pm
• Fridays 8am-12pm
• Saturdays 12pm-6pm

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;
• 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.