Students will start moving onto campus next week! Where did the summer go? You’ve been preparing to take classes and participate in college life in the midst of a pandemic. It will be a challenge, but your resilience makes Panther Nation proud—#H2P!
Students will start moving onto campus next week—one of whom will be my own son, an incoming Pitt freshman. So believe me when I say that I could not be more appreciative of all of your hard work in preparing to teach in the midst of a pandemic! I figured the least I could do is provide a few helpful tips for getting started with Canvas.
In 1975, a Business Week article quoted a tech expert who predicted that offices would be paperless in 20 years. Forty-five years later, we still haven’t gotten there. We probably never will—but we can get a whole lot closer!
While many people have discovered that Skype for Business is a pretty useful app, there’s even more to love about Microsoft Teams. In fact, when Microsoft acquired Skype, they incorporated its best features into Teams— plus lots of additional features and better integration with Office 365—for a superior communications tool with significantly more functionality. Plus, Teams has equivalent desktop and mobile apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, and web clients, so everyone can get in on the action!
We are Generation Z! Digital natives and self-learners. We grew up in the age of technological innovation. We use technology for communication, entertainment, research, education, and work—basically anything you can think of. Technology and social media make up every part of our daily lives. Here is a little insight into how much of my generation utilizes tech, so we can understand each other a little better.
The end of the spring term was hectic for Pitt IT, as they worked around the clock to support the University’s sudden shift to remote operations. In a matter of weeks, they released Zoom, increased PittNet VPN capacity, launched the Virtual Computing Lab/Virtual Desktops, ensured remote support, extended LinkedIn Learning for recent graduates, and published resources to support remote work. And they didn’t stop there. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the new IT projects completed recently.
Research requires more than collecting, analyzing, and presenting data. It’s easy to get bogged down in the details of managing a lab, especially when your staff is small and you’re mentoring undergraduate researchers. Tina Sumpter, research assistant professor of Dermatology, uses Electronic Research Notebooks (LabArchives) to make it work—even during a pandemic.
When I came to work for Pitt IT, I didn’t really know what to expect. Growing up in the information age, I’m no stranger to technology. You might relate to me—you’ve got multiple social media accounts. You order things online when you need them. You’re shocked when your landlord doesn’t let you pay your rent virtually.
Finding a job or internship during a pandemic is tough. Whether it’s finding the right position, preparing your materials, or acing a virtual interview, navigating a non-traditional hiring process can feel overwhelming.
Organization is key when it comes to working on a team—especially when collaborating remotely. Managing your team’s progress can be a complicated web of back-and-forth emails and constant check-ins. But with Microsoft Planner, keeping track of all the moving pieces is simple. Planner is a tool to automate important organizational skills associated with successful project management. It helps you to create a plan, assemble a team, assign tasks, and monitor the progress of the plan and individual tasks.