With the sudden shift to online classes and working remotely, many in the University community are learning to host Zoom video conferences on the fly. Here are some tips to ensure a positive experience for all your participants.

Now that most Pitt faculty, staff, and students are working and learning from home, there is a different set of cybersecurity considerations to keep in mind. Take an active role in keeping your data and the Pitt network safe with this five-point plan for making your living room as secure as your on-campus office, lab, or residence hall room.

A 5-Point Home Cybersecurity Plan

Here’s what you can do to help maintain the security of Pitt’s and your personal data, network, devices, and services:

With classes moved to a remote learning format for the remainder of the semester, instructors and students are eager to maintain the academic rigor and intellectual vibrancy of the classroom. Live video with interactive participation is one of the best ways for instructors and students alike to replicate the classroom experience. Zoom—now available to all students, faculty, and staff—is just the tool to help you do it.

The PittNet VPN (virtual private network) service provides students, faculty and staff the ability to remotely connect to restricted University resources that otherwise only can be accessed from the University’s network, like departmental file servers and workstations located on campus.

Almost overnight, remote work has become mainstream. Companies around the world are encouraging their employees to work from home to prioritize the health and safety of their workforce and communities amid COVID-19 concerns.

The University’s measures to control the risk of the COVID-19 virus will require students and faculty to engage in online teaching and learning for the remainder of the semester, with most operating from off-campus. Many faculty and staff are already working remotely, and even more are making plans to do so.

During HR’s recent Shaping the Workplace sessions, alternative work arrangements and working remotely were identified as significant areas of interest. The first thing many people think about is getting a computer to work on. But there’s a lot more to consider when working remotely than just having a machine in your den.

Whether there is a temporary need that necessitates your working off campus, or you are considering a permanent change to your work arrangements, here are some steps that need to be taken so you can effectively work from your home office.

Teleconferences have come a long way from the days of speakerphones and “dialing in" with a toll-free number, followed by an impossible-to-remember meeting code. Today’s online meetings can be conducted through smartphone, tablet, or laptop apps—or any device with a web browser, really—leaving phones themselves an option rather than a necessity. Plus, they have great features for presenting video or online whiteboards, group chat, file sharing, and more.

With the new A5 Microsoft 365 license, Pitt faculty and staff have access to a variety of programs that go way beyond Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. MyAnalytics is a personal productivity tool that can help you work more effectively and efficiently.