Hofstra ITS

An Important Update from Steve Fabiani

Vice President, Digital Innovation and Technology

Dear Elisabeth Ploran,

We’re writing to pass along some information on technology support efforts and new services from Information Technology Services (ITS). We’re deepening our support services for remote courses and remote work, and hope you find this information helpful.

In this e-mail

Enhancements to the ITS Help Desk, with additional staff and extended evening hours for phone and e-mail support

Additional self-service technology resources

Live webinars, and an improved webinar registration system, for faculty using Blackboard, Zoom, Collaborate, and Respondus Monitor

New ITS Virtual Lounges providing collaborative support for Blackboard, Zoom, and Respondus Monitor in a small group setting

Manufacturer slowdowns and what that means for ordering new equipment

Enhancing the ITS Help Desk

We have expanded the ITS Help Desk’s hours and assigned additional staff resources to better accommodate increased demand as faculty and students move to remote classes, and employees adjust to working remotely.

The expanded support team is better able to share resources and provide excellent service. However, as you can imagine, the ITS Help Desk has been fairly busy these last few days, with more than a four-fold increase in phone calls alone. We appreciate your patience as we work through the many calls, e-mails, and other requests we’re receiving.

Beginning Monday, March 23, the ITS Help Desk will have new expanded hours on days when classes are held, including support via phone and e-mail until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Support via

During the semester, on days when classes are held

Between semesters, and on days when classes are not held

Phone (516-463-7777), and

E-mail (help@hofstra.edu)

Mon.-Thu., 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Walk-in (by appointment only, visit

https://calendly.com/hofstraits/walkin)

Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The ITS Help Desk is closed on designated University Holidays.

*All* members of the Hofstra community can call 516-463-7777 or e-mail help@hofstra.edu to contact the ITS Help Desk.

Self Service Resources for Everyone
As we learn together the new ways to teach, advise students, or conduct business remotely we’re all faced with unique challenges. In an effort to ease your way, we’ve prepared several web-based resources with videos, printable material, and links to additional resources that you may find helpful.

For Faculty: Resources for Teaching Remotely
https://www.hofstra.edu/about/it/it-remote-faculty.html

For Students: Resources for Learning Online
https://www.hofstra.edu/about/it/it-remote-student.html

For Employees: Resources for Working Remotely
https://www.hofstra.edu/about/it/it-remote-employee.html

ITS will continue to add information to these pages in the coming days and weeks.

More Live Webinars

Over the past two weeks, hundreds of faculty and staff have taken advantage of our live webinars on using Blackboard, Zoom, and Collaborate, and general tips and best practices for remote teaching.

For the week of March 23, we’ve added webinars on Blackboard testing and remote proctoring using Respondus Monitor. We’ve also streamlined the process of registering for a webinar – by eliminating it. You can now click on a direct link to instantly join any live session. The webinar links are as follows:

Mon.-Fri.

March 23 – March 27
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Blackboard Basics

https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/blackboardbasics

Online Teaching Tips

https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/onlineteaching

Mon.-Fri.

March 23 – March 27

11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Live Classes with Zoom

https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/classonzoom

Live Classes with Collaborate

https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/81f3aa29072c46799072ee8d67693a37

Mon.-Fri.

March 23 – March 27

2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Recording Lectures with Kaltura

https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/kalturarecording

Creating Assignments in Blackboard

https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/blackboardassignments

Mon.-Fri.

March 23 – March 27

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Creating Tests in Blackboard

https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/blackboardtests

Online Proctoring with Respondus Monitor

https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/onlineproctoring

ITS Virtual Lounges

For next week, we’ve added ITS Virtual Lounges, where like-minded faculty and employees can “drop in” via Zoom and meet up with colleagues, technical support specialists and instructional designers to bounce ideas, ask and answer questions, and share experiences and lessons learned. The Zoom Lounge is open from 10-2 and 5-8 Monday through Friday. Current hours will be in effect until March 27th. Pop in and check it out!

Mon.-Fri.

March 23 – March 27

10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

ITS Virtual Lounge

https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/zoomlounge

Mon.-Fri.

March 23 – March 27

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

ITS Virtual Lounge

https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/zoomlounge

In addition, we have opened a 24/7 Open Community Zoom Lounge on Blackboard. This lounge is not moderated but offers faculty and employees a space to meet up with anyone who may be available to chat within the Hofstra community. Click on the following link to enter the lounge: https://hofstra.zoom.us/my/hofstrafacultymeet

A Note on Ordering and Availability

Technology factories worldwide have slowed significantly. As a result, we’re seeing shrinking inventories and increasing delivery delays. We will continue to order, receive, and deliver equipment as quickly as possible. However, we may need to work together to find solutions that will work for you in a timeframe that’s possible given manufacturing slowdowns.

More to Come

On behalf of the entire ITS team, our sincere thanks to every member of this community. Your patience and good will in working with us through this transition has been deeply appreciated. We’re looking forward to continuing to explore new approaches to teaching, learning, and working anytime, anywhere, in support of the Hofstra mission.

Steve Fabiani
Vice President, Digital Innovation and Technology
Hofstra Information Technology Services