Week 1 Tech Showcase - Kramer VIA GO Wireless, Airplay Version 2 Presentation System

Kramer VIA GO Wireless, AirPlay Version 2 Presentation System

The Kramer VIA GO, which is being labeled as AirPlay Version 2, is a new wireless presentation solution found in all classrooms on campus.



It allows you to present devices such as PC, Mac, Android/iOS, and Chromebook wirelessly.

Note that you are still able to present using AirPlay the same way as before. This new system only expands support for wireless connectivity in addition to additional features.

One of the new features the Kramer VIA GO, AirPlay Version 2 supports is the ability to present up to two devices wirelessly at the same time. For example, if two students want to present their laptops at the same time, they can do so. The Kramer VIA GO also allows you to connect to AirPlay either through their VIA app or through the AirPlay icon in Mac and iOS devices how you normally would with AirPlay. Two simultaneous connections can be made when both users are connected using the Kramer app, or one is using an AirPlay connection and the other is using a Kramer app connection. Two AirPlay connections cannot be simultaneously presented.

The Kramer VIA GO has multiple ways in which you can stream videos. The first method allows you to present videos by mirroring whatever is shown on your device. While this method works well, it is not the best way to present videos. Instead, you can present downloaded videos by using the Kramer VIA GO dashboard menu. You can drag and drop the video file onto the “VIA” logo which will automatically play the video on the projector. Alternatively, you can select Features, and the select Multimedia where you can add a library of videos, which can be selected and played individually.

Please see this KBA for detailed instructions on playing videos: Playing Video with Kramer VIA GO

Please take this brief Kramer VIA GO AirPlay Version 2 Wireless Presentation survey to let us know what you think about the Kramer VIA GO.

If you have additional questions about how to use the new Kramer VIA GO wireless presentation system please contact IT Services:
ITS@manhattan.edu or TEL: 718-862-7973

Wednesday, February 27th DNS server change over

Wednesday February 27th at 7am ITS will be transitioning to new DNS servers for the manhattan.edu domain.

We do not expect any outages or down time for any services and will have staff closely monitoring for the rest of the week.

If you do experience any DNS related issues please email its@manhattan.edu or call 718-862-7973.

ITS to Launch Virtual Technology Showcase

Virtual Technology Showcase at Manhattan College will commence for 12 Weeks

ITS will be releasing a Virtual Technology Showcase on the Manhattan College ITS Blog that will extend over the course of 12 weeks.

The objective of the Showcase is to familiarize the Manhattan College community with the technology found at the college as well as the initiatives started by Manhattan College IT Services. The blog posts will highlight the ways technology can improve your daily experience at the college.

Each topic consists of information and instructions regarding the technology for that week as well as a questionnaire at the end asking for various feedback.

Topics to be covered include:

• Kramer VIA GO Wireless Presentation (aka AirPlayV2) 
• Crestron Multihead Connection
• Web Print Wireless Printing
• formMule Google Sheet Addon that allows you to easily send mail merges
• Jamboard a collaborative digital whiteboard
• Lynda.com
• Glance MC App
• G Suite Productivity Apps
• Badging: Digital Badges provide a way to showcase an accomplishment or skill 
• LabSeat
• Google Hangouts Meet Hardware
• 25Live the college's room scheduling software

COMPLETE: Horan Hall - Brief Network Outage 2/22 at 10am

UPDATE: The generator test in Horan Hall was completed successfully this morning by 10:30am.

Physical Plant will be conducting a generator test in Horan Hall Friday, February 22nd at approximately 10am. 

There will be two brief outages, one while switching to generator power, the other while switching back to main power.

This will not affect the rest of campus.

If you have any questions, please contact ITS at its@manhattan.edu or at extension x-7973. We apologize for this inconvenience. 

Frozen Screen Displaying on AirPlay V2 Powered by Kramer

Please note there have been several instances of Kramer VIA devices freezing. This can happen during a presentation or when you first arrive at a podium.  We have reached out to Kramer Technical Support with this issue and are waiting to hear back from them.

Review this Frozen Screen Displaying on AirPlay V2 Powered by Kramer KBA to learn strategies on how to address the frozen Kramer issue.

For help with getting started with Kramer VIA please contact:  

ITS@manhattan.edu or TEL:  718-862-7973

EdTech article featuring MC's CIO - Jake Holmquist!

Jake Holmquist, CIO proudly took the time to contribute to a recent article for EdTech. Manhattan College is mentioned for the pursuit of hybrid cloud strategy. Jake talks about how this happened organically for our very own Manhattan College optimizing our data center.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2019/02/how-use-hybrid-clouds-manage-demand-peaks

Turnitin Outage

Update: Issue resolved February 16th.

Turnitin is currently down globally.  This is not an issue that ITS can address.  Turnitin support is working to resolve the issue.  Please check https://twitter.com/TurnitinStatus for updates.

Free Install of Office 365

Are you still running a really old version of Microsoft Office on your personal device? Have you been avoiding an upgrade to avoid having to pay for it? Well now you no longer have an excuse for not upgrading.

We've worked with our Microsoft representatives to make Office 365 available to you for free on up to 5 personal devices.

This Knowledge Base Article walks you through the process of creating an account on Microsoft's portal. The entire process takes about 5 minutes. It's simple and quick. Once you've created an account, you can install Office 365 on up to 5 personal devices for free.

Free install of Microsoft Office 365 on up to 5 personal devices

Enjoy!

Start using Hangouts Chat right now

Beginning April 16, 2019, Google Hangouts Chat and Meet together are the next version of Hangouts. They will replace the original version (classic Hangouts) in G Suite.  

Classic Hangouts will be retired for all G Suite customers starting in October 2019 and all remaining users will be transitioned to Chat.

This means all classic Hangouts users can also use Chat at chat.google.com or by installing the Chat mobile or computer apps.

Learn more about Chat and classic Hangouts interoperability.

Switching from classic Hangouts to Hangouts Meet

Hangouts Chat is for continuous text chat with your team. Hangouts Chat was implemented by many people who transitioned from classic Hangouts. The chat app is filled with many features to work productively. Google has included a bot it calls @meet that can look at the schedules of anybody in a group chat and automatically suggest a meeting time then schedule it directly in Google Calendar. For more information review Get Started with Bots! ITS blog post.

Hangouts Meet is how teams communicate using video calls, one can easily hold video meetings with people inside or outside their organization.

Hangouts Chat and Hangouts Meet are the next generation of Hangouts that focus on team communication. Later this year, Google will  transition classic Hangouts users to Chat and Meet.

Classic Hangouts Timeline:

Classic Hangouts is a Google video messaging app. It is being phased out and will be retired for all G Suite customers in October 2019.

For more information review material from Google on these apps: Switching from classic Hangouts to Hangouts Meet.

For further details please review:  Upcoming Hangouts service consolidation for all G Suite customers

For help in getting started with Hangouts Chat please contact: ITS@manhattan.edu or TEL:  718-862-7973.

How to Use Social Media for Good—Safely Creating a Positive Presence Online

Our social networks tell a story about us. You want to make sure that the story your social media tells about you is a good one. As articulated in a blog from the the Digital Marketing Institute: "Sharing online allows you to craft an online persona that reflects your personal values and professional skills. Even if you only use social media occasionally, the content you create, share, or react to feeds into this public narrative. How you conduct yourself online is now just as important as your behavior offline."

A positive online reputation is vital in today's digital world. Like it or not, your information is out there. What you can do is help to control it and what it says about you.

Social media is so ingrained in our society that almost everyone is connected to it in some form. With every social media account you sign up for, every picture you share, and every post you make, you are sharing information about yourself with not only your friends and family but the entire digital world. How can you make sure your information and reputation stay safe online? Here are a few easy steps to get you started.

• Keep it clean and positive. Be entirely sure about what you're posting. Make sure to post content that you feel positively reflects you, your creativity, your values, and your skills. Remember that future employers may look at your social media accounts before hiring you. Questionable content can leave a bad impression; this can include pictures, videos, or even opinions that make you seem unprofessional or mean and may end up damaging your reputation.
  Always think before you post or share negative or inappropriate content. Use the 24-hour rule before posting, allowing yourself 24 hours before posting any content that may be questionable to give yourself time to reflect on whether it is a good idea.
• Oversharing and geotagging. Never click and tell. It can seem like everyone posts personal information on social media all the time, including where they are and where they live. As noted on the DHS.gov site: "What many people don't realize is that these seemingly random details are all criminals need to know to target you, your loved ones, and even your physical belongings—online and in the real world. Avoid posting names, phone numbers, addresses, school and work locations, and other sensitive information (whether it's in the text or in the photo you took). Disable geotagging, which allows anyone to see where you are—and where you aren't—at any given time."
  If you really want to post that picture of your friends at brunch, consider following the concept of #latergram and post your content at a later time than when it actually happened. It is a win-win. You get to share your experience and at the same time still maintain the privacy of your location in real time.
• Don't rely on privacy settings. You have a private social media account so you can post anything you want? Nope. Privacy settings make it harder to see your full account, but it's not impossible. Also, there is always the chance that one of the people with access to your private account could screenshot and share the content.
  Make sure to keep your social media apps up to date and check the privacy settings frequently. Under no circumstances should you rely on privacy settings to shield inappropriate content. If there is any question that the content is inappropriate, don't post it.
• Make sure you're professional. Keep it classy! Every post is a reflection of you. Your social media accounts allow you to put your best foot forward or stumble if you aren't careful. A positive social media presence can help create both personal and professional opportunities. Promote your personal brand or what you want people to think of you. And, your high school English teacher was correct—proper spelling and grammar are always a plus.
• Control your content. Claim your identity on social media. Set up social media accounts and keep the profiles current. You don't have to join every platform; a few key ones will do. You can also look into apps that will cross post the content to all of your social media accounts, freeing up some of your valuable time. Use your accounts to engage professionally and personally in a positive way.
  Your social media accounts should tell the story of you that you want employers and others to see. Google your own name on a regular basis to make sure that that information out there is accurate. If you find incorrect information online, request that the website update it or take it down.

If you follow these few simple recommendations, you are on your way to safely building a positive online reputation. Using social media positively doesn't mean you can't have fun and use it to express yourself; however, you want to ensure that you're okay with anyone seeing everything you post. Once you post something online, it's out there forever.

Partially reposted from Educause Security Awareness Campaign 2019 Materials

Subscribe to the ITS Blog

In addition to keeping you up to date on how technology is changing at Manhattan College, subscribing to the ITS Blog will also give you the most current information on ITS News and any outage updates that are occurring across campus.

Once you subscribe, you will receive an email notification with a link to the new blog post.

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Strategies Aimed at Improving Video Conferences

ITS has created resources aimed at improving Video Conference experiences or Google (Hangouts) Meet. Google Hangouts Meet allows you to hold impromptu video meetings on the go, or host a video meeting with up to 50 people at a time.

Review video and Knowledge Base Articles which outline Tips and Techniques to use for a better video conference experience:

Troubleshooting Video Conferences
Best Practices for Video Conferences

Partially reposted from:  A Video Conference Call in Real Life: