OIT Technology News: Fall 2020 Edition

In this edition, we cover classroom upgrades for SMUFlex, concerns about OS updates, recent OIT reports and contests, plus much more.

Classroom Upgrades: New Devices to Enhance SMUFlex In preparation for the Fall semester, each classroom received a variety of technology components to help facilitate SMUFlex. The University has allocated additional funding to purchase technology for 62 classrooms to improve the online experience for students this spring.

Mac Users: Don’t Upgrade to Big Sur… Just Yet! While we know people are eager to update to the latest macOS, we recommend that users wait until the next “dot” OS update before upgrading University-owned Macs. Windows 10 Build 2004 Update: What to Expect In order to keep SMU PCs secure and reliable, OIT is updating campus computers to the newest build of Windows 10, build 2004. This major update includes the usual bug fixes and small quality-of-life changes. Here's what to expect when your computer is ready to install the upgrade.

Phase I of SMU’s Phone Replacement Project Completed In September, we wrapped up the completion of Phase I of the Phone Replacement project.  This multi-year project kicked off with over 900 cabling upgrades and enabling layer 3 routing to ensure infrastructure readiness.

The 2020 OIT Progress Report is Now Available Throughout the past year, SMU made considerable enhancements in infrastructure, instructional technologies, and new solutions to strengthen the student experience.   Fall 2020 Security Report Now Available Our Fall 2020 edition of the OIT Security Update is available to the SMU community. Learn to think like a criminal in order to spot suspicious emails easily. See how we can protect our kids' eLearning experience & plumb the depths of data security.

Adobe Test Fest a Success! Our recent Adobe Test Fest has concluded, with several Adobe certifications issued during the weekend event. Congrats to Samantha Navarro, a master's student in Design and Innovation, who scored an excellent score of 950 on her Visual design using Photoshop exam. The Biggest Phisher Contest Winners The Biggest Phisher Contest is over and the winners are…

Box Introduces File Request Links! The new File Request feature in Box creates a link that you can send or post anywhere, allowing anyone who has access to the link to upload files to that specific folder. IT Training Courses for Spring 2021 Now Available Spring will be here before you know it, and a new semester also brings new training sessions for you! As we did in the fall term, we will be holding all of our sessions online. Here is what we have lined up for the next term…

Setting Up Your Home Office and Working Remotely Just a little reminder. Here are a couple of things about working from home or working remotely, such as security at home, software for home use, using a VPN, and connecting remotely that might of use as we finish out the semester. Stepping Up Your Microsoft Teams Game If you haven't yet checked out Microsoft Teams, you probably want to as Teams is a nice campus collaboration tool. Find out how to post content to multiple channels, add a calendar for your team, and how to find additional tips.