Since the rollout of lynda.com last spring, members of the Simmons community have watched almost 11,000 tutorial videos! With over 2,000 courses to choose from, we know the options can be a little overwhelming, and quite a few people have asked us for advice on where to get started.

Below, we’ve listed some popular topics for faculty, staff, and students at Simmons. If you have additional suggestions, or playlists you’ve watched or created, please let us know so we can share them.

Technology Skills

• Microsoft Office Playlist

• Adobe Creative Suite Playlist

• Intro to Programming Playlist

Business Skills

• Public Speaking Fundamentals

• Project Management Playlist

• Management & Leadership Playlist

• Conflict Resolution

• Time Management Fundamentals

Creative Skills

• Become a Better Photographer Playlist

• Creating & Editing Videos Playlist

• Graphic Design Basics Playlist

In the Technology department, we’re always looking for ways to improve services while also reducing costs. Sometimes, those changes are large (like Google Apps for Education), but sometimes, opportunities are found in less obvious places. One not so obvious area is our network. Members of the Simmons community access the network in many different ways: wired and wireless, on campus or from home, via a computer or a mobile device.

In an effort to improve one aspect of our networking services, Technology will be introducing a new Virtual Private Network (VPN) after the semester break. VPN is the service that many people use to connect to the Simmons file server and other secure services from off campus. The new service, called Check Point Mobile Access, will come with enhanced features, including improved security and availability on mobile devices.

Currently, the Simmons VPN is available through vpn.simmons.edu or by using AnyConnect, a desktop application. Once Mobile Access is active, the VPN will still be available at vpn.simmons.edu or through the new Mobile Access desktop application and mobile apps.

We’ll be sending out an email with more details after the semester break. In the meantime, if you have any questions about how this change will affect your access to the Simmons network, please reach out to us via the Service Desk at 617-521-2222.

Google Apps is a constantly evolving tool and there are frequent updates to the service as Google rolls out small improvements. This month, we’d like to focus on two new features, as well as some tricks for getting the most out of your web searches.

Email Attachments

Recently, you may have noticed that your Gmail attachments look slightly different. When you receive an email with attachments, you now have three options. First, you can click anywhere on the small preview to open a full-screen preview of the attachment. This is a great time-saving tool if you just want to view an attachment quickly without having to download it. In addition, you can download the attachment or save it to Google Drive by clicking the icons in the small preview, all without leaving your email. The last new option, which can be helpful if you receive an email with a large number of attachments, is the ability to download or save all attachments to Google Drive. You can do this by clicking the icons on the right side of your screen. To see a visual guide to the new attachment options, click the preview image above.

Research While Creating

Have you ever been working on a Google Doc or Presentation and needed to look up a definition or search for something? Now, you can do that without leaving Google Drive by clicking the Tools menu and clicking on Research. This will open a panel on the right side of your screen that you can use to do research while you work. To see an example of how this works, click the preview image to the right.

Search More Effectively

Finally, we’ve got 10 great tips from the blog Lifehacker on how you can make your web searches more efficient and effective. These include using reverse image search, searching within websites, and quickly finding downloads on the Web. Take a look at all of the tricks here!

On Monday, November 18, the Kotzen Center played host to a day-long seminar focused on how and when faculty are using technology to supplement their teaching, and the impact it has on their students.

Sponsored by CASTL (a committee representing The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Assessment, Simmons Online, Technology, and the Library), the event featured a panel discussion of current trends in online education, and a roundtable discussion of the Horizon Report, a long-term study of technology adoption in higher education.

In addition, teams of faculty and staff members spoke about instructional technologies currently available at Simmons. The topics covered included using Tegrity to create videos, teaching with streaming content, hosting virtual office hours using GoToMeeting, and employing TurningPoint to gather feedback during lectures and presentations. The event was well attended and generated quite a bit of conversation about effectively incorporating new technology into the classroom experience.

If you weren’t able to attend, you can find out more about Tegrity, GoToMeeting, TurningPoint, and content streaming by clicking the preceding links. To find out more about how the Center for Excellence in Teaching can work with you to identify and employ new teaching tools and strategies, please visit their website.