By Damaris Moore, Library Communications
“How do I connect to the network?”
“How do I use a calendar app or a shared drive?”
“My phone is frozen, what should I do?”
“Help, my computer has a virus!”
“How do I set up a virtual private network?”
Higher education today requires effective technology use, but issues like network access, malware or identifying the right software can bring a student’s study time to a screeching halt. Fortunately, tech help has become more accessible on campus this semester, with the launch of a new Student Technology Help Desk in Moffitt Library as part of a new student computing service initiative, SC@CAL.
At this walk-up service, students can get help configuring, using, and troubleshooting campus technologies and their personally owned devices, such as laptops, tablets and phones.
The Moffitt tech help desk is only one next step in an expanding set of services. A partnership between five campus entities has resulted in the launch of a three-year project, funded by the Student Technology Fund. By working together on shared goals, these collaborators are finding ways to efficiently deliver top-notch computing services to students. The five units are:
- The University Library
- Student Technologies for Student Affairs IT (SAIT)
- Educational Technology Services (ETS)
- Campus Shared Services-Information Technology (CSS-IT)
- Information Services and Technology (IST)
Down the road, the group will create an outreach program to help students quickly find technology resources available on campus, and will work to make campus computing more consistent and ubiquitous.
The new Help Desk in Moffitt works on the “by students, for students” model that SAIT has long used, through similar support desks in residence halls. Along with in-person support at the desks, email and phone assistance is available.
Currently located on the third floor of Moffitt and open four hours a day, the plan for the Moffitt Tech Help Desk is to expand hours and to move up to the 4th floor in November.
Ying Luo (‘17), a computer science major who works on the desk, comments that “making technology more accessible to people is really important to me, and this is a cool way to do that. I love showing other students how technology can make their daily life and studying much easier — it is very fulfilling for me!”