Keeper

• June 8th, 2023
• in

Keeper is a secure password management tool that can create and store passwords in an encrypted environment. Keeper is available as a browser tool, a desktop app and a mobile device app. Students are eligible to use Keeper Unlimited for personal passwords. Faculty and staff are eligible to use Keeper Family Plan for personal passwords as well as Keeper Enterprise for University passwords.

Have questions? Visit our Keeper FAQ page for answers to common questions.

Microsoft Editor

• June 29th, 2022
• in

Microsoft Editor is an AI-powered writing assistant available through Microsoft 365. Microsoft Editor can help elevate content with essentials such as grammar and spell checker. Editor points out issues and recommendations in your writing then gives you the choice to accept or ignore the suggestion.

Microsoft Editor is an ideal tool to proofreads papers and reports. Check your schoolwork and catch any mistakes before turning it in to improve your grade. Faculty and staff can use Microsoft Editor to polish professional documents and ensure that presentations, emails, social media posts, and print materials are error-free.

Students can also use Microsoft Editor to create a compelling resume. Impress employers with a strong resume without any mistakes. Plus, save time and energy by sending documents with the peace of mind that your content is typo-free!

Learn more about Microsoft Editor on the Microsoft support website.

Transition to a Personal Email Account

• January 28th, 2022
• in

There are several free email providers individuals may use when establishing a personal email account. Some of the more popular options include Gmail (Google Mail), Yahoo Mail, Outlook.com, and iCloud Mail. The information below provides documentation on the current process for creating a new personal account in Gmail and moving content to that account. Please note that the Gmail processes are subject to change and the screenshots below may not reflect changes Google makes to their processes. The University does not endorse Gmail or provide Gmail support and is supplying this documentation for informational purposes.

Create Your Personal Gmail Account

1. To sign up for a personal Gmail account, visit Gmail.com and click the “Create account” link on the sign in page and then select “For myself” from the drop-down menu:
   
2. Google will prompt you to enter your name information, select a username, and establish a password:
   
3. Complete the required fields and click “Next” – Google will then prompt you for some additional information you can use to verify your account should you lose or forget your password in the future.
   
4. You will then be prompted to agree to Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Click Agree
5. Once you agree to the terms of service, you will be presented with your new Gmail mailbox. Please visit Google’s site for additional information on setting up the account on an iPhone or Android device.
   

Move Contacts to Your Gmail Account

You may wish to export your contacts from your UA email and transition them to your new Gmail account. To export your contacts from the Outlook Web portal (https://outlook.office.com):

1. Log in to Outlook Web using your myBama credentials at outlook.office.com
2. Complete the multi-factor authentication (either Duo or Microsoft Multifactor)
3. Click on the “People” icon in the left-hand menu area
   
4. In the top right corner of the screen, click on the “Manage” menu, and then select “Export contacts”
   
5. If you have your contacts sorted by folders, you may select a specific folder to export, or you may simply leave the default “All contacts” option selected, then click “Export”
   
6. Your contacts will be saved in a file named contacts.csv in your default download folder
7. In your new Gmail account, click the “9-dots” icon for the Google service options in the top right-hand side of the screen, then select “Contacts”
   
8. Select “Import” from the menu on the left:
   
9. Click “Select file” and then browse to the download folder and select the contacts.csv file downloaded from Outlook.office.com
   
10. Click “Import”
11. You will see a brief “Importing contacts” progress bar in the bottom right of the screen, and then all of your contacts will populate into Gmail
    

Move Emails to Your New Account

The University does not suggest bulk exporting of email. You may wish to log in to your UA email and forward individual messages you want to save to your new Gmail account:

1. Log in to Outlook Web using your myBama credentials at outlook.office.com
2. Complete the multi-factor authentication (either Duo or Microsoft Multifactor)
3. Select the message you would like to retain then click the down arrow next to “Reply all” and select “Forward” from the drop-down menu
   
4. Enter your new Gmail account information in the “To” field and then click “Send” at the bottom of the message
   

Other Things to Consider

• You may wish to reach out to your existing contacts to advise them of your new personal email address.
• You should also make a list of other service providers who may be using your @ua.edu email address and update your contact information with those providers. Service providers to consider are:
  • Banking and financial institutions
  • Health care providers
  • Retirement accounts
  • Media accounts (Netflix, etc.)
  • You may wish to review your bank and credit card statements for recurring charges from vendors, as you may have online accounts set up with those vendors using your @ua.edu email address.

Log Into Zoom with SSO

• November 5th, 2021
• in

UA Zoom users must log into Zoom through single sign-on using their myBama credentials rather than a unique username and password.

Using SSO

Zoom App

1. Open the Zoom app
2. Click “Sign in with SSO”
3. When prompted for a domain, enter ua-edu
4. Sign in with myBama credentials

Zoom Web

1. To sign in to your Zoom account in a web browser, visit ua-edu.zoom.us
2. Click Sign in
3. Sign in with myBama credentials

Account Transition

When logging in with SSO for the first time, you may be prompted to acknowledge that you are switching to a new account.

HIPAA-Compliant Accounts

Individuals with HIPAA compliant accounts should continue to log in with existing usernames and passwords. If you require a HIPAA compliant account, please contact the IT Service Desk.

Generic, Departmental Accounts

Existing generic, departmental accounts should continue to login with an email address and password.

Existing Meetings

After logging in with SSO, users’  Zoom meeting links will change from zoom.us to ua-edu.zoom.us; however, both links will be functional for participants to join.

How to obtain a new zoom account.

All UA students, faculty and staff are eligible to use Zoom. Visit ua-edu.zoom.us and click Sign in. Then, sign in with your myBama credentials.

FAQs­­

I have a HIPAA-compliant account, should I log in with SSO?

No changes will be made to HIPAA-compliant accounts at this time. Continue to log in with your existing Zoom username and password. If you require both a standard Pro account and a HIPAA compliant Pro account to use for clinical/research functions, please contact the IT Service Desk.

Why do I get a message that I am joining a meeting outside of my domain?

After logging in with SSO, users’ Zoom meeting links will change from zoom.us to ua-edu.zoom.us; however, both links will be functional for participants to join.

Why are my new meeting links different after logging in with SSO?

Existing meeting links and settings should remain consistent; however, new meeting links will transition from uasystem.zoom.us to ua-edu.zoom.us. When convenient, it may be a good idea to establish new meeting links to offer consistent URL meeting links.

I am not able to log in with SSO, why is that?

OIT offers Zoom accounts to current UA students, faculty and staff only. If you are no longer affiliated with UA, your account has likely been deleted.

Duo Two-Factor Authentication

• October 26th, 2021
• in

Box Tips

• August 4th, 2021
• in

Box is available to UA students, faculty and staff.

Access Your Account

OIT automatically creates Box accounts for students, faculty and staff. Log into your account at box.ua.edu.

Adding Email Addresses to Box

Box is a collaboration and cloud storage tool available to all University of Alabama faculty, students and staff. For faculty and staff, Box accounts are set up with your myBama username@ua.edu as your email address by default. Students’ @crimson.ua.edu email addresses are automatically added. To set up your Box account to properly handle collaboration requests that are sent to your email aliases, the aliases need to be added to your Box Account Settings.

1. Log in to your UA Box account.
2. In the top right corner, click on account icon or photo.
3. From the menu that appears, choose Account Settings.
4. Locate the Login and Email Addresses section and choose Add Email.
5. In the field that appears, enter the email address you would like to affiliate with your Box account and choose Save.
6. Box will send a verification message to the new email address. Check the email for the address you have added and choose Verify Email to confirm the address.
7. If a verification email from Box is not present, check Spam or Junk Mail folders or return to the Box account settings and choose Resend Confirmation.
8. After the new address has been verified, you will receive an email confirmation and notification the next time you log in to UA Box.

Adjusting Individual Folder Notification Settings

1. Log into Box, then select the folder that you’d like to receive notifications for.
2. Click on the More Options (3 dots) link next to the folder name, then the Settings link.
3. This will open the Settings page for the folder. At the very bottom of that page, you’ll see the Emails and Notifications settings that can be adjusted.
4. Click Override default settings for this folder and all subfolders.
5. Select the actions you want notifications for, then Save Changes.

Adding Your Class Roster as Collaborators

UA Box allows for the addition of other users (Collaborators) to folders created in Box. This is a great way to share content with specific people. To share a Box folder only with students in a particular class, you can download their emails from the class roster in MyBama and add them to the folder as collaborators.

• NOTE: These instructions assume your default email client is Outlook. For this technique to work in Outlook for Windows, you will need to copy a semicolon-delimited file from myBama. To select a semicolon-delimited file:
  • Log into myBama, open the Faculty tab, click the Faculty & Advisors link, then the Select Email Delimiter link.
  • In the Select Delimiter dialog, click Semi-colon and press Submit.
  • Close the Select Email Delimiter tab in your browser to return to myBama.

1. In myBama, click the Faculty tab, then the Faculty & Advisors link in the Banner Self Service channel.
2. Select Summary Class List.
3. In the Select Term window that appears, select the correct term and press Submit.
4. In the Select a CRN window that opens, select the class roster you’d like to copy and press Submit.
5. The Class Roster will appear. Click the Email Class Link (or icon) at the bottom of the roster.
6. This will open your default email application, create a new message, and populate the BCC field with the email addresses for your class.
7. Click in the BCC field, and Select All (ctrl+A), then select Copy (ctrl+C) to copy the list of addresses. Log into Box. Select the folder you’d like to share with your students, then click on the Share button and select Invite Collaborators.
8. In the Invite to Folder dialog box, paste the copied email addresses ( ctrl+V), and select the invitee permissions level you’d like for the students to have.
9. Add a personal message if desired, and Click Send Invites. Your students will now be collaborators in the folder.

Flip

• April 28th, 2021
• in

Flip is a simple, free and accessible video discussion experience. In Flip, instructors post discussion prompts and students respond with short videos. Learn more through the video below and on the Flip blog.

Microsoft OneDrive

• February 18th, 2021
• in

OneDrive offers secure cloud storage that allows students, faculty and staff to seamlessly collaborate and access files from anywhere with an internet connection. Along with all O365 apps, OneDrive offers mobile apps to view, edit, create and share content on the go. OneDrive is ideal for sharing content and files with others at UA.

OneDrive can be used to store sensitive data, including HIPAA data as the University has a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Business Associate Agreement (HIPAA BAA) with Microsoft to allow use for Protected Health Information.

Benefits of using OneDrive with Microsoft 365

• Automatically save a backup copy of your files
• Access files from anywhere
• Easily switch between different devices
• Share files with anyone, anywhere
• 5TB of storage space
• 100GB Maximum single file size

File Syncing

With OneDrive installed, users can sync files between a computer and the cloud, securing access to files from anywhere – your computer, your mobile device, and even through the OneDrive website. If you make a change to a file in one place, the change is reflected anywhere you use OneDrive. Note – when accessing files on the web, you’ll notice the file name begins with bama365-my.sharepoint. This reflects your UA enterprise account.

Storage + Backup

Students, faculty and staff can store up to 5TB of data in Microsoft OneDrive, and each Microsoft Team also receives 5 TB of shared storage. Because of this high storage amount, OneDrive is a good solution for archiving files. Sensitive data, including HIPAA data can be stored in OneDrive. All O365 data, including OneDrive, is stored on US-based servers.

File Sharing

There are multiple ways to initiate sharing in OneDrive. Below are a few options.

• With the document open in the Microsoft application (ex: Word, PowerPoint, Excel), click the File button from the top bar, select Share from the left hand bar, and the top option, “Share with People”, should be selected.
• When creating or editing a document online, click the Share button on the top right of the screen.
• In the OneDrive Online Documents file list, click the checkmark next to an existing file or folder, and select the Share button in the screens top menu.
• In the OneDrive Online Documents file list, right click an existing file or folder, and select Share.

Sharing with Individuals and Groups

• People you specify can view is the default settings for sharing files in OneDrive. This option does not allow the user to make changes to the document, just view and download.
  • You have the option to block downloads. To do this you must uncheck the “Allow editing” option.
• People you specify can edit allows the people you share the file with to make changes to the document, download the document, and share the document with others.
• Anyone with the link gives access to anyone who receives this link, whether they receive it directly from you or forwarded from someone else. This may include people outside of your organization.
• People in The University of Alabama with the link gives anyone within the organization who has the link access to the file, whether they receive it directly from you or forwarded from someone else.
• People with existing access can be used by people who already have access to the document or folder. It does not change any permissions. Use this if you just want to send a link to somebody who already has access.
• Specific people gives access only to the people you specify, although other people may already have access. If people forward the sharing invitation, only people who already have access to the item will be able to use the link.

File Sharing Tips

• Always choose the option to share files with “specific people”
  • If the option “Anyone” or “People in The University of Alabama” is selected, the file is no longer private
• Use folders to share multiple files with others online. Managing access is easier this way too!
• Remember that once a file/folder is shared with someone and they download it to their device, they can share it with others
• Sharing files with edit permissions allows multiple people to edit the same file simultaneously.

OneDrive Training

OIT regularly offers live webinar trainings on using Microsoft OneDrive. Visit our Events calendar to see OIT-hosted sessions. Microsoft offers guides on their website, and the UA LMS offers OneDrive training. Additionally, Microsoft offers a OneDrive Quick Guide for students, educators and researchers.

Microsoft Teams

• February 18th, 2021
• in

Zoom Video Conferencing

• January 13th, 2020
• in

Zoom provides cloud video conferencing, simple online meetings and group messaging creating a complete conference room solution.  Zoom accounts are available to students, faculty and staff; however, only those hosting or scheduling meetings are required to have a Zoom account. Attendees can participate in meetings without Zoom accounts. View informational video resources on Zoom’s website. These videos showcase everything from how to start a meeting to screen sharing and meeting controls.

Zoom Tutorials and Resources

The Center for Instructional Technology offers resources and webinars to support Zoom. Visit the CIT website for more information.

Create Secure Meetings

Zoom requires that all meetings have a passcode or a waiting room enabled. Meetings that do not have a passcode or waiting room enabled will automatically be applied a waiting room.  Waiting rooms can be customized to fit the need and audience for your meeting. For more information, visit the Zoom Support website.

Zoom Backgrounds

Bring the Capstone to your meeting with a UA virtual background!