Working & Learning Remotely

Work and Learn Remotely

SHSU offers various tools and services to assist you with teaching, working and learning remotely. 

For additional information or assistance, contact the IT@Sam Service Desk at (936) 294-1950. 

Tips & Tricks

• Order books and gear through the University Bookstore.

  You can find the university bookstore online at https://shsu.bncollege.com/shop/shsu/home. There you will be able to order books and Bearkat gear!

• Stay productive by following these tips:

  Working from home can be a challenge. Here are a few general tips we've gathered to help you with this transition. In addition to these, the Texas Department of Information Resources has also published a Teleworking Tips document you will find useful.

  Keep your same schedule and routine.

  There may be some unavoidable exceptions to this rule, but keeping the same work schedule will help you with focus and productivity. Wake up, start work and do your normal tasks at the same times, where possible. Most importantly, just have a defined start and end to your day.

  Minimize your distractions. 

  If you don't normally do your laundry and clean during your work day, don't start now! We know the pile of laundry, and if we are being honest ---just about everything-- is going to be a distraction. Put those tasks off until you finish your work day just like you would if you were in class or in your office doing your work.

  Keep a consistent work space.

  ...and don't make it the sofa or a comfy chair.  Work at a desk if you have one or at the kitchen table. You want to be comfortable... but not too comfortable. Having a solid surface to place your laptop and books is going to be a very good thing.

  You have an office but you need to be able to keep an eye on the kids? Move work to the kitchen and bring that comfy office chair with you!

  Move around.

  During a normal day you get up and move around for various reasons. Do the same working from home! Get up and take a quick walk around your house, take a brief trek outside for some fresh air or go get that pick me up snack from the kitchen. 

  Pay attention to nourishing your mind and body.

  Don't disconnect from people totally. Call your co-workers or other students for a quick chat rather than send an email. Use Zoom for that call so you can see them while you have that conversation. Social interaction is necessary for your work environment... even when working from home. 

  Make sure you eat and drink plenty of water. Don't get so focused on work that you forget to take care of your physical needs.

• Use local resources when connecting to remote.shsu.edu.

  Did you know that you can share your local computer's resources such and printers, speakers and displays when connecting to remote.shsu.edu? If not, you do now! When you open Remote Desktop Connection and before you connect, click on the Local Resources tab and select the resources you'd like to share.

  

  Pro Tip: Use all monitors in your session for more desktop real estate. Just click on Display and select select Use all my monitors for the remote session.

  

  Once you have made your selections, click Connect to proceed.

• Best practice for Zoom audio.

  There are multiple ways that you can connect to audio on Zoom meetings.

  Using your computer audio is your best option. If you don't want to use your computer's built-in speakers and/or mic, you can use almost any set of headphones that you would on your smart phone. 

  If you are dialing in by phone, you may experience busy signals. If so, try the other offered numbers in the Zoom invitation.

• Use Cisco Jabber for phone portability.

  You may not want to give your personal phone number out to just anyone. Use Cisco Jabber to make your office extension portable and available anywhere you are. You can download Cisco Jabber to your computer or smart device and answer calls to and place calls from your campus extension. 

• Attend training.

  All training sessions are moving to Zoom! Take a look at Talent Management to see if there is anything that you'd like to attend.

  Don't see what you are looking for? No problem, just let us know and we will work with you personally to set up a training.

  You don't need a training but have a tech questions? The Service Desk can answer your questions, too!

• File management suggestions.

  You will want to use OneDrive as much as possible. This service allows you to store up to 1TB of data (that's a lot!). The best part is that these files are available anywhere you are from any device with an internet connection.

• Available resources when away from campus.

  You can access:

  -S:\ and T:\ Drive
  -WebCMS
  -Zoom
  -SPSS
  -Microsoft Office
  -Various Web Browsers (i.e. Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer)
  -Business Explorer
  -CASH Suite
  -SAP
  -IDEA
  -NetWeaver
  -Oracle Crystal Ball
  -Adobe Reader
  -MatLab

  Use OneDrive for:

  -Access to your documents from anywhere, anytime
  -To collaborate remotely on documents in live time with team members

  Use Office 365 Online:

  You have access to:
  -Word
  -Excel
  -Teams
  -PowerPoint
  -OutlookOneDrive

  *Don’t forget, you get 5 FREE downloads to any device.

  Access SHSU Websites:

  -Blackboard
  -MySam (don’t forget to make sure DUO is set up)

  Forward Your Phone:

  -For Cisco Jabber, use the Forward Calls option on the tech tutorials page (preferred method)
  -You can also use Call Forwarding directly from your office phone

• Use a virtual background for your Zoom meeting.

  You may not want to show your home or location while using video in a Zoom meeting. No problem! You can set a virtual background in Zoom.

  Note: You must have a green screen or solid color wall to use a virtual background.

• Turn off video for Jabber calls.

  Disable automatically starting calls with video when using Jabber. To do so, click on Settings (gear icon), select Options, then select Calls. Once there, select, Never start calls with video. You will still have the ability to turn on video as you wish.

Do you have any tips or tricks that help you? We want to know!