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If you have an immediate support need, please contact the IT Help Support Desk:

Other Issues

ITAdvocate@MiamiOH.edu is here to help with other issues that are not time-sensitive, including:

  • Ideas regarding the use of technology at Miami
  • Kudos for any IT Services staff member(s)
  • Frustrations/concerns about IT policies or procedures

Miami Student Computing

Guidelines, Recommendations, and Service Center Info
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TechTalk Newsletter

Classroom Support

Our learning space environment continues to grow more enabled by technology -- and Miami continues to use the latest innovations to provide enhanced learning opportunities for our students. This adds an urgency to the need to develop a comprehensive institutional model to support this landscape in a seamless, consistent, and reliable manner whether the support is provided by central IT staff or the technology experts housed within the academic divisions.

Who do I contact for classroom technology help after business hours?

It's important that everyone at Miami knows who they can call for help when they are using technology in a learning space.

The information below can also be found in every classroom either on the teaching station or on a whiteboard—make sure to check before you call.

  • In the College of Engineering and Computing, the first responders are CEC's IT staff, led by Scott Campbell. If you need help during normal business hours or after 5 pm please call 513-529-0790, which forwards to the cell phone of one of the staff.
  • For Miami University Libraries, your first responders are the library IT staff, led by  Stan Brown. If you need help during normal business hours or after 5 pm please call 513-839-6391.
  • In the Farmer School of Business, your first responders are the FSB IT staff, led by Michael Edwards. If you need help during normal business hours or after 5 pm please call 513-529-4940.
  • In the College of Education, Health and Society, the first responders are the EHS IT team, led by Hitesh Naik. If you need help during normal business hours or after 5 pm please call 513-529-3720.
  • In the College of Arts and Sciences, your first responders are CAS IT, led by Paula Fogt. If you need help during normal business hours or after 5 pm please call 513-529-9227.
  • For Enrollment Management and Student Success, your first responder is Glenn Ellerbe. If you need help during normal business hours or after 5 pm please call 513-529-2725.
  • For the College of Creative Arts, your first responder is Chris Herrmann. If you need help during normal business hours or after 5 pm, please call 513-529-1506. If that call is unsuccessful, call 513-529-7900.
  • In the Marcum Conference Center, after normal operating hours call 513-529-6911 for technology assistance.

For all other spaces and times, please call IT Help at 513-529-7900 Option 9 at any time, 24/7, to be forwarded to an IT Help representative.

After hours, normally 8 am to 5 pm EST, the best effort will be made to address any issues you experience. However, there is a possibility that you may not receive a response until the next day.

Where can you find classroom tech details?

Question: Where can you find information about what technology is in each learning space?

Answer: the Knowledge Base!

In the KB, there is an entire category devoted to classroom technology. You can find it by searching "Classroom Technology" in the KB at MiamiOH.edu/KnowIT or by using this link to view the category directly.

The KB guides in this category provide links to various ways of using a technology-enabled classroom, including (but not limited to) how to get after-hours support, what happens when you request support, and how to use a multi-projector room versus a single-projector room.

What is the Miami process for learning space support?

What is the learning space support process? What happens between when you call IT Help using Option 9 and when your issue is resolved?

Depending on your division, your support path may differ slightly. But in general, if you call IT Help from a classroom or technology-enabled administrative space, you will speak with an advisor that is trained to do a few things:

  1. If your issue is one that could potentially be solved via some light troubleshooting, the advisor will attempt to do that with you.
  2. If your issue is one that requires the help of on-site support staff, you will be transferred to your area's first responder (FR) (Tier I), who will help get your problem resolved.
  3. Then, your FR will initiate steps to restore service. If after these steps are followed issues persist, your ticket will be escalated to Technology Support Services (Tier II/III).

Who is answering your calls at IT Help?

When you call 513-529-7900, you will speak with an IT Help advisor from our support partner, Blackboard. When you call using Option 9, IT Help will move your call up the queue (because classroom-based issues often require first responders (FRs) on the scene as soon as possible). The IT Help advisor will then ask you a few important questions:

  • Who are you?
  • Where are you?
  • What is your problem?
Answering these questions clearly and accurately is important to ensure you get the help you need in a timely manner.

Just remember: The main function of IT Help is to provide support. The advisor may do some light troubleshooting before transferring your call. If that doesn’t fix the issue, they’ll route you to the appropriate FR.

What happens when you use Option 9?

For about one-third of all technology-enabled classrooms and administrative spaces on campus, you will call 513-529-7900: Option 9 for support.

So what does choosing Option 9 do? In short, it lets IT Help know you’re calling for a classroom issue and effectively moves you up the queue so you can receive help quickly.

The IT Help advisor will ask you a few important questions: Who are you? Where are you? What is your issue? Gathering this information allows them to route your concern to the appropriate FR, so it’s important to be clear and accurate when describing your location.

Next week, we’ll give a brief overview of the folks answering your calls when you press Option 9.

Who supports my classroom?

The most important question to ask when you need tech support is: Who supports this classroom?

And now, the best answer is: Look at the sticker!

In general, the numbers on the stickers placed in each supported room will connect you with:

  • Your area’s first responder (FR); or
  • IT Help at 513-529-7900, Option 9

Some stickers instruct you to contact the FR groups directly, and other stickers instruct you to call IT Help - who then contacts the appropriate FR. Determining who supports your classroom - whether it be a divisional representative or IT Help - will help get the right ears and eyes on your issue and will lead to a quicker resolution.

That’s it for this week! Next week, we will talk about what happens when you call IT Help and choose Option 9.

Technology optimization project: Check your sticker!

Throughout the years, our teams have been hard at work making sure support numbers are displayed clearly in each room. Some of them look like this:

Sticker with text, Need audio, visual, or technology help? Call 513-529-7900 - Option 9 - Additional information can be found here - MiamiOH.edu/ClassTech. In case of emergency call 911. Campus police 513-529-2222

These stickers reflect how to obtain the quickest help for each space. Depending on the classroom, the phone numbers may differ, so please double check before calling IT Help.

IT Acronym List

Here, you'll find a list of commonly used technology acronyms and definitions. Some of them are specific to Miami, but others are general-knowledge terms across the tech community. As always, please reach out to muit-comm@miamioh.edu for more information or clarification about any of these.

Acronyms

IT Acronyms
Acronym Full Form Comments
2FA/TFA Two-factor authentication The second layer of identification needed to log into Miami accounts, usually a code sent to smartphones or obtained via a fob device.
AD Active Directory Microsoft-developed directory service for Windows domain networks.
ADOT Academic Directors of Technology Technical staff employed by each of the academic divisions.
BDM Banner Document Management Imaging and documentation service used by staff and faculty to image, store, share, and manage documents.
BI Business Intelligence The process of making informed business decisions by using data-driven analytics and technologies to project outcomes and glean actionable information.
BSoD Blue Screen of Death Fatal system error on Windows machines. Usually hardware or driver related; includes a stop code that can be used to figure out what went wrong.
CAB Change Advisory Board Reviews all high- and medium-risk changes and approves or sends them back for further review and clarification.
CAS Central authentication system The red-background login screen in front of Miami services like BannerWeb, GMail, myMiami, and others.
DBA Database Administrator IT professional that oversees database operations, including configuration, database design, capacity planning and more.
DAR Degree Audit Report Real-time document that checks classes students have taken against the list of classes they need to graduate with their chosen degrees. Can be accessed via BannerWeb.
DC Domain Controller The server that is running Windows Server OS and has Active Directory Domain Services installed.
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol A network protocol enabling servers to automatically and dynamically assign IP addresses to devices or nodes on a network.
DNS Domain Name System The way IP addresses are assigned to domain names. For instance, MiamiOH.edu is a domain name that is assigned to a certain IP address, which is how the web browser accesses the site.
IA Institutional Analytics The use of reports, data warehouses, data dashboards, analysis, and other information products to make timely data-driven decisions across all departments and divisions.
IPA Intrusion Prevention Appliance One part of the Intrusion Prevention System.
IPS Intrusion Prevention System Program that analyzes and monitors network traffic in order to discover suspicious activity and prevent transmission of said risky activity. (Different from a firewall.)
IT Information Technology
KB Knowledge Base Our one-stop shop online repository of tech know-how. Got a tech question? Find a tech answer.
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
LT Leadership Team Unit leaders within IT Services.
MBP MacBook Pro
MCIS Miami Computing and Information Services Former name for what is currently IT Services.
MCS Miami Computing Services An additional abbreviation for MCIS.
MInE Miami Information Environment Legacy tool that provided web access for operational reports. Was decommissioned in 2017 and replaced by BI tools.
MNB Miami Notebook A program through the Miami Bookstore that sells laptop computers to students (now called the Student Laptop Program).
MUTV Miami University Television
MWB Malwarebytes Anti-malware software.
OBIEE Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition System used by Institutional Analytics to store data and provide dashboards for analyzing data.
PGP Pretty Good Privacy A commercial product used to provide encryption for laptop computers owned by the University.
RCM Responsibility Center Management A model of operation that emphasizes transparency in goals and resources and improves two-way communication between project stakeholders.
SLA Service Level Agreement Contract between service provider and customer that details what services and performance standards will be provided for the duration of the relationship.
SCCM System Center Configuration Manager Microsoft product and systems management software that manages large groups of machines running various operating systems.
SQL Structured Query Language A standard language that is essential for database manipulation, retrieval, and control.
STAC Student Technology Advisory Committee Group of IT leaders that determines which student tech fee projects will be funded and the amounts that will be granted. See more information about the student tech fee grant.
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol Phone services provided via the internet.
VPN Virtual private network Encrypted network via which faculty, staff, and students can access firewall-protected Miami information while off campus.

Contact IT Services

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