Due to an important upgrade Resource Booker will be offline on Friday 26 Nov from 8am to approx 12pm.
Users will not be able to make new bookings or edit/delete existing bookings during this time but you will be able to view existing bookings on system.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause
Posted by andrewdbevan on 24 November 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/11/24/resource-booker-offline-fri-26-nov-8am-12pm/
This is issue is now resolved
There are currently some problems being experienced while downloading PDF content on the Wiley Online platform. This is due to extra security checks being put in place by the supplier for all customers including Universities. They are working on restoring access as soon as possible.
Apologies for any inconvenience.
Posted by cdonlan on 01 November 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/11/01/wiley-online-pdf-content/
Studying at home and finding it hard to concentrate? Writing retreats are used by writers, academics and students all over the world as they provide a supportive environment, accountability and protected time to focus on your work.
We are running two-hour retreats on 18, 19 and 21 October for any undergraduate or masters level student to join. The times are:
Dubai: 1pm – 3.10pm
Malaysia: 5pm – 7.10pm
UK: 10am – 12.10pm
Hosted by the Global Effective Learning Service, all you need to do is come prepared with some tasks you want to work on (and they don’t have to be focused on writing). We recommend trying to set SMART* goals for yourself, but the most important thing is to have an idea of what you want to achieve by the end of the retreat. This could relate to an assignment, revising for exams or another study goal. Some examples include:
Monday 18 October: https://hw.ac.libcal.com/event/3795788
Tuesday 19 October: https://hw.ac.libcal.com/event/3795789
Thursday 21 October: https://hw.ac.libcal.com/event/3795790
For more information on writing retreats and how to organise your own, visit the Skills Hub Guide.
*SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed.
Posted by Rachel Whittington on 12 October 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/10/12/online-writing-retreats/
Information Services will be running a number of training workshops for staff in the coming months.
To view the full calendar and book your place on any of the sessions, visit https://bit.ly/infoservicestraining
Workshops topics include:
We look forward to welcoming you to these sessions.
IS has also created a new SharePoint site which is packed with lots of useful guidance on Collaborate, Stream, E-books, Office 365 and much more.
Click here to access the IS Training site
Posted by cdonlan on 06 October 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/10/06/staff-training-workshops-from-information-services-book-your-place-now/
1. Download the Microsoft Authenticator App to your mobile phone.
You can get the Microsoft Authenticator App for Apple iPhones here https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/microsoft-authenticator/id983156458
and for Android phones (e.g., Samsung/Google/Motorola/OnePlus/Huawei etc) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.azure.authenticator
2. Multi-Factor Authentication has been enabled on your account.
You will be prompted to set up MFA next time you authenticate to any Office 365 services. On your PC or laptop device, once you’ve entered your username and password as usual, you’ll see the following screen:
Click ‘Next’ and the Additional security verification screen will appear. In the drop-down box, select ‘Mobile App’ and ‘Receive notifications for verification’ as in the image below.
Now click ‘Set up’ – you’ll see the next screen:
3. On your mobile phone, start the Microsoft Authenticator App.
Once in the App, you need to:
4. On your PC, click ‘Next’ and you should see a message indicating that the App has been set up. You can click Next again – at this point you will be asked to respond to a pop-up notification on your phone from the Authenticator App – this is how you will be prompted every time you access your account on an unknown device.
Once the setup is complete, you’ll be prompted to enter a phone number. Please provide this: it will help if, for some reason, you lose access through the App. The phone number will not be used for marketing purposes.
Click ‘Finish’. Your account is secured with Microsoft Multi-Factor Authentication. Nobody can access your HWU account without being in possession of your username, password, and – most importantly – your unlocked mobile phone.
Posted by cdonlan on 30 September 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/09/30/multi-factor-authentication-for-staff/
Collaborate Ultra has a limit of 250 attendees. Staff can increase this limit to 500 attendees by following these simple steps:
How to set up a large scale session:
1) Create the session as you normally would.
2) Click on the cog to enter the session settings menu.
3) Scroll down until the bottom of the page, where you will see the ‘Large scale session 250+’ option. Tick the box to enable 250+ attendees.
Please note: If a live session has more than 250 attendees in it, the option of breakout groups is unavailable.
For events larger than 500 attendees, Information Services recommends scheduling a Teams Live Event.
For more information on using Collaborate Ultra, visit
https://heriotwatt.sharepoint.com/sites/istraining/SitePages/Collaborate-Ultra.aspx
For more information on how to schedule a Teams Live Event visit
https://heriotwatt.sharepoint.com/sites/is-audiovisual/SitePages/User-Guides.aspx#microsoft-teams-live-events-user-guides
To book onto live training on Collaborate Ultra and other applications, please visit the IS Training Calendar
https://bit.ly/infoservicestraining
Posted by cdonlan on 21 September 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/09/21/collaborate-ultra-update-how-to-run-large-scale-sessions-with-more-than-250-participants-in-collaborate-ultra/
Information Services is performing a software upgrade to the main campus nameserver service, this weekend Sat 29th May 2021
There will be an ‘at risk’ period of 4 hours from 3pm BST which will affect all UK and global campuses.
This is the first phase an ongoing refresh cycle to replace our existing appliances. Users may experience a short delay in resolving internet names during this time.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Please contact the ISHelp@hw.ac.uk with any questions.
Posted by andrewdbevan on 25 May 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/05/25/heriot-watt-nameserver-upgrades-29-may-2021/
The clocks in the UK move forward by 1 hour on Sunday 28th March 2021, from GMT to BST (GMT+1). This is how the move to BST will affect Vision.
Blackboard Collaborate Ultra
The time is taken from the end user’s computer’s local time zone for session start and end times. So the times should not be affected by the change to BST.
Turnitin Assignments
Turnitin will move to GMT+1 when the UK moves to BST so deadlines set in Turnitin in the UK should not be affected. Colleagues in Dubai and Malaysia may wish to check as Turnitin Assignments will use GMT+1 instead of GMT after Sunday.
Vision (Blackboard) Assignments, Tests, Adaptive Release
Vision is set to GMT and remains so for the whole year, even when the UK moves to BST. This will affect Tests, Standard Vision (not Turnitin Assignments), and Adaptive Release settings. Therefore an assignment, test or adaptive release rule set for say 10:00am (BST) should be set on Vision for 9:00am (GMT).
Please remind students of the change to UK time from Sunday. If they are outwith the UK, their country of residence may not practice Daylight Saving Time (or the dates may vary from the UK).
Posted by andrewdbevan on 26 March 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/03/26/british-summer-time-and-vision/
We regularly receive reports from staff and students of suspicious emails e.g. false vaccination appointments, bogus HMRC tax refunds etc.
These can appear to be very believable and sophisticated and sometimes scammers can take names from university or company websites and then create other email accounts so the sender details look correct.
What to do:
If you think you have received a phishing email to your @hw.ac.uk account
Do not click on any links
Do not open any attachments
Don’t reply to the message
Information Services Help:
To notify Information Services of a phishing email, or you have concerns about whether an email is real or not, please forward it to phishing@hw.ac.uk and then delete it.
If you have received a phishing email, accidently clicked the link in it and provided your university credentials (username and password), please send an email to ishelp.hw.ac.uk for assistance.
Accounts that are suspected to be compromised will be blocked automatically for security purposes.
If your account has been blocked because of this, please send an email to ishelp.hw.ac.uk for assistance.
Information Services are constantly working to make systems including emails as safe and secure as possible.
Planning is underway to implement Multi Factor Authentication for staff and then students to improve staff and student security and their data.
Posted by cdonlan on 23 March 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/03/23/be-vigilant-for-phishing-and-scam-emails/
Sci-Hub is an illegal website which poses serious security risks and should be avoided by University students and staff.
Police have warned against using websites, and Sci-Hub, in particular that allow users to illegally access scientific research papers.
The Sci-Hub website will be blocked for accessing on campus but it is important that students and staff do not access the site from home or off campus.
“Sci-Hub obtains the papers through a variety of malicious means, such as the use of phishing emails to trick university staff and students into divulging their login credentials.
Sci Hub then use this to compromise the university’s network and download the research papers”
The City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) press release
Posted by cdonlan on 23 March 2021
https://informs.hw.ac.uk/2021/03/23/warning-regarding-sci-hub-website-and-phishing-attacks/
InformS 