Since the abrupt switch to remote learning and work in March, OIT has been busily working to provide new IT services and reimagine existing services and support structures. In that time we have added remote teaching and learning technology to nearly 350 classrooms and started distributing more than 600 new Dell laptop computers to instructors and lecturers who have unmet technology needs. We have introduced new services like the Personal Capture service for remote lecture and presentation recording (i.e. recording lectures in the convenience of your home), iClicker Cloud and Reef to enable both in-classroom and remote polling, and Proctorio for remote exam proctoring. These are just some of the highlights from our efforts as we adapted our services in response to serving our faculty and students for the fall semester and beyond.
Not all of the innovations have come on the service side. We’ve also made significant changes to how we offer campus technology to both support new services and adjusted our support structures to accommodate COVID-19 guidelines. The new Technology Copilots support model assists instructional personnel as they teach in remote-capable classrooms. Changes to longstanding services that the campus has grown to depend on, such as Dedicated Desktop Support and student-facing Buff Techs, are examples of how OIT is evolving to address new campus needs.
In order to be here for you, we have also extended the hours of the IT Service Center to align with the longer class days and our Learning Spaces Technology group will be on call during these longer hours as well. If you experience a problem with classroom technology, the new Classroom Technology Problem Reporting form will ensure that your issue is immediately and directly submitted to the Learning Spaces Technology team and that it receives priority queuing. Due to COVID-19 precautions, in many cases we will first try to solve issues remotely. If we are unable to solve an issue remotely, our staff will do in-person troubleshooting when it is safe to do so, in the spirit of Protect Our Herd.
Despite all these adjustments, the combined realities of lengthened class days, a largely remote workforce, and a diverse array of new technologies will likely challenge our ability to provide the best-in-class support that we strive to provide each day. We are dedicated to do whatever it takes to meet your IT support needs during these extraordinary times. We look forward to serving you this fall and together we will confront the challenges that await.
While many things have changed, some still stay the same. You can still reach the IT Service Center at 303-735-4357 and oithelp@colorado.edu. More information about the ITSC’s hours is included below. And whether you’re looking for information about a new service or one that’s been around for a while, the OIT website remains the best source for FAQ, help documentation and tips and tricks for all our services.
Here are some more specific changes that we have made to our support structures:
- The IT Service Center will be staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays. While the IT Service Center offers phone support via 303-735-4357, callers may experience longer wait times for the first couple weeks of the semester. OIT recommends sending an email to oithelp@colorado.edu for support when possible. Emails are responded to within two business days.
- Our Buff Techs Desktop Support service will be open at their CASE building location from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays by appointment only.
- The Learning Spaces Technology support team will provide on-call support from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays.
- The Dedicated Desktop Support team will provide remote support from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. If a problem cannot be resolved remotely, then an in-person appointment will be scheduled for the next business day.
Thank you,
Larry Levine
Associate Vice Chancellor for IT and CIO
Marin Stanek
Assistant Vice Chancellor for IT and Deputy CIO
