A little feedback requested – please!
Posted by Todd Williams in Uncategorized on May 1, 2013
As we end this semester, and I complete my first 6 months here at the Help Desk, I want to express my gratitude for the warm welcome to campus that I have received.
We also want to share best wishes to all students going into Finals Week, returning next semester (or fall) and to those graduating.
This coming year will mean some changes here at the Help Desk, and a very busy time ahead. With that in mind we need to ask a favor.
We have heard from folks wanting to sell designer handbags and prescription ED medication… now we need to hear from the SEMO community.
If you have visited this blog and have found the information helpful, please let us know. Please send a message to the Help Desk. Click on my name at the top of this post for the link to the Help Desk website. There you will find the email address to send your comments.
We are evaluating the methods that we use to communicate with the Southeast Missouri State University community, and we are not sure this blog is effective in doing that.
Therefore, this will be the last post for awhile. If you have found the site informative and would like to see us continue, let us know.
Thanks for your help.
Until next time….?
Student Employment Appreciation Week
Posted by Todd Williams in Staff News on April 10, 2013
SEMO Information Technology employs 60 student employees – in Open Computer Labs, Computer Maintenance, Telecommunications and the Help Desk.
Their role is crucial to the success of Information Technology at Southeast, and we certainly appreciate their efforts.
Easter Recess
Posted by Todd Williams in Hour of Operation/Schedule Changes on March 27, 2013
Here is the Help Desk and Open Lab Schedules for Easter Recess:
Easter Recess
Thurs, Mar 28th – Towers Help Desk – Closed
Fri, Mar 29th – Both Help Desk Locations – Closed
Sun, Mar 31st – Tower’s Help Desk – Open 5:00pm – 10:00pm
Check out the Open Computer Lab schedule here.
DO NOT CLICK THE LINK – PART II
Posted by Todd Williams in Online Safety on March 19, 2013
You may have read my post from back in November regarding false emails regarding mailbox space issues. They continue to come in (and will continue unfortunately) and there are some additonal clues to watch out for. Here is an example of another phishing attempt email:
1. Look at the email address the message comes from info@live.com. While messages from our Exchange server may not explicitly say they are from Southeast Missouri State, they certainly won’t originate from a mail server like “live.com”.
2. As I mentioned in the last post, requiring the recipient to click on a link to fix the problem is a telltale sign of SPAM. Our server will merely instruct the user to archive mail to free up space. Also look where the link would take you to – “galactic-academy.com” – really?
3. Poor grammar – “You mailbox…” – poor grammar is also a good sign that the message may not be legitimate.
Continue to be on the lookout for this type of attempt to get your private information or possibly load malicious software on your computer.
Until next time…
Spring is almost here!
Posted by Todd Williams in Hour of Operation/Schedule Changes on March 15, 2013
At least that’s what the Weather Man promises, however I’m not sure that he and Mother Nature are on good speaking terms.
Anyway as we prepare for Spring Break we wanted to make you aware of changes to the Help Desk and Open Computer Lab hours of operation.
Normally the Memorial Hall Help Desk is open Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 4:00pm, Towers Help Desk is open Sunday – Thursday, 5:00pm – 10pm.
Spring Break Schedule
Sun, Mar 17th – Towers Help Desk - Closed
Mon, Mar 18th – Fri, Mar 22nd – Memorial Hall Help Desk – Open 8:00am – 4:00pm, Towers Help Desk – Closed
Sun, Mar 24th – Towers Help Desk – Open 5:00pm – 10:00pm
The Open Computer Lab schedule for Spring Break can be found at this link.
Whatever your plans for Spring Break, working or er um…breaking, have a good break!
MLK Holiday Hours of Operation
Posted by Todd Williams in Hour of Operation/Schedule Changes on January 16, 2013
The Memorial Hall Help Desk will be closed on Monday, Jan 21 and the Towers Help Desk will be closed Sunday, Jan 20 and Monday, Jan 21 for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
Memorial Hall and Towers will reopen on Tuesday, Jan 22 at 8:00am and 5:00pm respectively.
Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
During our absence you may email us at helpdesk@semo.edu or leave voicemail at 573.651.4357 amd we will get back to you when we return.
Welcome Steven
Posted by Todd Williams in Staff News on January 16, 2013
As mentioned in my previous post the IT Help Desk has a new student employee - Steven Shriver.
Steven is a Junior, Computer Science major, from Perryville, MO. This semester he will primarily be working in Memorial Hall, but may also spend some time at Towers, and some of the Open Labs.
Please join me in welcoming him to the Help Desk.
Back to work!
Posted by Todd Williams in Staff News on January 16, 2013
The spring semester has begun, students are back, and classes have started. This being my first semester break, I didn’t know what to expect. Would it be boring? Would we be swamped when everyone returned? The answer…YES.
Since reopening the Help Desk on Jan 2nd, we have run the gambit from days with only a handful of calls, to lots of calls and walk-up customers. But even in the slack times there are things to do; reports to complete, processes and procedures to review, and for me things to learn.
We have a new student worker, more on him later, so a new process for me. My previous work experiences were mostly with salaried full-time staff, so coordinating schedules of 5 different people to staff two sites from 8:00am to 10:00pm was a bit of a challenge. But I’m not complaining.
Paul Belvin, IT Open Labs Supervisor, talks with 12 new lab assistants at the Kent Library open lab during new hire training, Thursday, Jan 10th.
My co-worker, Open Labs Supervisor Paul Belvin, had a much bigger task facing him. He had twelve new hires, for a total of 47 lab assistants, to schedule and train before the beginning of the semester. I had the privilege of attending parts of two days of training that Paul provides his student workers, the first day for new hires, the second day for all of them. He assists them in completing all their employment paperwork, arranges parking permits, takes them on a tour of all the lab locations, and coordinates presentations from public safety, and other functional areas of IT (user services, telecom and even the help desk). He also arranges for lunch for both days. In addition to the information related to equipment operation and daily duties involved, Paul provides a thorough training regarding the policies and procedures regarding the use of the open computer labs on campus, as well as the River Campus and regional campuses. They discuss security issues; physical, technical and personal (complete with a workshop provided by Lawrence Fleming – Defensive Tactics Instructor for the Law Enforcement Academy).So if you are a patron of one of the university’s open computer labs, know that in addition to keeping the labs available and functional, keeping them staffed with attentive, helpful people is a large undertaking. If you see Paul around campus, tell him thanks.
Until next time…
Happy Holidays from the Help Desk!
Posted by Todd Williams in Hour of Operation/Schedule Changes, Staff News on December 21, 2012
Things have been uncharacterstically quiet here in the Help Desk for the last several days. It’s a nice change, but it can make for some long days.
As we look forward to the Winter Break, and an opportunity to spend time with family and friends over the holidays, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of the folks on campus that have made the first few months of my time here so much easier. Thank you for your warm welcomes, and your patience when you’ve had the misfortune of getting me on the other end of a call to the Help Desk and had to wait a little longer than normal to get an answer. I have enjoyed getting to meet many of you, and look forward to more interaction this next year. Thanks also to my outstanding co-workers, both in the Help Desk and in Information Technology.
The Memorial Hall Help Desk will reopen at 8:00am on Wednesday, Jan 2nd, 2013. The Towers Help Desk will reopen at 5:00pm on Sunday, January 13th.
Wishing you a restorative break and a safe and happy holiday season.
Good Luck Kumar!
Posted by Todd Williams in Staff News on December 13, 2012
The Help Desk says goodbye to Kumar Kashyap this week. Kumar began working in the Southeast Information Technology department in January of 2010 as an Open Lab Assistant. Later that year in August, he began working in the Help Desk.
He is set to graduate this weekend with his BS in Computer Science. His last day will be today, Dec 13th.
After graduation, Kumar will be pursueing employment with a software company in California. After acquiring some experience he plans to pursue a graduate degree.
We wish Kumar best of luck in all his future endeavors.
Until next time…