This guide is designed to help faculty get answers to some frequently asked technology questions.
For nearly all support needs that involve a problem with equipment or services, such as your desktop computer, email, or course website, you should first contact the Help Desk at help@lafayette.edu or (610) 330-5501.
It’s important to emphasize that this is a useful and necessary first step for anything that seems to be malfunctioning or otherwise not working as you might expect. Using the Help Desk accomplishes:
- Resolving your issue more immediately and quickly than contacting ITS staff directly.
- Generating a ticket to track your issue and ensure it is resolved promptly. It also provides us with useful data to recognize issues that occur frequently or may indicate a broader problem.
- If the Help Desk cannot solve your issue immediately, the appropriate ITS team will be contacted and will follow up with you to help resolve your issue.
New faculty
As a newly hired faculty member, you will receive Lafayette credentials and directions for setting your password. Your Lafayette credentials are used for email, Moodle, Banner Self-Service, wireless access, logging into public/classroom computers, and most other campus services.
Update your recovery email
In the event you have forgotten your password, you must have a recovery email associated with your NetID to complete the password reset. The password change utility allows you to manage your recovery email.
Using two-step login
Two-step login protects your Lafayette NetID by adding a second step when authenticating to applications that use Web single sign-on (SSO). It provides an additional layer of security so attackers cannot access protected systems with only your NetID.
Do I need different accounts for email and other various services?
In general, no. An account and username (commonly called a NetID) is automatically created for you when you begin working at Lafayette. Your NetID and password together are often referred to as your Lafayette credentials. These credentials give you access to accounts for email, Moodle (learning management system), Banner Self-Service (for access to your payroll information, class lists, grade submission, etc.), and other services. In special circumstances, you may need a different local account for a particular service, but those are rare.
The most effective way to to see and access available services is to use the My Lafayette portal, which aggregates nearly all important links and services in one location.
Campus Portal
Located at my.lafayette.edu, the campus portal (a.k.a. My Lafayette) provides single sign-on and a starting point for various online services, which includes Banner Self-Service, Moodle, and Google Workspace services like Gmail and Google Drive.
See more at Using the Campus Portal.
What is Banner Self-Service?
Through Banner Self-Service, faculty can access class lists and student academic information, submit final grades, and view personal employment information. Banner Self-Service is accessible through the campus portal or by visiting https://selfservice.lafayette.edu and logging in with your Lafayette credentials. Contact the Registrar’s Office for questions related to accessing course and student information in Banner Self-Service.
What is Moodle, and how can I get help using it?
Lafayette uses Moodle as its learning management system (LMS), which provides instructors online tools to upload syllabi, host discussions, accept assignments, offer quizzes, email their class, and more. Course sites are created automatically, and enrollments are updated daily.
Learning and Research Technologies provides consultation to instructors wishing to consider how they might use the tools in Moodle (and other tools too) in their teaching. To schedule a consultation with an instructional technologist, contact the Help Desk (help@lafayette.edu). In addition, Moodle help documentation is available at help.lafayette.edu/moodle.
What is Google Workspace?
Google Workspace provides access to productivity and collaboration tools such as Gmail, Calendar, Meet, Chat, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and more.
How do I set up a course blog or personal website?
In addition to Moodle course sites, instructors may request a course WordPress site by using the WordPress site request form. This may be desired, for instance, if an instructor wants their students to contribute to a course blog site. Faculty can use this same form to request a personal website (e.g., for hosting CVs, biographies, scholarship and teaching-related info, etc.).
WordPress help documentation is available at help.lafayette.edu/wordpress.
How do I access my email?
Can I set up my Lafayette email, contacts, and calendar on my smartphone?
Create, store, and share files with Google Workspace
Lafayette provides all members of the community access to Google Workspace, which can be used to create and store files as well as to work collaboratively on all Google Docs types (e.g., Docs, Sheets, Slides).
You can access Google Workspace from my.lafayette.edu in the “My Google Workspace” block.
Can I get to library resources from off-campus?
Yes, library resources can be accessed from off-campus by going through the library’s website. No set up is required as long as you use links to resources from the library website. Use your NetID and password for authentication.
How can I use a virtual private network (VPN) to run applications generally restricted to on-campus use?
VPN access is available for College employees and students to run applications generally restricted to only on-campus use. Using the VPN, employees and students can run these applications from off campus. For additional information and installation directions, read the VPN at Lafayette help document.
Does Lafayette have a high-performance computing cluster to help me with my research?
Yes, we do. As a small liberal arts college, Lafayette is uniquely positioned to have a high-performance computing (HPC) platform. The HPC has a number of software packages installed while the Research and HPC team provides support for using the HPC in addition to providing guidance and access to services like Posit (formerly RStudio Cloud) and Google Colab. Learn more about the HPC and the support that is provided.
What software is licensed by Lafayette?
The College provides licenses for a wide variety of software packages. To view additional information about available software, visit the Apps and Device Support section of the Help site. If your teaching or research requires an application not installed on your office or classroom computer, please contact the Help Desk at (610) 330-5501 or at help@lafayette.edu.
Where are public and teaching computer labs on campus?
Skillman Library houses the primary public PC and Mac labs, both of which offer a similar set of tools for creating and editing digital content in a variety of formats.
A virtual computer lab experience also is available through Amazon AppStream from anywhere with a browser.
Pardee 28 serves as the primary teaching computer lab. As such, it is scheduled through the Registrar, though requests can be made through Scheduling and Events Planning for ad hoc class meetings or events when the room is not being used for teaching. ITS also manages a teaching video lab in 248 N. Third St. on the Arts Campus, which serves as a public lab during the day when classes are not in session. In addition, certain departments or programs (e.g., Engineering, Biology, etc.) have computer labs that are meant primarily as a teaching space for that department or for use by its students.
Can I install software on lab and/or classroom computers?
All computers in public labs and classrooms are configured in such a way that restores the computer to its original state when it’s restarted. If you install an application or save files to one of these computers, they will be erased at reboot. If your teaching requires an application that is not already installed on a classroom computer please contact the Help Desk at help@lafayette.edu or (610) 330-5501.
Who can help me with course projects or content that integrate or involve technology?
The Learning and Research Technologies group offers assistance and workshops on using technology for teaching, course projects, etc. This team can also help you determine how technology might help you to achieve your pedagogical goals or a particular outcome more efficiently or effectively (e.g., review a syllabus or existing course materials). Contact the Help Desk (help@lafayette.edu) for assistance or to set up a consultation.
How can I get training and support for using the "smart" classroom equipment?
Do I need to make arrangements with Learning and Research Technologies when I assign a multimedia or digital project to a class?
We encourage you to collaborate with an instructional technologist with any project using technology, including digital or multimedia projects. Either we can collaborate with you directly, or we can help to coordinate campus resources (e.g., Library, College Writing Program, etc.). It also allows us to better coordinate demand for equipment and space.
Is multimedia equipment available for use?
Certain equipment is available for checkout at the Skillman Library circulation desk, including digital cameras, tripods, audio recording kits, microphones, and external hard drives. See the library catalog for a complete list of available equipment and search for ‘itech’.
In addition. podcast studios are available in Skillman Library for the Lafayette community to use.
How do I get additional hardware for my teaching or research?
Equipment in support of faculty teaching and research is purchased from an assortment of College budget lines managed by different offices. Contact the Help Desk (help@lafayette.edu) for further assistance.
Is training available for software and hardware?
In some instances, it may be possible for the Learning and Research Technologies team to work with you to develop or offer limited training or targeted help documentation or resources, depending on your needs. For more information, contact the Help Desk (help@lafayette.edu).
Does the College provide software to protect my computer from viruses and malware?
ITS equips all College-owned devices with endpoint protection. See Endpoint Protection for more information.
What about spam and phishing emails?
Additional Security Resources and Information
Additional information about safe computing and security best practices, please see the Security and Privacy help page.