Working Remotely
IT Helpdesk
How to Request Support
Team Dynamix Self-Service
More information on Team Dynamix
Phillips Memorial Library, Room LL25
401-865-HELP
helpdesk@providence.edu
Working remotely provides a set of limitations that do not exist while working on campus along with an additional layer of complexity when it comes to troubleshooting issues. This includes access to certain campus technology resources as well as limitations with one’s own internet service at their home.
Faculty, staff, and students will find tips and information about services and applications that can make working, teaching, and learning remotely easier. The links below will take you to portions of this page or the IT knowledge base with information on these tips, services, and applications.
Limitations of Home Internet Service
Many home internet providers use a shared service, where the connection, while private within the individual homes, is shared among an entire street, block, or neighborhood. Those working remotely may experience dropped connections, slow speeds, or poor quality as more users are accessing the internet, especially when using services, such as streaming video or videos and audio chat, that require a greater amount of bandwidth.
The local network within your home has additional limitations. The more devices accessing your home’s network at the same time, the more likely you are to experience service degradation. Most homes only have a single router and wireless access point. If you primarily connect via Wi-Fi, your device’s proximity to the access point and any walls and furniture between your device and the access point can affect the strength of your connection. Wireless networks can also experience slowness when there are more devices connecting at the same time than usual. If you have the ability to plug your device into your router with an Ethernet cable, you can eliminate Wi-Fi as a limitation.
The IT Department does not recommend utilizing your personal hotspot through your cell phone service provider for heavy Internet access as the bandwidth may not be suitable for all uses, especially videoconferencing over Teams or Zoom.
Troubleshooting Issues with your Home’s Internet Service
- Restart your internet connection. You can do this by turning your router/access point off and back on again. Some routers have a switch that you can turn off, while others require that you simply unplug the power cable. You should power it off for a full minute before turning it back on or plugging it back in. It takes about two or three full minutes for a router to start up and begin to provide internet access to your connected devices
- Reboot your computer. Restarting your computer can solve a variety of issues. It frees up your computer’s resources, allowing them to be dedicated to the applications you use the most. Closing or quitting all applications and then restarting is the best way to be sure that resources go to the most needed applications. You should reboot your computer after you restart your internet connection and allow your router to start back up.
Services and Applications for Working Remotely
Videoconferencing and Collaboration
Microsoft Teams and Zoom are both available for videoconferencing and collaboration.
Microsoft Teams allows you to work in a single application to glance at your calendar; chat with colleagues; start meetings; and store, edit, and collaborate on shared files. Teams provides a space for your team/department/committee to work in one place with all the Microsoft apps and is available on all devices, including mobile.
Zoom offers a strong videoconferencing platform that allows screen sharing, remote control of another computer, and chat. Zoom is available for all devices, including mobile.
Microsoft Teams Information
Zoom Information
Zoom vs. Teams Feature Comparison
File Storage
While many of us utilize network drives on campus, such as our H: drives, these drives are not accessible from off campus without using a supported remote access utility (see below). However, OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage solution, allows you to access these files anywhere you have internet access, including from mobile devices. OneDrive also allows you to share files with other users and collaborate on them simultaneously.
Microsoft Teams also allows for easy file sharing among departments or groups of users where a single individual should not be the “owner” of the file. Teams works as an alternative to the H: drive or other network drives that are shared between departments.
Remote Access VPN
Remote access, reserved only for mission critical staff access, is available through Zscaler. This is only necessary if you require access to campus-only services, such as Banner, other internal servers, or a network drive with files you are not able to move to OneDrive or Teams. Remote access is a shared and limited resource.
If you require it only for access to files on your network drives, we request that you move those files to OneDrive or Teams for editing and sharing among those who require access.
Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD)
Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) is a virtual desktop/software environment to allow faculty, staff, and students access to College-licensed software from their own computers. While the virtual desktop is a Windows environment, AVD can be used from Macs and Chromebooks as well as PCs. It can be run through the web or, for best performance, through a client installed on your computer.
Campus Office Phone
There are several options available for accessing your campus phone from off-campus, including remotely receiving calls to your campus extension. These include Webex, single number reach (SNR), and remotely checking your voicemail.
Software Availability
The College has licensed several software packages that are available to students and/or faculty and staff to install on their personally owned computers and can be used remotely.
