Asking Questions/Finding Answers

Are you seeking help?

Can’t meet up with anyone to resolve your issue?

Is your professor or manager not providing you with enough information to succeed?

Fret not Hornets! Where there's a will, there's always a way! We're going to help you find the solutions and online platforms, where you can find all the answers to your important questions.

Schoolwork:

• Many courses have discussion boards on Canvas! This is available for you to ask and answer course related material. If you don’t understand something, ask for help.
   
• Schedule a Zoom meeting with your classmates! Zoom is probably your best option, because you can share your screen and showcase what you are trying to figure out. Zoom also has the functionality for remote control access. This allows the person who is trying to help, control your machine until the issue is resolved.
   
• If you're still having trouble understanding the material, don’t forget that you can email / virtually meet with your professor on Zoom, to clarify your questions and get a better understanding on the material. Professors are here to help you succeed!

• You can always check the ESU Learn Anywhere site for campus resources or reach out to us and we'll help direct you to the person who can answer your question.

Job tasks:

• The best option when it comes to finding a solution to your work related question, is to communicate with your team on the established communication channels.  Is that email?  Teams? SharePoint? Perhaps now is the ideal time to establish that channel!
   
• Schedule a meeting with a manager or coworker(s). This will give you an opportunity to ask all your questions and get the answers. Make a list of questions before the meeting so you don't miss anything.
   
• If no one is available--that's not a problem! You have the greatest invention known to us, GOOGLE.  Ask Google any question you have, and you are most likely to get an answer. Use it with caution!

It's important to realize that these are unprecedented times for all of us! So, don’t be scared to ask for help!

Anton Levanovich
Student Web Developer

Web & Digital Strategies

New Apple Products

In the midst of this crisis, Apple managed to release the new iPad Pro. One could argue that there couldn't be a better time due to many educational institutions moving their classes to an online platform. iPads are becoming more and more similar to your traditional laptops with enhancements that allow you to do most things that you could do on a Windows or Mac laptop. The new iPad Pro boasts an A12Z bionic chip, which is slightly better than the A12X chip included in the last version of the iPad Pro. This means that this iPad will run all of the software you would need for school flawlessly.

Along with the introduction of the new iPad, Apple released a new 'Magic Keyboard' to go hand-in-hand with it. The Magic Keyboard seems magic, because your iPad magnetically connects to the stand and 'floats' while being able to type. Along with this cool feature, the Magic Keyboard also includes a trackpad, making the iPad seem like a traditional laptop.



Sam Derksen
Web Developer
Web and Digital Strategies

Remote Work + Study

Working + Studying from home might seem like a terrifying and complicated concept, but it doesn't have to be. We know with all the distractions you have freely available at your home, it can be quite easy to forget a quiz you may have to take, or a class you may have to attend, or work your supervisor had assigned to you.

Here are some tips to keep you in check and help stay on track, whether it be class work or work projects and tasks. 

For School: 

1. Be on time

If you have an online meeting or zoom class session, make sure to have the date and time on your calendar. Participation counts and you might lose points if you don't follow the schedule. Make sure to submit your work on time to avoid losing points.

2. Limit all distractions around you

Distraction is your biggest enemy when it comes to studying from home. Make sure you stay in a quiet room with limited distractions.
 

3. Keep up with your courses  

Ensure you have a flow of communication with your professor and classmate, be sure to check up on any new assignments, quizzes, or exams you may. Check out (link to taylor's blog post on how to maintain a schedule) for more information.

4. Time yourself

Start a timer! Work in 40 minute chunks. This will ensure that you have put in hard work for 40 minutes straight, and also help you feel accomplished when taking a short break.

5. Ask questions

Do not stress if you're having a difficult time understanding concepts in class. You have all the tools needed in order to communicate with your professors, and peers.  

6. Take tests and quizzes in a quiet room. 

Always stay focused  when it comes to time-sensitive material like a test or quiz.

For Work: 

1. Be on time

Even though you are working from home, you still have a tight schedule to follow. Be ready to work diligently when you are scheduled to.

2. Maintain a flow of communication 

Ensure you are communicating with your supervisor on how things are going. Your supervisor must know what everyone is working on to keep track of the progress and make plans for the future.

3. Be Proactive  

Be sure to ask your supervisor how you could be helping in continuing with the daily workflow.

If you have never worked or studied from home, don’t worry! Your supervisor and professor will do everything they can to aid in this process and help you stay on track.

Now, time to stay focused, and study hard, and work hard. Good luck Hornets!

Anton Levanovich
Student Web Developer

Web & Digital Strategies

Website Blockers for Studying

The 2019 Fall Semester has begun so here at the ESU IT department we thought it might be a good time to share some handy tips on better ways to stay focused and tackle your assignments this semester!

We all know how easy it can be to get distracted while studying or working on assignments, especially with websites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter being only a couple clicks away. Good news is that there are plenty of website blockers out there that allow you to block certain distracting websites while you work, meaning no more ‘quick breaks’ until your work is done.

SelfControl is a great free website blocker that allows you to choose the websites that you find the most distracting and set them to a blacklist that will block them for a select period of time. Unfortunately SelfControl is only available on Mac, luckily there are many great Windows alternatives out there. Focus 45 is a free Chrome extension that can be used on both Mac and Windows.

From me and the rest of the team at ESU IT, we hope you all have a great semester. Stingers up!

Taylor Nelson

Student Web Developer

Web and Digital Strategies