Setup a video call in Microsoft Teams

You can setup a video call in Microsoft Teams in a number of ways. The methods shown in the video and in the guide below will help you generate a Teams Meeting link to share with co-workers, students, or guests.

Using the Outlook App

  1. Using Outlook.  Open the Calendar and click the big New Teams Meeting button at the top in the Ribbon.  This will generate a Teams Meeting link.
  2. Give it a title, choose additional required or optional attendees and click Send.  If you’re adding other folks from Heritage, you can of course add them to the meeting.  When you click Send, they will receive a calendar invite, and the meeting will appear in their calendar and your calendar.  The meeting will also appear in the Teams app under Calendar.
  3. If you want to share the meeting link with students, simply right-click on the ‘Join Microsoft Teams Meeting’ link and choose Copy hyperlink.  Then paste that into an email to send it to your students or paste it on myHeritage in the Links section of your course under the Syllabus tab.

Using the Teams App

Meet Now

  1. In the Microsoft Teams app, open the Calendar tab (which is located on the left under the Chat tab and the Teams tab).  Click the Meet now button at the top.
  2. Give the meeting a title and click the Join now button.
  3. Open the Participants view by clicking the Show Participants button in the control bar (just to the left of the Hang up button).
  4. In participants view copy the meeting link by clicking on the Copy join info button in the top-right.  It looks like two elongated rings hooked together.
  5. Then paste that into an email to send it to your students or paste it on myHeritage in the Links section of your course under the Syllabus tab.

New Meeting

  1. Inside of Teams choose the Calendar tab and click the + New meeting button at the top.
  2. Give your meeting a title and add any required attendees.  In order to generate a meeting link, you must add at least one other person from Heritage to the meeting.
  3. Click Save.
  4. After the meeting has saved, go back into the meeting and note that the Teams Meeting link has been generated.  Copy and paste the Join Microsoft Teams Meeting link and send it to your students or post it on myHeritage.

Create a Password-Protected Document using Microsoft Word

To create a password-protected PDF document from a Microsoft Word document, follow these steps.

  1. With the Word document already open, choose Files -> Save As.
  2. In the file type drop-down choose PDF (*.pdf) as the option.
  3. Click the More options… link directly beneith the file type drop-down.
  4. In the Save as dialog that appears click the Options… button.
  5. At the very bottom of the Options dialog choose Encrypt the document with a password and click OK.
  6. Enter the password twice to confirm and choose OK.
  7. Type a File name for the PDF file and choose Save.  This action will create a password-protected PDF document in the folder you’ve selected.

Remotely accessing your computer from outside the Heritage network

There are times, where you may need to access your desktop computer from outside the Heritage network.  If you are in a role that requires you to use a desktop computer and do not have a Heritage-provided machine at home, use the steps below to create a Remote Desktop Connection to your computer in the office.

Remote Into Your Computer

First, create a VPN tunnel between your home computer and the Heritage Network.  Follow these steps to create the secure tunnel between your computer and the Heritage network BEFORE you attempt to open a Remote Desktop Connection.  The VPN connection will automatically time out after a while, so you will need to reconnect it each time you want to remotely access your computer.

Second, use Remote Desktop to access your computer using the instructions below.

Use Remote Desktop to connect to your computer – Windows 10

  1. Open Remote Desktop Connection.  Open the Start menu and search for “Remote Desktop Connection” (the word remote will typically suffice).  Open the app.  Then click Show Options.
  2. In the Computer field type the full name of the computer you want to connect to.  The full name of your computer is the name of your computer followed by heritagecollege.local.  For example, if Stu Pendous was trying to connect to his computer the full name would be
    spendous12b.heritagecollege.local

    To find out the name of your computer, please send a message to helpdesk@heritagecs.edu.

  3. In the User name field type in your fully qualified username, which in most cases will be your email address (the fully qualified user name for Stu Pendous would be spendous@heritagecs.edu). Press Connect or hit ENTER.  The connection will be established, this may take a moment.
  4. Enter your Heritage password.
  5. Confirm the security certificate by checking the checkbox and clicking Yes. This certificate is issued by the remote computer which is managed by the IT department at Heritage. The name in the certificate issued by the remote computer will be the name of the computer you’re connecting to.
  6. Once you press Yes in previous dialog, you should be logged in to your desktop computer that is on the Heritage network.  From there you can operate the computer as if you were sitting in front of it and you will have access to all the same resources.

Use Remote Desktop to connect to your computer – iOS and iPad OS

This tutorial will satisfy the need of users on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices.  It was tested on iOS 11 but the methodology is the same even on older versions of iOS and iPad OS.

  1. Download and install the Microsoft Remote Desktop app from the iOS App Store.
  2. Open the newly installed app (it may appear as RD Client on your homescreen).
  3. In the Remote Desktop app press the + (plus) button in the top right.  Choose Desktop from the list of choices.
  4. In the Desktop dialog enter the following settings.
    1. In the PC Name type the full name of the computer you want to connect to.  The full name of your computer is the hostname followed by heritagecollege.local.  For example, if Stu Pendous was trying to connect to his computer the full name might be
      spendous12b.heritagecollege.local

      To find out the name of your computer, please send a message to helpdesk@heritagecs.edu.

    2. In the User Account field you can choose to enter your account information every time or to save it.  Please keep in mind who might have access to your iOS device and use that information to make a wise choice about saving your account information or not.  You will need to enter your full User Name and your Password.  For example, the User Name for Stu Pendous would be spendous@heritagecs.edu).
    3. Click Save.  This will save the remote desktop profile so can easily reuse it.
  5. Once the profile is saved simply touch on the profile to launch the remote session and access the remote computer.

Use Remote Desktop to connect to your computer – MacOS

These settings for iOS and iPad OS will also work for MacOS.  Simply install Microsoft Remote Desktop from the App Store, Add a PC configuration using the following settings, and connect.

  • PC name: The name of your desktop computer such as spendous12b.heritagecs.edu
  • User account: Use your Heritage email address and password
  • Click the Add button

Other Options

Others options to be aware of are things like copying files between your computer and the remote computer, or sharing audio or multiple displays.  To get to options click the small Show Options drop-down in the Remote Desktop Connection window.  Doing this will make five tabs appear along the top edge.  General, Display, Local Resources, Experience, and Advanced.

  • On the Display tab there are options for telling Remote Desktop how to handle multiple displays if you have multiple monitors plugged into the computer you are using to remotely access your computer at work.  You can also choose quality settings specifically.
  • The Local Resources tab is where you can affects settings related to the sharing of audio, printers, and the clipboard.  By default, the Clipboard is shared between your computer and the remote computer.  This enables you to copy and paste text between computer, and it will also allow you to copy files and folders between your computer and the remote computer (very handy).  Please note that sharing large files between computer could take a long time depending on the size of the file and the speed of your internet connection.
  • By default, audio is shared between computer, if you want to disable this go to the Local Resources tab and click on the Settings… button under Remote audio.  In the dialog box that appears choose Do not play under the Remote audio playback section and click OK.

Connecting to the Heritage Network using a VPN

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.  In this tutorial we will discuss how to create a VPN connection to the Heritage network when you are off campus.  This can be useful if you want to access resources that are only available on-site such as the file server or a desktop computer.  Establishing a VPN connection between your computer and Heritage will create a secure tunnel where data can flow securely between your computer and the Heritage network.

Creating a VPN Connection

Windows 10

  1. Open the Start menu and choose Settings.  Look for and open Network & Internet
  2. From the Network & Internet sub-menu, choose VPN
  3. Click Add a VPN connection
  4. In the VPN Provider field choose Windows (built-in)
  5. In the Connection name field type a friendly name such as Heritage VPN
  6. In Server name or address field type
    vpn.heritagecs.edu
  7. In the VPN type field choose L2TP/IPsec with pre-shared key
  8. Enter the Pre-shared key into the Pre-shared key field.  The Pre-shared key can be found in the Heritage VPN Access email sent by a Heritage IT Admin.
  9. In the Username field type your full Heritage Username – this is likely your email address (such as anitaminute@heritagecs.edu).
  10. Type your Heritage Password into the Password field.
  11. Click Save to save the settings.
  12. The VPN connection is now configured.  To establish a VPN connection between your computer and Heritage simply choose the new connection and press Connect.

You can also access this connection extremely easily from the network icon in the Taskbar.  In the lower-right corner of the Taskbar, look for the network icon (it could be a wireless icon if you’re on Wi-Fi or a little Monitor-with-network-cable icon if you’re using a wired connection).  Click the icon.  If you completed the steps above to create a VPN connection, the new connection will be available from this menu.  Just click it a choose Connect.

iOS

Creating a VPN connection profile is easy to do on iOS and provide a secure tunnel from your device into the Heritage network.

  1. Open  the Settings app.
  2. Go to General -> VPN.  You’ll need to scroll down as its near the bottom.
  3. Choose Add VPN Configuration…
  4. In the Add Configuration screen for Type choose L2TP
  5. In the Description field type a friendly name such as Heritage VPN
  6. In Server field type
    vpn.heritagecs.edu
  7. In the Account field type your Heritage Username – this is likely your email
  8. Type your Heritage Password into the Password field.
  9. In the Secret field, very carefully, type in the Secret code.  Contact the IT department for this code.
  10. Choose Done at the top right.
  11. The VPN connection is now configured and you will move back to the VPN screen.  To test the connection click the slider to the right of Status.  The connection will be established and the status will change to say Connected.

Additionally, now that the VPN settings are configured you can turn the connection on and off easily from the main Settings App screen.  A new entry called VPN will have appeared near the top.

MacOS

Creating a VPN connection profile is easy to do on iOS and provide a secure tunnel from your device into the Heritage network.

  1. Open  the System Preferences app
  2. Go to Network.  Click the + (plus) button in the lower left-hand corner of the Network window to add a new connection
  3. In the Interface drop-down choose VPN
  4. In the VPN Type drop-down L2TP over IPSec
  5. In the Service Name field type a friendly name such as Heritage VPN.  Click Create
  6. In Server Address field type
    vpn.heritagecs.edu
  7. In the Account Name field type your Heritage Username – this is likely your email
  8. Click the Authentication Settings button.  Type your Heritage Password into the Password field
  9. In the Shared Secret field, very carefully, type in the Secret code.  Contact the IT department for this code.  Click OK
  10. Choose Apply in the bottom right
  11. The VPN connection is now configured.  To initiate the connection between your Mac and the Heritage campus click the Connect button.  You may also choose to enable the Show VPN status in the menu bar to provide a quick and easy place to initiate the connection.  With this enabled, you can simply click Connect Heritage VPN to make the connection.

Other Awesome Stuff

Now that you’ve established a VPN connection you can do awesome stuff like remotely access your desktop computer as if you were sitting in the office at Heritage.

If you have a Heritage-deployed laptop, after establishing the VPN connection, you should be able to access your Home drive and the Staff drive like you normally would by going through File Explorer and opening those drives.  Please note that opening those network locations will be slower over the VPN connection than when you are physically on-site.

Record audio with an iOS device

This tutorial is a quick overview of getting a good-quality recording using an iOS device.  This method would be appropriate for an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.  The theories can also be translated to an Android device.  The basic steps are.

  1. Record audio with the Voice Memos app or a similar app.
  2. Upload the file to cloud storage, like Microsoft OneDrive (which you have access to with your Heritage account), Google Drive, Dropbox, or something similar.
  3. From that point you can access the file and download it so you can post it on your class in myHeritage.

Recording basics with Audacity

Hello folks!  This video is meant as a brief introduction to recording audio with Audacity.  We record an audio clip and do some minor tweaking to the sound quality before exporting it for publication.

The audio you hear in this tutorial was recorded with the build-in mic from a USB webcam.  Super simple.  To record into Audacity, other microphone options could include the build-in microphone in a laptop, the in-line microphone on simple wired earbuds, or even a large USB microphone.

Getting started with Microsoft OneDrive

First off, what is OneDrive?

OneDrive is a cloud based program, hosted by Microsoft. It is apart of our Office 365 subscription and is therefore easily able to integrate into our workflows.

How to Upload Your Files onto OneDrive for Work at Home

With the current state of health in the world, we all must proceed forward in a manner that allows us to access tools and files and produce work from home. OneDrive is going to be a key component in allowing us to do so. Whether accessing OneDrive from your browser or from an app downloaded on your device, you now have the freedom to transfer and access work files simply over OneDrive. This will grant you access to these files from virtually anywhere and thus alleviate the necessity for coming in to work. This article will cover the two ways of doing that, through the app and/or through your web browser.

How to Access OneDrive in the Cloud

Because OneDrive is cloud-based, files and folders stored there can be accessed from almost any device with a modern web browser.  All modern web browsers including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and many more can be used to login to and access files stored in OneDrive.

To access OneDrive navigate to http://office.heritagecs.edu and login with your Heritage email address and password.  After logging in click on the OneDrive icon in the Good morning section.

(click the image to see a larger version)

Create new files and folders

  • To create a folder, click the + New button in the border located at the top of the page.  Then click Folder.
  • Once you create and name your folder/s you can then upload files onto them from your computer.
  • To do this, simply drag and drop a file from your computer onto the main area in the browser.  The file will be uploading into that folder.

(click the images to see a larger version)

Share a files and folders

  • To share a folder, hover your mouse over it and a translucent circular button will appear to the left, click it and a blue check mark will appear inside.
  • From there, direct your attention back up to the border where you previously selected “+ New” you will see a “Share” option in its place.  the Sharing menu will pop open.
  • Select “anyone with the link can edit” and write down the name of the staff and/or faculty member that you would like to share the contents of that folder with.
  • You can send an email directly to the person you’d like to share with by entering their email address and clicking Send.
  • Or, you can click the Copy Link button and paste the link into an email, or use it elsewhere.

How to Use the OneDrive App

An alternate way to access the uses of OneDrive is to download the OneDrive app onto your computer. For Windows10 users, it should be on your computer already. If not, you can find the download link for OneDrive by locating the “Get the OneDrive Apps” link by logging in to OneDrive using your browser.  Again, the link to OneDrive is http://office.heritagecs.edu

  • Once on your computer, open the app and it will ask you for your email.  Search for it in the start menu if needed.
  • Use your corporate Heritage email address and proceed to login.
  • From there, OneDrive will go over the process for you and explain how to use the app.  Make note of the location of the OneDrive folder, and some new icons for the status of files.
  • OneDrive will sync any files and folders you add into the OneDrive folder on your computer to the cloud.  These files  and folders will be accessible across all devices because including the app on your phone and in the browser.
  • If you wish to share files simply folder the instructions above on sharing files and folders.  Alternatively, simply right-click on a file and choose ‘Share’.  This will give you a dialog similar to the online version of the sharing menu.

Using myHeritage for Online Lessons

Log on to your course page on myHeritage. This is the same place you take attendance and enter grades. Along the left side is a column reading Dashboard, Syllabus, Files, Assignments, Lessons, Discussions, Tests, Calendar, Gradebook, etc. (See #1 in photo below.)

Create A Lesson

(all photos are from Marianne’s Intro to Children’s Ministry class)

  • Click on the Lesson tab. You will see this (click image for large version):

(click image to enlarge)

  • Click on the Add a Lesson tab. (See #2 in the photo above.)

(click image to enlarge)

  • Give the lesson a title and set the date and time it will be available (generally the time your class would normally start). If you click “after the previous lesson is completed”, that will override any date and time you make the lesson available. I usually leave it unchecked.
  • Add one lesson for each class you have left in your semester. You will see them appear as a list, as you can see in the first photo.
  • To give your lesson content, click on one of the lessons you have just created. It will open up to two tabs, as seen below:

(click image to enlarge)

My lesson already has content. Yours will be blank. The “view” tab (#5) is how the lesson will look to your students. The “design” tab (#4) is where you will add the content. Click it. Photo is on the next page. I don’t have time for fancy formatting!

(click image to enlarge)

Again, my lesson already has some content. But you will see the line at the bottom, #6.

A heading is just that. A text box will open up and you can type directly in it, and on the view tab, you’ll have a nice, bold heading.

Content is like what you see at the top of my lesson to the left. Again, a text box will open up. You can type in it directly to give the students directions, information, whatever. I think you can even add photos to that content. The text is fully formattable. (You can underline, highlight, use italics, bold, etc.)

Discussions allow you to post a topic and have students interact with that topic and with each other. I’ll talk more about that below.

Files are your Powerpoint slides (I always save them to PDF and upload the PDF) and your audio or video files. I’ll talk about that more below.

Link allows you post a link to a website or YouTube video. More below.

Lesson Content Types

Discussions

Discussions are helpful ways to get students to interact with the material and each other in lieu of face-to-face interaction. Add a discussion and this box will open up. Give your discussion a catchy title, and then in the topic box create something for students to talk about. You can also drag and drop files or photos for students to interact with.

  • Beside Published, click yes.
  • Beside available, click the date of your class.
  • Beside Comments closed, click no.

Peer rating means that students can evaluate their peers’ comments. I don’t find it helpful, but to each his or her own.

Post first means that students must first reply themselves to the topic posted before they can see their peers’ posts. This is helpful to ensure originality of ideas.

Max comments and max replies are helpful if you have a student who posts dozens of times. As if. I usually leave these blank.

Allow students to add to the discussion: I usually click no. Probably because I’m a control freak. Mostly because I don’t know what it means. It’s never hindered my discussions online.

Require students to participate in the discussion. It is important that you click “yes” for this. It is the only way we can track participation for attendance.

Files

This is what you will use to upload lecture notes (Powerpoint) and audio or video recordings.

I always save my Powerpoint slides as a PDF and upload the PDF.

Drag and drop the files you want to upload.

Hide file from students: No. What would be the point?

Show embedded preview player: Yes. This allows the students easy access to the files.

Require students to view or download? Yes. Again, it is how we will measure lesson completion for attendance records.

Links 

If you add a link, this box will open. You can give the link a title, and then copy and paste the URL (website). The students will see the title as a hyperlink.

Again, if you use a link, require the students to click it for attendance purposes.

Conclusion

Ok, that’s your lesson. Now go back to the very first photo, and have a look at #3.  If you click on that, you will see a graph that looks like this:

(click image to enlarge)

Each lesson will have a status bar showing how much of the lesson has been completed (if you’ve required all the elements to be done). If the student has completed the whole lesson, you can then mark that student as “present” in the attendance tab. If a student has not completed the lesson (or hasn’t completed enough of the lesson), you can mark that student as absent. You may notice that myHeritage now has a “notes” section beside each student’s name on the attendance roster. If a student is finished part but not all of the lesson, you could mark that student present and make a note of how much of the lesson was complete. If the student then has another lesson that is only partly completed, you could make that note and mark the student as absent the second time.

Posting audio or video content to a course in myHeritage

  1. Login to myHeritage and navigate to your course (either under Academics -> Academic Term -> Courses or by going to My Profile -> Faculty) by clicking on the course name. The course Syllabus page will appear.
  2. Choose Lessons from the menu on the left.
  3. Choose a Lesson (if there are no Lessons in the course, click the Add a Lesson button on the right).
  4. From the Lesson view there are two tabs, View and Design. Choose the Design tab.
  5. From the Design tab you have the ability to Add a section. Click the small link that says File to add a media file.
  6. Drag and drop the media file into the upload area that appears or click the area to choose a file.
  7. Once the file has completed uploading, click the Save

Please see the How To Embed Audio, Video, And Other Kinds of Files In A Lesson article on the Populi Knowledgebase for similar instructions and further details.

Note: To view the newly uploaded file like a student would see it, go back to the View tab (from Design).  When you are uploading the file you also have options to Hide the file or use the media player built in to myHeritage (strongly recommended).  Also, there is a file size limit of 4GB per file.

How to Bookmark your Bookmarks

Have you ever tried to open up your saved bookmarks on your browser after an event takes place, such as a power outage, and were shocked to find that they’re not there? Your bookmarks to sites and articles, what you rely on to safely navigate through your day to day work items, are no longer at the ease of your fingertips. If only there were a way to keep those bookmarks saved for good, similar to how you wish you could save the sites you search up, which is the very reason bookmarks were created. If only there were a way that we could bookmark our bookmarks.

Well, luckily there is (so-to-speak). For free! All that’s required is to create an account on either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Unfortunately, this means there is the added annoyance of, yet again, having to create an online account and password; but thanks to your integration of Enpass or LastPass this will no longer pose an annoyance or deterrent to adding another online account. Thank goodness someone has already covered this dilemma previously. All you have to do is choose your favorite, and most frequented, web browser (typically Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox) and create an account. Once you have an account, you can save all of your tabs to that account and cross-integrate those saved items to any device that you open up on the browser you have chosen (after logging into your account). Not only does this save you from losing these bookmarks when your computer goes down, or when a power outage wipes your bookmarks, but it also allows you to link up your work bookmarks with your home bookmarks as well. You, of course, have freedom in your account as to what you want linked up across devices when you login to your account on multiple outlets. So if you don’t want your browser history linked, for example, but you want your bookmarks linked then you are now able to have that option.

This is revelatory and triumphant news, for those of us that have gone through the annoyance of losing all our cached items in our web browser after an unexpected power outage or computer failure. I know it’s a question that often gets posed after a power outage, “where did all my bookmarks go?” and this is an article to answer any future questions on the topic. Down below I’ve provided some links to the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox account creation page. Follow the links and quickly create an account to avoid future issues with lost and non-malleable bookmark integration. Quick Note: If you have a Google account for things such as Gmail then you already have an account for accessing your saved bookmarks on Chrome. All you have to do now is login to your Google account and save your bookmarks to your account so that when you login to Chrome on another device it integrates those saved bookmarks.

Google:

https://accounts.google.com/signup/v2

Firefox:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/access-mozilla-services-firefox-account

Hope this helps with any confusion about lost bookmarks, both now and in the future.