Transition from Zoom to Teams

Students, Faculty, and Staff,

In March 2020, ITS promptly implemented and introduced the widely recognized collaboration software Zoom to address the urgent need for a virtual meeting platform for academics and administration. Over time, Microsoft has made substantial investments in advancing their online collaboration platform, Microsoft Teams. Following a thorough examination of budgets and feature comparisons between the two platforms, we will capitalize on our longstanding partnership with Microsoft and adopt the collaboration tool integrated into our software agreement, Microsoft Teams. Effective August 12, 2024, we will discontinue the use of Zoom. We are confident that Microsoft Teams has reached a sufficient level of evolution to serve as our primary collaboration and virtual meeting platform.

Key Details:

  1. Transition Timeframe | All virtual meetings and collaborative efforts will be conducted through Microsoft Teams effective August 12, 2024.
  2. Training | To ensure a seamless transition, we will be offering training sessions on effective Microsoft Teams usage. Session details are available on the UM3D training site, where you can also schedule your training.
  3. Support Resources | Documentation and resources to help you become familiar with Microsoft Teams can be found on the Microsoft Teams website. For questions, you can contact the ITS Service Desk via email at umtech@memphis.edu or call 901.678.8888. You may also ask your local LSP any questions you may have.
  4. Feedback | Your feedback is important to us. If you have suggestions or concerns during this transition, please share those with us by submitting them to the ITS Suggestion Box.

We recognize that embracing change can present challenges, yet we are confident that Microsoft Teams will deliver the collaboration features required and enhance our overall communication experience.

Ascending,
Karen Bell
Interim CIO
Information Technology Services

ITS-Password Resets

Dear Campus Community,

Information Technology Services (ITS) is updating our internal processes related to password resets. The new process provides you with self-service features to reset your passwords more quickly using existing technologies that help automate the process. Additional benefits for the University include increased efficiency of our ITS Service Desk and strengthening of our information security program. Effective July 31, ITS Service Desk staff will transition to supporting the new process and will no longer have the capability to assign “temporary” passwords. For more information about this self-service feature please, see the New Password Reset Process webpage.

You must have a personal email address in Banner to use your personal email address to reset your password. Your personal email can be accessed in the Personal Information section of the myMemphis portal. For students, the Personal Information section is located on the My Resources page under the Student Pages menu. For faculty and staff, the Personal Information section is available on the Employee page.

Thank you for understanding and for your support of our information security program.

If you need assistance with this or any other technology needs, contact the ITS Service Desk at umtech@memphis.edu or 901.678.8888.

Regards,

Robert Jackson, EdD, Chief Information Officer

ITS Security Updates and Rebooting Recommendations

Dear Campus Community,

ITS recommends manually restarting or shutting down your computer and other devices at least once per week.

Software and hardware vendors are constantly identifying security vulnerabilities within their products and the pace at which vendors release security updates has increased. In response to the changing security landscape, ITS (Information Technology Services) is quickening our cadence for software updates and security patches.

Regularly checking for new browser versions and other app updates — and enabling automatic updates where available — is an important first step to ensuring system security. Rebooting your system often is equally necessary to protect your digital assets.

ITS recommends manually restarting or shutting down your computer and other devices at least once per week. Rebooting in this way allows updates to software, hardware and peripherals to complete their installation and be applied to your system. While Windows or macOS updates might include a restart reminder, other pending updates could be awaiting a reboot without such notice. Shutting down your computer also resets the system, often resolving slowdowns or other performance issues.

For more information about rebooting your device and other best practices, visit the IT Security Policies and Guidelines page on our website. If you need assistance with this or any other technology need, contact the ITS Service Desk at umtech@memphis.edu or 901.678.8888.

Regards,
Robert Jackson, EdD
Chief Information Officer

Ring Central Update

Dear Colleagues,

The telephone system upgrade to RingCentral is underway and on schedule. RingCentral is deployed for all ITS phone extensions, Physical Plant phone extensions and the ITS Service Desk call center. The Administration Building is scheduled for migration this month.

During the transition, 4-digit dialing for campus extensions will be affected. When dialing within the phone systems, 4-digit dialing is available and works as expected. This includes RingCentral extension to RingCentral extension or Avaya PBX extension to Avaya PBX extension. Dialing 4 digits between separate phone systems is not available.

  • If your phone extension has been migrated to RingCentral, dialing the full 10-digit number (901.678.8888) is required to reach a campus phone extension that is on the Avaya PBX system. 
  • If your phone is still on the Avaya PBX system, 9 plus the 7-digit number is required to reach a campus phone extension that is on the RingCentral unified communication system.

Please check the RingCentral website for the most current information about the project, including the building schedule on the Timeline page. Remember that building dates are tentative and subject to change. Contact ringcentral@memphis.edu for questions related to the project.

If you need assistance with RingCentral, please contact the ITS Service Desk at 901.678.8888 or umtech@memphis.edu.

Best regards,

Karen Bell

Associate CIO
Information Technology Services

Skype for Business Sunsetting – July 31st, 2021

Skype for Business is reaching the end of life on July 31st, 2021. After this period, this application will no longer work. Microsoft Teams is the official replacement product. The same functionality and abilities available in Skype for Business are available in Teams. For documentation on how to utilize this product follow this link How to use Microsoft Teams.

For assistance with this transition or general questions about Teams, please contact the ITS Service Desk online, by email, or by phone at 901.678.8888. Your Local Support Provider is also available for on-hand assistance.

Farewell to BlueJeans – July 30, 2021

BlueJeans has been our primary conference tool for faculty and staff since November 2015. While BlueJeans has served the University community well, it fell short in providing a cost-effective method that would include access for our 20K students.

What’s next?
To meet the need, we’ve adopted other conference and collaboration software tools like ZoomVirtual Classroom/ Assignment, and Microsoft Teams.

What do I need to do?
If you have any recordings located on BlueJeans you will have to (1) move download these recordings and upload them to other supported services (OneDrive or Ensemble Video) or (2) delete the recordings from your account by July 30, 2021. (Note: If you don’t delete your recordings by July 30, 2021, the files will no longer be available to access. )

Where’s the documentation?
We have created a website for information about how to download or delete recordings from BlueJeans.

For assistance with BlueJeans, please contact the ITS Service Desk online, by email, or by phone at 901.678.8888.

Required Password Change

Information Technology Services (ITS) previously notified the campus about a security incident. ITS is continuing to work with security forensics experts to identify and remediate compromised systems. Service levels are continuing to improve. As part of our remediation efforts and out of an abundance of caution, the following actions will be taken for all Universal User ID (UUID) passwords:

The minimum password length will be increased to 15 characters effective March 10.
All passwords must be changed March 10-31 using the iAM website. This includes all students, faculty and staff. For more information about changing your password see our How to Change Your Password page.

Your UUID and password are used for single sign-on to access many University IT resources. Individuals will receive reminders through March 31 to change their passwords.

Introducing Microsoft Teams

That’s correct. Microsoft Teams is available to all faculty, staff and students. Microsoft Teams is the hub for group collaboration in Microsoft 365 that integrates people, content, and applications. Teams brings simplicity to teamwork by joining collaboration, sharing, and communication all under one platform.

Microsoft Teams incorporates several applications into one. Here are a few functions offered: the chat function allows instant messaging between groups and individuals. Add GIFs, stickers or emojis to inject some personality into your conversation. Calls allow you to make audio and video calls over the network to students and colleagues. Channels are the conversations you have with your teammates. Each channel is dedicated to a specific topic or project and can be found within Teams. Files are documents that can be downloaded, edited, and shared with teammates. Files also offer quick access to your OneDrive storage. The activity feed is a summary of everything that has happened in the channels that are on your teams list. Apps provide you with seamless integration with Microsoft applications in your team workspace. Calendar integrates with your Outlook calendar to make time management more efficient than ever. Think about the tools, files, and dashboards that would be helpful to your group collaborations. Many of them can be added right into Teams.

Microsoft Teams is a chat-based collaboration platform complete with document sharing, online meetings, and many more features for group communications. Having a team space is key to being able to make creative decisions and communicate effectively with one another.

Introductory training for Teams can be found in LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft, and Learning Curve. More detailed information about Microsoft Teams can be found on our website.

Zoom Video Conferencing

Enterprise video conferencing with real-time messaging and content sharing.

Join anywhere, on Any Device

Simplified video conferencing and messaging across any device. Zoom Meeting syncs with your calendar system and delivers streamlined enterprise-grade video conferencing from your desktop and mobile device. Enable quick adoption with meeting capabilities that make it easy to start, join, and collaborate across any device.

Signing into Zoom

Sign into Zoom site with your UofM credentials. (https://memphis.zoom.us) Upon initial sign-in, you will get a basic license. If faculty need a Zoom Enterprise License, please submit a service request.


Hosting a Meeting in the Zoom App

See our infographic about hosting a meeting in the Zoom App.


Zoom Basic Features:

  • Host up to 100 participants for 40 minutes
  • Unlimited 1 to 1 meetings
  • Unlimited number of meetings
  • Plus other features listed on the regular website https://zoom.us/pricing

Zoom Pro Enterprise Features:

  • HD Video: Bring HD video to your meetings.
  • Recording and Transcripts: Record your meetings locally or to the cloud, with searchable transcripts.
  • Built-in Collaboration Tools: Multiple participants can share their screens simultaneously and co-annotate for a more interactive meeting.
  • Streamlined Calendaring: Support scheduling or starting meetings from Outlook, Gmail, or iCal.
  • Meet Securely: End-to-end encryption for all meetings, role-based user security, password protection, waiting rooms, and place attendee on hold.
  • Team Chat: Chat with groups, searchable history, integrated file sharing.
  • Meeting Participants: Can have up to 300 participants in a meeting.
  • Meeting Duration: No time limitation for meetings.
  • Login: Login with University of Memphis UUID and password.

Zoom Webinar Feature

  • This feature is an additional add-on that we will not be purchasing.

 Training & Documentation


 video icon   Video Training


Register for Live Seminars

You can register for live online Seminars.


FAQ Page

Frequently asked questions about Zoom.


Zoom –  Best Practices to Avoid Zoombombing

While we have moved to meet virtually on campus with Zoom. We want you to be aware of how to protect your meeting from unwanted guests joining or Zoombombing. These attacks disrupt online Zoom classes by individuals spewing racist, misogynistic or screen sharing vulgar content. Not only can Zoombombing be disruptive on screen, but it can also cause problems in the chat room of the meeting. We’ve put together some best practices to help you address and avoid Zoombombing.

When sharing a meeting link on social media or other public forums, that makes your event extremely public. ANYONE with the link can join your meeting. We recommend not sharing Zoom meeting links on social media.

  • Enable Meeting Password – When scheduling a meeting you can require a meeting password. This setting will create a layer of security for your meeting. Avoid using your Personal Meeting ID (PMI) when hosting public events.
  • Enable Waiting Room – The waiting room feature will allow you as the host to control when a participant can join a meeting. This can be turned on under meeting options when scheduling a meeting. View the training video to learn more about meeting controls.
  • Enable Only Authenticated Users Can Join – With this feature participants must log in with their UUID and password before joining a meeting. This can be turned on under meeting options when scheduling a meeting.

Here are a few other preventive measures to keep in mind when conducting a virtual meeting in Zoom:

  • Allow only signed-in users to join your meeting
  • Manage your screen sharing
  • Lock the meeting
  • Remove unwanted or disruptive participants and prevent them from rejoining
  • 
Disable Video and prevent users from screen sharing
  • Mute participants on entry
  • Turn off File Transfer feature
  • Turn off Annotation
  • Disable Private Chat
  • 
Use the Waiting Room

Additionally, Zoom has developed a blog that helps to define how to prevent Zoombombing.