RESOLVED: Network Unavailable in Brecon and Batten (Saturday, 10/8)

Update, 3:45pm: Internet service in the dorms as been restored. Please report any lingering issues to the Help Desk.

Both Brecon and Batten dormitories are currently without internet access. LITS is investigating the issue and will work to restore access as soon as we are able. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Please contact the Help Desk with any questions: 610-526-7440 or help@brynmawr.edu.

Zoom: Meeting/Webinar Registration Changes Coming Oct 17

Currently when a person registers for a Zoom meeting or webinar, they see the link need join the meeting on both a registration confirmation page displayed immediately in the browser and a confirmation email sent to the address they used to register.

In order to help prevent Zoom-bombing, Zoom will stop displaying the join link on registration confirmation pages by default on October 17. Meeting and webinar participants will only be able to find this information in the confirmation email they receive at the email address they used when registering.  (Hosts can resend these emails at any point.) Note that this change will apply to all upcoming meetings, even if registration started before the change took place.

Hosts will be able to optionally reveal join links to participants who register immediately before an event begins if desired. Since this allows participants to enter without verifying their email address, hosts who do this should familiarize themselves with the in-meeting security features for controlling and removing unwanted or disruptive participants.

Please contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440

RESOLVED: Unable to Access Adobe Products

Update, 2:45pm: We’re very happy to report that Adobe has resolved the issue and that community members should again be able to access all of their usual Adobe products. Thank you so much for your patience while we worked through this situation.

If you continue to experience issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Help Desk.

This morning, when working with Adobe products, community members started receiving a message stating that “This feature is not included in your current Acrobat license”.

LITS staff have been working with our vendor since receiving the other notices last week and were assured that all of our licenses are in place. We are working with them again now and have indicated that this is a work-stopping issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and are working to resolve things as quickly as possible.

We will continue to update you as we get more information. Please contact the Help Desk with any questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

Week 3: Immersive Reader

Immersive Reader is a fantastic reading tool that Microsoft has implemented into many of its products. Check out this link to see the updated list of which Microsoft products have Immersive Reader. 

Immersive Reader allows you to modify the way text appears as well as provides tools to help increase understanding. You can choose the font, size, and spacing of text, as well as what background color you would like the text to be on. You can also change the text so that you can see the words broken up by syllables or labeled by parts of speech. Additionally, Immersive Reader has a feature that allows you to only see one or three lines of text at a time to help you focus. 

If you are having trouble comprehending the text, Immersive Reader has some tools to help. Using the picture dictionary feature you can click on a word and an image of what the word means will appear. You can also use the translation feature to translate words one by one or to translate the entire text into a different language.  All of the grammar features of Immersive Reader are still available when you translate text to a different language. 

Lastly, Immersive Reader will read text aloud to you in a natural sounding voice. Depending on what language your text is in, you will have an option of either or both a male and female voice. You can adjust the speed of the voice as necessary.  

Use this Ask Athena article to learn more about using Immersive Reader. 

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

Messages about Adobe Apps Expiring

Starting today, community members may receive a message that their Adobe license has expired. We are currently working with our vendor to resolve this and to ensure that no one loses access.

In the meantime, all Adobe apps should still be functioning as normal. Please feel free to click “OK” on the error message if it pops up.

Please contact the Help Desk with any questions or concerns: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

Office 365: Clutter will be Disabled 10/27/22

On October 27, 2022 LITS will disable a deprecated Office 365 feature called Clutter.

Microsoft no longer supports or encourages the use of Clutter and has replaced it with Focused Inbox. Clutter does not behave consistently and may cause problems for the small number of accounts that still have it.

LITS has been able to do a limited amount of testing, and in our experience, community members that previously had the Clutter feature noticed that more messages appeared in their primary inbox once it was turned off. If this poses problems for you, there are a few ways you can manage the flow of messages to your inbox:

For more information on cleaning up your inbox, check out Microsoft Support’s Manage and Organize advice and our article on Data Clean-Up for your Email Inbox.

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

Week 2: Natural Reader

Natural Reader is a tool you can use to have content on your computer read aloud to you.  As the name implies, Natural Reader provides natural sounding voices, compared to the robotic sounding voices which are sometimes found in text-to-speech programs. You can select a voice from a variety of free and paid options, as well as voices that can read in different accents and languages. Additionally, you can choose how fast or slow the voice reads aloud. 

Natural Reader Google Chrome extension: This extension allows you to listen to web pages and emails aloud. Simply open the extension and click the play button to begin listening. If you would like to start at a particular place in the text, highlight that sentence and then click play so it will read from that point forward. 

Natural Reader Online Reader: This tool allows you to upload files, including .doc, .pdf, and .ppt, and have the content of those files read aloud. You can also increase the font size and convert the text into Dyslexie font so that it is easier to read.  

Lastly, both the extension and online reader allow you to download an MP3 recording of the text being read aloud in the voice of your choice so that you can listen to your reading on the go. 

Contact the Help Desk with questions: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.

Unscheduled Moodle Maintenance: Monday, September 26

LITS will be performing emergency maintenance on Moodle at  7:30 AM on Monday, September 26, 2022. The upgrade will address security vulnerabilities and should last 10 minutes. People who are already logged in should experience minimal disruption during the maintenance window.

Please contact the Help Desk with any questions or concerns: help@brynmawr.edu or 610-526-7440.