By: Myra Golden (submitted by Carmen Gass)
Research shows the average business call lasts two minutes longer than it needs to. The bitter truth is most of us spend far too much time on the phone with customers and co-workers in idle small talk or listening to the whiner, rambler, or storyteller.
So how do you politely end a call when you know it’s no longer productive? I’ll give you six of my favorite strategies for graciously bringing a long-winded caller back to focus. Read more here.
By: Ryan Johnson
To address increased security threats and recent security breaches during Zoom meetings—also known as “Zoom bombings”—new security updates will be implemented on May 11. These include changing the default settings of some features you may be accustomed to using in your meetings, including the chat feature, screen sharing, and meeting passwords.
What will be changed?
Many features will have new default settings. For a complete list of features affected, please visit the new Zoom Meetings page on the Office of Information Security website.
Who will be affected?
All Penn State students, faculty, and staff who use the most recent version of Zoom.
What is the best way to make sure my future meetings are secure?
Once you are using the latest version of Zoom, you can delete and recreate your previously scheduled meetings to apply the new security settings to those meetings. You should also alter as few of the new default feature settings as possible to maintain the greatest level of security against intruders and disruptions.
What actions do I need to take?
It is recommended to have the latest version of Zoom by May 11 to have easier access to make changes to settings. You must be using the latest version of Zoom by May 30, 2020 on all of your electronic devices—including desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices—to ensure that the program continues to run properly.
To update to the latest version of Zoom, follow the instructions below:
University Libraries Staff Laptop (PC and Mac) currently at home (including department/wireless-only laptops)
To install the latest version of Zoom on a University Libraries Staff Laptop at home, Connect to the VPN and download the Zoom update from Self Service.
Note: Any machines currently located at work, will be updated automatically.
Staff Members who are using a Borrowed Laptops from Library Strategic Technologies
The users of the “Corona” laptops should download and install the Zoom update file and run it from the Box location below.
https://psu.box.com/v/psulibrarieszoom
Note: These machines will have to be upgraded to the latest version of zoom manually since these laptops are not connected to the Self-Service Application.
University Libraries Staff Using Personal Computers
For anyone running Zoom on their personal computers, please download the Zoom update from the link below and follow any on-screen instructions to update.
https://psu.box.com/v/psulibrarieszoom
Mobile Devices (Android, iPhone) iPads, Surface, etc.
Please update Zoom via your device’s app store.
Where to get help:
If you would like to reconfigure feature settings, instructions are available on the Zoom Meetings page and a step-by-step screencast is currently being developed that will be added to the page by May 8.
Ryan Johnson will also offer ½ hours Zoom Update Training Sessions at 10:00am and again at 2pm on both Friday May 8th and Monday May 11th.
All sessions will occur at https://psu.zoom.us/my/ultraining or by entering the meeting ID of 8148674095
Questions regarding the changes to Zoom or how to use them can also be directed to the Libraries Service Desk.
UPDATE: In light of the University’s March 11 announcement regarding measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic, nonessential events and meetings scheduled at University Libraries locations throughout the spring semester have been canceled, rescheduled or will be offered virtually.
EXHIBITION: Earth Archives: Stories of Human Impact. To coincide with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Earth Archives explores the intersection of the environment, human activity, and the documentary record. Highlights of the virtual exhibition include representations of varied print, manuscript, and art works that invites the viewer to consider a range of environmental-related topics and will serve as a growing, centralized resource.
EXHIBITION: International Solidarity: Highlights from the Ken Lawrence Collection. A virtual look at the visual culture of political protest in the late 20th-century, to provoke thought about international solidarity in our own time, including human and civil rights, immigration, and independence movements.
Wednesdays, Apr. 22-June 10, Remote Research Webinar Series. Free webinars to assist Penn State researchers with shifting their research from onsite to offsite. The series highlights various University services and infrastructure to support remote research. All sessions will be held via Zoom. Additional resources for remote research may be found at https://remoteresearch.psu.edu.
Thursdays, Apr. 23-June 4, Research Data Skills for Graduate Students. Learn more about and improve skills in the areas of data management, data analysis, data visualization and data publishing. in collaboration with the Institutes of Energy and the Environment, the free virtual seminars highlight essential data skills that graduate students can utilize throughout the research data life cycle.All sessions begin at 3 p.m. Advance registration is required.
Friday, May 15, Diversity Day & LFO Colloquium: Accessibility in Action. Two events combined into one online offering, co-Sponsored by University Libraries Diversity Committee and Library Faculty Organization. Featuring a day of programming including Keynote Speakers Amelia Gibson, assistant professor in the UNC School of Information and Library Science, and Marisa Vicere, President Jana Marie Foundation. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Please submit event information — and all Library News submissions — to Public Relations and Marketing via its Staff Site request form and selecting the “Library News blog article” button.