In the event that you need to work from home, you can use the resources on this page to help you. I recognize that every department has different processes, needs, etc. This guide is a very general page to just get you thinking about what could work. Please contact the IT Helpdesk if you require something more like VPN access, etc.

If you know there is a possibility of being stuck at home (surgery, chronic illness, pandemic, etc.), it is a good idea to prepare ahead of time.

Please contact the IT Helpdesk (717-264-4001 or helpdesk@wilson.edu) if you require assistance or have questions for how you could use things from home.

Technology Available From All Wilson Accounts

Office 365

Office 365 is how you can access and use Microsoft Office apps from anywhere with internet access. Once you add files to your OneDrive (O365’s file system), you can go to Office.com from anywhere in the world and have access to your files for reading and editing. You can also use Office 365’s sharing features to easily collaborate with anyone in the world. You can even do so in real-time. Even if you don't have the desktop office apps, or if you have a Chromebook, you can still use the web-apps at Office.com

I typed up a whole Word Document that's about Office 365 so I'm just linking to it here. Using Office 365.docx

This page shows you how to upload files to Office 365 One Drive.

Zoom

Zoom is a web-conferencing system. Other services like this you might be familiar with would be Skype or Google Hangouts.

Here are some ways a Zoom call is different than just calling someone on the phone:

You can easily have a group of people on the Zoom meeting.
You can share your screen. So if you're working on a file or talking about something else you would normally display on a projector or a wall-mounted tv in a conference room, someone can share their screen showing everyone else what they're doing.
Participants can join audio via computer microphone OR telephone.
Zoom meetings can be recorded to share with someone who is out sick or otherwise unable to join in.
- Recorded meetings can be uploaded to Office 365. Or Panopto if you are used to using that.

Getting Help with Zoom

The zoom support page has tutorials and guides for every single thing you could do in zoom.
This Using Zoom page I created is also helpful and focuses more on the essentials.
This Zoom Test room is a great place to practice
This is the download page where you can get the Zoom Client for Meetings. (Links to an external site.)
As always, you can also contact James at james.dannibale@wilson.edu

Office Phone Settings

There are directions on the telecommunications page in the portal. The bullet points below are things I suggest you do if you know ahead of time that you'll be working from home for a period of time.

Set your phone to forward to your house or cell phone. (Note: If our phone system counts you as long distance you might not be able to do this because of that long distance code requirement).
Set up a new voicemail greeting if you feel you need to make people aware that you are working from home.
Set your voicemail to be forwarded to your email as a .wav (music) file.

Things to Consider

If your department knows of upcoming events that may require people to work from home, you should plan ahead as much as possible.

Get files uploaded to Office 365.
- If there are files that multiple people work on together, make sure whoever uploads it to Office 365 shares it with that other person(s).
Plan how you will communicate.
- Email
- Zoom (will you plan meeting times ahead of time or just use as-needed?)
- Phone / Text Message