Dear Wharton Students,
Welcome back to campus! We hope your summer was both relaxing and productive.
While you’ve been away, Wharton Computing has been hard at work on a number of technology projects, many of which were influenced and shaped by your input. With that in mind, Alex and I would like to highlight a few benefits of these projects available to you now:
Free Office 365 ProPlus Download: Download and install the latest version of Microsoft Office for free on up to five devices (including PC, Mac, Windows Phone, Android, and iOS), as part of the new PennO365 for Students service. That’s right – you now have access to the most recent versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote at no charge. Follow these instructions to grab your copy.
PennO365 for Students also includes 1TB of space on OneDrive for Business, Microsoft’s cloud-storage product (which is perfect for backing up important documents, so you’ll never have to worry about losing that term paper again). More details about OneDrive for Business can be found here.
Classroom and GSR Renovations: No doubt you’ve noticed that the classrooms and GSRs on the ground- and first-floor levels of Huntsman are sporting a different look. The classrooms not only have all new furniture and podiums, there is power available at every seat. The GSRs have also been appointed with new tables and chairs, and they feature the same layout as the previously renovated Forum GSRs – each study room features a large LCD screen, a touch-screen control panel, more power outlets offering USB ports for charging devices, and an entire whiteboard wall.
Virtual Meetings: Sometimes you simply can’t make it to campus, or you want to collaborate with your classmates from the comfort of home – Virtual Meetings can help. This cross-platform collaboration tool allows you to video-chat or phone-conference with up to 100 participants, be they on Macs, PCs, or smartphones. Each participant can share their screen, their application windows, even media files – all with the click of a button. Just go to http://meetings.wharton.upenn.edu/, log in with your PennKey and you’ll be scheduling Virtual Meetings in no time.
You like to Charge-It, Charge-It: The four Charge-It stations located within Wharton buildings (JMHH, in Printer Row and the Study Lounges on the ground- and second-floor levels; SH-DH, next to the printer on the ground level) have all been upgraded. Each boasts a new touch-screen interface that makes using them a breeze (while being even more secure than before). Charge your phone while you’re in class, and it’ll be ready to go when you are.
Student Computing: Help is available in-person during the day and evening, or 24/7 by phone, email, chat and the web, for all of your technology needs. Go on and stop by the Student Computing office in SH-DH 114 (M-F: 9-5) for hands-on help or just to ask a technology-related question. For contact information, check out the Computing tab in SPIKE (spike.wharton.upenn.edu/support) – and browse the Knowledge Base while your at it.
As always, we aim to meet all of your ever-evolving technology needs. But in order for us to do so, we ask that you continue to provide us with feedback on our services, projects and initiatives. So keep sending questions, comments and ideas to support@wharton.upenn.edu, or feel free to contact either of us directly.
Best regards,
Dan Alig, Chief Information Officer
Alexander Milne, IT Director, Student Computing