In the event of a campus closure due to weather, illness, or other emergency, the University of Houston-Downtown offers several alternative methods for continuing instruction and support services remotely. Any closure will be officially announced through the University's website and via campus emergency alerts.
Click a topic below to review more information:
Additional Resources
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Cengage: For US colleges experiencing unplanned, mid-semester impacts due to COVID-19, Cengage is offering students free access to all our digital platforms and 14,000 ebooks through Cengage Unlimited, for the remainder of this semester.
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Follet: edShelf Responds.
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Providing you simple, free access to eBooks during complicated times.
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To ensure that all students have access to their course materials amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, we're partnering with the publishing community to provide you with up to 7 free eBooks from participating publishers. (Program applies to students at non-profit, semester-based schools, and access runs through May 25th.)
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Wiley has made WileyPLUS, Knewton Alta and zyBooks available through the Spring 2020 term. Also, the company has made more than 5,000 COVID-19-related articles freely available on a Wiley Online Library site.
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JoVE has made its educational video content available through Jun. 15, 2020. That includes free access to the three types of resources: JoVE Core, a video textbook that covers core concepts in biology and social psychology to improve learning comprehension; JoVE Science Education, a collection of easy-to-understand video demonstrations in eight STEM fields; and Lab Manual, curriculum for introductory biology lab courses. The company is also making its curriculum specialists available to help faculty map JoVE videos to their curriculum at no charge.
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Using Your Smart Phone as a Webcam When using Zoom or recording lecture videos from home, you may need to use a web camera. If you are using an older computer that doesn't have one built in you may think you need to buy one. But why spend money for a separate webcam when you can easily use your smart phone's camera as a webcam?
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Sign Up For Emergency Alerts
To ensure you are set up to receive
Campus Emergency Alerts, please follow the steps below MyUHD 2.0:
Faculty and staff are also encouraged to ensure all contact information is up to date with their departments.
Communication, Collaboration, & File Sharing
Office 365 Email 
In the event of closure faculty and staff will need to communicate with students and each other. It is a good idea to become familiar with Office 365 email as most official communication will be via email.
Office 365 OneDrive 
OneDrive is a cloud-based file hosting service similar to Google Drive and Dropbox. All current UHD faculty, staff and students have 1TB of space available in OneDrive. In the event of closure you may want to store large files, such as videos or recorded lectures, in OneDrive and share them with students via email or Blackboard.
Blackboard 
UHD's learning management system, Blackboard, is typically used for online course delivery. In the event of closure Blackboard would be ideal for posting content, communicating with students, and assessing and grading student work.
Microsoft Teams 
Ideal for working with people in your department, Microsoft Teams is a hub for collaboration. Use Teams to communicate, file share, video conference, collaborate on documents and so much more.
Zoom 
Hold virtual meetings or even record video lectures using Zoom. Zoom allows for video and audio conferencing while screen sharing on computers, mobile devices, and tablets. Record your video session using Zoom Cloud and share your video with students or coworkers.
Departmental Network Share Drives 
By signing in to Network Share, you will be able to access your department's network share drive from any computer that has access to the internet.
Veritas Desktop and Laptop Option (DLO) Web Access
Access the data backed up by Veritas Desktop and Laptop Option (DLO) Agent by using the new Veritas DLO Web Access.
Remote Access
Work from Home IT Security Guidelines
Finding Your Computer Name 
If you are wanting to utilize VPN or connecting to your work computer off-campus, you will need to know the name of your workstation.
Windows 7
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Windows 10
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Click
Start>
Control Panel>
System
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Write down your full computer name
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Click
Start>
Settings> System>
About
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Click
System Info
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Write down your full device name
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Installing VPN Client 
VPN allows faculty and staff to access on-campus resources, including your desktop computer, from an off-campus computer. The VPN client will need to be installed on your home computer.
Note: You do not need to use VPN to access PeopleSoft, Blackboard, or Zoom. You will only use VPN to access your work computer via Remote Desktop. All other services are available without the use of VPN.
Using Remote Desktop 
Accessing Library Resources Off-Campus 
Some library resources require faculty, staff, and students to login when attempting to view them from off-campus. If you are having trouble viewing videos or accessing journals, you may want to
Contact a Librarian in a virtual chat session. If you are specifically needing assistance with Films on Demand from off-campus, use the link below to troubleshoot.
Signing Documents from Home
Adobe Sign allows users to sign documents and/or have documents signed by others quickly from anywhere using a web browser or mobile device.
Getting Support
IT Service Desk
Phone: 713-221-8031
Email:
itservicedesk@uhd.edu
Hours: Open Daily 7:00AM - Midnight
Blackboard Support
Phone: 713-221-2786
Email:
bb@uhd.edu
Hours: M-F 7:30AM - 6PM
IT Training
Need training or assistance? Register for remote training sessions on the following topics:
For additional information on other IT services, visit Information Technology's main webpage:
https://www.uhd.edu/computing/Pages/computing-index.aspx
