Step 1: Support

Introduction

STEP 1: SUPPORT - WHERE CAN I GO TO GET HELP?

In this step, you will learn three key areas of the university that are here to support you with your technology needs. 

Most importantly: if you can successfully log into Blackboard, the SSW IDEA Team provides your course support. The ONLY reason to contact the CITS Helpdesk for support is if you cannot log into Blackboard or it is down and unreachable.  Also: if you are finding broken links, content not available or something missing in your course, you should first reach out to your instructor! The availability of your course and the course content is set by your faculty member. Here is a directory if that is helpful to reach them. Here is a UMB Directory where you can locate folks by last name: https://cf.umaryland.edu/directory/   Another tip, is that in Outlook, typically, when composing a message, if you start typing a last name, it will pull up suggested people from the directory, as well as typically offer up a directory where you can search for folks.

General Tech Support

Is Blackboard or Zoom down? Won't load? Can't log in? Contact UMB CITS Helpdesk.

(Also for help with any of the following: UMID, Office365, Email, Zoom, UMB campus portal, Eduroam wireless, DUO authentication, Blackboard/Collaborate outages, campus network) 

If you cannot log into Blackboard or Zoom at https://blackboard.umaryland.edu or https://umaryland.zoom.us for whatever reason, please contact CITS:

Note that access to Blackboard is through UMID's which are managed at https://directory.umaryland.edu  If there were any issues with setting up your UMID, you may need to contact either the UMB CITS Helpdesk (above) or the UMB Registrar, if there were errors with your date of birth or other related issues. 

Important Note

It is best NOT to go to the UMB CITS Helpdesk for normal course issues. For those, you should contact the IDEA Team using the Help link in your course or the contact info below.  Any Blackboard issue CITS HELPDESK can't handle (such as course/assignment/exam issues) they forward to the SSW IDEA TEAM, which takes extra time.     

To repeat and summarize: The ONLY reason you should contact CITS Helpdesk is if Blackboard/Zoom is down/unreachable or you have a login problem. If you can log into Blackboard, then every other issue should go to the SSW IDEA Team (see below) after or at the same time as you contact your faculty member. Contacting CITS Helpdesk for issues within courses will almost inevitably lead to delays in getting the support you need.

IDEA Support

Blackboard course problem? Quiz problem? Assignment problem? Questions about using Bb?

Contact SSW IDEA Team: there is a Help! link in the lower left of every course. Please do NOT reach out to IDEA Team (or its members) using Blackboard's messages or email tool. 

Note: if you are finding broken links, content not available or something missing in your course, you should first reach out to your instructor! 

IMPORTANT NOTE: At the beginning of the semester: The availability of your course and the course content is set by your faculty member. If you see your course unavailable or don't see content in your course that you expect to, first reach out to your instructor. 

 Do you have a question, issue, or training need concerning your Blackboard courses?

 Blackboard course help (http://tinyurl.com/sswideateamhelp)

410-870-9663

ideateam@ssw.umaryland.edu

The easiest way for us to help you is to get the URL to the specific assignment, exam or item in your course. Copy and paste the web address from the top of your browser window. Otherwise, you need to tell us: your course number and section (SOWK 600 Section SY1, for example) AND the specific name of the assignment, exam, or item in the course.  Why? Because many of our instructors teach multiple sections of the same course, and most courses have multiple assignments, exams and content items, in various folders that can take a long time to sort through. 

Not including these specifics will delay support as we search for more information to try to help you.

(Copy and paste the web page address into your email) for faster service response to your question. We will respond back within 24 hours during normal business days. 

If you have a question over the weekend, we will respond back to you on the next business day in the a.m.

You may be able to find answers about functionality in the Blackboard student FAQs. 

Be sure you cc: your instructor if you are having any technical issues, so that they are aware of your issue.  And if your request is strictly about a broken link or missing content, first contact your instructor.

Who are the IDEA Team?

The mission of the University of Maryland School of Social Work IDEA TEAM is to support quality teaching, learning and research.

Below is an image of the four IDEA Team members: Assistant Dean, Clark Shah-Nelson, MA; Lead Instructional Designer, Ashlie J.K. Sarsgard MFA; Senior Instructional Technologist, Colin Fagan, MS and Instructional Technologist, Rodney Urand, MS.

Computer Related Tech Support is Provided by SSW Informatics

Have a computer-related, wi-fi, printer, projector or media problem?

If you have trouble with any of the following, contact SSW Informatics: 

classroom tech, projectors, computers, network, G drive/servers, Windows OS, Mac OS, hardware, software, media center, audio/video production, Microsoft Office, Office 365/email, Skype

Again, if you haven't yet reviewed the Minimum Technology Requirements page, please do so, as it addresses some very important basic information about hardware/software needs for the MSW program, as well as how long you have access to materials in Blackboard. 

YOUR UMARYLAND.EDU Email Address

Some VERY Important information about your Umaryland.edu email:

Your umaryland.edu email account will be the primary source of all SSW and UMB communication. It can take a few days after you have paid your confirmation deposit (via the accepted student page for each semester)  for your email account to be created. Once it has been created, you will receive an email with the subject "Welcome to Office 365 - University of Maryland, Baltimore - Action Needed" Note that this may end up in your spam or junk email folder. The email will inform you of your new email address and a specific step you will need to complete to validate and activate your email. 

Once your email has been created, you will need to log into https://directory.umaryland.edu with your UMID and password to validate and make your email account active. If you go there and this option is not yet available, your email account has not been created and is awaiting processing. Once these steps have been completed, you will be able to log in to send and receive emails using your UMaryland account at https://portal.office.com )

There is nothing the IDEA Team nor Informatics can do to speed up or begin this process. You must simply pay the confirmation deposit and then wait and check your inbox and spam folder for the email mentioned above to proceed. 

Once you are able to log into portal.office.com and send/receive emails from your umaryland.edu address, if your Blackboard profile has not been updated to include your new email address (and is blank) - please email ideateam@ssw.umaryland.edu from your umaryland.edu account to request for us to update your profile email. 


EXERCISE 1

There is no actual place to write the  answer to these questions, they are just a learning activity. However, for your success, you will need to know the answers to these questions!

1. When should you contact CITS Helpdesk and when should you contact the SSW IDEA Team for Blackboard issues?  

2. If you have a Blackboard issue inside a course after logging in, whom would you contact for help? CITS, IDEA Team, or Informatics

3. To whom might you go for help with a wi-fi issue?  CITS, IDEA Team, or Informatics

4. From whom would you seek support for UMB campus email?  (Hint: It's NOT the IDEA Team!)

4. When is the IDEA Team available to assist you?  Think about what you can do to prepare to receive the help you need within the timeframes available. 

5. What information might you need to provide to receive efficient assistance?  (ie. is it helpful to simply say "I have a problem with an assignment in my research class?")

Can you answer these questions correctly?  If you can, go to Step 2.