Utilizing available resources

Students, faculty and staff members attend informative technology sessions

Liberty University’s Technology Education Center (TEC) Emphasis Week, set up to inform students, faculty and staff on the latest technologies, products, and tools available to them, took place Monday, Oct. 12 – Friday, Oct. 16. The event was based in the Active Learning Classroom on the first floor of the Jerry Falwell Library.

Type — Students used their personal laptops to access IT services. Photo credit: Leah Seavers

Type — Students used their personal laptops to access IT services. Photo credit: Leah Seavers

There were 31 sessions within the event with a total turnout of 269 people. Session topics ranged from IT Security Best Practices to Office 365.

“A lot of people were really excited that we’ve set up the classes and were happy with the variety of classes that we had,” IT Communication Specialist Jessica Johnson said. “We had classes from Adobe to Microsoft to IT security, customer support, customer service, (and) Blackboard. We had a variety of classes, and people seem to like the idea of these short classes that were all 30 minutes long. (Students) could come … between classes, or if they’re faculty and staff, they could come to these classes as well.”

Although most attendees of the event were faculty and staff, there were some students who showed up and paid particular interest in a couple of the classes.

“I’d say the two (classes) that stood out to students were the one using Adobe Muse to create portfolios and resumes, so we had that class twice, and the other one we had that I think was beneficial for the students was creating a stand-out resume with InDesign,” Johnson said.

She also emphasized that participating in TEC Emphasis Week, as well as other similar events, is crucial for the student’s development and academic success.

“It’s important because I don’t think the students realize how many IT services are available to them for free,” Johnson said. “There’s just a lot of helpful free IT services that students might not be aware of. Adobe is one of them, and Microsoft Office is another one.”

One of the main functions of IT Services is providing certifications.

“IT is usually a part of Career Fairs,” Johnson said. “We’ve been doing that for a couple of years, so that’s where we look for potential hires, but we also promote our certifications.

Students can actually come to Green Hall if they’re interested in getting certified in Adobe or Microsoft or … other IT certifications like A+ Essentials and Security+.”

Johnson said that the IT Helpdesk will be having another training series, or “snack size” learning sessions as they call them, in the spring of 2016. For more information, visit liberty.edu/IT. Questions or feedback can be sent to ITfeedback@liberty.edu.

Phuong is a news reporter.

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