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Free Microsoft Office and OneDrive are among updates to technology access this fall, according to an IT Service News email to UA students. Students can now download Office 365 and use their uark email address and password to access OneDrive for free. They also have access to free online training in a wide range of subjects at Lynda.com and one campus-wide Wi-Fi network has replaced the two older ones., according to the email sent to all students. “Both Office 365 and Lynda.com would be considered shared services,” said Paige Francis, associate chief information officer for shared services and academic technology. Students can use the new Office 365 system and service at no cost, when before the Microsoft Suite was an extra cost of about $200 annually or bi-annually, Francis said. OneDrive allows students to store documents and collaborate. Students, faculty and staff can access Office 365 and Lynda.com at any time and from any device, Francis said. “A year ago if you wanted Microsoft Office, you had to pay $100 for it,” said Stephen Ritterbush, director information systems in the Honors College. Senior Juan Castillo Espinosa said he bought a four-year Microsoft Office subscription when he started college and that free Office 365 will help many other students by saving them from having to spend the money he did. “I think it is beneficial and necessary,” Castillo said. Junior Eduardo Jarlos also said he had already bought a Microsoft Office subscription, but he liked that it was out there for other students. “It’s great. It will save us a lot of money,” junior Elisa Velasquez said. Sophomore Travis Landry said he has read about Lynda.com, but he has never used it. “Lynda.com is an industry-leader and my previous institution chose the solution as well,” Francis said. “It allows students to meet or beat that basic knowledge from anywhere, anytime, empowering them to participate in their class and meet expectations day one. I’m excited to see it all grow.” Lynda.com is an online training program that also provides certifications and course completions for a large number of software and programs, Francis said. “We have not offered this technology service on our campus before and the site license empowers all of our university to a self-service buffet of extensive, knowledge-building tutorials,” Francis said. UA students said they approved of the new technology offerings and improvements. “The Wi-Fi seems really good,” freshman Lance Nix said. “It’s really fast on my laptop, but really slow on my phone.” “There’s much better Wi-Fi all over campus now. Free Microsoft Office is really helpful, considering how expensive it is,” Landry said. |
