Start of the Year Edition
Information Systems Services (ISS) would like to welcome all new and returning students to Lancaster University. ISS is
responsible for the University's Central IT services. To see the full range of those services go to:
www.lancs.ac.uk/iss.
What, Where and When?
ISS manage a range of open access PC labs giving you access to PCs across campus.
There are in excess of 200 PCs in the Library (available during Library
opening times), and almost 300 PCs located across campus.
The PCs in these labs run Windows 7 with Microsoft Office 2007 and a range of software which you may find useful for your studies. Most of the labs are
accessible 24 hours, 7 days a week with your Library card. A number of PC labs may occasionally be booked for teaching, in which case booked times are displayed
on the door.
Learning Zone
The Learning Zone on Alexandra Square provides a relaxing open plan space for study. It offers
comprehensive WiFi coverage for students to connect their own laptops to the campus network, a laptop loan service from the ISS Service Desk (available
from week 5 on), booths for individual learning and a range of informal working spaces for small groups. Pods are bookable for meetings, presentations
or group work. Other facilities include Apple Macintosh computers, colour printers, interactive white boards and data projectors. The Learning Zone is
open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
ISS Service Desk
The ISS Service Desk in the Learning Zone provides IT support for students and staff from 9am until 5pm,
Monday to Friday.
Residences Network - ResNet
After you have registered and collected your IT account details you can connect to the campus wide Residences Network
(ResNet). Full details of how to do this is provided in the ResNet leaflet you will be given by your college or you can visit the
ResNet website using any of the PCs in the general access PC labs.
Wireless Network - WiNet
WiNet provides wireless connectivity in many teaching, study and social spaces around campus. Over the summer, WiNet has been expanded to also cover some
student residences - Slaidburn House, Chancellor's Wharf, Furness Perimeter and part of Bowland Main. The Eduroam service is provided as the standard, secure
connection method for the University's wireless network and should be used for laptops, tablets and smartphones, as this provides an encrypted connection to
your H: Drive and other University resources. Eduroam is used at many universities around the world and can provide you with Internet access using your
Lancaster username and password when visiting other institutions.
See the WiNet webpages for more information.
Printing
Printing is available to all students on a 'no credit, no printing' basis. New students are given an initial printer credit of £1. Additional
credit can be purchased on-line by following the link from:
www.lancs.ac.uk/iss/printers or at the coin operated kiosks located on the ground
floor of the Library. Just beyond the kiosks are six "fast track" PCs all dedicated to printing. This facility is for printing work produced elsewhere.
The output is sent directly to the black and white and colour printers located nearby. Output directed to the A0 printer (located in the Library),
is charged at £8 for A0, £4 for A1 and £2 for A2 and is collected from the Library Reception Desk.
Personal Filestore
All students have a personal filestore quota of 250MB, held centrally and accessible over the network. In PC labs this will be mapped to the
H: drive. This networked filestore protects your work as it is scanned for computer viruses and backed up nightly. Using your networked
filestore also allows you to access it from any PC on or off campus. Follow this link
for more information on how to manage your IT account at Lancaster.
Changes to Student Email at Lancaster
In order to improve the student email service at Lancaster, ISS has started the process of replacing the old Unix-based Webmail service. The new
email services will have larger mailboxes, calendaring, enhanced access from mobile devices, an address book and more.
Soon all undergraduates will be using Live@edu, and postgraduates will be using
the Exchange system currently used by University staff. New students will already be using the new services. Returning students should watch out for
emails from ISS providing updates on progress or find the latest information here.
If you have any problems contact the ISS Service Desk.
iLancaster - The Mobile App for Students
iLancaster provides Lancaster University applications and services via mobile devices. iLancaster aims to bring together social and university data
in one place, enabling easy access to it for a range of mobile devices. You can download the application for iPhone (and other iOS devices such as the iPad
and iPod Touch), for Android, and for other mobile devices with web-browsing capability
via iLancaster.
A version for Blackberry is being tested in preparation for release.
New Workshop to help with IT Problems
Why not visit the new PC repair centre on campus called 'The Workshop.' Located in County Main Seminar Room 10, The Workshop is open to serve both staff
and students with any IT related problems. The Workshop offers competitive prices and a wide range of services. Be sure to visit soon!
Feel free to contact us at theworkshop@lancaster.ac.uk, call us on 10040 or explore the website at
the Workshop.
Free IT Training for Students
Students are now able to book FREE IT Training Sessions, but places are limited so please book a place only if you can attend the session. For session
information, dates and online booking, please visit the ISS training website at
www.lancs.ac.uk/iss/training/students.
This term's IT training include: Introduction to Windows 7, Live@edu Overview, Workshops in Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2007 and 2010. There are also training
sessions on creating an A0 poster using PowerPoint and EndNote.
Computer User Agreement
The Computer User Agreement (CUA) forms part of the Rules of the University. As a member of the University you have agreed to abide by these rules.
Information on what these rules mean for you can be found at Computer User Agreement.
The guidance and rules are there to keep you within the boundaries of the law of the land and the University
community. If in doubt, please contact ISS for further advice.
Software
The University provides numerous site licensed software packages to help with your studies.
Click here for a full list of available software.
The ISS PC labs provide a comprehensive range of software for use by any student eligible to use the machines.
Click on this link to see what is available.
Eligible students are also able to purchase student licences for both Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (upgrade). If you are
interested and want to know more visit the ISS site which provides more information.
Finally, to get the latest licence updates and links to online software installations from ISS visit our
website at www.lancs.ac.uk/iss/software/codes.
Final Word on Keeping Your Work Safe
To use University computers you need a username and password. These control access to University systems and protect your privacy. All returning students
who have not changed their password recently are asked to do so in the next few days. To help you do so,
see the password pages for help and advice on changing your password.
Never let anyone else have your password and remember always to log off when you are finished.
If you receive an email asking you to enter your Webmail account details, usually with a subject line something like: "Upgrade Your University Email
Account Now", then please remember this will be a fake so do NOT fill in your account details and do NOT reply to this email - ISS NEVER ask for account details
in an email.
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