Welcome to Queen's! As a Queen's faculty member, you get access to exclusive Queen's-provisioned services. Take a read through our guide below to help get you started with IT at Queen's.
NetID
When you accepted a position with Queen's, you were assigned a NetID – a unique network identification that allows you to access many of Queen's online services.
You can activate and/or manage your NetID and password using Queen's Identity Platform. Note that Queen’s will never ask you for your NetID and password via email or phone.
It is important to never share your NetID and password with anyone.
Activate and Manage Your NetIDConnect Your Devices
Queen's offers both wired and wireless connections for staff on campus.
Staff seeking a wireless connection should connect their devices to the QueensU-Secure network. Visit the Wireless Campus Network service page for information on how to connect your device, and for information on what other networks are available.
Staff looking to connect their devices via a wired connection should visit the Wired Campus Network service for more information on connecting.
Wireless Connection TutorialsGet Familiar with Microsoft 365
Faculty members have access to the Microsoft 365 collaboration suite for the duration of their employment at Queen's.
Use your NetID and password to log into Outlook on the web and set up your email and calendar account.
You can access Microsoft 365 by signing in from the web. You can download apps to your desktop and mobile device for seamless collaboration.
Learn More About Microsoft 365Access Free Software
Queen’s University provides students and faculty with access to an impressive suite of collaboration and productivity tools. This includes Microsoft 365 tools. Examples of provided software include:
- ArcGIS: ArcGIS allows you to take advantage of location awareness.
- *Adobe Creative Cloud: software used for graphic design, video editing, web development, photography, and more.
- *Adobe Express: software used for social media graphics, flyers, logos, posters, advertisements, banners, business cards, and more.
- Camtasia: record and create professional-looking videos on Windows and Mac.
- EndNote: EndNote is a powerful research and reference manager.
- Feedback Fruits: already integrated in onQ and is a tool that provide students with opportunities to give and receive feedback, and work collaboratively
- Maple: Maple is technical computing software for engineers, mathematicians, and scientists.
- MATLAB: a programming platform designed specifically for engineers and scientists to analyze and design systems and products.
- Minecraft Education: an edition of Minecraft specifically designed for teaching and learning.
- NameCoach: users can record the pronunciation of their name in an audio file, include pronunciation notes, include preferred gender pronouns and customize their audio link to aid accessibility.
- NVivo: NVivo is a qualitative data analysis (QDA) computer software package produced by Lumivero.
- Snagit: a screen capturing software that lets you quickly capture a process, add your explanation, and create visual instructions.
The full list of software and instructions for downloading titles are available in the Software centre.
* This software is only provided when specifically requested by a faculty or department and carry an associated service fee that is billed to the department.
Visit the Software CentreAdditional IT Considerations
Queen's Learning Management System
onQ is Queen’s University’s enterprise learning management system, built in the Brightspace by D2L environment. It can be used to deliver academic courses on the web or to supplement face-to-face instruction. Courses are created using the Course Creation Tool (CCT+).
onQ offers:
- Content management, presentation, and sharing
- Communication (one-to-one and many-to-many)
- Project/assignment collaboration and presentation
- Performance assessment and evaluation
- Academic course administration and grade management
Physical and Virtual Hosting Services
IT Services offers physical and virtual server hosting services for your hosting needs.
- Physical hosting provides climate-controlled, power-conditioned server rack space for your servers and storage systems.
- Virtual hosting provides a flexible server environment capable of running Windows and Linux servers in an enterprise class and storage infrastructure. The service includes nightly backups and automatic failover in the event of hardware failure.
- Azure Lab Services provide on-demand access to pre-configured virtual machines to support your scenarios. You can teach a lesson, provide professional training, run a hackathon or a offer hands-on lab.
- Azure Dev Tools for Teaching is a program that provides eligible departments, faculty, and students with access to various Microsoft software products at no cost.
Classroom Training and Support
IT Services’ Classroom Support team provides consultations to Queen’s community members on using the audio-visual equipment in centrally booked classrooms on Main and West campus. We focus on managing and maintaining learning spaces across campus.
Using institutional resources, the primary objective of the Classroom Support team is maintaining a consistent teaching experience for faculty among classrooms.
The Classroom Support team has developed a set of standards for classroom technology and provides technical support, regular maintenance, and equipment updates.
Teaching Remotely
While Queen's is now operating in-person classes, some courses still remain online-only. For those courses, IT Services has put together a quick guide on how to best prepare your online course. Virtual classrooms offer a learning environment that’s as close to the normal classroom as possible. During virtual classes, you can interact with students using webcams and microphones. You can also present materials during live classes, so you can still use resources such as presentation slides as teaching props
Be sure to also check out the Centre for Teaching and Learning's Educational Technology Tools.
onQ is Queen's enterprise Learning Management System, powered by Brightspace/Desire2Learn. It is used to deliver academic courses online or to supplement face-to-face instruction. It can also be used for collaborative research and project-based group work. Refer to the onQ support site for instructors to learn more about:
- Creating courses and providing course material online with the integrated Course Creation Tool (CCT+)
- Communicating with your students through onQ via:
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- Announcements
- Chat
- Discussions
- Email (via Classlist)
- Microsoft Teams
- Assessing your students by introducing online assignments and quizzes:
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- Assignments
- Quizzes
- Grade Book and Grade PeopleSoft Upload
- Check the onQ Support site for frequently asked questions and answers about quizzes.
If you are considering onQ for delivering a course, the Course Readiness checklist will help to get you started.
In addition to onQ, IT Services provides additional resources for creating course content:
- Articulate 360: a suite that allows you to create responsive, interactive course content.
- Camtasia: a screen recorder and video editing software used to create tutorials, presentations, video lessons, meeting recordings, and more.
- FeedbackFruits: a suite of pedagogical tools that are designed to help engage students in their learning.
- Snagit: a screen capturing software that lets you quickly capture a process, add your explanation, and create visual instructions.
There are many ways to communicate with your students outside of class, including:
- onQ - Use onQ to communicate with your students
- Microsoft Teams – Use your Microsoft team to give lectures, host virtual office hours, and provide a space for collaboration.
- Microsoft Bookings – Use Microsoft Bookings to organize virtual office hours as well as group meetings.
- Zoom - Use Zoom to give lectures, host virtual office hours, and provide a space for collaboration.
Faculty members can create static videos and presentations for viewing on-demand using the following tools (links open in new window):
- Camtasia - Camtasia makes it simple to record and create professional-looking videos on Windows and Mac.
- Microsoft Teams – record presentations and enable live captioning.
- Microsoft PowerPoint – record audio to provide narration for your slideshow.
Queen's Streaming Service
The Queen's Streaming Service allows account owners to upload video and audio files into a "library" using their web browser. Once uploaded, the owner can embed the video within onQ courses (for viewing by students). Live streaming is also available through the Queen's Streaming Service.
Microsoft Stream
Microsoft Stream is an enterprise video service that allows users to upload, view, and share videos across Queen's Microsoft 365. With Stream, users can share recordings of classes, meetings, presentations, training sessions, or other videos. Videos can be uploaded and shared individually or to a chosen group or channel. The screen recording tool can be used for training videos and other communications. Use options to record any window or screen, add mic or system audio, and include webcam footage for a personal touch.
Visit the Microsoft Stream page for more information.
Using Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is an online tool that enables conversations, documents, audio/video conferencing, and document sharing capabilities for faculty and students.
Using Teams, students can join live video conferences with the ability to ask real-time questions using a microphone or via chat. Video conferences could be facilitated/presented by an instructor or teaching assistants, and students can create their own sessions to collaborate with other students on groupwork. While working in groups, students can make use of additional features within the Microsoft 365 suite to collaborate and edit documents simultaneously with other students, take class notes, create group presentations, track group member tasks, schedule group meetings, etc.
Using Teams, faculty members can deliver lectures while displaying presentations, allowing students to ask questions. Faculty members also have the ability to make use of additional features within the Office 365 suite while presenting live to students, such as making use of the Whiteboard tool, surveying students, recording presentations and enabling automatic captioning, giving presentation control to others (for example, a TA or student), etc.
Using Microsoft Live Events
For large classes, Live Events in Microsoft 365 is an option. Live Events is an extension of Teams meetings that would enable a faculty member to schedule, produce, and deliver live events that stream to large online audiences (up to 10,000 attendees). Live events are designed for one-to-many communications where the host of the event is leading the interactions and audience participation is primarily to view the content shared by host. Attendees can watch the live or recorded event in Microsoft Teams or Microsoft Stream, and can participate in discussions using moderated Q & A. Live Events is currently limited to 15 concurrent sessions, and a maximum of 4 hours per session. Microsoft is anticipating an increase in Live Events usage due to recent events and is currently considering an increase to this limit. If you would like to schedule a Microsoft Live Event, please contact IT Services using the Microsoft 365 Live Events request form. IT Services and the Centre for Teaching and Learning will coordinate requests to ensure we do not exceed our capacity.
Using Zoom
A Queen's Zoom account allows you to host meetings of up to 300 participants, complete with screen sharing, video recording and a host of other collaboration features, at no charge to the user. Participants do not require an account to join meetings.
For information about obtaining a Zoom license check out the Zoom service page.
The following services are available for transcription:
- Microsoft Stream – If a video's Language field is set to a supported language, Stream can automatically generate captions and a transcript using Automatic Speech Recognition technology.
- Microsoft Teams – With live captions, Teams can detect what’s said in a Teams meeting and present real-time captions for anyone who wants them. Live event attendees can view live captions and subtitles in up to six languages in addition to the language being spoken. Event organizers can select the languages from a list of over 50. Teams also offers live transcription of meetings. The text appears alongside the meeting video or audio in real time, including the speaker's name and time stamps.
Online Grading and Evaluation
Please consult the CTL for all of the pedagogical approaches to assessment as the following list only outlines the available technologies.
- onQ Quizzes - The Quizzes tool enables you to create and manage points-measured assessments.
- onQ Grade Book – Instructors can set up a Grade Book that reflects their approach to evaluation. You control the grading formula used to calculate grades and which projects, assignments, tests, etc. are graded; how grade items are associated with other tools, and when grades are released to users and what information they see.
- onQ Grade Export – Primary Instructors can now send their Grades directly from onQ to PeopleSoft.
- Crowdmark – Crowdmark is a collaborative online grading and analytics platform. Previously available only to select departments, Queen’s has procured an enterprise licence for it, opening up use to all instructors.
- FeedbackFruits - A suite of pedagogical tools that are designed to help engage students in their learning.
- Microsoft Forms – Stand-alone or through Teams, Microsoft Forms can be used for simple quizzes or questionnaires.
Remote Proctoring
The following services for remote proctoring are integrated with onQ. Be sure to get familiar with remote proctoring solutions at Queen's.
- Microsoft Learning Tools – The Microsoft Learning Tools set is natively built into the Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Edge applications. The immersive reader capability in Learning Tools gives users the ability to have content read aloud to them, and lets them adjust settings to break the words into syllables, adjust text size or background colors.
- Visit the Accessibility Hub for more information about accessibility.
Physical hosting provides climate-controlled, power conditioned server rack space for your servers and storage systems. Request physical hosting using the Physical Server Hosting and Management request form.
Virtual hosting provides a flexible server environment capable of running Windows and Linux servers in an enterprise class and storage infrastructure. The service includes nightly backups and automatic failover in the event of hardware failure. Request virtual hosting using the Virtual Server Hosting request form.
Connecting Remotely
Most of Queen's daily operations run on applications that are accessible from the internet by visiting MyQueen'sU; however, if you require an application or program that is not accessible from the internet, you may need local admin access on your device in order to install the required tools. If you do not see the applications that you require to complete your work on any of these lists, please check with your departmental IT Admin Representative.
Fortinet's FortiClient is the solution that allows you to remotely access your Windows File Shares (I: drive or H: drive). Download the FortiClient from the Software Centre. Configure your connection using the VPN tutorial.
Applications that can be accessed with the Campus VPN:
- EDRMS/Qdocs
- GE Picture Perfect
- Windows File Share
Protecting Your Devices and Data from Harm
Phishing emails attempt to defraud users of their personal information. View tips on how to identify phishing emails.
IT Services strongly recommends reporting phishing, spam, and abusive emails. Learn how to report suspicious or unwanted emails.
Queen’s has introduced Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Multi-factor authentication adds a second layer of security, keeping your account secure even if your password is compromised.
Enrolling in MFA is easy! Check out these steps to enrol your account.
If you’re running a supported version of Windows, you’re probably already set. The latest versions of Windows have Windows Defender pre-installed.
If you have an older version of Windows or a Mac, you should investigate the best antivirus solution for your operating system. Check out the Antivirus page for more information about antivirus and your system.