by Felicien | Sep 6, 2018 | Education
Microsoft Teams is a great way to schedule meetings, especially if the participants don’t all work in the same geographic area. It seamlessly integrates scheduling, invitations, updates, and access to virtual meetings. This might sound a bit complicated, but once you know the basics of scheduling in Microsoft Teams you’ll find it to be, not just a powerful tool, but an easy to use one too.
Virtual Meetings Through Microsoft Teams
Not only does Microsoft teams allow you to schedule meetings, but it provides everything you need to conduct virtual meetings. The virtual meetings in Microsoft Teams are made possible via Skype, which provides the audio and video capabilities. In addition, using Teams also allows you to track, join, and document meetings. Access to all these tools begins with scheduling a meeting.
Basics of Setting Up a Meeting
While in Microsoft Teams, click on Meetings and then Schedule a Meeting. This opens up the options you need to get a meeting set up. Your first option is Team/Channel. This allows you to select a team to meet with and a channel to meet in so that an entire team can participate in the meeting. Note that the Team/Channel option will list all the teams you are a member of so you can easily select the right one.
You can also invite individuals alone, or individuals in addition to a team. This works well if you need to invite participants outside of the team or need to hold a private meeting with just one or two participants. If you want to create a private meeting, select the None option under channels and then invite the individuals. On the right-hand side of the screen, you’ll find the options for inviting individuals.
Next, enter an informative title for your meeting. Make it descriptive enough so that it doesn’t get mixed up with other meetings the attendees might have scheduled. For example, calling it “Widget Sales Meeting” is much more helpful than simply calling it “Sales Meeting” or “Tuesday’s Meeting.”
After you’ve determined who will be involved in the meeting, you can set up the date and time. If you need to find a time that works for everyone involved, then click on Scheduling Assistant. This tool will show you everyone’s availability, and it’s a great way to quickly find a mutually optimal time for everyone to meet.
Next, schedule the date, start time, and end time for the meeting. You can also click the Repeat box if this will be a regularly scheduled meeting, and then indicate how often the meeting will take place.
Don’t forget to pay special attention to the time zone used for scheduling the meeting time! Microsoft Meeting will update the time to the correct time zone for each person involved in the meeting when they receive the meeting information.
There is also a section for providing additional details about the meeting. This section supports basic formatting, like bulleted lists, different fonts, and including images or files.
After the Meeting is Scheduled
Once you’ve scheduled the meeting, it will post to the Conversations in the channel you selected and in the general channel for the team involved. In the channel, it will show who scheduled the meeting along with a concise summary of the meeting details. Additional meeting details can be viewed by clicking the ellipsis menu that pops up. This same ellipsis menu also allows you to join the meeting once it starts, via the Join Online button.
The agenda, notes, content, and recordings will be captured in the Team’s channel, which can be very helpful after the meeting is completed. Note that once a meeting has been scheduled, you can cancel it if you are the meeting’s organizer.
Holding Meetings via Chat
You can start a meeting, video, or voice call with others from within a channel. At the bottom of the screen where the Chat prompt is, you would click the video camera icon, located at the far right of the Chat entry box. Your camera will be activated and you will be able to see your camera view. On the right-hand side of the screen, you will have the option to add people. You can also adjust your camera and microphone settings (and disable them, if you need to). You can then assign a subject to the chat and start a meeting. From chat, you can also schedule a meeting – there is a Schedule Meeting option that will appear on the screen.
Conclusion
Microsoft Teams has some very powerful tools to support virtual meetings. It can help you schedule the meeting, announce it to the individuals involved, keep them updated on any changes to the meeting, and even start the meeting once it is time. Taking the time to learn how to use this tool effectively will save you time and frustration.
by Felicien | Sep 5, 2018 | Education
Tablets aren’t just digital babysitters for young kids or fancy versions of ereaders. They offer real value as educational tools. Their versatility, portability, and ease-of-use make them an excellent conduit for learning. Below are seven benefits of using tablets in the classroom.
Seven Solid Benefits of Tablets in the Classroom
1. Portability
Lightweight, easy to carry, and durable if they have screen protectors and cases, the tablets can be picked up and taken on field trips, used in group projects, even taken home. A distinct advantage over desktops and easier to transport than laptops. Bonus: Students with unreliable or no internet at home can potentially be given devices that have broadband subscriptions.
2. Easy To Use
Even elderly parents and grandparents take to touchscreen technology pretty well thanks to the work of developers who’ve studied human behavior to put out the most intuitive devices possible. Elderly people who may have had trouble figuring out the mouse or who had to two-finger hunt-and-peck on keyboards have much less trouble learning to use voice commands or use their fingers to scroll through Instagram. So much easier for younger people whose brains are primed for new information already. Remember … these kids are the future, the ones who will be picking up the tech ball and running with it before you can say Instagram for eyeballs.
3. Great Apps Abound!
There are a TON of high-quality, low-cost educational apps out there. Many are even free. Check out Edshelf.com to see lots of great apps with reviews from teachers. You can build different “shelves” of apps that fit under a certain category. For instance, you could create a shelf where you save adaptability apps that are specifically designed for children on the autism spectrum. Cough Drop is an AAC app for people who have trouble speaking and could easily be downloaded to an iPad. Many other apps may not be specifically meant for differentiated instruction, but have options that make it easier to reach every student. The trick is in finding something that is easy to use but also worthwhile. Using Edshelf.com can help teachers discover the most effective tools because other teachers will post information about how they used the app, whether or not they had any trouble, and how effective it was at enhancing the lesson in a genuinely valuable way.
4. Digital Libraries At Your Fingertips!
No more heavy backpacks! No more waiting for college before being allowed to write in their textbooks!
With tablets (and other computers) students can use digital textbooks like Geography Alive! They’re not only lighter, in the long-term they are cheaper. Most tablets are pretty affordable, and digital textbooks are typically less expensive than their paper counterparts. They have the added bonus of interactive features, annotation, dyslexic-friendly font options, audio features (the textbook reads itself!), and study materials. Even if digital textbooks were only available on desktops, they seem a lot cooler than printed books. However, with a tablet, you can carry all of your textbooks, plus digital libraries in the form of apps like Hoopla and Libby. For this benefit, alone tablets look like a sweet deal.
5. Good Training For Real Life
Touchscreens are ubiquitous. Tablets are the only computing devices right now (apart from smartphones) that offer the user interface and experience that prepares students for the type of digital experiences they will have into their adulthood. They allow teachers an opportunity to demonstrate for students how to live in a digital age. This is perhaps the most important advantage of all. The reason? Because the fact of the matter is, short of an apocalyptic event that thrusts civilization back into the Stone Age, the technological advances will keep coming. Educators need to properly prepare students to know the differences between good and bad information, to keep themselves safe online, and to use these technologies in a responsible way. Students will learn netiquette at earlier ages.
6. Versatility
With the proper accessories, tablets can be used as a slate, artist’s canvas, worksheet, journal, handwriting sheet, whiteboard, camera, laptop, and more! Kids can go through a scavenger hunt on a field trip, edit video, or just revise their papers on the tablet using the extremely intuitive UI/UX that’s only getting better every day.
7. Nearly Instant Assessment
The answer to every ADHD kid’s prayers, and the balm for every secondary teacher’s overloaded arms! Students can take quizzes and tests, run lab simulators, and turn in homework online. No more messy papers, no more shuffling through stacks of grading. Grade papers and immediately switch screens to record the grades. How cool is that?
The Final Grade?
With the ease-of-use, intuitive design, and relatively low price point, these versatile little devices belong in the classroom. It’s even better than some of the sci-fi dreams of super-powered desktops. These portable gadgets fit even into the pudgy hands of preschoolers who, given proper guidance and limits, show more engagement and improved literacy skills when tablets are included in their lessons. Tablets will never replace real human interaction, nor should they, but used thoughtfully, they’re a great tool.
by Felicien | Sep 5, 2018 | Education
We all know about Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food recalls. Remember the ban on romaine lettuce from Arizona? That was finally tracked down to a contaminated irrigation pipe. Quite a bit of tainted lettuce was eaten or discarded before that happened.
The FDA is in charge of more than just food. It also regulates and recalls medical devices. It is little appreciated that many medical devices nowadays either are essentially computers or contain subassemblies that are computers. So, they have all the issues that computers do: bugs, hardware failures, and cybersecurity risks.
What Are Some Examples of Medical Device Error?
Some medical devices, like bone screws, get recalled because they break before their intended end-of-life. Or because their sterile packaging does not protect them until the product’s expiration date. There are many others like this.
With medical devices involving computers, the reasons for recall are countless. Below are just a few:
One recall was due to a device that was intended to generate radiation for cancer treatment giving too high a dose without warning.
Another included anesthesia carts that go into failure mode and shut off the flow of anesthetics and oxygen unexpectedly.
Still another, automated blood testing equipment, was giving false results.
IV infusion pumps were giving the wrong dose or shutting off unexpectedly.
Implantable insulin pumps were delivering the wrong dosage.
Any of these could have results that are fatal.
Why Is Security An Issue?
Many medical devices are part of the “internet of things” (IoT) and communicate with each other or medical records systems via wires or wireless technology. Unfortunately, this means they are potentially “hackable.”
An intruder could say, cause an anesthesia cart to stop delivering an oxygen/anesthetic mixture and deliver only the anesthetic gas. This could kill the patient, while at the same time displaying results on the monitor that would indicate to the anesthesiologist that there was nothing wrong.
An implantable insulin pump could be wirelessly told to deliver a fatal overdose of insulin. Any device that is connected to a medical records system could be hacked to deliver false data. The possibilities are literally endless. And they are scary.
What Is the FDA Doing About Safety and Security?
The FDA has a plan in place to dramatically improve its current surveillance of medical device problems. Obviously, this will involve a lot of infrastructure and database development and will involve all the usual privacy and security issues.
The FDA has in place a system of post-marketing surveillance that is designed to provide early warnings when problems arise in medical devices. Of course, there will be a wide learning curve. Checking the incoming data for indications of device problems is potentially an ideal application for artificial intelligence (AI).
The FDA has also issued guidance on cybersecurity to manufacturers of medical devices. That advice will strike cybersecurity experts as behind the curve:
Give different users different levels of authority
Require strong passwords
Make sure users are notified of software and firmware patches
Many similar recommendations
So far, none of them address one of the most fundamental security flaws that repeatedly show up in software: elevation of privilege. Once a hacker has control of processes in the operating system (and even the most primitive devices have analogues of them), the hacker can create a Super-user who has control of the entire system and can bypass any security measures that are in place.
The software industry as a whole has no solution to this, because the concept of user privilege is fundamental to almost any operating system. The only way around it is to have “locked down” systems in which changes can be made only by the physical replacement of a chip. But that defeats all the advantages of the IoT and connectivity in general.
Medical Devices For Consumers: What’s Good Enough?
Medical device makers whose target market is medical professionals have focused on “more” –more accuracy, more graphics, better resolution, more connectivity, and so on – all of which translates into more expense.
With an increasing focus on costs in healthcare and with more devices aimed at consumers, the market will begin to ask, “What is good enough?”
Consumer-oriented blood glucose meters for diabetics are not as accurate as those designed for use in hospitals –but they are faster, far easier to use, and the newest designs do not require a fingerstick. Instead, they are read from a sensor stuck to the skin. Some newer hearing aids can be adjusted with a smartphone app, sparing the patient a visit to the audiologist.
The Holy Grail of consumer-focused medical devices might be this: an implantable device that will capture data on all critical physiological parameters and transmit warnings to the patient’s physician when something is out of line, or, in a real emergency, summon an ambulance. Smartphones can already broadcast locations to emergency medical services, adding the capability to transmit the patient’s physiological data.
This means that paramedics would arrive knowing what is wrong (heart attack, trouble breathing, severe blood loss) rather than having to assess the situation from a standstill. Of course, if the machine malfunctions or is hacked, it could send the wrong data to paramedics. Those dangers do exist and are very real. The hope for medical professionals is that we will find solutions to these problems so that medical devices can be counted on for accuracy and are oblivious to hackers.
Before we get to that place, we will need to find ways to ensure that our systems and medical devices are much more secure than they are at present, or we will widen the possibilities for disasters.
by Felicien | Sep 5, 2018 | Education
What’s PhishPoint?
Phishing attacks are attempts to get e-mail recipients to provide sensitive information that can be used by the sender, generally presented as the authority of some account or business. They request that recipients provide information that could be misused for some type of illegal practical gain of the sender. An example of this would be a fake email from PayPal requesting that the reader verify their bank information to address some kind of update or security risk. These phony requests will result in the fraudulent use of the user’s info.
SharePoint or PhishPoint attacks are a specific kind of phishing attack that involves SharePoint users being targeted by hackers using malware to misuse information, or otherwise induce undesirable consequences to unsuspecting and vulnerable users. PhishPoint attacks are not unique in that they still involve the basic attempts of hackers to deceive the consumer. They are designed to make someone believe that the sender is a representative of a viable organization. They pretend to be approaching the consumer for valid and honest reasons. They are intended to seem genuine.
PhishPoint attacks target SharePoint users and OneDrive accounts in an attempt to get vital personal information from the user. If the recipient clicks on the bad link, they open the door to malicious software or malware that steals the user’s information. The user’s system is infiltrated through malicious HTML and URLs that can steal banking information or spread malware as described.
Victims of this form of attack may also experience an impersonation of a standard access request to business documents stored within OneDrive accounts. These may then be stolen through hacking codes. Sometimes access is made possible through a fake Office 365 login redirection.
What Are Examples Of Vulnerabilities And Demands?
Illegal logins have been reported through this form of attack in increasing numbers in recent times, as hackers continue to find new ways to penetrate the best security efforts at Microsoft. Secant Technologies explained that business documents used in OneDrive should be protected by a combination of software and general best practices in addressing third-party or spam email requests. Users should be skeptical of redirections to login screens that have any unusual or seemingly unofficial characteristics. It takes a keen eye to spot them.
Although firewalls and antivirus software may fully recognize and detect phishing scams, they are simply not enough to stop phishing scams from being successful. A new report shows that users are the weak link when it comes to internet security. A careless employee may click on an email attachment that downloads a destructive virus or ransomware. This will cause chaos in any organization. Eventually, companies pay out thousands of dollars to cyber thieves.
Cloud or email security can do little to eliminate phishing scams; it takes educating users on what to look for. While senders should be able to recognize spam or otherwise unofficial emails, they simply get busy and don’t pay enough attention.
PhishPoint campaigns of this nature may be detected and blocked within a matter of days or even hours, but any transmission of sensitive information during this time can still result in major consequences to individual users or the entire organization that they represent.
According to Security Affairs, approximately 10% of office users were affected by attempts to induce a PhishPoint attack within the two weeks of observation included in their assessment. This showed the extent that hackers are able to reach out to users in mass campaigns. While security developments such as ATP and Safe Links have been improved to reduce vulnerabilities, the basic nature of these attacks makes them dangerous. Many aspects of general security are left up to the individual user.
Office 365 currently involves yearly subscriptions with packages that can be upgraded to include ATP, Safe Links, and other security features. These will reduce vulnerabilities and increase security to avoid many forms of hacking, but cannot eliminate all forms of attack.
Office 365 security measures currently are capable of scanning links or URLs included in HTML code or the bodies of emails. They attempt to match recognized threats that have been added to blacklists, but they cannot prevent users from carelessly clicking on a malicious link.
Using baseStriker attack techniques, malicious links can be disguised. This technology is able to split a URL so that security software does not detect it as being malicious.
According to Avanan, hackers have been increasingly taking advantage of SharePoint files in phishing campaigns. Advanced security such as ATP and Safe Links can be beneficial but other layers of security protection are recommended. Office 365 contains excellent online security protection, but ccybercriminals consistently search for ways to bypass it.
Secant Technologies provides more information regarding common practices and recommendations for overall safety or protection from phishing campaigns.
What’s The Bottom Line? What Should My Business Do?
Learn more about the basic nature of phishing campaigns and protection.
Use email addresses with the best protection.
Install the strong protection features and update or upgrade as is determined most beneficial.
Regularly train employees on how to spot phony emails and phishing campaigns.
Hire IT consultants to audit your network and computing resources and recommend improvements.
by Felicien | Sep 5, 2018 | Education
California is known for being on the cutting edge of most things, and consumer privacy is one of them. Scheduled to take effect in 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act gives consumers broader control over how their personal information is used. This was developed in part due to ongoing security breaches that have recently escalated. The new privacy laws in California include disclosures to consumers about how their personal information is collected, stored, transmitted, and shared. The new laws also outline the sharing and selling of certain information without the individuals’ knowledge or consent.
After massive data breaches, such as the Experian beach, consumers were rightfully angry. As outrage grew, it became apparent that changes needed to be made. Private citizens deserved protection. The industry fought back, as the implementation of new privacy regulations was seen as a hardship to companies. This was why the law was delayed. It allowed a period for businesses to organize and develop policies and procedures that would ensure they were compliant by the deadline. Few outside the legal community and the California business community understand what the California Consumer Privacy Policy is, and how it may affect them.
What Does the Law Cover?
There are several aspects that fall under the category of one’s personal information. Many people would immediately realize that their name, address, and phone number would be among those items. They would also think of their social security number, driver’s license, and/or state identification number.
With a bit more consideration, they might realize personal information includes commercial information like records of their personal property. It covers biometric information, which includes fingerprints retinal scans, and DNA. Under the new law, it also covers things like your Internet use and browsing activity history.
Protected aspects even include more obscure personal information like the sound of your voice and thermal information. How this is to be implemented, and even what one’s thermal information specifically is, will be defined by the Attorney General.
What Rights Are Provided to Individuals?
When the new law takes effect, there are several privacy rights that will be guaranteed to the citizens of California of which they had been hitherto deprived. For example, in many companies, it is commonplace to collect the personal data, often relating to consumer purchase patterns, and sell that information to other companies. Under the new law, the consumer has the right to opt out of having their information used in that way. The primary rights provided by California Consumer Privacy Policy are the following:
The right to transparency of who is collecting their personal information and with whom they are sharing it.
The right to demand the information.
The right to have the information deleted.
In many cases, if a company fails to comply, the consumer has the right to bring a lawsuit. This is something that was not available to consumers before.
How Will This Affect Businesses?
When first conceived, there were many industry concerns as to how this would affect their ability to actually conduct their businesses. These were primarily raised by smaller companies. To relieve their anxieties, and reduce their disapproval, several modifications were installed. These ensure that larger California businesses receive the brunt of the impact.
There were three “thresholds” that are included. If any one of these three are met, the law applies and the company has to comply to data collection regulations:
The company has an annual gross income that is over $25 million.
The company annually buys or receives (for business purposes) the information of 50,000 or more consumers, whether personally or from their household devices, i.e., online use.
The company receives more than 50-percent of their annual revenue from selling personal information.
If any one of those thresholds is met, even by small companies, the business is subject to the law. Additionally, it impacts companies that are not actually based in California, but meet one of those thresholds while doing business in the state.
Will California Lead the Way to Privacy Policy Changes?
There is speculation that, since California often leads the way in policy changes, perhaps other states will begin to implement their own progressive privacy laws. Although it is unlikely to occur right away, an increasing number of areas may begin to see its merits for consumers. They will also note the minimal, if any, impact it has on most companies.
Additionally, as more states develop their own new set of standards, there is likely to be a push for unification. Federal guidelines emulating California’s privacy policy may be put into effect. This would make compliance, especially among companies with interests in multiple states, much easier to achieve.
In Conclusion
Currently, California businesses are required to at least have a privacy policy that includes data collection and information regulations. They must also maintain reasonable security for the personal information of consumers. These include efforts to avoid breaches, but requirements to notify individuals of breaches within a certain length of time when social security numbers, banking, and credit card information have been stolen by cyber thieves.
The new law will clarify, expand, and enhance these regulations. Perhaps, in time, these safeguards will be in place throughout the United States. Until then, it’s important for all individuals to do their best to protect their private information from cyber criminals.
