OHIO is a well connected campus, with both wired and wireless Internet available everywhere and many options for computer access, but that doesn't mean you have to be a tech whiz to do well here. In fact, we've kept Tech 101 decidedly low tech, with the site formatted as a single HTML document. You're welcome to read straight through from start to finish, or you can jump around using the Table of Contents links. You also can print the entire tutorial out, if you'd rather not read a computer screen for long stretches.
You don't have to complete the entire tutorial in one sitting. You may return to this page as many times as you like.
If you have any questions, please contact the Service Desk at 740-593-1222 or servicedesk@ohio.edu.
Your Campus Identity – PID
When taking care of official business with Ohio University, you only need to keep track of a two online credentials – your PID and your Ohio ID.
Your PID is a unique nine digit number that was issued to you when you first applied to Ohio University. We use your PID behind the scenes to keep track of you and your records, from your grades to your student account information. After all, someone else might show up with the same name as you, but no one else will ever have the same PID as you.
If you ever forget your PID, you can find it on the front of your OHIO ID card. You also can look it up online:
For the record, the acronym stands for Personal IDentification number, but people usually just say "PID" or "P number." Either way, it's a very useful number, so keep it handy.
Your Campus Identity – Ohio ID and Password
Your Ohio ID is your login for just about everything you do on the Ohio University network, including:
Because your Ohio ID is so central to your online identity at OHIO, you should keep your password secret. Do not share your password with roommates or friends. After all, your roommates have their own Ohio IDs, so they shouldn't ever need to use yours.
If you ever forget your Ohio password, the Service Desk can reset it for you. Just remember, once your password has been reset, you'll have to change it before you'll be able to log into many university services. A good password is both easy to remember and hard to guess. On our system, it also has to meet a few basic requirements:
Want to create a bombproof password, one that's both hard to guess and easy to remember? Create your own acronym! Take a phrase or song lyric that has special meaning to you, then build your password using the first letter of each word, including punctuation.
Internet Access
It's easy to get on the Internet at Ohio University. If you have a WiFi equipped laptop or other device, you can take advantage of 100% indoor and outdoor coverage on all of our campuses. Yes, that wasn't a typo. Wireless works everywhere at Ohio University, including in your room.
That said, if you're in your room, it's worth plugging into the Ethernet jack. When you're on wireless, you're sharing capacity with many other users. When you're plugged into Ethernet, you have your own, dedicated connection. Plugging in is easy. All you need is an Ethernet cable. Those can be borrowed from the Tech Depot. If you're in a double, triple or quad, you also can check out an Ethernet switch and extra cables from the Tech Depot in Baker Center 112 at no charge. Just plug in and go!
Please be aware that our Internet bandwidth at the university is a shared resource. During high demand times, our network is configured to prioritize academic traffic over entertainment services. As such, high bandwidth activities like movie streaming may see reduced performance. In many cases, switching from HD to standard definition can help avoid such issues.
Software
As an OHIO student, you can take advantage of the various site license and educational discounts we have arranged with software companies. For example, you can get a copy of McAfee Virus Scan for PC or Mac at no charge. These both are full featured virus scanners that update themselves automatically every day - no subscription fees or expiration dates to worry about. We also offer educational discounts for Microsoft Windows, Office, Mac OS X, select Adobe products, and many other titles.
OHIO Software - free downloads, site license discounts and educational pricing
Buying a Computer
As an OHIO student, you will need access to a modern computer to complete your academic work. If you decide that owning a computer is the way you want to go, take a look at the discounts we have negotiated for OHIO students. Whether you're after a laptop or a desktop, we have options available for you:
As you shop around for a computer, don't just look at the bottom line. Make sure you're comparing models and features with similar value. This is especially important with notebooks, where nearly every manufacturer offers a 'bargain basement,' consumer class model that undercuts our offerings by hundreds of dollars. Bear in mind that we only sell business class machines through our discount programs. Such systems have tighter quality controls and manufacturing tolerances, use better components, and generally are more durable than consumer class models. If you do decide to buy a consumer class machine from somewhere else, don't forget to add in a three year warranty and three year damage protection (if looking at a PC notebook). Then compare prices again and remember, you get what you pay for.
Along with getting a quality system and a good price, buying a computer from our Tech Depot also entitles you to on-site warranty repair services and support. If you buy an off-brand, we most likely will not be able to work on that computer for you.
Alden Library's Learning Commons offers a laptop loan program for in-library use.
If you qualify for financial aid, and your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is less than $8000, you may be eligible to borrow a desktop computer from the Allen Student Help Center in Baker Center at no charge.
Computer Labs
OHIO offers good access to computers on campus. Centrally managed labs are available in the following locations:
Technology Depot in Baker Center 112
Alden Library Learning Commons - managed jointly with the library
Most academic departments on campus also maintain at least one lab specifically for students in their programs.
Classroom Technology
All centrally managed classrooms on campus have technology available in them for both students and instructors to use. Smaller classrooms have a presentation podium that includes a PC plus a DVD/VCR and closed caption unit. Larger classrooms add high quality sound systems, dual PCs, and in some cases Student Response Systems. If you have a laptop, the classrooms are set up to allow you to connect to the room's projector (one person at a time - the whole room can't access the projector all at once).
Blackboard Online Course System
Many instructors at OHIO use the Blackboard system to provide an online component to their courses. Styles and approaches vary widely from instructor to instructor. One professor might use Blackboard only to distribute his/her syllabus and handouts, while another might use class-related discussion boards and require that all tests and homework to be done through Blackboard. Blackboard is fairly easy to get used to, but there are a few quirks to our system that nearly everyone gets confused by when they first arrive:
E-Mail, IM, Etc.
With 100% wired and wireless Internet, it's easy to stay in touch online. Not only do you get a free university e-mail account, you also can access most popular mail and instant messaging providers from campus.
Other mail providers - Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, etc. all work just fine on campus. If you have an e-mail address with a home Internet provider, you may be able to check that address from campus, too. As a general rule, if you can get to an account over the Internet, you should be able to get to it from campus.
Phones
Wired telephone lines are available by request in the residence hall rooms. Contact the Housing Office if you would like a wired line enabled in your room.
We don't recommend bringing a cordless telephone. The population density in the Residence Halls is high enough that you could run into problems if you and a neighbor are on the same frequency. If you must bring a cordless, your best bet is a 900 MHz phone. 2.4 and 5 GHz phones both will interfere with the building's wireless Internet, resulting in poor performance for both yourself and your neighbors.
Emergency Text Messaging
If you have a text-capabale cell phone, we encourage you to sign up for the university's emergency text messaging service. Should an emergency develop on the Athens campus, you could receive timely information about the situation via automated text message.
Social Networking
As is the case at many college campuses, sites like Facebook are wildly popular here at OHIO. If you are going to maintain a presence on Facebook, MySpace or other social networking sites, please be careful what sort of information you provide.
Usage Policies
As an academic institution, OHIO places a high value on allowing students the freedom to experiment. At the same time, we also need to encourage our students to be good citizens of the online world. As such, we have both a general use policy and a P2P-specific interpretation of that policy. The general use policy is intentionally broad, allowing you wide latitude to experiment with the range of computer and network resources available to you on campus. We'll address the P2P interpretation below.
In general terms, the policy reinforces the fact that computer and network use at OHIO should be legal, ethical and respect the rights of others. But don't take our word for it. Read the entire policy yourself.
P2P Restrictions
We currently monitor our network for illegal Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing activity. When we detect such activity, we disable Internet access for that machine. If you use P2P software at home, you should make sure to disable/uninstall that software before connecting your computer to our campus network.
This is not a complete ban on the underlying technologies used to share files. We recognize that there are legitimate uses for P2P software, including gaming, patch distribution for Linux users, and music distribution by bands who see file sharing as a useful marketing tool. So far, our monitoring systems have proven quite good at catching only illegal activity. Of course, no system is perfect. In the unlikely event your Internet gets disabled for legitimate use of P2P software, you can request an exemption.
Please be aware that copyright holders like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) are pursuing an active agenda of suing students who are alleged to have illegally shared music, video and other files.
If you engage in illegal downloading on our network, you open yourself to being sued. Should we receive a subpoena asking for the identity of the authorized user of a particular computer or network connection on campus, we will provide it.
In some cases, the RIAA may send a pre-litigation letter that offers the option of paying a settlement prior to being sued. If we are asked to pass on such letters, we will do so; however, we will not identify the recipient(s) unless we receive a subpoena.
Should you be sued, the university can play no role in providing for legal defense. You will be responsible for all matters in responding to a lawsuit. If you have paid the $8.00 per quarter Center for Student Legal Services fee, you can obtain free legal advice from the Center; however, the Center cannot represent you in a copyright lawsuit, as this is outside the scope of their board-approved mandate.
Getting Help
If you need help with a computer problem, you can stop by the Technology Depot in Baker Center 112 and ask one of our Tech Gurus in person, or you can contact the OIT Service Desk at 740-593-1222 or servicedesk@ohio.edu.
Along with answering questions and helping troubleshoot problems, the Technology Depot is a certified warranty repair provider for Apple, Dell, HP, and IBM/Lenovo. If you bought a computer from the Technology Depot or through our online store pages, free warranty service and accidental damage repairs (for machines that came with accidental damage protection) is as close as Baker Center. If you need work done on a Dell, HP or Lenovo that was not bought from us, please be aware that we do not do repairs for "consumer class" machines. We only work on business class machines, similar to the models that we sell.