Working from home

Working From Home - All you need to know

We know it’s all a bit strange right now, but here in Information Services, we’re doing all we can to make working from home as easy as possible. 

If you have a PC, laptop or tablet with an Internet connection, you will be able to continue doing your job from home. 

Here you’ll find information on:

Preparing to Work from Home   
Protecting University Systems and Data
Your My Account Workspace  
Email and Microsoft Office Software
University Software Access
Diverting Telephones and Accessing Voicemail
Online Meetings and Communicating with Colleagues
University Desktop Access
Supporting your Students
Concerns & Queries
Frequently Asked Questions

Preparing to work from home

If you’re already at home, don’t worry! But if you’re still in the office, there are a few things you can do to prepare:

Save files from your S: Drive or H: Drive to Sharepoint  
Show me how

Divert your office telephone to your own landline or mobile 
Show me how

Make a note of your IP address 
Show me how

Update your Email Signature to include your mobile number 
Show me how

If you use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), ensure you can log in to Office 365 on each device 
Show me how

Ensure you have a webcam and headset if you need one 
Order one through the University

Ensure you have anti-virus software on your home machine 
More information

Protecting University systems and data

Even though many of us are working in challenging conditions, possibly with different equipment to normal and from a different location, it's still essential that University systems and data are protected from cyber security threats.
Some of the usual University security measures don’t apply when you work from home, so you’ll need to be more careful and vigilant.

Complete the Health & Safety home working e-Learning module.
Complete the Information Services Information Security e-Learning module.
Be wary of phishing emails that use coronavirus-themed messages to try and trick you into clicking on a link to a bad website.
Ensure that University-owned equipment is kept secure when not being used and don’t allow it to be used by other members of your household.
If you are using a personal device for work, ensure that you do everything possible to keep it secure.
If you have any concerns about the security of University systems or data when working from home, report it to the IS Service Desk.

Your My Account workspace

Your first point of access to all your online services should be My Account, which gives you personalised access to the University’s online services via a series of tiles.

Email and Microsoft Office Software

It’s really easy to use Office software from home. Simply go to Office.com and log in with your usual University email and password. You can install the Office suite on up to 5 personal devices.

We recommend you use Sharepoint to save all of your files.
Full Guidance on using Office software

Other University Software

You can access most University software from home via AppsAnywhere and the Software Download Service. 

And you can use Autodesk to access AutoCAD, Inventor, Fusion 360 and more. 

If you can’t access the software you need, you may need to connect to a University Desktop remotely. See the section below on how to do this.


Diverting Telephones and Accessing Voicemail

Online meetings and communicating with colleagues

To communicate with colleagues using audio, video, text chat and to share the content of your screen, you can use Webex or Skype for Business. You can also use MS Teams for chatting and for conference calling - find out more. 

Make sure you check your audio settings prior to a meeting.

Audio: 

We would advise you to connect to Webex, Skype for Business or MS Teams directly from your home machine - this will help avoid audio issues and will give you a far better experience.  

Tip: If you need to share documents on your online meeting, make sure you save these in SharePoint or OneDrive so you can access them via Office 365. 

If you have any difficulties, please contact the IS Service Desk.

Accessing an Edinburgh Napier University Desktop

For most users, we would advise the use of a managed laptop, which will give seamless access to services with no need to connect to an office desktop PC.  If you don’t already have access to a managed laptop you can request one via the Managed Laptop intranet page.  

If you are using an unmanaged University laptop, or your own personal device you can use the Virtual Desktop Service (VDS).  You access the VDS by installing a VMware Horizon Client, further information and instructions are available on the Virtual Desktop intranet page.


Supporting your students

The Department of Learning and Teaching Enhancement (DLTE) have detailed help and information on supporting your students.

Recording lectures

You can record your lectures and other learning content using Panopto.

Communicating with students via Webex

Webex is a real-time, collaborative webconferencing tool.

You can access Webex from the Moodle plugin so that the meetings (and recordings) are conveniently available to enrolled students directly from edinburghnapier.webex.com using standard University IDs and passwords.

Concerns and queries?

We are here to support you while you’re working from home. We are busier than normal, so please bear with us, but do get in touch if you have problems or queries.

Email: ISServiceDesk@napier.ac.uk
Telephone: ext. 3000 or (0131) 455 3000 externally

FAQs

Are Softphones available for staff members?
Yes, Jabber Softphones are now available for staff members, further information is available on the Softphones intranet page. 

 I’ve forgotten my password, what do I do?
You can access the Password Reset Service from home.

I need equipment to work from home (e.g. headphones etc.) what do I do?
Refer to the Requesting IT Equipment intranet page for guidance. 

Links to University Online Services

Further information