Remote Tools & Software
The following applications are available to assist the BGSU community with working, teaching and learning remotely during the COVID-19 online learning window.
Please note: Several of these services & applications are offered only as temporary solutions during this time. Please take this into consideration when implementing them into your courses, work, assignments, etc.
| Resource/Tool | Available To | Installation Instructions | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office 365 | Faculty/Staff/Students | Install on Personal Device | BGSU offers Office 365 to all current BGSU faculty, staff and students for use on up to 5 different devices. This includes the use of the OneDrive cloud storage tool with up to 1TB of free space. |
| Pulse Secure (VPN) | Faculty/Staff | Auto-installation | Pulse Scure is available to BGSU faculty/staff on all university-owned laptops. The application will be automatically installed on devices logged into the BGSU network while physically on campus. The BGSU Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows users to securely connect to the BGSU network while off-campus in order to access certain BGSU resources. |
| Cisco Jabber | Faculty/Staff | Auto-installation | Cisco Jabber is available to BGSU faculty/staff on all university-owned laptops. The application will be automatically installed on devices logged into the BGSU network while physically on campus. Jabber is great for instant messaging and can also be used to answer and receive calls from off-campus as an extension or your university phone. |
| Cisco Webex | Faculty/Staff/Students | Auto-installation for faculty/staff Students can access Webex here | Cisco Webex is available to BGSU faculty/staff on all university-owned laptops. The application will be automatically installed on devices logged into the BGSU network while physically on campus. Webex can be used for scheduling and hosting web conferences, and even integrates with Canvas. |
| Zoom | Faculty/Staff | Zoom is no longer recommended by ITS due to various other universities reporting instances of intentional meeting disruption. | |
| Microsoft Teams | Faculty/Staff | Windows Devices - Download via Microsoft Software Center Mac Devices - Download directly from the Microsoft Teams website | Microsoft Teams is an online meeting, instant messaging, file storage and collaboration tool. If you would like a Microsoft Team setup for group communication, file sharing, etc. you can request it here. |
| OBS Recorder | Faculty/Staff | Users can download the software here | Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is a free screen recording software. |
| Otter.ai | Faculty/Staff | Create account on Otter.ai website | Otter.ai is a program that can assist in the creation of video captions. |
| QuickTime | Faculty/Staff | Pre-installed on Mac devices | QuickTime Player comes pre-installed on Mac devices. It allows users to record, edit, play and share audio/video files. It can also be used to record your screen. |
| AutoCAD | Students | Create an account here | Professional design software for 2D and 3D CAD. |
| SharePoint | Faculty/Staff | Request a SharePoint site with ITS | SharePoint Sites is a powerful tool that provides departments, project teams and communities at BGSU the ability to share and collaborate on files via the web. |
| Inventor | Students | Create an account here | 3D CAD software to stimulate products before they are built. |
| Maya | Students | Create an account here | 3D Animation, modeling, simulation and rendering software for film, games and TV. |
| Revit | Students | Create an account here | Software for Building Information Modeling (BIM) |
| 3DS MAX | Students | Create an account here | 3D modeling, animation, and rendering software for games and design visualization. |
| Comcast Wireless Internet | Students | Apply for Internet Essentials | Comcast is providing free internet service to families with K-12 and college students for 60 days. Those in need can apply for the Internet Essentials program and, if accepted, will receive 60 days of internet service for free. The Internet Essentials program is normally available to all qualified low-income households in Comcast’s service area for $9.95/month. |
| Tinkercad | Students | Create an account here | Easiest 3D Design and 3D modeling platform online to go from mind to design in minutes. |
| GoReact | Faculty | Submit a request to ITS | Application for teaching performance-based skills online. Serves as an interactive platform for feedback, grading, and critiquing of video assignments. |
| Spectrum Wireless | Students | Enroll in the Internet Assist Program by calling 1-844-488-8395 or apply online. | Spectrum Wireless is offering free internet service for 60 days to students working remotely. |
| VirtualBox | Students & Faculty | *Staff are not permitted to use VirtualBox based on BGSU's license agreement with Oracle. | VirtualBox is a free, open-source program to host virtual machines. VirtualBox is most often installed on Apple computers that need to run software that can only be installed on Windows computers. If you install VirtualBox, you will also need a Windows 10 license. Students can claim a Windows 10 Education product key for free. |
| ArcGIS (Esri, Esri ArcGIS) | Students, Faculty, Staff | Contact ITS for installation Faculty/staff can use via VPN | ArcGIS is a geographic information system for working with maps and geographic information maintained by Esri. |
| Minitab | Students | Contact ITS for installation Faculty/staff can use via VPN | Minitab is a command- and menu-driven software package for statistical analysis. |
| SPSS (IBM SPSS, SPSS Statistics, IBM SPSS Statistics) | Students, Faculty, Staff | Contact ITS for installation Faculty/staff can use via VPN | SPSS Statistics is a software package used for interactive, or batched, statistical analysis. |
| SAS (Statistical Analysis System) | Students, Faculty, Staff | Chat with ITS for installation (choose the Faculty/Student WTLR issue option) | SAS (Statistical Analysis System) is used to run large statistical operations and return data. |
| JAWS | Students, Faculty, Staff | Download JAWS | Freedom Scientific is offering the JAWS application to users for free on personal devices through June 30, 2020. JAWS is a screen reader developed for computer users whose vision loss prevents them from seeing screen content or navigating with a mouse. JAWS provides speech and Braille output for the most popular computer applications on your PC. |
| Google Chrome Read the Web Extension (Kurzweil Education) | Students, Faculty, Staff | Username: readtheweb Password: 12345 | This tool offers a choice of multiple voices, speed of reading, dictionary and an excellent translation tool. It is ideal for reading standard websites including Canvas. This tool may only be used on the Google Chrome browser and not allowed for the other Kurzweil tools. Free access is available through mid-June 2020 |
| Finale | Students | Download Finale | Finale is a music notation software. Finale Music is offering a 60 day free trial to assist students without at-home access during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Loom | Students, Faculty, Staff | Loom is a tool for recording your screen, video, and audio. A free account can be used via Loom.com website and no software installation is needed. This tool is not supported by ITS. | |
| OneDrive | Students, Faculty, Staff | Access OneDrive | Current students, faculty and staff have access to OneDrive as part of their free Office 365 account. OneDrive offers 1 TB of cloud storage that includes electronic sharing and collaboration. |
| Microsoft Whiteboard | Students, Faculty, Staff | Access Whiteboard | Microsoft Whiteboard is a digital whiteboard application for the collaboration and sharing of ideas via the web. |