Computing and Network Needs
At a minimum, you will need a laptop computer with internet access.
Online audio and video conferencing will require a microphone and webcam. If you need to request additional computing resources or you need assistance setting these up, contact helpdesk@bryant.edu.
Communications
Email is the primary communication channel for the University. You should check your email regularly for business communications and to keep updated on campus announcements. If your computer doesn’t have a mail client configured, you can check your email anytime from any web browser by going to https://mail.bryant.edu. You can also install the Microsoft Outlook application on your mobile device.
Phone and Voicemail
While on-campus you can setup your phone and voicemail options using the Unified Communications Self Care Portal. To access your voicemail off-campus, call 401-319-3999 and follow these steps:
- Press the * key
- Enter your extension and press the # key
- When prompted, enter your PIN and press the # key
Meet and Collaborate
Bryant provides multiple services that can be used to conduct remote meetings between faculty, staff, students and people outside the Bryant community.
- Skype for Business is an instant messaging and video conferencing application that integrates with Office 365.
- Microsoft Teams is a communications platform that provides chat, video conferencing and file sharing.
- Zoom is a popular, cloud-based video conferencing service that can be used for one-on-one meetings or group meetings up to 100 participants. Zoom Help Center is also a great place to find training resources for Learning Zoom.
- Google Hangouts Meet is a video conferencing application that allows group meetings up to 100 participants right from your browser using a unique web link.
Need help choosing a conferencing service? See Conferencing Features for a side-by-side comparison of all of our services.
Online File Creation and Sharing
Office 365 applications like Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and others can be accessed from any browser at https://www.office.com/. Google Docs, Sheets and other G Suite apps can be accessed at https://drive.google.com. See the University’s storage guidelines for details on sharing files online.
Helpful Mobile Apps
Document Scanning
Microsoft Office Lens is a mobile app available for iOS and Android. Office Lens is like a portable scanner in your pocket that lets you capture printed documents, whiteboard sessions and more using your phone's camera. On top of giving you tools to enhance your image (e.g. crop, sharpen, etc.), the app lets you quickly save your content to OneDrive, convert it to an editable Word Document or save it as a PDF, among other options. For more information see:
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
All of Bryant’s cloud-based resources such as Office 365 and Zoom Meetings do not require VPN Access. Bryant’s VPN should only be used when necessary to access campus network resources. If you need assistance accessing the Bryant VPN, contact helpdesk@bryant.edu.
Support Resources
Here are some great places to find training and videos on how to use many of Bryant's services.
