Digital Digest: March 2024

Ohio State campus in spring

The Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI) started the year by looking back and celebrating our accomplishments in the OTDI 2023 Year in Review. We are so proud of all we can accomplish working with our partners across the university.  

As we are nearing the second quarter of 2024, we are finding security changes outside of the university are impacting many Ohio State users. However, we are enhancing existing tools and OTDI introduced two new tools this year.  If you missed any of these technology updates, including numerous Spring Semester technology updates for instructors and students, you can get caught up in this issue of Digital Digest.

Learning Tool Updates

Security icons floating above a laptop

Copilot with Data Protection

OTDI recently enabled Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection, a secure version of the Copilot Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool. University faculty, staff and students can use their Ohio State login credentials to log in, ensuring conversations aren’t stored and that Microsoft doesn’t access any customer data. Review these teaching and learning considerations before using Copilot in your courses.

Try Copilot

Woman writing while sitting at a desk

BuckeyeLearn Course Reviews

The BuckeyeLearn team is excited to share a new feature that enables learners to submit reviews for the courses a learner has successfully completed. Every learner’s journey is unique, and now they can share their insights to help others on their own educational path. Try the new “Course Rating and Reviews” feature for selected training titles. Visit Course Ratings and Reviews to learn about joining our learning community.

Review Courses

Instructor teaching in a classroom surrounded by students

ICYMI: Newest Learning Tech Updates

If you missed it earlier this semester, learn more about this round of OTDI's continual improvement projects, which included added security measures for eLearning tools, improved synchronization of identity data, and a focus on accessibility awareness. Instructors and students should also be aware of upcoming changes to Wi-Fi as Ohio State moves to the eduroam network and device-based authentication.

See What's New

Tech News

Teams Feature Enhancements

Microsoft recently made enhancements to Microsoft Teams. One useful feature is the ability to easily switch between multiple accounts/organizations without dropping from a call or meeting. Also new, users can select colleagues’ profile picture to access information about their online status, next available calendar slot, work hours, local time, and work location.

New Teams Feature

Annual IDP Training is Due April 26

To help understand how to use and protect institutional data, everyone must take annual Institutional Data Protection (IDP) training or awareness based on the data they access. All staff required are take the training by Friday, April 26. If it is not assigned on your transcript in BuckeyeLearn, you should complete the C4U awareness activity instead.

Complete IDP Training

Encryption Tool for Researchers

OTDI and the Office of Secure Research implemented Virtu, an email encryption tool for researchers under research data control restrictions. Virtu enables users to send and read encrypted messages without leaving their inbox and does not require recipients to create passwords or download software. All future encrypted emails will go through Virtru.

Virtu Encryption

Microsoft Sharing Changes

Microsoft changed behind-the-scenes sharing processes, which may affect sharing with some collaborators outside of Ohio State. Microsoft’s changes will impact Ohio State users differently depending on the security and set-up of the organization where the collaborator works. These changes do not impact sharing between the university and the medical center.

Teams Sharing Changes

Account Forwarding Impacted by New Security 

If you forward your Ohio State email or BuckeyeMail account to Gmail, security changes made by Google and Yahoo! at the beginning of February could impact your email delivery. Ohio State’s email policies have not changed, but we do recommend discontinuing forwarding to outside email services to avoid the impact of the new security.

Account Forwarding Issues

Qualtrics Distribution Email Change

Because of the changes to how some email providers enforce new spam-prevention policies, OTDI  changed our Qualtrics’ default "From Address," to ensure our survey messages don’t get blocked. It was @qemailserver.com and is now @survey.osu.edu. We have posted email support documentation with more information.

New Distribution Email