friday takeout

Important Instructions for Changing Voicemail Greeting Remotely

While we are all away from our offices we want the public, our business partners and our students to know we are available for them when they call.

Please re-record your voicemail with the following message:

"Hello, this is (name and title). Given the evolving restrictions related to COVID-19, I am now working off-site, but I am here to serve you! Your voicemail will be forwarded to me. Please note the College is closed to the public through Friday, April 10."

To access your VM off campus follow these steps:

1 - Dial one of the five numbers (844-642-2338 / 563-562-3263 / 800-728-2256 / 563-556-5110 / 800-728-7367)

2 - Enter extension 7900 to access Voicemail

3 - After hearing Welcome to Message Center enter your Extension followed by (*)

4 - System will ask for you passcode; use the keypad to enter it.

5- You can now change your settings

Note to Faculty: If you encounter students who are struggling during the COVID-19 emergency, please encourage the students to apply for financial support through the Student Crisis Fund. There is NICC Foundation support to assist students with their crisis situations. Visit our webpage to learn more.

Remember Self-Care: New Wellness Newsletter Launched, The Lemonade

Over the next couple of weeks my plan is to bring you bits of wellness self-care tips and treasures to keep us focused on silver-linings (def., a consoling or hopeful prospect) and gratitude. Please feel free to email me to share how you are facing the day or if you have ideas for this mini-newsletter.

Photo by Flannery. “Desk with a View”

As we set up our temporary home office spaces, I encourage you to share them! Perhaps a photo of your new view or a snap of your (fuzzy) coworker? Your coworkers have been busy at work creating ways of keeping our spirits high, check out Google Folder “Isolation 2020” and request to join the Northeast Iowa Community College Employees Group (search on Facebook) to share photos of your home office, positive thoughts and expressions of gratitude. As a self-care tip, I encourage you to try and ignore content on social media right now that isn’t serving you.

Self-Care Tip of the Week:

Inhale / Exhale / Repeat

Inspiration of the Week:

“In this dark time, there is a tendency to veer toward fainting over how much is wrong or untended in the world. Do not focus on that. There is a tendency too to fall into being weakened by persevering on what is outside your reach, by what cannot yet be. Do not focus there ... We are needed, that is all we can know.” -Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Home Workout of the Week:

Workout Week of March 23, 2020 - check out some exercises you can do from the comfort of your own home. You need little to no equipment.

Recipe of the Week:

Here’s a new twist - Baked Oatmeal. Baked oatmeal is easy and a nice change of pace for breakfast. The recipe requires eggs and milk, but it’s a nice way to stretch eggs and you can use some yogurt in place of the milk. Also, go ahead and replace the fresh or frozen blueberries with another fruit or skip the fruit entirely.

Family/Kids Activity of the Week:

The birds are returning! Start learning your bird calls and add this impressive skill to your résumé. With some diligence and practice you can eventually show this off at your next family gathering or social event.

Read More about Self Care & Wellness Activities on the Wellness Website

Questions? Comments? Need to talk? Email Flannery at cerbin-bohachf@nicc.edu

CIS Shares Tips for Working from Home

Zoom

Don’t forget to Sign up for an NICC Zoom Account:

Go to nicc.zoom.us

Type in your NICC email address

Click Sign Up

An email will be sent to you to verify you; follow the prompts. You’re all set!

Instructions on how to download the Zoom Client

Video on how to join a Zoom Meeting

Check out the link below for more tutorials and informational materials:

Zoom Work From Home Folder

VDI

VDI may be very new for many of you so below are some tips and tricks as well as links to helpful options.

Tips and tricks for VDI users:

• Use Zoom outside of VDI (see link below for instructions to have VDI on only one of your monitors/screens)
• Use MiCollab outside of VDI (see link below for instructions to have VDI on only one of your monitors/screens)
• Remember to save anything you have up if you’re going to step away, in case of internet disruptions throughout the day.

Check out the link below for information and instructions for different functions in VDI:

VDI Work From Home Folder

Cyber Security Notice

Cyber criminals love a crisis. With our organization suddenly working remotely, they are undoubtedly poised to capitalize on security flaws, but there are several things you can do to protect yourself and NICC data. More information.

If you have input on a upcoming feature, Big Fish, something to celebrate or a suggestion, email us at news@nicc.edu!