New IT Courses on Windows 10 and Office 2016
by by Annie Yu
As mentioned in the March issue, the Computing Services Centre (CSC) will make Windows 10 available on CSC-managed computers for teaching and learning starting Semester A 2016-17. In the meantime, the Central IT is testing Windows 10 compatibility with all in-house developed central applications, the e-learning system and administration systems to ensure that they can be run smoothly under Windows 10. The CSC is also waiting for offices/units to sort out the compatibility issue of their acquired or in-house developed applications and give feedback to the CSC before deciding on the rollout dates of Windows 10 on the staff LAN of individual departments.
Teaching and Learning
The following table shows a tentative implementation schedule of Windows 10 for teaching and learning as well as for use on staff LANs. Please note that the completion dates are subject to change depending on the initial results and stability of Windows 10.
|
Event
|
Tentative Schedule
|
|
Departments pass Windows 10-compatible teaching software to the CSC for installation on student LAN
|
By early-August 2016
|
|
Windows 10 available on CSC-managed teaching studios
AC2-G600
AC2-4109
AC2-4200
AC2-4208
AC2-4307
AC2-4400
AC2-4412
AC2-5500
AC2-5501
AC2-5503
AC2-5505
AC2-5506
AC2-5601
AC2-5604
AC2-5606
AC2-5607
AC2-5608
Printing, Scanner, Service Counter
|
26 August 2016
31 July 2016
July 2016
31 July 2016
31 July 2016
31 July 2016
31 July 2016
26 August 2016
26 August 2016
26 August 2016
26 August 2016
July 2016
26 August 2016
26 August 2016
26 August 2016
26 August 2016
26 August 2016
31 July 2016
|
|
Windows 10 available to all lectern PCs in LTs and classrooms
LT 1-18
Classrooms
|
August 2016
August 2016
|
|
Collect and consolidate feedback from departments based on the compatibility issues of their acquired or in-house developed applications on Windows 10
|
October/November 2016
|
|
Finalize Windows 10 prototype for staff LAN and deploy to CSC staff LAN for pilot run
|
February 2017
|
|
Deploy Windows 10 on staff LAN – put up an upgrade option on the Work Desk menu
|
Semester B 2016-17
|
|
Microsoft (MS) releases a major patch for Windows 10
- version 1511 (latest version)
- (next version)
|
November 2015
maybe July 2016
|
|
Send notification to Departmental Network Administrators of departments on 25 Feb 2016
|
February 2016
|
|
Announce tentative implementation plan of Windows 10 through Network Computing
|
Issue 87 March 2016
|
|
McAfee Agent 4.8 and patch 7 of McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.8 upgraded on the CSC Staff LAN PCs for pilot run
|
March 2016
|
|
Upgrading McAfee Agent 4.8 and patch 7 of McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.8 campus-wide
|
April 2016
|
The 64-bit version of Windows 10 will be formally supported and widely deployed campus-wide. Its implementation would not affect the existing Windows 7 environment. If there are any old programs which cannot be run on Windows 10, users can choose to stay on the old platform until they obtain a Windows 10 compatible version for the programs or Windows 7 has reached its end-of-support. However, Windows 8.1 will be replaced by Windows 10 since almost all software applications running on the Windows 8.1 can also run smoothly on Windows 10.
In summary, the computing environments for teaching and learning in Semester A 2016-17 are:
For PCs in the CSC Teaching Studios:
· Windows 7 (32-bit) environment connecting the Student LAN (IE11 browser, MS Office 2016, MS Visual Studio 2012)
· Windows 10 (64-bit) environment connecting the Student LAN (default Edge browser, IE11 browser available, MS Office 2016, MS Visual Studio 2015)
For PCs in LTs and Classrooms:
· Windows 7 (32-bit) environment connecting the Student LAN (IE11 browser, MS Office 2016, MS Visual Studio 2012)
· Windows 10 (64-bit) environment connecting the Student LAN (default Edge browser, IE11 browser available, MS Office 2016, MS Visual Studio 2015)
· Local Windows 7 environment (no login required, only for local presentation, no network connection)
Staff LANs
There are two approaches to implement Windows 10 on Staff LAN PCs: direct upgrade and fresh install. The upgrade approach is simple, fast and preserves users’ existing applications, settings, customizations and data. Microsoft only provides the 32-bit to 32-bit and 64-bit to 64-bit Windows upgrade options. Since 32-bit Windows cannot be upgraded to 64-bit Windows 10, a fresh install must be performed. Users are strongly advised to backup applications, drivers and data before doing so. If everything goes smoothly, an option will be put up on the Work Desk menu for staff to perform the upgrade in Semester B 2016-17.
User Training
There is always a need to learn about new features of the latest software versions (e.g. MS Office) and prepare for new technology transitions, for example, migrating to a new operating system. In this regard, the CSC had organised some hands-on training classes on Office 2016 which started in June and classes on Windows 10 will start from early August which can be applied through AIMS from the University Portal. The table below shows a list of new staff computer courses in the coming months. More classes will be added if necessary. Furthermore, if a department prefers a dedicated class, the CSC can help to organise for 10 enrollments or more. Please email your request to csc@cityu.edu.hk .
|
Course Title
|
App Start date
|
App End Date
|
Course Date
|
Day of Week
|
Time
|
|
Microsoft Excel 2016 - Introduction
|
04/05/16
|
01/06/16
|
15/06/16
|
Wed
|
09:30– 17:15
|
|
Microsoft Excel 2016- Advanced
|
18/05/16
|
15/06/16
|
29/06/16
|
Wed
|
09:30– 17:15
|
|
What's New in Microsoft Office 2016
|
25/05/16
|
22/06/16
|
06/07/16
|
Wed
|
09:30– 12:30
|
|
Mastering Excel Pivot Tables
|
08/06/16
|
06/07/16
|
20/07/16
|
Wed
|
09:30– 17:15
|
|
Introduction to Windows 10
|
22/06/16
|
20/07/16
|
03/08/16
|
Wed
|
09:30– 12:30
|
|
Introduction to Windows 10
|
06/07/16
|
03/08/16
|
17/08/16
|
Wed
|
14:15 - 17:15
|
|
Microsoft Word 2016 - Advanced
|
13/07/16
|
10/08/16
|
24/08/16
|
Wed
|
09:30– 17:15
|
The table below shows a list of new literacy courses to prepare students for Office 2016 and Windows 10 in the coming months.
|
Course Title
|
Course Date
|
Day of Week
|
Time
|
|
Introduction to Windows 10
|
22/08/2016
|
Mon
|
10:00-13:00
|
|
Introduction to Access 2016
|
22/08/2016
|
Mon
|
14:00-17:00
|
|
Introduction to Excel 2016
|
23/08/2016
|
Tue
|
10:00-13:00
|
|
Advanced Word 2016
|
25/08/2016
|
Thu
|
14:00-17:00
|
|
Advanced PowerPoint 2016
|
27/08/2016
|
Sat
|
10:00-13:00
|
|
Advanced Excel 2016
|
27/08/2016
|
Sat
|
14:00-17:00
|
|
Introduction to Excel 2016
|
29/08/2016
|
Mon
|
19:00-22:00
|
|
Introduction to Windows 10
|
31/08/2016
|
Wed
|
19:00-22:00
|
|
Advanced Excel 2016
|
01/09/2016
|
Thu
|
19:00-22:00
|
|
Advanced Word 2016
|
02/09/2016
|
Fri
|
19:00-22:00
|
|
Introduction to Access 2016
|
03/09/2016
|
Sat
|
14:00-17:00
|
|
Advanced PowerPoint 2016
|
07/09/2016
|
Wed
|
19:00-22:00
|
|
Advanced Excel 2016
|
09/09/2016
|
Fri
|
19:00-22:00
|