daily update: office access, Zoom, office hours; more instructional support coming tomorrow

[Bill Maurer]

Dear Soc Sci faculty, lecturers, grad students and staff,

Thank you all again for your patience and understanding as we enter 
finals week and prepare for spring quarter. A few updates:

1) The staff are all now working remotely! And soon we will all be 
experts in Zoom or similar services. Your department manager will have 
sent faculty members their contact info -- in most cases just dialing 
their office phone will redirect to their mobile or landline.

2) You will continue to have access to your offices in the Soc Sci 
buildings. They will be open during normal hours (8am-5pm) until such 
time as the campus tells to lock it all down, if it comes to that. But 
please bear in mind, however, that we live in a new world than the one 
we left about a week ago. You should NOT hold any in-person meetings in 
your offices or in any of our classrooms, lecture halls, or public 
spaces. You should also not congregate in groups. We are to spend as 
little time as possible in campus buildings. If you do come to your 
office, follow all the guidance coming from the CDC: wash your hands, 
maintain social distance, avoid gatherings, don't touch your face, etc. 
If you need to come in, remember that the less we interact with one 
another in physical space--and the less we touch door handles and stuff 
in our buildings, which will get touched by the next person--the greater 
the chances of slowing the spread of the virus. Stay at home as much as 
possible.

3) In case you get invited to a Zoom meeting, or will be teaching and 
are thinking of using Zoom to record lectures (it works great for this 
purpose--not just for live teleconferences), here is a link to a 
Powerpoint about how to use Zoom: 
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HvJC3_C7dKhEX8chkDOI1th3-a5o0CKrrcV1oCG8Hew/edit?usp=sharing


https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HvJC3_C7dKhEX8chkDOI1th3-a5o0CKrrcV1oCG8Hew/edit?usp=sharing
I will hold an Office Hour via Zoom for all-comers, 3-4pm, this Friday, 
3/20. Just come and say hi, or bring any questions or issues you'd like 
to discuss. If a ton of people join... I am not sure what will happen! 
But this is all a giant experiment, anyway. Join URL: 
https://ucisocsci.zoom.us/j/838269946

More tomorrow, including news on additional help in transitioning to 
remote instruction!

Stay home, watch Moana again, and keep the faith,

Bill