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Learn, teach and work from home

Concordia students, faculty and staff have a number of resources available to help them teach, learn, collaborate and work remotely.

Learn remotely

The Centre for Teaching and Learning has provided a list of resources available to help students complete their courses remotely. This includes ways of attending courses remotely and accessing recorded lectures. Please refer to the page regularly since updates are likely.

For staff and faculty, please click here or see the bottom of this page.

During this exceptional time, we’ve made an amendment to our current SPSS agreement to allow active faculty, students and researchers access to use SPSS software remotely.

Faculty and staff can also find the link to get SPSS on Carrefour's My CU Account page.

Additional information:

  • Only active Concordia faculty and active students have access to it
  • Users are permitted to install SPSS and Amos software on their personally owned computer
  • Visit our IT Service Catalog for more information about SPSS.

Detailed software instructions are available here: 

Please note:

For technical support or how to use SPSS software, please refer to IBM's website.

As a pro-active measure to limited access on campus, Concordia now offers select students a Creative Cloud license under our Adobe site license at no cost.  This gives students at-home access to the Creative Cloud suite of tools from two different computers at the same time.

Licenses are assigned by course requirement.

Faculty and departments determine the eligibility for a Creative Cloud license, and the license is automatically assigned to the eligible student by the department.

Detailed Instructions are available at Adobe Creative Cloud for Students.

Additional information:

  • Students will not be able to keep the license after graduation, or if they are no longer a registered/active student
  • Faculty and staff who need access to Adobe Creative Cloud can find information here.
  • Please refer to our FAQ if you have further questions.

Teach remotely

Teaching online, involves making decisions about delivery options and course objectives. Please refer to the guide developed by the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL).

Reminder: When working remotely, it is important to sign-on to Concordia University’s virtual private network (VPN) and update your computer and applications regularly. Doing so ensures that configuration changes can be applied and that you obtain important software updates and security patches as they become available.

In the case of Zoom, instructors have simple steps to follow to update the desktop application. Please refer to this document if you are using a Mac or refer to this one if you are using Windows.

Work remotely

Tools for working from home remotely differ depending on the type devices you use. 

Reminder: When working remotely, it is important to sign-on to Concordia University’s virtual private network (VPN) and update your computer and applications regularly. Doing so ensures that configuration changes can be applied and that you obtain important software updates and security patches as they become available. In the case of Zoom, there are the simple steps to follow to update the desktop application. Please refer to this document if you are using a Mac or refer to this one if you are using Windows.

If you have an internet connection, you can use your Concordia computer to directly access your email through Outlook or OWA*, or Carrefour.

To access resources like Home Drive, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), your departmental drive, Banner and other unit-specific services, you must establish a connection between your office and remote computer through the Concordia Virtual Private Network (VPN).

If you have an internet connection, you can use your personal computer to directly access your email through Outlook or OWA*, or Carrefour.

To access resources like Home Drive, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), your departmental drive, Banner and other unit-specific services, you must establish a connection between your office and remote computer through the Concordia Virtual Private Network (VPN).

The following three options are available for desk phone service:

1)  Cisco Jabber allows you to replicate your main office extension on your desktop, laptop or cell phone. View Cisco Jabber instructions.

2) Forward your office extension by connecting to the Concordia VPN, then set up your phone. Follow the prompts until you reach the Cisco Unified Communications Self Care page. Then:

  • Log in using your netname and password.
  • Select “Call Forwarding”
  • To enable, check the box “Forward all calls to:”
  • Enter your forwarding phone number, adding 9 at the beginning (e.g.95141234567).
  • To undo the forwarding, uncheck the box “Forward all calls to:”.

3) The Single Number Reach (SNR) feature allows users to answer incoming calls at another desk phone and/or a phone at a remote destination, such as a home or mobile phone. Users can pick up active calls from their desk phone or the remote phone without losing the connection.

To request this service, please email the Service Desk

For video meetings, workplace chat, and file collaboration and storage, Concordia recommends using Microsoft Teams, now available through Office 365.

Please consult the Office 365 for faculty and staff page for more information.

If you have questions or need help, email the Service Desk with “Microsoft Teams” in the subject line.

For online teaching activities and webinars, Zoom web conferencing is available.

For those without necessary equipment

If you are a Concordia student, faculty or staff member who needs access to equipment for a brief learning, teaching or working period during the COVID-19 pandemic, the university is seeking to assist you. 

If the equipment you borrowed from the university is no longer functional, please contact Concordia’s Help Desk at 514-848-2424, ext. 7613 or send an email to help@concordia.ca.

Laptops and tablets, as well as other types of equipment, can be borrowed from Concordia Library. For loan periods and other information about these services please check the Library's Borrow page.

Please return laptops and tablets to either the Circulation Desk at Vanier Library or Loans & Return Desk at Webster Library duriing hours of operation .

If you borrowed equipment directly from one of these desks, please return it to the same desk.

 

To qualify, you need to be:

  • a professor teaching a course who does not have the necessary equipment.
  • a staff member who does not have a computer AND whose manager is requesting a computer for you to work. (The request form is to be completed by the manager)

Please fill out this webform which will direct you to a Microsoft sign-in screen. You will first be prompted for your Concordia email address:

Next, enter your netname, on the Concordia login screen:

You can also call 514 848-2424, ext. 7613.

Please note: because of the limited number of devices available, you may be asked to briefly explain the nature of the work you need to accomplish. We also request that you strictly adhere to borrowing deadlines since other students, faculty and staff members may be negatively impacted by return delays.

Important: this service is reserved for students, faculty and staff who do not have a personal device and who are unable to borrow one by another means. Please note that this request does not guarantee availability of equipment as stock is limited. The university is exploring all possible options to distribute equipment safely and efficiently within the present restrictions of the COVID-19 situation.

If you no longer require loaned equipment, please contact the Service Desk at help@concordia.ca with the subject line “Equipment Return.” A Service Desk agent will be in touch to coordinate the equipment drop-off.

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