Tech Tip: Having a Backup Plan 2.0

As we move into finals period and get closer to graduation, it’s important to make sure you’re updated on all of the ways you can store, share, and backup files. No need to worry about that final paper disappearing anymore! Check out this week’s Tech Tip on keeping all of your files safe and sound by visiting the File Storage page on the iSchool Wiki.

Computer screen showing Google Drive homepage.

Meet the Graduate Assistants: Kiran Williams

And now we’ve come to our last Graduate Assistant at the iSchool Help Desk for the Spring 2023 semester and the end of our showcase (until Fall 2023)! Today’s second GA featured is Kiran Williams. We asked Kiran about her career aspirations, hometown favourites, and her favourite place to hang on campus.

Kiran

A graphic of a brown-skinned hijabi wearing green.

Kiran is a native of Princeton, New Jersey, where she loves how green the state is, how much farmland there is, and how beautiful its nature is. Kiran is our only first-semester, first-year MSLIS student at the iSchool, interested in pursuing a career as a research librarian in an academic library or special collections; she wants to connect BIPOC students with rare resources after graduation.

  • What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk?
    • Solving mysteries and lovely, supportive coworkers
A deerstalker hat and magnifying glass.
  • What is your favorite board/video game?
    • Clue
  • If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
    • East Coast, United States or St. Vincent and the Grenadines (father’s country)
Sunrise at Carnegie Lake, Princeton, NJ. Photo credit: Khürt Williams, Flickr.
Sunrise at Carnegie Lake, Princeton, NJ. Photo credit: Khürt Williams, Flickr.
  • Where’s your favorite spot to hang out on campus/CU?
    • My apartment
  • If given the opportunity, what book would you choose to reread again for the first time?
    • The Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb
  • What would your superhero superpower be?
  • Tie between an eidetic memory and the ability to read, write, and speak any language (past or present)
  • What technology are you *really* most interested in for teaching/learning?
    • AI/ChatGPT
  • Who would (or would you want to) play you in a movie about your life?
    • Me

Meet the Graduate Assistants: Spring Olivares

We’re reviving our “Meet the Graduate Assistants” section for Spring 2023! As part of this series, we sat down with returning Help Desk GA Spring Olivares to learn more about her favourite haunts in Champaign-Urbana, video game recommendations, and more.

Spring Olivares

Spring, a person with black and blonde hair and glasses, leans against the frame of a log cabin door.

Spring hails from Baltimore, Maryland, where she enjoys the history, being close to stuff, and the diverse population. She is a first year, second semester student in the MSLIS program, hoping to work in a museum or library in the future.

  • What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk?
    • The people. It’s easy to do good work when you feel supported.
  • What is your video game?
    • The Layers of Fear series.
  • If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
    • Japan or Nepal.
Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo credit: Anthony Surace, Flickr.
Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo credit: Anthony Surace, Flickr.
  • Where’s your favorite spot to hang out on campus/CU?
    • In Champaign-Urbana: My house. On campus: Near the Help Desk.
  • If given the opportunity, what book would you choose to reread again for the first time?
  • What would your superhero superpower be?
    • Invisibility.
  • What technology are you *really* most interested in for teaching/learning?
    • Canva.
  • If you were an animal, what would you be?
    • Llama.
A llama against a purple background wearing a hat.
  • Who would (or would you want to) play you in a movie about your life?
    • Keira Knightley.

Meet Duck-Duck & Goose!

This week’s Pet of the Week feature is a twofer: Duck-Duck & Goose!

These brothers were found living in a vending machine. They are both pretty basic cats except that Duck-Duck won’t lie down like a cat. You must pet him while he stands up as hard as he can. Goose loves to have his armpits stretched for him, and if that goes into a hug he’s all about it. He will not stop screaming until his mom does this every morning.

Duck-Duck and Goose, a white cat with black splotchies and a black cat with white splotchies, cuddle on a rainbow striped blanket. "Submitted by Lindsey!"

Meet the Graduate Assistants: Melissa Frazier

Yet another post in our Meet the Graduate Assistants series for the Spring 2023 semester! Today’s special feature is Melissa Frazier, who we asked about her favorite board game, campus hang-out spots, and her most anticipated technology instruction ideas!

Melissa

Melissa, a woman with wavy shoulder-length brown hair, sits at the Help Desk and smiles at the camera.

Melissa joined the Help Desk from Milwaukee/Madison, Wisconsin, where her favourite thing is the skate parks! Melissa is a first-year student in her second semester of the MSLIS program at the iSchool.

  • What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk?
    • Co-workers and the lovely iSchool folks that come to the desk
  • What is your favorite board/video game?
    • Dominoes
  • If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
    • Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Leeds Town Hall. Photo credit: Tejvan Pettinger, Flickr.
Leeds Town Hall. Photo credit: Tejvan Pettinger, Flickr.
  • Where’s your favorite spot to hang out on campus/CU?
    • Urbana Farmers’ Market
  • If given the opportunity, what book would you choose to reread again for the first time?
  • What would your superhero superpower be?
    • Teleportation
  • What technology are you *really* most interested in for teaching/learning?
    • Canvas
  • If you were an animal, what would you be?
    • Cat
A winking cat wearing a strawberry hat.
  • Who would (or would you want to) play you in a movie about your life?
    • Jennifer Lawrence

Meet the Graduate Assistants: Jonas Yela

Today’s installment of the Spring 2023 Meet the Graduate Assistants series for the iSchool Help Desk features *drum roll*… Jonas Yela! We quizzed Jonas about his spirit animal, dream home destination, and his fav spots in his hometown.

Jonas

Jonas, a red-haired, bearded man wearing sunglasses and all black, walks a dog.

Jonas comes to the Help Desk from Milwaukee, Wisconsin where his favourite thing is the lake. He is a second-year student in the MSLIS in his last semester at the iSchool.

  • What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk?
    • Helping solve problems for people
  • What is your favorite board/video game?
    • Magic the Gathering/Dark Souls
  • If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
    • Spain
Parque Guell, Barcelona. Photo credit: Jose Ramirez, Flickr.
Parque Guell, Barcelona. Photo credit: Jose Ramirez, Flickr.
  • Where’s your favorite spot to hang out on campus/CU?
    • Rose Bowl
  • If given the opportunity, what book would you choose to reread again for the first time?
  • What would your superhero superpower be?
    • Fly
  • What technology are you *really* most interested in for teaching/learning?
    • Anything that allows for the open creation and sharing of educational resources. Media Commons and the Illinois Wiki are a couple of examples, even if there may be tools that do the same thing better.’
  • If you were an animal, what would you be?
    • Capybara
A CAPybara (a capybara wearing a black baseball cap).
  • Who would (or would you want to) play you in a movie about your life?
    • Oscar Isaac

Tech Tip: Using Google Jamboard

Want to know how to incorporate a cool collaborative whiteboard into your classes or meetings? Look no further than Google Jamboard! Take a gander at this week’s Tech Tip; check out our guide to using Google Jamboard from the iSchool Wiki, to learn all about it.

A laptop shows a screenshot of colored sticky notes in Google Jamboard.

Meet the Graduate Assistants: Kennedy Pasley

We’re back again today with another twofer special of awesome iSchool Help Desk Graduate Assistants! We’re starting off today with Kennedy Pasley, a sunny GA who we asked about her favourite on-campus hangout spot, ideal superpower, and much more!

Kennedy

Kennedy, an orange/yellow-haired woman with square glasses, cradles an orange cat like a baby.

Another Southern Illinois native, Kennedy’s favourite part of the her hometown is Quatros Pizza. She is a second-semester, first-year student in the MSLIS program at the iSchool, interested in pursuing a career in academic libraries as a student success librarian.

  • What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk?
  • Love co-workers, love making graphics/social media, and TIKTOK!
  • What is your favorite board/video game?
  • Ticket to Ride
  • If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
  • Thailand
Nong Nooch Dinosaur Valley, Thailand. Photo credit: Tomás Del Coro, Flickr.
Nong Nooch Dinosaur Valley, Thailand. Photo credit: Tomás Del Coro, Flickr.
  • Where’s your favorite spot to hang out on campus/CU?
  • Espresso Royale
  • If given the opportunity, what book would you choose to reread again for the first time?
  • The Broken Earth Series, The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
  • What would your superhero superpower be?
  • Never be cold
  • What technology are you *really* most interested in for teaching/learning?
  • Canva
  • If you were an animal, what would you be?
  • Giraffe; I identify with them because I am so tall
Sir Giraffe III, in a top hat.
  • Who would (or would you want to) play you in a movie about your life?
  • Yourself

Meet the Graduate Assistants: Matthew Monteith

The second Help-Desker featured in today’s twofer in the iSchool Help Desk’s Meet the Graduate Assistants series for Spring 2023 is Matthew Monteith! We harangued Matthew about his favourite hometown quirk, his perfect place to call home, and more!

Matthew

Matthew, a man with short brown hair wearing a grey t-shirt, stands in his kitchen.

Matthew is also an Illinois native from Southern Illinois, which he describes as a unique part of the state. He is a second-year student in his last semester of MSLISs program at the iSchool, hoping to go somewhere to use tech or to be a public librarian.

  • What is your favorite part about working at the Help Desk?
    • Co-workers including the full-timers
  • What is your favorite board/video game?
    • RimWorld
  • If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
    • Pacific Northwest
Seattle skyline from Kerry Park, Seattle, Washington. Photo credit: Diana Robinson, Flickr.
Seattle skyline from Kerry Park, Seattle, Washington. Photo credit: Diana Robinson, Flickr.
  • Where’s your favorite spot to hang out on campus/CU?
    • HopScotch Cafe/Help Desk area
  • If given the opportunity, what book would you choose to reread again for the first time?
    • The Lord of the Rings Collection
  • What would your superhero superpower be?
    • Shape shifting/Time control (tie)
  • What technology are you *really* most interested in for teaching/learning?
    • Collaboration Software, Google docs, etc.
  • If you were an animal, what would you be?
    • Raven
A raven wearing a party hat and sneakers.
  • Who would (or would you want to) play you in a movie about your life?
    • Robert Downey Jr, and/or Weird Al