UETN Resources for Home Connectivity

UETN is actively collaborating to extend services to education and healthcare in response to the Covid-19 novel coronavirus.

The Utah Education and Telehealth Network (UETN) has aggregated multiple resources for education and healthcare as warranted by the impact of the Coronavirus. 

Resources for Students and Educators

Resources for Healthcare

UETN is actively collaborating with the Utah Department of Health to identify telehealth resources in the state that may be used to remotely triage patients and direct people to the right level of health care for their medical needs. Telehealth technology can help prevent urgent care facilities and emergency departments from overcrowding and unnecessary use of these services.

While UETN’s statewide backbone currently connects schools, libraries, hospitals and clinics, we realize that those we serve may need robust home connections for telehealth, education and working from home. Thanks to decades of work with private sector telecoms, we are seeking to identify solutions that service providers can implement to support home connectivity. 

For more than 95 percent of Utah homes that do have access to internet services, UETN has listed free collaboration and web conferencing solutions below. To students and educators, UETN provides the Instructure Canvas learning management system which supports home study. Canvas is widely used by public education and higher education in Utah.

UETN continues to meet regularly as a leadership team and with stakeholders to assess readiness to respond to the changing needs of schools and healthcare and to comply with directives from the Utah State Department of Health and the University of Utah where UETN is headquartered. The UETN board and advisory councils will also continue to provide guidance and input from the education and healthcare organizations they represent.

UETN connects more than 658,000 public education students at 1,130 schools and facilities. The Network also provides broadband to campuses serving 211,000 postsecondary students and trainees, and connects 77,000 educators and staff from Pre-K through college. In addition, UETN serves more than 70 hospitals, community health centers, clinics, health departments and dialysis centers.

Collaboration Tools

Here are several free collaboration tool options:

Webex:
Webex has a restricted version that is always free for use.  For any Covid 19 issues in education Webex has offered a less restrictive access for free for any required stay at home mandates.      

Capabilities:

  1. Up to 100 participants in each meeting
  2. Meet as long as you want
  3. Unlimited number of meetings
  4. 1 GB of cloud storage
  5. Video conferencing features
    1. High-definition (HD) video
    2. Call-in for audio
    3. Active speaker and thumbnail view
    4. Grid view
    5. Floating view
    6. Screen sharing
    7. Webex Personal Room
    8. Webex Meetings web app
    9. Calendar integrations
    10. Instant meetings and scheduled meetings
    11. Share web-based multimedia content
    12. MP4 meeting recordings
    13. Meeting controls for host
    14. Q & A, polling, and Raise Hand features
    15. Join from a video system or application
Webex Teams:
Anyone can sign up for a free Webex Teams account and access to team spaces.

Features:

  1. Interactive whiteboards
  2. Unlimited messaging and file sharing
  3. Search messages, users, and files
  4. Message threads and quoting messages
  5. Share emojis, GIFs, and animated GIFs in messages
  6. Availability status
  7. Threeway audio/video calling
Zoom:
Offers an always free access to anyone anytime.

Features:

  1. Host up to 100 participants
  2. Unlimited 1 to 1 meeting or P2P calls
  3. 40 minute group meetings
  4. Unlimited number of meeting
  5. Online support
  6. Join by telephone call-in
  7. Whiteboard
UberConference:

Features:

  1. Call in Phone and VoIP audio
  2. 10 participants
  3. Meeting length 45 minutes
  4. Screen Share
  5. Recording
  6. Mobile Apps
Lifesize:

Features:

  1. 90 minute Meetings
  2. 25 Participants
  3. Mobile Apps
  4. Online support
AnyMeeting:

Features:

  1. 4 participants
  2. Video, Audio
  3. Screen Sharing
Google Hangouts:

Features:

  1. Need only to have a gmail account to host
  2. Messaging
  3. iOS and Android Mobile Apps available
  4. Can be used to make and receive phone calls
  5. Screen sharing

System Requirements:  All of these have similar system requirements. 

  1. Webcam
  2. Microphone/Speakers Headphones prefered
  3. Windows PC or Mac
  4. Access to a Browsers
  5. CPU multi-core recommended
  6. 4 GB RAM
  7. Internet Access Broadband
  8. Smartphone for mobile APP access

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