The Department of Information Technology is monitoring Moodle’s performance and taking extra steps to ensure students and faculty are successful as they work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In supporting students and faculty members, I.T. professionals have added a new website for the Southeast division to consider using such as the Remote Desktop and Microsoft Teams,” Floyd Davenport, assistant vice president of information technology said.

The I.T. department posted instructions on the university website for students and staff to activate their Zoom accounts, which Davenport said are all working properly.

To ensure Moddle could handle the online-only format, Davenport said the I.T. department increased the capacity for Moodle and allocated the memory operation system to the servers that run Moodle.

Since the I.T. department changed the capacity of Moodle, the system continues to run the same with the increased activity without having a problem.

Davenport said the department is monitoring the system closely, and watching for new risks that come with the online-only format.

One risk is Zoom bombing, in which the host sends a link to a Zoom room in a public place for everyone to see, then they leave the meeting open for anybody to jump into without the host's permission.

Zoom bombing can also involve a hacker breaking into a meeting and engaging in inappropriate behavior or sharing inappropriate content.

According to Davenport, the Zoom company is making changes to minimize Zoom bombing such as restricting access to the meeting without the host’s permission.

Davenport said the department is making sure they are publishing information for students and staff to stay informed about the risk of Zoom bombing.

The I.T. help desk is still open to provide support to students and faculty through email and phone at helpdesk@semo.edu or (573)651-4357.