Computing

Online instruction

• Online instruction takes place over Zoom and usually requires you to sign in with your Calnet credentials.
• The main source of information for training and support of online instruction is the Keep Teaching page.
• Faculty and GSIs can request equipment for online instruction from RTL.
• The Student Technology Equity Program (STEP) loans laptops and wifi hotspots to students based on financial need.

Campus computing resources

• Students, get tech support from Student Tech Services.
• Faculty/staff get tech support from ITCS (also now with drop-in hours in Dwinelle).
• The answers to many of your computing questions are in the campus knowledge base.
• Something not working? Check the current system status of campus services.
• bConnected has links to many campus services, including email, calendar, file storage, and wireless access.
• Eduroam is the preferred wireless network and requires an access key. CalVisitor is convenient for guest access since no key or password is required; it has a more restricted level of service than Eduroam.
• Wired ethernet is recommended where available for fast and reliable network service, and to use it you must set up and register your ethernet device. An ethernet adapter is an inexpensive and useful addition to your laptop!
• Manage your Calnet identity or sponsor a Calnet identity for non-Berkeley collaborators
• Access software products licensed to campus affiliates. Eligibility and cost varies by product. Many products have no direct user charge.
• Use the campus VPN for access to e-journals and other digital library materials, as well as some high-security campus systems.

Training

A variety of campus organizations are available to help with research computing and the broader topic of data science.

• D-Lab provides services, support, and training in data-intensive social science research.
• The Berkeley Institute for Data Science hosts talks and workshops designed to advance scientific discovery through collaboration across research domains.
• The Research IT unit is a central campus computing group that provides consulting and computing services, including customized virtual desktops for analytics and high performance computing, to all campus researchers.
• The local Python community sponsors events and maintains a list of useful links for learning Python.
• The Department of Statistics provides a free consulting service to members of the campus community.

Collaborating

• The bConnected Google apps, especially bDrive, are an excellent way to collaborate.
• Bcourses (Canvas) can also be used to create projects and will be familiar to faculty and students from their courses.
• Box has very good collaboration tools, but unfortunately it will likely be phased out by 2023 and is not the best choice for new projects.
• A comparison of  tools is in the campus knowledge base.
• For projects consisting of small amounts (recommended 1GB or less) of text or code and involving non-Berkeley collaborators or audience, GitHub is a useful service.
• You can create a bConnected List (Google Group) for email communication and other collaboration features like shared bDrive content and calendars.

About CalNet passphrases and access keys

Your CalNet identity is used to authenticate and authorize your use of many campus web applications and services--notably, bMail's webmail interface. Normally you provide your CalNet identity and passphrase in a web portal when accessing these services. However, some applications and services cannot capture access through a web portal, and these require an access key instead of the usual CalNet passphrase. Such services include Eduroam and bMail when accessed through a mail client (Thunderbird, or the Mail client on a mobile device). Go to bConnected to manage your access key if you use one of these services.