TECH TALK SESSION
In a normal physical drop-in system, students will sign into Accudemia on a computer in their Learning Center, and usually select a few options such as the course they want help with and the tutor they want to work with. In our most recent Tech Talk, Senior Support Specialist Nick Armstrong discussed how to replicate this process in a virtual setting using Accudemia. Watch the full presentation here, or read on for a summary of the basic steps!
A Virtual Kiosk or Virtual Link allows students to sign in for drop-in assistance remotely, and this will work in Accudemia with the Waiting Line turned on or off. While this is obviously a popular option for centers that operate entirely remotely, it’s also a good choice if your tutors are physically in the center, but have some students who wish to access services remotely. The biggest difference between the two sign-in processes is that at a physical kiosk, the student will simply enter their ID number to identify themselves, but during virtual sign-in, the student will have to log into Accudemia using their username and password (unless your school has set up Single Sign-on, but either way, the student will still have to log into Accudemia on their computer to sign in). Students can sign into a virtual session from any computer or mobile device with a browser.
Both types of sign-ins use the settings you’ve configured in the Walk-in section of the Control Panel, creating a consistent experience for students and ensuring your data stays consistent as well. Both “kiosks” can also be configured to show default options such as Services. For example, if your online sign-ins should only allow students to sign in for tutoring and not computer use, you can set the virtual kiosk to only allow students to sign in for that service.
To create a virtual kiosk or link, follow these steps:
- Enable Remote Sign-in Links for virtual sessions by going to Control Panel > Virtual Sessions. You can do this for both the college level and your center’s level.
- Add a meeting platform link (such as Zoom or Teams) to the tutor’s profile, or add a general meeting platform link (if you are using a lobby for all drop-ins) in the next step.
- Create the virtual links by going to Center Attendance > Virtual Sign-ins.
- Set the center’s virtual drop-in schedule in both Center Attendance > Drop-in Times and visit Center Attendance > Exceptions to add any holidays or exceptions to the normal schedule.
Note: All tutors should have a schedule and assigned courses too (not covered during this presentation). To learn more click here. - Advertise the virtual links to your students so they know how to access your services!
We highly recommend watching Nick’s full presentation to learn more about setting up this process in your center. We hope to see you at the next Accudemia Tech Talk!
Join us next time!
Engineerica Systems is pleased to present our Tech Tip segment recap for the Accudemia session on 8/9/2022. Held Tuesdays at 1 pm EST (weekly during the academic year, and monthly during the summer), Accudemia clients can join a session to learn about a quick, useful topic from one of our Support Specialists. Each week, we’ll follow up Tech Tip Tuesday with a blog recapping that week’s topic. Check the page about our Monthy Accudemia Session to find out more about our next session and for more ideas about helping our students achieve success!
