Services and Software

HDS IT and Media Services supports a variety of tools designed to enhance pedagogical objectives and enliven student participation. We collaborate directly with faculty, teaching fellows, faculty assistants, and students to implement the most effective technologies on your website, with the ultimate goals of maximizing student engagement and fostering ongoing learning.

To learn more about available tools and resources, visit Teaching at HDS.

If you are interested in scheduling a consultation, please email the HDS academic technology team at coursesites@hds.harvard.edu.

Canvas course website support for faculty, teaching staff, and students

A Canvas course website is provided for every course offered at HDS. Here are some examples of what can be achieved with your course website:

• Post syllabi, assignments, readings, handouts, links and other resources
• Use modules and assignment tools to organize teaching materials
• Allow students to turn in papers digitally and teaching staff to grade them online
• Facilitate communication between students, faculty, and teaching staff

HDS Academic Technology Consultants offer one-on-one Canvas tutorials; email coursesites@hds.harvard.edu to make an appointment.

The Office of IT and Media Services provides website support for all courses offered by HDS. Cross-listed FAS course offerings are typically supported by the FAS Academic Technology Group.

Academic Technology Consultant program

Academic Technology Consultants (ATCs) are graduate students with competencies in Canvas, media and A/V services, classroom technologies, and commonly used applications. We welcome requests from faculty, faculty assistants, and teaching fellows for course-related technology projects including consulting, digitization, web development, assessment tools, and course website administration for HDS courses.

In addition to these services, our ATC team provides technology training and education to faculty, faculty assistants, teaching fellows, and students. Our Academic Technology Consultants can work with you to identify your teaching challenges and then offer tools, technologies, and methodologies to overcome those challenges.

If you are interested in scheduling a consultation to discover more, please email the HDS academic technology team at coursesites@hds.harvard.edu.

Content development support for wikis and surveys

In addition to supporting Canvas, we provide training and support for the following tools:

• Confluence Wikis: Create rich sites collaboratively with Confluence Wikis.
• Qualtrics Surveys: From a class survey to randomized online quizzes, Qualtrics surveys can add richness to course assessments.

For more information about affiliated services, please see:

• Audiovisual Services, Harvard Divinity School
• Education Support Services, Faculty of Arts and Sciences (A/V and media production services at FAS)
• Academic Technology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences (course website support for FAS courses)

With very few exceptions*, all Harvard University faculty, students, and staff may install Adobe Creative Cloud software, a package that includes Adobe Acrobat (PDFs), Premiere (video editing), Photoshop (image editing), and most other Adobe applications, on their personal computers while at the University. For step-by-step instructions, see Getting Started with Adobe Creative Cloud on the Harvard University Information Technology Knowledge Base (HarvardKey login required).

*Emeritus faculty are not eligible for Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions.

HDS IT & Media Services offers audiovisual services and technology to members of the HDS community to support teaching and learning, administration, and official HDS events.  We provide digital audio and video capture and post-production services, live media streaming, and classroom technology consulting.

Available equipment and services include:

• Voice amplification (wired and wireless microphones)
• Digital video and audio projection/playback
• HD video recording
• Live video streaming
• Audio recording
• Legacy audio visual equipment (slide projector, overhead transparency projector, audio cassette or VHS playback) by request

To see what equipment is already available in your class or meeting room, see Classroom and Event AV Services on the HDS intranet (requires login).

Hours of operation and fees

AV support is available on the HDS campus from Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. Evening and weekend support can be arranged with appropriate advance notice (see below) for an additional charge. For weekend and after-hours fees, please see Classroom and Event AV Services on the HDS intranet (requires login).

Making a reservation

To order equipment or technical support, email avinfo@hds.harvard.edu or fill out the “Services” section of your room reservation in HDS’s online room reservation system, RoomBook. Advance notice is required:

• For HDS classes: one week for initial reservation, 48 hours for changes
• For all other events: three weeks for initial reservation, one week for changes

Support at classes and events

For each audiovisual request, a technician will be present at the start the event to ensure that the equipment is working properly and that the user is comfortable with its operation. If you prefer that a technician remains for the duration of an event to operate and supervise the equipment, you must specifically request this in advance with the appropriate lead time.

Equipment loan policy

All classroom technology and portable audiovisual equipment is intended for use only on the HDS campus. Requests for equipment to be taken offsite will be granted only at the discretion of the Chief Information Officer.

The Lamont Multimedia Lab lends photo, video, and audio equipment to members of the Harvard community and offers training, consultation, and the use of specialized software on computers in the lab. It is located in the basement of Lamont Library in Harvard Yard.

Microsoft 365 apps at Harvard

Harvard Divinity School faculty, students, and staff use Harvard’s central Microsoft 365 environment for our primary collaboration tools. Microsoft 365 provides email, calendaring, and file storage services as well as SharePoint and Teams for file sharing and collaboration. The HDS Office of IT and Media Services administers all HDS departmental SharePoint sites and is available to consult with all members of the HDS community to ensure that the necessary security and data privacy practices are implemented. For more information, please contact Daniel Hawkins or Susan Worst.

Microsoft 365 apps for personal use

Many members of the HDS community, including degree students and non-temporary, paid faculty and staff, are eligible to download Microsoft 365 applications up to five times for personal use while at the University. Applications include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Teams. For the download link, installation instructions, and training options, please visit Microsoft 365 Apps (Office) on the Harvard University Information Technology website. Student access to the software will expire after graduation; see Prepare to Leave Harvard University for the current account expiration details.

These instructions apply to only to personal devices. To add or upgrade Microsoft applications on your Harvard-owned computer or device, please contact the Harvard University Information Technology Service Desk by email at ithelp@harvard.edu or by phone at 617.495.7777.

Hardware

For personal use, students, staff, and faculty can purchase computers, peripherals and accessories at discounted academic pricing directly from Apple, Dell, or B&H.

Shop for Apple products

Shop for Dell products

Learn about academic pricing at B & H (HarvardKey login required)

Software

Harvard affiliates can also purchase Endnote and Parallels software at discounted academic pricing. For details, see IT Perks and Discounts on the Harvard University Information Technology website.

Harvard Divinity School provides on-campus computers, printers, and scanners for student use. Many of them are located in the Harvard Divinity School Library and are available during regular library hours.

Equipment in the Harvard Divinity School Library

On the library's first floor, two scanners are located across from the circulation desk, and a color printer can be found in room 139. In addition, there are seven public computers with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office 365 software installed, as well as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Adobe Acrobat.

On the second floor, all public computers have Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office 365 software installed, as well as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Adobe Acrobat. In addition, five computers have Accordance Bible software, one has Adobe Creative Cloud, and two have Thesaurus Linguae Graecae. Computers with special software are clearly labeled.

For students who prefer to use their own laptops, two 24” monitors, keyboards, and mice have been added to the standing desk areas behind the computers on the second floor. Students are encouraged to bring their own cables to connect to the monitors, which have DVI, HDMI, and VGA ports. Or, students can check out a cable at the circulation desk on the first floor.

Room 235 on the second floor has a color printer and a scanner. Please see Wireless Networking and Printing for printing instructions.

Using Student Computing Resources

Do not store files on the hard drives of these computers; all data is erased every time the computer is rebooted. Please email your work to yourself, or copy it to external media, before you leave.

Installing or modifying software on HDS computers is not permitted.

Please use headphones for any program playing sounds and/or music. Headphones are not provided; please bring your own.

Please follow Harvard Divinity School Library policies regarding food and drink.

As in any public place, do not leave your belongings unattended.

Getting Help

Academic Technology Consultants from the HDS Office of IT and Media Services are available for consultations by appointment year-round. Email the HDS academic technology team at coursesites@hds.harvard.edu to make an appointment.

During the academic year, Academic Technology Consultants are often available on the second floor of the library; look for them at the computers in the center of the room.

If no consultant is on duty, please call the Harvard University IT Service Desk at 617.495.7777 or email ithelp@harvard.edu. If your problem occurs outside of regular business hours and cannot be resolved over the phone, your call will be logged and a technician will get back to you on the next business day.

We all have a role to play! Follow these practices to help keep Harvard's data and devices safe.

Get a password manager

1Password is the preferred password manager for use at the University.  Harvard provides faculty and staff with 1Password business and family accounts, and students with 1Password family accounts, free of charge. Set up your 1Password account.

Configure your personal devices

Use Harvard Information Security's Personal Device Best Practices to optimize your computers, tablets, and phones with security in mind.

Take small actions, make a big difference

Learn how and why to prevent phishing, apply updates, protect your identity, and preserve privacy.