You Ready to Shop ‘Til You Drop?
by Be Phan
Thanksgiving is just around the corner which means the shopping frenzy is about to start. You better start planning out your strategies now. Don’t wait! Here are a few HOT DEALS and some links to websites that can help you navigate this holiday shopping hysteria.
If you are looking to blow out your eardrums or just make a Zoom call, Apple AirPods Pro and 2nd Gen earbuds are on sale.
Maybe there is a gamer in your house? The PlayStation 5 (PS5) and its DualSense Wireless Controller are going for a very good price. Who doesn’t love your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man? It’s now bundled with the PS5.
Do you have too many pictures and not enough picture frames? Well don’t worry. Google Nest Hub is a $60 device that you can use as digital photo frame. Run all your photos from Google Photos as a slideshow all day long.
Here are some resources to checkout this year’s deals:
REMINDER: Some of our vendors also offer discounts on hardware for your personal technology needs! These are year round.
Happy National Shopping Day!!!
Cyber Monday
By Josephyne Patten
After eating heaps and mounds of Thanksgiving food, why not relax on the craziest shopping day of the year (aka Black Friday)? Instead, start researching and gearing up for Cyber Monday! Every year, this exciting online event falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving – this year being Monday, November 27th.
According to BigCommerce, “The first Cyber Monday debuted in 2005, launched with the intention of promoting online retail (which at that time was still relatively niche). Since then, online shopping has grown at a rapid rate, and Cyber Monday has grown with it.” On this day, stores and retailers will offer major savings and discounts to those who purchase online. Free shipping is often included as well.
Not only does this yearly event offer convenience to buyers, but it also promotes comfort – which is part of the appeal of online shopping. Black Friday inevitably brings crowded malls and packed stores, while Cyber Monday allows the shopper to skip that chaos and peruse sales at home.
You don’t need to wait until the day-of to see what deals are being offered. Some companies already have online Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals listed. Check out the following websites to get started on your shopping lists:
Happy Shopping!
Helpful Tools in Program Review
By Lisa Sawyer
As many of you know, it’s time to complete Year 3 of Program Planning and Review (PPR). Did you ever look at the left side menu of the application to see what’s available? There are many useful links and tools to help you accomplish your planning tasks. In this article, we will provide a description of some options you can choose in PPR, whether you are a Level 1, 2 or 3 or are using the read-only username.
| Menu Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Prev. Academic Program Reviews | View the Academic Program Reviews dating back to 2002 |
| Prev. Administrative Program Reviews | View the Administrative Program Reviews dating back to at least 2008. Older Administrative Program Reviews vary by department. |
| Program Review Handbook | A step-by-step guide to reviewing, revising and ranking budgets provided by the Business Services Office |
| Technology Request Instructions | Guidance on how to submit technology requests in Program Review |
| Resources | Useful websites For Program Planning and Review |
| District Budget | Adopted and Tentative Budgets dating back to 2005-2006 |
| Feedback | You can submit any feedback about the Program Review application or process and your comments will be sent to Enterprise Applications and IRPIE |
| Milestone Chart | A chart indicating which level has possession of each module, P (Narrative) and B (Budget), as they are forwarded through the levels: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Completed |
A Phisherman's Catch - Cybersecurity Month Recap
By Sarah Schnittker
Cybersecurity Month spanned for the entire length of October, and you were no doubt
bombarded by notifications from our team regarding the many activities hosted to spread
Cybersecurity awareness and best practices. Including sessions hosted by Hsiawen Hull
and Micheal Gunther, the team spurred a Phishing tournament to give a taste of what
threat actors attempt to use to get district resources.
Phishing, or phish scams, are a type of cyber-crime that targets your email, text
messages, or telephone by someone seeking your sensitive personal data. Sometimes
they pose as legitimate companies, or semi-legitimate information sources, to gain
your trust and harvest your banking details, home address, usernames and passwords.
There are different types of phishing, and the tournament hosted by IT was designed
to take many different forms in your email inbox.
Nearly 275 district employees, from faculty to classified staff, were successful in
reporting phishing attempts. Most of these reports were the faux phish we dumped into
your inbox stream; however, 80% of those individuals also reported real phish in the
wild! Phishing can take many forms, such as offering a QR code or hyperlink, to get
you out of the safety of your inbox, and these eagle eye individuals caught and reported
them accurately, effectively, and timely.
So hats off to you, fellow Phisher man!
A Special Congratulations to the Non Credit office for most phish caught and workshops
attended!
Thank you for an amazing Cybersecurity Month. See y’all again next October.
For more information regarding Phishing, see our Cybersecurity Month page!
Laugh it up, Chuckles
What did the turkey say to the computer?
Google google google!