Parkland College - General Technology Information / FAQ (for Employees)


1. How do I access technology related information and resources?


2. How do I quickly report issues and problems to the Tech Service Desk?

  • If it is an emergency (preventing you from being able to do your job), please call 217-353-3333 or select Report an IT Issue via https://services.parkland.edu. You may also stop by and visit us in room A184.

Report an IT Issue


3. How do I request something new that requires chair/director approval such as access to an application, an equipment move, a Teams phone number, an equipment quote, network drive access, etc.?

Submit a Service Request button


4. Is there a way to access technology related information and how-to guides if I want to try solving an issue by myself?

  • The Parkland College KnowledgeBase is an excellent searchable database loaded with instructions on a wide variety of IT-related topics and issues. You can access the KB by going to kb.parkland.edu
  • In addition to the KnowledgeBase, Parkland College also offers employees and students FREE access to LinkedIn Learning (formerly lynda.com) which contains thousands of professional video tutorials created by industry experts on topics ranging from Microsoft Outlook to digital photography - online anytime, anywhere. Please navigate to https://go.parkland.edu/linkedinlearning
    LinkedIn Learning - Access and Navigation
  • Finally, a wealth of Microsoft Office 365 help articles on Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, OneNote, Office, etc. can be accessed at https://support.office.com.

5. How will I receive notification if there is an issue or potential outage of one of Parkland’s systems such as Cobra?

  • IT event notices and alerts get sent via email to all Parkland employees. 

6. What if I am needing information about my ParklandOne account?

8. Can I access Office 365 and/or Outlook via the web?

  • Simply navigate to go.parkland.edu/office365.Online versions of all the apps can be found on the left side of the screen and will allow for access from any machine, anywhere.
  • If you want to install Microsoft Office on a personal machine, simply click on the Install button towards the upper right.
  • Microsoft Office is already installed by default on all Parkland machines, however, there may not be shortcuts on the desktop. If not, search for "Word", for example, and select the "Word app".

9. What if I want to access the installed client version of Outlook from my Parkland office computer?

  • The client version of Outlook is more full-featured than the web version and it is installed on all Parkland office machines by default, however, there may not be a shortcut on the desktop for it. If not, search for "Outlook", and select "Outlook app".
  • For Privacy/profile reasons, it is not installed on Parkland machines that are shared, including instructor stations, part-time faculty offices, etc. Please utilize the web version of Outlook instead at https://go.parkland.edu/email

10. How do I access the Microsoft Teams application? 

  • Most Parkland employees use MS Teams for communication and collaboration. Anyone can access the web-based version from anywhere on any machine via the online Office 365 portal at https://go.parkland.edu/office365, If you wish to install Teams on a personal device, click on the Teams icon on the left and it should prompt you to to install. If it doesn't, click on the three dots (settings and more) in the upper right and select "Download the desktop app".
  • Please note that the Teams client is already installed by default on Parkland machines. You will not necessarily see a shortcut for it on the desktop. If not, search for "Teams" and select the "Teams app".  

11. Is there a dashboard where I can see all of the applications that I have access to?


12. How do I access Wi-Fi at Parkland?

  • It is recommended that you use “PCNet” as opposed to the general “Parkland” Wi-Fi network. The primary benefit of using “PCNet” is that it allows you to connect automatically without requiring you to sign in each day.
  • Wi-Fi - Access "PCNet" (for employees)

13. Is there a secure place where I can store my personal Parkland-related files? What about files that are shared with others in my department? 

  • The H: drive provides each employee with 10GB of space that is backed up and only accessible by the user it is assigned to. All work-related files can be stored here if they do not need to be accessed by anyone else. For files that need to be accessed by multiple people in your department, please use utilize the N:drive instead.
  • H: Drive FAQ
  • N: Drive FAQ
  • Please note that in order to access these drives from outside of the Parkland network, you must be on a Parkland laptop laptop that has GlobalProtect VPN installed on it.
  • Microsoft OneDrive and Sharepoint are additional options for file storage. 

14. What if I want to connect to the Parkland VPN (GlobalProtect) from off-campus?

  • In order to connect to the Parkland VPN, you must be on a Parkland-owned laptop that has GlobalProtect and SentinelOne (for security purposes) installed on it. VPN is required for access to Colleague, your H: and N: network drives, and more from off-site.
  • VPN Usage - Windows
  • VPN Usage - Mac

15. How do instructors log in on instructor station computers?

  • Please note that most generic instructor machine logins were removed for security purposes just prior to the fall 2021 semester. As such, in most cases, faculty will need to sign onto the instructor station in the labs/classrooms with their ParklandOne credentials.

16. How do applications get updated at Parkland on Windows machines?


17. Why am I receiving daily messages from "Parkland College Email Security Gateway"? 


18. Is there a way for me to send email and files securely to internal as well as non-Parkland email addresses? 


Tech Service Desk

Room A184, 217-353-3333

Fall/Spring: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. M-Th. / 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fridays

Summer: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. M-Th

Submit an IT Help Ticket via services.parkland.edu




KeywordsTechnology services resources report a problem request service IT request account new A/V Campus Tech Tech service Desk computer help software updates update employee technology help computer help IT information   Doc ID65575
OwnerSara S.GroupParkland College
Created2016-07-28 15:18:44Updated2023-12-21 17:09:23
SitesParkland College
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