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Author: Cathy Rodriguez

Graphic design made easy with Adobe Express

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Adobe Express is a great tool for anyone looking to create visually appealing content without the steep learning curve of most typical design software. It allows users to easily create graphics, videos, and even PDF files.

Highlighted Features

  • Templates and Assets: Adobe Express has thousands of templates, photos, fonts, and other design assets.
  • User-Friendly Interface: Adobe Express features a drag-and-drop interface that makes designing straightforward. Even if you have no prior design experience, you can start creating impressive visuals immediately.
  • Mobile and Web Access: Adobe Express is available both as a web application and a mobile app.
  • Creative Tools: Adobe Express gives you access to various creative tools, including photo editing, text effects, layout customizations, and more.
  • Collaboration: Share your projects with others, gather feedback, and make real-time adjustments to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Learn more about Adobe Express features in this webpage created in Adobe Express.

Getting Started

Visit the Adobe Express website and sign in with your eID@k-state.edu and password.

Resources

Beware of CEO fraud scams

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance cybersecurity and protect K-State from potential threats, we would like to bring your attention to the issue of CEO fraud, also known as Business Email Compromise (BEC). Cybercriminals may attempt to impersonate senior executives to deceive employees into transferring funds or sensitive information.

These fraudsters target specific employees with personalized emails, usually asking their victims to complete a business activity such as paying a bill. They learn as much as possible about their targets and organization to make the emails more convincing. They can obtain this information from websites and social media sites. For example, LinkedIn provides them with a plethora of information about a target, such as job history, connections with colleagues and even samples of how they write. Continue reading “Beware of CEO fraud scams” →

Enhance your Excel spreadsheets with tables, images and Icons

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Microsoft Excel logoMaking your spreadsheets visually appealing can improve readability and make your data stand out. Explore using tables, images, and icons in your spreadsheets.

Use Excel tables for better organization and formatting

Tables in Excel are a great way to organize and present data. They automatically include filtering options, making sorting and analyzing data easier. Tables also come with built-in formatting options that enhance the overall look of your spreadsheet.

Creating a table

  1. Highlight the range of cells you want to convert into a table.
  2. On the Insert tab, click on Table.
  3. After creating your table, use the Table Design tab to select a style that fits your needs. You can choose from a variety of pre-defined styles or customize your own.

Continue reading “Enhance your Excel spreadsheets with tables, images and Icons” →

Take the snooze out of your PowerPoint presentations

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

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The design of your slide show can be a snooze fest if you don’t incorporate strategies to make your presentation more visually appealing and the delivery of your talk more engaging. It is easy to create a poorly designed presentation. The following are mistakes that presenters often make:

  • Information Overload: Too much information crammed onto slides.
  • Lack of visual appeal: Generic templates, clip art, and low-quality graphics.
  • Poor Design Choices: Inconsistent fonts, colors, and formatting, along with cluttered layouts
  • Reading from Slides: Presenters who read directly from their slides instead of engaging with the audience contribute to the phenomenon of Death by PowerPoint. This approach fails to add value beyond what is already on the slide.
  • Overuse of Bullet Points: Bullet points can be effective for organizing information, but overusing them leads to text-heavy slides that overwhelm audiences.
  • Lack of Interaction: Presentations that lack opportunities for audience interaction or participation feel one-sided and impersonal.

Use the strategies below to enhance your next presentation and to save your audience from “Death by PowerPoint.” Continue reading “Take the snooze out of your PowerPoint presentations” →

New Microsoft Planner is available in Teams

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Planner app logoMicrosoft has introduced a new Planner in Teams. This is the first step in their strategy to integrate all of their task management tools: To Do, Planner and Project on the web.

Exploring the Planner app interface

On the left navigation pane you will find:

  • My Day – Includes any tasks that are due today and tasks you choose to add for the day.
  • My Tasks – aggregates tasks from Loop, Teams meetings notes, and flagged emails. You can also add private tasks in this view.
  • My Plans – combines tasks from To Do lists, Planner plans and Project for web projects.

Continue reading “New Microsoft Planner is available in Teams” →

Microsoft’s Create Platform offers customizable templates for various Microsoft 365 apps

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Microsoft Create offers an extensive variety of templates beyond the default options available within Microsoft’s applications. Whether creating a presentation, planning a project, or working on documentation, the Microsoft Create platform offers professionally designed customizable templates to meet your needs. There are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Loop templates, and more.

Note: The Designer and Clipchamp apps aren’t currently available at K-State. However, you can access them for free using a personal Microsoft account.

Don’t worry if you don’t have design expertise. Microsoft Create is designed to be user-friendly, allowing you to easily create professional-looking content. Simply explore the templates and get started. Using these templates will not only enhance your levels of efficiency, creativity, and collaboration but also make your work look polished and professional.

If you have any questions about Microsoft Create, submit them to the KSU Teams Support channel.

Complete Cybersecurity Awareness training by April 30

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

""The deadline to complete Cybersecurity Awareness training is Tuesday, April 30.

All faculty, staff, and student employees are required to complete the training, or you will lose your eID access. You can complete the training at your own pace, whether in one or multiple sittings. On average, most people complete the training in under one hour.

If you fail to complete the training, you will lose access to all University systems on May 21. Once you complete the training, your access will be restored.

If you have student employees who are no longer employed, be sure to terminate them in HRIS to prevent their access from being removed if they are still active students.

Take the trainingAccess the training

  1. Visit the Division of Information Technology website: https://www.k-state.edu/it/.
  2. At the bottom of the page, under the Cybersecurity Awareness Training section, click the Take the training button.

Record of training completion

After you complete the training, your training record in HRIS will be updated. It will be listed under the Training Summary as Cybersecurity Awareness, with the course code WIT590 and course session 2024.

If you have questions about the Cybersecurity Awareness training, contact the IT Service Desk:

  • Phone: 785-532-7722
  • Live chat
  • Walk-in: 2nd Floor, Hale Library

Exploring the OneDrive homepage

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

The OneDrive homepage isn’t just for simple file access; it’s a central hub for efficiently managing your files across Microsoft 365, regardless of their source. Think of it as a one-stop shop for all of your files. Plus, you can easily access OneDrive within Outlook and Teams (left navigation pane), streamlining your file management process.

Homepage LayoutMicrosoft New Homepage Layout

The homepage features:

  1. Add New: add new documents/folders or upload existing documents/folders.
  2. Left navigation pane: various ways to browse your files.
  3. For you: file recommendations designed just for you.
  4. Recent: recent files where you can view all files or filter by application or person.

Continue reading “Exploring the OneDrive homepage” →

Microsoft Teams: Make your posts stand out using the announcement feature

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

Sometimes, your post gets lost in the flood of posts in a Microsoft Teams channel. Make your important posts stand out with an announcement post. Teams has options for dynamic backgrounds and AI-powered image generation.

  1. In a channel, click Start a post.
  2. Click the Post Type button and then click Announcement.""Note: In the bottom-right corner of the Announcement are two options. You can 1) modify the color scheme or 2) create a custom background.
  3. Click on the desired option and customize.

    Note:     If you are creating a custom background, you can upload an image you already have or type a description of the type of image you want.Under Explore ideas, if you hover over an image, it will display the description used to create that image. Click on the image If you would like to use that description so you can modify it or to see other images created with that description.

If you have any questions about Microsoft Teams, post your question(s) in the KSU Teams Support Team.

Impersonation phishing scam hits campus

Posted on by Cathy Rodriguez

The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, making it vital to stay ahead of the curve in safeguarding digital assets. A recent phishing scam at K-State involved what is known as CEO Fraud. CEO Fraud preys on the trust and authority associated with executive positions to deceive employees into carrying out fraudulent activity. 

In this example, the scammer sent a K-State employee an email impersonating a department head, asking the staff member to download a file about a pay adjustment. Instead of clicking the link in the email, the alert employee checked with the department head to see if they had sent the email. The supervisor hadn’t sent the email. This was a scam. 

Remember: Don’t open email links or unexpected or unusual attachments, attachments from strangers or strange-looking emails. 

Any email attachment or link can carry software designed to damage or exploit your device or network. The malware will launch once you open the attachment or click the link. Vigilance and skepticism are our best defenses against impersonation scams. 

Tips to prevent becoming a victim of phishing scams: 

  • Don’t reply to a suspicious, unexpected or strange email. 
  • Be wary of emails with urgent requests for your personal or financial information or your sign-in credentials. 
  • Don’t open unexpected or unusual attachments, attachments from strangers or strange-looking emails. 
  • Don’t click links in unexpected emails, emails you suspect are fraudulent or if you don’t know the sender. 
  • Don’t click Sign In links. Go to the business website and sign in there or contact their customer service for help. 
  • Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for financial information. Only share credit card information via a secure website or telephone. 

If you receive a suspicious email, forward it to abuse@ksu.edu and be sure to include the email headers in your message.