UWSOD IT
Visit the School of Dentistry Information Technology site for information about axiUm, MIPACS and imaging software, remote access, teams, and computer support.
Student Technology
The UW School of Dentistry makes extensive use of different technologies for teaching and learning, and in the clinical environment. To make our students successful, we are providing these guidelines on how to get set up and also comply with school policies.
Personal Electronic Devices
Personal Computers are an essential part of your dental education. The dental industry is increasingly dependent on powerful 2D and 3D imaging software that runs best on higher specification PCs. To that end, the UW School of Dentistry requires all students to have suitable laptops or tablet PCs.
For best results, you are strongly encouraged to have a sufficiently recent model laptop with the following specifications:
- Microsoft Windows 10 Professional edition or higher, or MacOS 10.11 or higher. *
- 16GB of RAM minimum.
- Intel Core i5 minimum.
- 256 GB + of internal solid state (SSD) storage is highly recommended.
- The labs can get dusty, and internal moving parts are not good and can degrade faster.
- TPM Chip
- This is used to support drive encryption to align with HIPAA per School of Dentistry Policy: SP-01 UWSOD Electronic Data Policy (requires UWNetID) **
- This is required for users who plan on storing HIPAA related files on their local machine.
- If there is no TPM chip in the hardware, users can look to encrypt their machines with a third-party software.
- Dedicated graphics card or integrated graphics card with at least 4GB of system memory.
- Wi-Fi (wireless) network capability (required).
- Battery life of 3-4 hours or more between charges (recommended).
- Anti-virus software
- Sophos is available free from UW.
- Microsoft Office Pro Plus
- MS Office is available for free for UW students.
- Extended warranty with accidental damage and/or technical support provided by the manufacturer.
- UW can offer only very limited support on personal devices.
* Windows 10 Professional or higher is required in order to use BitLocker to encrypt the hard drive. There is a $99 cost to upgrade from Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Professional. School policy requires encryption of personal computer hard drives.
**Apple Macs are a popular and viable alternative option, but FileVault encryption of the computer’s drive is required. Additionally, the computer may require Bootcamp or Parallels so that Windows can also be installed for use with specialized software. A Windows 10 Professional license will also need to be purchased in these cases.
Touch Screens, Tablets and Pens?
Touch is becoming popular with some students and faculty since it allows for a more interactive experience with some of the imaging software in use here. It is not a requirement, but you may prefer it.
As for tablets and pen input, many students prefer to maintain electronic notes with the likes of Microsoft OneNote and some research is showing that writing helps with memory encoding and factual retention. There are some great options on the market right now, you might want to consider some of them.
Advice from a student
“For some students, especially those who don’t type quickly or who like to draw arrows and such on their notes, a tablet PC can be very useful. It is not uncommon for us to see several hundred slides in a day. Though the faculty often provide small black and white printouts, I find it really nice to be able to take notes directly on the full color version without having to print them out.”
PC recommendations
We highly recommend the “For Work” or “Professional” versions of PCs, not the consumer versions that you might get in Best Buy or Costco. They are better constructed, and while more expensive, there are typically fewer corners cut with lower-cost components.
Thumb Drives
Thumb Drives, or USB drives are useful for transferring files, they can also be a HIPAA risk if not used appropriately. While we recommend that files are stored on UW OneDrive, if you do want to purchase a thumb drive, we recommend the Kingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy series.
Email and Collaborative Tools
The suite of email and collaborative tools that are approved for use at the UW School of Dentistry is UW Office 365 Education. The UWSOD operates a HIPAA compliant environment and in support of that, the UW has centrally signed a Business Associates Agreement with Microsoft which covers use of the Office 365 Education services. Using other cloud services, such as Google Apps or Dropbox presents a PHI risk and is prohibited under SOD policy.
Very soon after you get accepted at the UW, you will be invited to set up your user account, also known as your UW NetID. Your UW NetID is also your email address, and as a student at the school, you should forward your mail to the UW Office 365 service. Forwarding your email to any other UW or consumer email service is prohibited under policy.
Security
All UW Medical and Dental students are required to follow UW Medicine as well as School of Dentistry Privacy and Security policies when connecting any type of device onto the UW Medicine and Dentistry networks.
Adherence to the policies is necessary to follow Federal HIPAA regulations. Specific requirements include, but are not limited to, running anti-virus and firewall software, keeping patches up to date, encrypting devices, and utilizing a modern operating system.
Software
See the UWare Software page for information on obtaining Microsoft Windows and Office, as well as other software for free or at a discount. The University of Washington provides support for protection from viruses. Click here for more information.
Student Technology Loan Program
The Student Technology Fee supports the Student Technology Loan Program (STLP), which allows students to check out a range of electronic equipment (such as PC and Mac laptops, projectors, digital and video cameras, audio equipment, calculators, tablets and more) at no additional cost. The Health Sciences Building (HSB) Office is in the HSB I-Wing, Room I-146 (in the Rotunda area). On upper campus, the Kane Hall (KNE) Office is in the basement of Kane Hall, Room 035. Please note that the School of Dentistry IT department will not have any spare laptops for rental. You must stop by the Student Technology Loan Program offices to rent out computing gear.
UW Informational Technology
UW Information Technology is the central IT organization providing critical technology support to all three campuses, UW medical centers and global research operations. You will find a variety of resources through their IT Connect website, including:
- UW NetID
- Email System, including guidelines and rules, calendaring, UW Google Apps
- Software and Hardware
- Teaching and Learning Spaces and Tools, including Canvas
- Learning Technology Workshops
- Appropriate Use
- Security
Contact UW Information Technology: help@uw.edu, (206)221-5000, or use online contact form.
UW Net ID
Students attending the University of Washington need a UW NetID to access computing resources at the University. These resources include a UW supported email account and access to your personal records. Students may create a UW NetID online, which requires a student’s UW student number and Private Access Code (PAC, printed on the Enrollment Confirmation Form). Students will create a password to be used with the NetID, and must not share this password with anyone. The NetID and password allow access not only to a student’s individual information, but allows access to various restricted websites such as individual course pages, School information, and more.
The UW NetID allows access to the MyUW portal. For more information and usage guidelines, visit the IT Connect page, About MyUW. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the MyUW portal early in the program, as it is a valuable and convenient resource which includes secure access to personal student information, as well as useful links to UW resources and systems. Students can check their grades, access the registration system, view course schedule and financial information, pay tuition, make address changes, and more. Students returning to the University after an absence may use their former UW NetID to access these services. Click here to open the MyUW portal.
UW Email
Your UW email address is composed of your UW NetID and the domain “uw.edu.” This email address will be used by School of Dentistry and University officials to provide you with important information. You are expected to check your UW email account daily during the academic year.
In addition, there have been pervasive issues with legitimate emails going to spam folders for individuals who forward their UW email.