This is fakeshark‘s update of wilk‘s update of michelle‘s update of kitab‘s update of alt‘s update of pyrotechnics‘ update of lesanjuan‘s update of Syed’s 2010 post.
Before we begin, here’s where you can find the welcome post (so that you can binge read from the beginning), and here’s where you can find last year’s edition of this post.
Hello, and welcome to the 8th annual edition of the Unofficial Orientation Series. In today’s episode, we’ll be discussing everything you need to know about the World Wide Web (and all things affiliated with it). Actually, we’ll be discussing everything you need to know about the Wes Wide Web. If you’ve reached this far, you’ve proved your competence in terms of navigating through some of Wesleyan’s digital landscape. But, my dear Prefrosh, there’s so much you have to learn. That’s where I come in – I’m going to teach you about the finer things in life, and all things in the WesTech multiverse.
WesTech does not refer to the kind people that provide technical services and support students and faculty – that’s ITS, and you’ll find them in the Exley lobby (probably playing some cool jams, waiting to fix your dying laptop) So, WesTech. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Wes was nicknamed ‘WesTech’ by our jealous counterparts (i.e: The Ivies and others), psht. It was assumed that Wesleyan has unattractive girls and inferior athletes, so it may as well be a technical school. So therefore, ‘techies’ are what the typical Wes student was referred to, back in the day. (No one really calls us WesTech anymore??? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call us WesTech??? Either way, we’re all hot stoned nerds ;))
Here’s what a previous WesLingo post says about WesTech:
WesTech is a word that will pop up every once in a while (via the ACB): “WesTech refers to everyone not DKE/Beta* or mostly the ‘very Wesleyan’ population. It comes from the idea that Wesleyan has unattractive girls and bad sports and thus might as well be a technical school: WesTech.” Apparently, however, this is a term used mainly by other schools to make fun of Wesleyan, and has been appropriated by the sports teams as a label of pride (sports teams doing the ironic appropriation? Only at Wesleyan). A Techie was a term generally used by athletes to describe a “typical” Wesleyan student (artsy), or a “Techie.”
In case you’re still procrastinating on choosing classes, and doing your Common Reading, here’s some mandatory viewing for you: WesTech State of Mind.
In order to be part of the Wes population of ‘Techies’, you, my dear Prefrosh, need to know how to be tech savvy.
(Pro Tip: Delete your WesAdmits introductory bio. Do it before you get on campus. Trust us, just do it. )
This could be you, because homework is definitely what happens on Foss.
AirWes (WesStudent? Airwes?)
The wonderful folks at ITS have blessed our campus with internet privileges. Did you know there was a time when we had to pick between talking on the phone and using the internet? A few upgrades and revolutions later, the connection has been refined to prevent almost all lags and slowdowns. You kids don’t know how lucky you are. AirWes (which used to be called WesStudent (which used to be called AirWes)) is the wifi available across all spots on campus (except maybe the Labyrinth, or Russell House, or that one spot in Olin that you’ve claimed). Everyone is almost always complaining about it, but it’s really not all that bad (Much like Summies).
WesPortal
As the days to Arrival Day decrease and your eagerness to metamorphose from an unassuming Prefrosh to a wild Frosh increases, I’m sure you’ve spent countless hours navigating through WesPortal. Back in the day, WesPortal used to be an E-Portfolio. Again, you guys don’t know how lucky you are. The UI has significantly improved, but sadly, we don’t have themes anymore. Pro Tip: Use the ‘Favorites’ feature to keep everything easily accessible. (Every once in a while I end up on the old e-portfolio somehow. It’s like I’m in the internet version of the Butts tunnels. Even more so because of the Halloween theme – sdz)
Moodle
Moodle1718 is our classroom organizing software. Maybe you aren’t familiar with it now, but trust us, you’ll be frenemies by the end of the year. (There’s nothing quite as exhilarating as feverishly refreshing your class moodle page for hours after an exam result was supposed to come out because your professor hella procrastinated on grading an exam. S/O to all my spring 2018 orgo buddiiiiiiiieeeez – sdz). You’ll be using this to access course readings, videos, forum posts, discussions, grades and pretty much anything that your professor chooses to put on there. Pro Tip: You can use your course page on Moodle to stalk people in your classes. (You can even figure out what other classes they’re taking – it’s not like that’s totally creepy pftttt). Remember, doing your course readings may not seem cool, but so is not getting that participation grade. Sliding into Moodle DMs is the new hookup tactic (you heard it here first!)
ResNet
In a dusty corner in your dorm, you’ll find an ethernet jack. This connects devices to the greater Wesleyan network. You can purchase ethernet cables from Cardinal Tech or good ol’ Amazon. I don’t think anyone even uses this, but the more you know, am I right? Woodframe houses have their own wifi (you’ll probably never need this, but again, the more you know).
EduRoam
This bit will come in handy when you get homesick and go to other universities to visit your high school friends during your first semester (and maybe never again). Wesleyan is part of the EduRoam network, so you can use your Wes username and password to log in to the network. It even works internationally (for the 10% of our diverse population that is international, I gotchu!).
GoogleApps
We here at Wesleyan use GoogleApps. It’s like your regular Google applications, except you need to log in through your WesPortal. You could also go to mail.gapps.wesleyan.edu or just type in your Wes username on GMail (i.e: username@wesleyan.edu). You can integrate all other GMail accounts with your Wes Email ID, if you’d like. Just make sure not to send your professors emails from your 6th grade email ID, like yayayaysuperninja@gmail.com (first-hand experience, guys).
WesFiles
Here is where every single document in the Wes Wide Web is stored. Student accounts come with 1GB of storage. I’m not really sure what goes on here, but, hey, finals’ schedules are stored here, so it must be important?
MS Office
If you don’t already have it, Wes provides you with access to the latest version of Microsoft Office. Students can self register on the website. The self registration is at products.office.com/en-us/student.
You can also use Microsoft Office 365 with your Wes email and password!
News Sources
If you go to Wesleyan, you’re probably already up-to-date with what’s going on around the world, but it’s also necessary for you to know what’s going on around campus. Before you hear it during a party on Fountain, or right before Orgo starts, you’ll probably see it here on Wesleying. We cover pretty much all of what’s going on (yay, shameless self plug). You could always compile everything and use a RSS feeder (2016 update: lol does anyone even use RSS feeds anymore?; 2017 update: michelle, I actually have an RSS update that sends directly to my email about Ribosome news; 2018 update: what’s a RSS feeder???) On the rare occasion where we don’t shove all the Wes related info down your brain pipe, here are some more sources for you to use —
- Class Blog. Class of 2022 will have a specific blog for itself. Your dean will occasionally post updates, and information on it.
- Roth on Wesleyan. You’ve heard of Roth on Sloth, now get ready for Roth on Wesleyan???? This is President Roth’s outreach to the larger Wes community. He posts about Wes-related observations and encounters.
- The Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) Blog tells of what the WSA is doing and how this affects you. It occasionally has some important notices and tips. If you’re into accountability especially, read it.
- The Wesleyan Argus is the online edition of the official school newspaper. New issues are published on Tuesdays and Fridays.
- The Middletown Press is the daily local newspaper for the Middletown area.
- The Middletown Eye is a new blog reporting on news in Middletown and the surrounding area.
- AuralWes is an independent blog, unaffiliated with the university, that keeps track of “upcoming shows, concerts, festivals and other student-run, music-related events on campus.”
- WesLive is a community blog run by the administration. They post newsworthy clips and seem to mostly aggregate posts from other departments.
- Wesleying is a 100% student-run and student-generated blog about all things Wesleyan—what goes on at Wes, what Wes students are doing, what Wes students care about. We’re not in any way affiliated with the university. We feature news, commentary, events, memes and all sorts of random shit. (woohoo!)
Library
To get through the next four years of all-nighters with looming deadlines, you’re going to need a lot of caffeine, Adderall and Wesleyan’s Library Resources.
This little portal here is going to be how you gather your data-sets, find articles in journals, and get lost in the realm of academia. A simple google search won’t cut it anymore, and Wikipedia isn’t a valid source – this isn’t high school anymore, kids. OneSearch is a search engine designed to go through every single academic resource Wesleyan possesses (including its physical holdings, online subscriptions and InterLibraryLoan partnerships).
If OneSearch lets you down, you could always do a more streamlined search through the Wesleyan Online Database subscriptions. We(s) pay(s) a lot for these, so use them. Olin is one of our most prized possessions, so definitely make the most of it. You can use the Catalog to search for books. If the book you want isn’t there, you should search the CTW consortium, a ConnColl-Trinity-Wes collaboration to loan books to one another when needed. If that still doesn’t yield your book, try WorldCat. Though, if you find yourself over your head in a research project, you can always ask for a personal research session with one of the librarians.
To see and manage the items you’ve checked out from Olin, SciLi, or through a partner library through InterLibrary Loan (ILL) or the CTW Consortium (with Trinity and Conn College), you can access your personal library account here. You can renew your books there, so long as no one else has requested the book (you can theoretically do this until you graduate).
If you are looking for something (typically a newly published monograph or other scholarly work) that exists nowhere in the catalog or through ILL, you can suggest a purchase. This is very cool and under-utilized in my opinion. If the library folks agree to purchase your suggestion, they’ll send you an email notification that will include when the book should arrive. They’ll also hold the book for you after it arrives!!!
The Wesleyan Library can help you even when you’re not physically on campus, or when it’s 4am and Olin is shut—many books are available electronically, and can be easily downloaded. It’s also possible to download a certain number of pages in pdf form. If you’re like me and leave everything to the last minute, this is going to be your saviour!
WesCam
This is like Wesleyan’s very own, semi-anonymous (and pretty predatory) version of Tinder, or Grindr, or whatever you’re into. You don’t need to worry about this until spring comes along. (but in case you’re curious, check this out). A brief history can be found on the New York Times (ya. we did that.).
That’s all for today, folks! For more Wesleyan related internet sources, go to the sidebar on any Wesleying page and see Links. Click the categories to drop down the individual links. Add suggestions and/or questions in the comments. Happy internetting! (don’t spiral too far)