What’s That Called?

Posted January 14, 2021 by Academic and Institutional Technology
Tags: Department News

What's That Called?

Quick, where do you go on campus to meet your friends and eat a meal at Wheaton College?  Unless you’re one of a handful of people who call it “Anderson Commons” or “the Dining Hall,” you probably answered, “SAGA” in your head. 

SAGA, of course, was the food provider at Wheaton College back in the 70s and 80s, and they haven’t served food here for several decades.  But for some reason the name stuck. 

Sometimes this happens with brands.  If someone asks you for a Kleenex, you know they’d like a facial tissue, and you’re likely to hand them one and not quibble over the fact that the one you have is technically Puffs brand.  You know what your friend means, and you react accordingly.

Here at Wheaton there are some technology brands that people have started to refer to inaccurately.  For example, maybe you need to collect data from a class of students.  Someone says, “You need a JotForm!” Then you contact AIT and try to figure out if you can get a license to use JotForm and so on and so forth.  You don’t actually need to use JotForm.  What you need is an online form.  And there are dozens of products that could do what you need!   You could make a Google Form (that would be free!) or use JotForm, or maybe use Qualtrics or OnBase.  It depends on what your needs are. 

Or perhaps you’ve heard someone say, “Let’s Zoom!”  Maybe they are using the Zoom platform for video conferencing.  Or they might be using Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams.  All three of these are possible options that AIT is currently supporting.  These are all different ways you can hold a virtual meeting

Another example would be Duo.  We’re using Duo as our Two-Factor Authentication.  Sometimes called Multi-Factor Authentication and abbreviated as MFA, there are dozens of other products out there that perform this same service.  Yes, AIT used the phrase “Just Duo It” when we proudly announced our rollout of Duo as our MFA, but many other options exist for helping keep your data secure by requiring other confirmation of your identity. 

Just keep in mind that you don’t need to be limited by one brand name.  Remember there are many options for online forms, virtual meetings, and MFA.

If you have questions about any of these technologies we provide, please contact the AIT Service Desk at ait.service.desk@wheaton.edu or call 630.752.4357 (HELP).