Category Archives: Computers

Taking Home Tech Tools: Chromebooks, Webcams, and Other Tech for Success

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Are you, a friend, or one of your students trying to complete school assignments on a smart phone, tablet, old/slow/wonky computer, or shared computer?

  • kira, a brindle dog with perky ears, rests her paw on a laptop
    Kira needs to complete her assignments, but Courtney needs their shared laptop for work.
  • charlie, a tuxedo cat, rests on a laptop
    Scheduling computer time makes Charlie tired, so he fell asleep on the laptop he shares with Meredith.

Does your computer mostly work, but you need a better webcam or microphone to participate in online class discussions?

Do you need a Chromebook to bring home so you can complete your assignments when it’s convenient? 

Let the Library help!

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Introducing PaperCut: A New Printing System for Students

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PaperCut logo

PaperCut has launched at the Main Campus Library this week. PaperCut is a print management system used to seamlessly monitor and control printing and copying. With PaperCut students are able to print and copy documents.

PaperCut will be implemented in other computer labs and at other campuses at a later date.   

How does it work?

 Each Durham Tech student is issued a PaperCut account which is used to print and copy documents across all campuses. When a user prints or copies anywhere on campus, the total cost of the print job is deducted from their account balance. The costs for printing and copying across all Durham Tech campuses is as follows:

·         Black-and-white printing costs 10 cents per page ($0.10)

·         Color printing costs 25 cents per page ($0.25).

An initial $10 non-refundable print credit is applied to each student’s PaperCut account at the start of each term for which they are enrolled. Students may continue using Durham Tech print services until their PaperCut account balance reaches $0. Once a student’s PaperCut account balance reaches $0 they will not be able to print or copy documents until additional print credit is added to their account at the Library circulation desk. A user can check their print credit balance by accessing their PaperCut account online at papercut.durhamtech.edu/user

PaperCut: Frequently Asked Questions

Which Students Have Accounts?
Any student currently enrolled in a course that has started for the an active term should have a PaperCut Account. Users who do not have a PaperCut account may still print by creating a guest account at papercut.durhamtech.edu by clicking the “Guests click here to Register!” link on the login page.
How Do Students Access Accounts?
Visit  papercut.durhamtech.edu. Here students are able to login and see their print history, reset their Identity PIN (for quick access to copier/printers), and view any pending print jobs.
What’s A Student’s Username and Password?
Students are able to login to their PaperCut account, the identity Pop-up, and Copiers using their Durham Tech Username and Password.
Username: The Username is the student’s last name followed by first initial and the last 4 digits of your Student ID number
How Do Students Print?
Print your document from your application (e.g. File > Print) You will need to remember the printer you selected to release your document. DOUBLE-CHECK YOUR PRINT SETTINGS (Color, Black & White, 2-Sided etc.) Once the print job is submitted the Identity Pop-up is displayed. Enter your Durham Tech/WebAdvisorUsername and Password, then Click OK. Once the print job is authenticated you will see an additional pop-up informing you that your document is waiting to be released. NOTE: Your document will be waiting to be release at the printer/copier selected in step 1.
How do Students Copy?
Locate a printer/copier.  Press the keyboard icon and enter your Durham Tech Username and Password
Select Access Device, then select Copy. Once you are ready select start to begin copying documents.

Free printing in the ERC lab!

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Students– did you know that you know that you can get 10 free pages of computer printing in the library per day? You can, and there’s no catch– with your current ID in hand, just go to the computer lab in the main campus library. Our lab is down the stairs inside the library and immediately to your right.

Durham Tech offers 10 free pages of black and white printing for current students in both the ERC main campus library lab and in the Wynn Center computer lab. Both labs require current Durham Tech IDs.

It is quick and easy to get your ID or your updated ID sticker at Campus Security in Building 8.  There is no cost to get an ID or sticker, except if you are replacing a lost ID (the replacement cost  is $10).

Need to print more than 10 pages? Yes, sure, you can do that! The cost is 5 cents for each additional page over your first 10 pages. You can also print upstairs for 5 cents per page for every page.

How does it work? Easy! Just bring your current Durham Tech ID, which you’ll need to show at both the door of the library and again at the door of the lab. In the lab, log in to our computers using your Web Advisor username. Once you send your print jobs, the ERC computer lab monitor will release up to 10 pages for free and you will pick them up right there in the lab.

If you print more than 10 pages, the lab monitor will give you a bill, which you will pay at the front desk upstairs in the library. Then library staff will then release your print job and you will retrieve it in the lab.

Some questions we are frequently asked about lab printing:

Can I get my 10 free pages on the upstairs computers?
No. Free printing is available downstairs in the lab only.

Can I pick up my print jobs upstairs?
No. We can’t change the print job destination to upstairs.

Can I print double-sided in the computer lab?
No. The downstairs printers do not have that option.

Can I print in color from downstairs?
Yes, just select a color printer from the menu when you send your job. Cost is 25 cents per page.

Can I pay for additional pages or for color print jobs using a debit or credit card?
Sorry, we can accept only cash to pay for print jobs.

Can I print in the ERC lab without my current student ID?
No, you must have your current Durham Tech ID with you every time you enter the lab.  The lab monitors cannot look you up or accept other forms of ID.  If you are in the library without your ID using your one time library courtesy pass, you can still print at the computers upstairs for just 5 cents per page.

Do you have any questions? Let us know. We look forward to seeing you in the library!

Our Library Computer Lab

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Photograph of a librarian teaching a class in the library

In addition to our computers upstairs, our main campus (ERC) library is glad to be able to offer a computer lab that is open to all current Durham Tech students!

In the ERC lab, which is down the stairs inside the library and immediately to the right, our lab monitors offer technical support, a scanner is available, and you can print up to 10 black and white pages for free each day. Subsequent black and white pages are 5 cents each, and all color copies are 25 cents each.

The lab is available to students whenever the library is open, except for times when librarians are teaching library instruction classes. During these times, which are posted on the lab door, the lab is reserved for students in these classes only.

We want the lab to be a quiet area dedicated to academic work, so please keep our policies for using the lab in mind:

  • Only current Durham Tech students may use the lab, and a new or updated Durham Tech ID/proof of current student status is required. No children are allowed (no one may accompany students into the lab).
  • Only academic work is permitted.
  • No food or drink is allowed.
  • Cell phone use is prohibited.
  • Keep it quiet–no loud talking or headphone noise is permitted.
  • Students are expected to comply with Durham Tech’s Appropriate Use of Computing Resources Policy.

Let our library staff know if you have any questions, and thank you for complying with our policies and keeping our lab a great place for students to work! And remember, students must also show their current (new or updated) Durham Tech student IDs to enter both the library and the lab.