The UMVibe application, now available to faculty and staff, enables users— regardless of their location on- or off-campus—to share documents and work in teams on projects that require writing as a group, sharing calendars, and conducting private online discussions among team members. UMVibe has been thoroughly tested for these and other capabilities. 

Initially, each user is allocated 25 gigabytes of storage. Content can be uploaded in files as large as two gigabytes. Exception procedures are being developed to go beyond these allocations if needed. 

For security, files can only be accessed with a UMID and password. 

Support is available across campus, as it is with other applications such as Blackboard. Administrators in each area can help with setup and use, including meeting of requirements specific to a school or department. The University’s IT Help Desk can assist with routine issues such as access, and will triage highly technical problems through a network of UMVibe support specialists within the Center for Information Technology Services. 

Self-paced training materials have been developed to allow users to learn about the application on their own schedule. A support site with step-by-step instructions for various tasks, videos demonstrating procedures, and links to other resources are available at www.umaryland.edu/vibe/. 

Tools incorporated in the rollout to help make the application easy to use include a Microsoft Office add-in and a desktop tool that allow users to securely access files on their desktop, edit them with Office products, and save the files back to the UMVibe server without having to log in. A mobile application allows users to securely access UMVibe with a smartphone or tablet computer. 

For more information on UMVibe, contact the IT Help Desk by visiting www.umaryland.edu/helpdesk or by calling 6-4357.