Coates works on a computer for the majority of her shift as a staff assistant in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Unit at Duke University Hospital. Although she acknowledges that there is always room for improvement, she is pretty self-assured in her work.
At a recent Learn IT @ Lunch workshop, Amanda Coates, a staff assistant in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Unit at Duke University Hospital, picked up some new computer skills. Stephen Schramm took the picture. Amanda Coates, staff assistant in Duke University Hospital’s Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Unit, learned some new computer tricks at a recent Learn IT @ Lunch workshop. Stephen Schramm took the picture. “Even though I’ve been in this role for a few years, there are things I don’t know,” said Coates, who will occasionally seek out information about helpful keyboard shortcuts or overlooked software features.
She attended a Learn IT @ Lunch workshop titled “Would, Coulda, Shoulda: Nifty Tech Tips from the Duke Community” because of her curiosity. The free workshop, part of a regular series of lunchtime technology gatherings organized by Duke’s Office of Information Technology, highlighted tech tips crowdsourced from Duke community members. Prior to the workshop, thirty tips were submitted all together. Matt Royal, an IT analyst at Duke OIT, stated, “I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’m constantly learning new tricks.” Coates came away from the workshop with a lot of new ways to save time, like new keyboard shortcuts and a better way to send emails that are the same every time. Take a look at some helpful advice provided by Duke employees who submitted them. Shortcuts on the keyboard There are some commonly known keyboard shortcuts that help with simple tasks in Windows such as copying (Ctrl + C), cutting (Ctrl + X), pasting (Ctrl + V), selecting all of something (Ctrl + A), undoing something (Ctrl + Z) and restoring something you’ve undone (Ctrl + Y). For Mac users, these shortcuts are available using the Command key.
Hands typing on a keyboard.“ Those were by far our most popular submissions,” said Duke OIT Senior IT Analyst Debrah Suggs, who led the April workshop. I’ve seen people click copy and paste after going to the edit menu. There’s an easier way to do this.”
Akma Kasmaganbetova, academic services coordinator for the Center for International Development at the Sanford School of Public Policy, brought her favorite keyboard shortcut, the Alt + Tab shortcut, to the workshop. As part of her job, Kasmaganbetova needs to switch quickly between multiple applications on her computer, which runs Windows.
Kasmaganbetova has used the Alt + Tab keyboard shortcut ever since she discovered the advice a few years ago. She stated that this technique is particularly useful when copying and pasting comments from survey data stored in an Excel spreadsheet into a Word document. “I found that tip very useful, it’s the one I use most often,” Kasmaganbetova said.
Facilitate email. Part of Gloria Howard’s job with Duke Pediatrics is to oversee the flow of recommendation letters for faculty credentialing and promotions, which leads to a lot of repetitive emails.
An open email.
The Quick Parts function can be found under Insert in Outlook email for PCs.
When Howard, who uses a PC that runs Windows, found out about the “Quick Parts” feature in her Microsoft Outlook email a few years ago, it was major leap in efficiency.
Howard, who provided the workshop with the suggestion, stated, “It’s the kind of thing that, when I heard about it and started using it, I told everybody that I could.” Under the Insert tab, there is an option titled “Quick Parts” when you click on the icon to create a new email in Microsoft Outlook for Windows. That’s where you can save email templates, or chunks of commonly used text, and drop them into an email with one click. Apple computers do not have this feature. Howard, who has nearly two dozen pieces of text saved as Quick Parts, stated, “It’s very helpful.” “You don’t have to type everything over and over.”
Using Your Smartphone, Open Doors After hearing colleagues in her lab discussing a new feature that equipped their smartphones with some capabilities of their DukeCard, Abbey Jackson downloaded the app and gave it a shot.
The ability to enter secured campus buildings without having to dig out her card became a welcome change very quickly. Jackson, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in chemistry, stated, “I used to attach my DukeCard to my keys, which made them really bulky.” “Or I’d keep it in my pocket and then sometimes wouldn’t be sure if it was still there. But I always have my phone, so it’s just more convenient.”
