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Orange Online: October 2026 Student Newsletter

This message was originally shared to all students via email on October 8, 2026.

Orange Online at a Glance

Pressed for time? We have you covered. Here are this edition’s topics:

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, remember that a familiar face, voice or email isn’t proof anymore. A recent Gartner survey found 41% of cybersecurity leaders had faced a deepfake incident on an employee audio call in the past year. Learn how to verify unusual requests in Don’t Fall for It: Staying Cyber-Safe in the Age of AI.

Music Mondays

Meet your next bandmate at Music Monday. Student musicians from across campus are invited to the ITS MakerSpace to connect, tour the music room and tracking room and find new collaborators. No instrument needed. Space is limited to 30 per session. Sign Up.

ITS Shorts

Campus tech, made quick. ITS Shorts are short videos that spotlight the tools and spaces available to you at Syracuse University, including the MakerSpace. Each one gives you a fast look at what a resource offers and how to get started. Watch Shorts.

External Email Tags Now Appear In Outlook

Emails from outside Syracuse University now display an External tag next to the sender’s name in Outlook. The tag doesn’t necessarily mean a message is malicious. Similarly, an email without a tag isn’t guaranteed to be safe. Be cautious with links and attachments, and report suspicious messages using Outlook’s Report Message button. Learn More.

Your Google Account Comes with Gemini

Your Syracuse University Google account comes with Gemini, and it does more than write. Point your phone camera at a dying plant and talk it through live. Share your screen and ask for help with a spreadsheet formula that won’t work while you’re looking right at it. Ask for a flyer and get one with the date spelled correctly. Start with whichever one makes you curious. Read Article.

AI Insights

Explore the latest in artificial intelligence with AI Insights, the newsletter for all things AI. Whether you’re looking to enhance your work with smart tools or simply stay informed, each issue brings you news from higher ed and the tech world and weekly AI tips. Newsletter. 

Tech Tips Weekly

Stay connected and ahead with Tech Tips Weekly—for quick, practical advice to make the most of campus technology. Each week, our newsletter delivers easy-to-follow how-tos, timely service updates and insider looks at the newest features, tools and resources. Subscribe. 

Helpful Resources

ITS and the campuswide information technology community are available year-round to help with your tech questions. Resources include:

Thank you for reading. Go Orange!

Tech Tips: October 2026 Staff/Faculty Newsletters

This message was originally shared to all faculty and staff via email on October 8, 2026.

At a Glance

Each month, Information Technology Services provides tech tips for the Orange community. Pressed for time? Here are this edition’s topics:

AI at Work: When AI Can, Should We?

As AI becomes more capable, we face more choices about what to delegate and what should remain distinctly human. At our next AI at Work session on Nov. 18 from 2 to 3 p.m., Pun To “Doug” Yung, a Meredith Professor Faculty Fellow in biomedical and chemical engineering, will draw on virtue ethics to explore how we can choose well when AI is an option. Register today for this thought-provoking discussion presented in partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence.

Claude 101

Curious about Claude but not sure where to begin? Claude 101 is your on-ramp. This live demo series covers the interface, memory, projects, skills and Microsoft 365. Missed the first session? Watch the recording, then join us on Microsoft Teams from 1 to 2 p.m. on Oct. 22, Nov. 19 or Dec. 17. Register.

Know Before You Go

Spend less time on setup and more time learning. Shannon Glennon’s quick guide covers four things to do before Claude 101: sign in with your NetID, connect Claude to Microsoft 365, let Claude remember your context and put Claude side by side with the session so you can try things as you go. Read Quick Guide.

Take Your Class to the ITS MakerSpace

Bring hands-on learning to your course. The ITS MakerSpace has 3D printing, laser engraving, textile machines, music rooms and more, and we’d love to give a tour or host your class. Request a Visit.

Need a Hand with Classroom Tech?

Classroom tech acting up? Planning an event? The ITS Learning Environments and Media Production team can help with equipment loans, classroom support, event A/V and production services. Explore Services.

External Email Tags Now Appear in Outlook

Emails from outside Syracuse University now display an External tag in Outlook. A few trusted partner domains are exempt. The tag doesn’t mean a message is malicious, nor does its absence guarantee safety. Please report suspicious messages with Outlook’s Report Message button. Learn More.

Free Adobe Sessions for Faculty

Registration is open for the Adobe Education Institute, Nov. 3 to 5. Faculty and staff can join free, hands-on sessions on Adobe Express, Acrobat, Creative Cloud and Adobe Firefly AI workflows, with practical ways to put these tools to work. Can’t make it live? Sessions are also available on demand. Register.

Digital Accessibility Tip: Course Accessibility

Need a one-stop-shop for all materials related to accessible course content? Visit Accessibility Resources for Instructors for consolidated guidance and a growing FAQ. Course Accessibility.

Information Security Tip: AI Scams

Generative AI can make scam emails, voices and videos more convincing than ever. Learn how to spot a fake, verify unusual requests and use AI tools safely with simple habits. Read Tips.

AI Insights

Explore the latest in artificial intelligence with AI Insights. Whether you’re looking to enhance your work with smart tools or simply stay informed, each issue brings you news from higher ed and the tech world and weekly tips. Newsletter. 

Tech Tips Weekly

Stay connected and ahead with Tech Tips Weekly—for quick, practical advice to make the most of campus technology. Each week, our TLDR newsletter delivers easy-to-follow how-tos, service updates and insider looks at tools and resources. Subscribe.

Helpful Resources

ITS and the campuswide information technology community are available year-round to help with your tech questions. Resources include:

• Academic and administrative IT staff

• Classroom Resource Guide

• ITS Service Center

• Self-Serv NetID and password management portal

Thank you for reading. Go Orange!

3 Ways to Level Up Your Claude Cowork 

 By Shannon Glennon, AI Technology Transformation Specialist, Syracuse University ITS 

Last week, in 3 Steps to Get Started with Claude Cowork, you set up Cowork, gave it a place to work and handed off a first task. This is part two, where we build on what we started. 

Picture a Monday morning. You open your laptop, and your weekly summary is already waiting. You didn’t ask for it today. You asked once, a few weeks ago. 

Each one starts the same way: click the Cowork toggle in the chat window. You can use Cowork in a browser, but for full functionality, use the desktop app. 

  1. Set your global instructions

Open Settings, select Cowork, and click Edit next to Global Instructions. Add a few lines Cowork should follow on every task, like “Never change my original files. Save a new copy instead.” 

  1. Turn your plugin into shortcuts

When you ran /setup-claude, you installed a plugin matched to your role. Its skills are waiting in the / menu. Type / in a Cowork chat, pick a skill that fits something on your to-do list, and run it with your Project or folder selected. If you connected Microsoft 365, the skill can use your real calendar, email and files. 

  1. Put a task on a schedule

Remember the calendar prep agendas from the first task we tried last week? Make that one repeat. 

  • Click Scheduled in the left sidebar. 
  • Click New task in the upper right, then set up manually. 
  • Enter a Name, like Monday meeting prep. 
  • Paste your prompt into Instructions. 
  • Open Work in a project or folder and choose a OneDrive folder (or one of your Projects). 
  • Set Frequency. 
  • Turn on Require this computer so Cowork can save to your folder. 
  • Click Save. 

Try this for your instructions: 

“Look at my calendar for the week and create a prep agenda for each meeting. Save each one in this folder.” 

Each run shows up as its own session under Scheduled in the left sidebar, with the agendas saved in your folder. Set it up once, and as long as your computer is awake, Cowork takes it from there. 

Don’t Fall for It: Staying Cyber-Safe in the Age of AI

Fall brings changing leaves, cooler weather and plenty of familiar signs that the season has arrived. However, when it comes to what we see and hear online, appearances can be deceiving.

Generative AI can create remarkably convincing emails, images, voices and even videos. Those capabilities can help us work and create, but they also give cybercriminals new ways to make scams more believable.

Don’t Fall for a Familiar Face, Voice, or Email

Imagine receiving a message from your supervisor asking you to urgently send a document or approve a transaction. You see their name, you recognize their face, and/or you hear their voice. Would you question it?

Increasingly, you should.

The rise in sophisticated cyber scams have kept pace with the proliferation of AI. A recent Gartner survey found that 41% of cybersecurity leaders surveyed had experienced at least one social-engineering incident involving a deepfake during an employee audio call in the previous 12 months. More than a third reported an incident involving video.

AI hasn’t changed one of the most important cybersecurity lessons: an unexpected or unusual request deserves a second look.

If someone asks for money, passwords, sensitive information or an unusual action, verify the request using a method you already trust. Call a known phone number, start a new Teams conversation or contact the person directly rather than relying on the contact information in the original message.

Turn Over a New Leaf With Your AI Habits

AI tools themselves also deserve some caution. Before putting information into an AI prompt, ask yourself: Would I be comfortable sharing this information outside the University?

For University work, use University-approved AI tools while signed in with your Syracuse University credentials, and don’t put confidential or sensitive University information into personal or unapproved AI services.

And remember that confident doesn’t mean correct. AI can produce inaccurate or even completely fabricated information. Check important facts and original sources before relying on AI-generated content.

Three Tricks for Safer AI Usage

  1. Protect what you share. Don’t give sensitive information to AI tools that aren’t approved for it.
  2. Question what you receive. AI can make phishing emails, voices, images and videos more convincing.
  3. Verify before you trust. When something important or unusual is requested, confirm it independently.

AI offers tremendous opportunities for teaching, learning and working at Syracuse University. A little skepticism; and a few good security habits, can help make sure the tricks don’t outweigh the treats.

3 Steps to Get Started with Claude Cowork 

By Shannon Glennon, AI Technology Transformation Specialist, Syracuse University ITS 

Cowork takes on a whole task, works through it in multiple steps, and saves the finished result where you can open it. Before the steps, a quick look at the / key. 

Typing / in the chat box opens a menu of shortcuts. It lists commands like /setup-claude, plus the skills from any plugin you install, so you can run them without writing out a prompt. 

Here are three steps to help you get started with Cowork. Each one begins the same way: click the Cowork toggle in the chat window to switch from Chat to Cowork. If you haven’t requested access yet, start at getclaude.syr.edu. 

  1. Run /setup-claude for a guided setup

In a new Cowork chat, type /setup-claude and press Enter. Claude walks you through the setup. You pick your role and install a plugin matched to it, and its skills show up in your / menu. Claude then offers to pull up the connectors the plugin uses, such as Microsoft 365. Say yes, because connectors give those skills your real data to work with. 

  1. Give Cowork a place to work

If you’d like Cowork to work in a OneDrive folder, you’ll need the desktop app, which is currently the only place that option is available. Select “Project or folder,” and choose the OneDrive folder that holds your files. Cowork can find what it needs there without you uploading files one at a time, and it saves its finished work in that folder as a real file you can open, share or keep editing. 

  1. Try your first task

Pick something from your actual to-do list. With the Cowork toggle selected, choose your Project or folder, then describe the result you want. A few to try: 

  • Work with files: “Read the documents in this folder and create a new spreadsheet with one row per file: the title, the date, and a one-sentence summary. Save it in this folder and leave the original files as they are.” 
  • Work with your calendar: “Look at my calendar for next week and create a prep agenda for each meeting. Save each one in this folder.” 
  • Use a connector and a folder together: “Search my email from this week for anything about [project name] and save a one-page status summary in this folder.” 

Cowork may ask a few clarifying questions before it starts. When it’s finished, review the result and ask for changes if applicable. One note: Cowork tasks use more of your Claude usage allocation than regular chats, so save them for work worth handing off.