Teaching Centre Configuration for Academic Year 2025/2026

Notes to Lecturers:

Presumption of Update: In the past, when we have called for next year's applications, the presumption has been that we would not update unless requested to. From now on we will probably update.

We must have your application installation materials by the end of April. Materials received after the end of April are unlikely to be included. If your application materials won't be available by then (e.g. not released yet), at least notify us as soon as possible with the details of the application and when we can expect the materials to arrive. This might be sufficient to allow us to include it.

Please provide us with your materials as soon as you have them, to give us the maximum amount of time to work on them. Don't wait until August.

Why Must I Test My Applications?

People assume that if an application works on their own computer, or if it worked in Teaching Centres last year, that it'll just work. These are not safe assumptions. Teaching Centre computers are very different from staff computers; also, even if your application is the same version as it was last year, many other things will have changed. Applications, and Windows itself, interact in unexpected ways.

So, each summer, we set up a test Teaching Centre with next academic year's proposed configuration and ask you to go there and test the applications you use. This is a chance to discover problems early, so there's time to resolve them before the start of the academic year - and before you find yourself standing in front of a class!

What Must I Do?

1. Check the lists. Find your application(s) in the list of preinstalled applications below. Is your application is ready for testing? (Some aren't.) Where is it installed? (Not all applications are installed on all stations.)
    
   

   Some departments have so many applications unique to them that we also have a few satellite test stations in other centres. If you have come here from an email calling for testing in one of these departments, check your departmental list first. If your application is installed in a departmental centre, understand that where the instructions below refer to CTL-6-Purple, you'll need to go to the appropriate satellite test stations instead:

   • Architecture
   • Computer Science
   • EEE
   • Environmental Sciences
   • Leahurst
   • Management School
   • Music (Mac)
   • Physics

2. Also check the list of reported issues. Someone else may already have reported a problem with one of the applications you are interested in. There are lots already!

3. As soon as possible, go to CTL-6-Purple (the Purple zone in CTL-6 in the Central Teaching Labs, building 802 on the campus map; directions and availability below).
    
   
   • Don't go to the centre where you normally hold classes. Only CTL-6-Purple is configured with next academic year's configuration. Testing anywhere else would be meaningless.
      
     
   • Don't leave it until the end of the testing period. We will need time to investigate and fix any problems you find.
      
     
   • If you need to test one of the limited-installation applications, use the tables below to find out which stations your application is installed on.
      
     
   • You may be able to do your testing via the Remote Teaching Centre Service. When requesting a PC, make these choices:
     
     • Choose "Connect to a Teaching Centre PC to work in my own time"
     • Then choose "Use a PC in the following centre"
     • Then choose "Central Teaching Lab : CTL-6 Purple" from the drop-down list to get a station in the testing center.
     • If you need to test one of the limited-installation applications, check the "I am a lecturer" box. Then, from the drop-down list, choose one of the stations where your application is installed. Otherwise, you won't get a station that has your application.
        
       
4. Test. In CTL-6-Purple, test your applications:
    
   
   • Booting, logon, and general performance will be sluggish. This is because of the huge number of applications installed. (Which, incidentally, is one reason why we don't preinstall everything everywhere.)
      
     
   • Log on as yourself. If you need to test roaming profiles or redirected folders, contact Lisa Nelson for a test undergraduate account.
      
     
   • If your application is preinstalled, use the preinstalled version. Otherwise, simply use Install University Apps to install your application as normal.
      
     
   • Test as thoroughly as possible. If you will be performing a known series of steps in your classes, try performing exactly those steps. Ideally, you'll spend at least an hour testing each application.
      
     
   • Run the application more than once (i.e. close it, then run it again); some applications behave differently on first run.
      
     
   • Try it on more than one computer.
      
     
   • Don't forget common applications you don't "own", but on which you nevertheless depend. For example, test browsers or Java if you need them.
      
     
5. Report problems to Lisa Nelson. We will note them in the list of reported issues below.
    
   
6. Test again. We will contact you when we think we have resolved any problems, and ask you to go back to CTL-6-Purple to test again.

Major Changes:

• Windows: We intend to change from Windows 10 LTSC to Windows 11 GAC (General Availability Channel). This is a major change which should be expected to have consequences.
   
  
• Office: We will continue with Office 365. This means that features can be added, changed or removed by Microsoft without warning.
   
  
• Java: We intend to continue with Java 21 and include no other versions. If any Java is in the path, it will be 21, but Java will only be preinstalled if another preinstalled application requires it. No other Java versions will be preinstalled or in the path. Note that Java 21 is 64-bit only.
   
  
• Frequent Updates: Expect applications to be updated throughout the academic year, as we did this academic year, but expect more applications to be affected. In the past, we established a configuration and stuck to it for the duration of the academic year. For security reasons, this is no longer viable. We realise this will be inconvenient in many ways, particularly for screenshots, but this is the reality of the modern security landscape.
   
  

Directions to CTL-6-Purple: