SOWELA Help Desk

Welcome to SOWELA Technical Community College Help Desk. Please navigate through all the drop down areas below to learn how to utilize the software resources available to our students and employees. For help with any SOWELA software or web resource please email the help desk at help@sowela.edu.

Need a laptop for class? Please visit our Technology Request Forms page to request technology for the semester.

Note: Chromebooks are not supported by the IT Help Desk due to their limited compatibility with the software that we offer. If you are using a Chromebook, we highly recommend you use the form above to request a loaner laptop for the semester.

Canvas^®

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SOWELA uses Canvas^® by Instructure as its learning and course management system.

Canvas offers a number of features, such as the ability to send and receive course-related text messages via your smartphone and a tool that will show all of your assignments and due dates from all of your Canvas courses in one easy-to-use, color-coded calendar. Canvas also has a very dynamic support system that is available to users 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Check out the information below to discover more about Canvas.

How to Log in to Canvas

Click on the “QUICK LINKS” link at the top right of the SOWELA website and choose “Canvas (opens new window)” link from the list. Canvas can also be accessed directly at https://sowela.instructure.com/ (opens new window).
Type your LoLA username in the “Username” box.
Type your current LoLA password in the “Password” box (Canvas® uses the same
usernames and passwords as for LoLA).
If you forget your password, you must change it on LoLA login page (opens new window) by clicking on the “I don’t know my password” link. Then follow the steps as directed.

Contacts for SOWELA Canvas

If you need help with Canvas, the following support options are available to assist you:

Login Problems in Canvas – Canvas uses your LoLA username and password. If you recently changed your password, be sure you are using the most current password. If you change your password and try to log in to Canvas, you MUST close all browsers before the change will take effect. If this does not help, please email help@sowela.edu with your LoLA username and ID# for assistance.

Help with Using Canvas – See “How to Use and Navigate Canvas” on this page.

Help from the Canvas 24/7 Help Desk – While on any page in Canvas, click on the “Help” link at the top right corner of your screen. Here, you can “Ask your Instructor a Question”, “Search the Canvas Guides”, “Report a Problem”, “Canvas Support Hotline” (toll-free phone call), “Chat with Canvas Support” (live chat), or “Ask the Community” (ask a Canvas expert).

Problems with Specific Course Content (i.e. not seeing an assignment, not being able to access a quiz, etc.) – Contact your instructor directly. Instructor’s contact information can be found in the Faculty and Staff Directory.
Other Questions or Help Regarding SOWELA Canvas – Email the IT help desk at help@sowela.edu and include the following information:
- A description of the type of help you need
- Your full name AND your LoLA username
- Your full birthdate
- Your student ID number

NOTES:

Instructor messages will only be visible through Canvas. All other school correspondence will be through your SOWELA email.
The IT Department CANNOT help with ANY issues related to RDCs, MyMathLab, MyWritingLab, MyReadingLab, or any other course-specific software. You must ask your teachers for help with those issues.
Canvas, our learning management system, will not be accessible to students until the FIRST DAY OF CLASSES. After that time, BEFORE reporting a problem to the help desk, if you do not see one or more of your courses listed on your Canvas site, ASK YOUR TEACHERS if they will be using Canvas. The TEACHERS must make their sites accessible to their students before the coursesite links will show up on the students’ pages.
Click on the SmartNotice™ icon in the bottom right area of the SOWELA website to check your information for accuracy and add any additional contact information, including a cell phone number if you wish to receive alerts by text message. This is the program that SOWELA will use to contact you in the event of a campus emergency or a weather-related emergency.

How to Use and Navigate Canvas

The following “How to” tutorials will assist you in using and navigating in SOWELA Canvas.

Guides

Minimum Computer Requirements to Use Canvas

Information is provided on the minimum computer requirements for users to have in order for Canvas to work on your computer and/or mobile device.

Which browsers does Canvas support (opens new window)?
- You should always use the most current version of your preferred browser. Your browser will notify you if there is a new version available.
- Some supported browsers may still produce a banner stating Your browser does not meet the minimum requirements for Canvas. If you have upgraded your browser but you are still seeing the warning banner, try logging out of Canvas and deleting your browser cookies.
What are the basic computer requirements for Canvas (opens new window)?
What about accessibility in Canvas (screen readers, etc.) (opens new window)?
Will Canvas work on my mobile device (opens new window)?

Software Recommendations

The software recommendations for the following interfaces are:

Mobile App

Microsoft Programs and Office Program Viewers

Other Software Programs

Microsoft Office 365 - Free for Students

To download Office 365 applications:

Sign in at https://www.office.com (opens new window) using your LoLA credentials.
Click the Install Office dropdown, then select Office 365 apps.
After the software is installed, open any Office 365 application and sign in with your LoLA credentials.

If you experience any issues while attempting to access or download Office 365 applications, please email the SOWELA IT Help Desk (help@sowela.edu). Be sure to include your student ID#, date of birth, and LoLA username.

OnTheHub

OnTheHub is a web store for SOWELA students and faculty/staff to obtain free and discounted software from many leading software publishers. In order to sign up for this resource you will need a SOWELA email account.

How to Register for an OnTheHub Account (Students)

Go to the OnTheHub website (opens new window)
Click “Register” in the top menu bar.
Enter your SOWELA issued email address and click the continue button.
- The email must contain @students.sowela.edu
Enter your first name, last name, and password in the fields.
Check the “I’m not a robot” checkbox and click the Register button.
You will need to click the link in the verification email that is sent to your SOWELA email address before you can place an order.
For any questions or trouble with the registration process please email the IT help desk (help@sowela.edu).

How to Register for an OnTheHub Account (Faculty/Staff)

Go to the OnTheHub website (opens new window)
Click “Register” in the top menu bar.
Enter your SOWELA issued email address and click the continue button.
- The email must contain @sowela.edu
Enter your first name, last name, and password in the fields. Choose “Sowela Technical and Community College” in the Organization drop down and select which group you are a member of (Faculty or Staff).
Check the “I’m not a robot” checkbox and click the Register button.
You will need to click the link in the verification email that is sent to your SOWELA email address before you can place an order.
For any questions or trouble with the registration process please email the IT help desk (help@sowela.edu).

SOWELA Guest Wifi

All of SOWELA’s locations offer free wifi to our students.

NOTE: The SOWELA guest wifi will timeout and disconnect user after 4 hours.

To connect to the SOWELA guest wifi use the following connection information:

Lake Charles and Oakdale location
Network name: SowelaGuest
Password: Spring10

Jennings location
Network name: MS_Guest
Password: Spring10

Student Email

Before Attempting to Activate your Student Email Account:

Did you register for at least one class?
Has one day passed since you registered?

If the answer to either is no, then your student email account is not available yet.

If the answer to BOTH questions are yes, then you may proceed to access your student email account.

NOTE:

When checking messages through Canvas Inbox, you are only seeing messages sent through Canvas. Your SOWELA email must be checked independently for all other school correspondence.
We recommend accessing your student email account using the instructions below in a web browser before trying to connect it to an email app on your phone.

How to Access Your Student Email Account (printed version of instructions (PDF))

Click on the “QUICK LINKS” link at the top right of the SOWELA website and choose “STUDENT EMAIL (opens new window)” from the list.
Type your LoLA username in the “Username” box, and add “@students.sowela.edu.”
EXAMPLE: A student named Eric Martin, whose LoLA username is “ericmartin2,” would type “ericmartin2@students.sowela.edu” into the username box. Then hit “NEXT.”

(Do NOT input the quotation marks. They are only used in the examples to highlight the words or symbols used in the directions.)
For the “Password” box, type your LoLA password into the box.
- NOTE: If you reset your password in LoLA, it may take up to 30 minutes to change for your email account.
Once signed into Office 365, click “Outlook” on the left side of the screen.

Respondus LockDown Browser^®

Many courses at SOWELA will require you to take tests using Respondus LockDown Browser^®.

Review the information below and send an email to help@sowela.edu if you have any questions.

System Requirements

Operating Systems
- Windows: 10, 8, 7
- Mac: MacOS 10.15 to 10.12, OS X 10.11, OSX 10.10
Memory
- Windows: 75 MB permanent space on the hard drive
- Mac: 120 MB permanent space on the hard drive
Unsupported Hardware
- Chromebooks
- iOS and Android Phones
- iPads

Getting Started

Turnitin

Submitting a Paper to Turnitin

The Similarity Report

ProctorU

ProctorU Student Guides

Helpful Links