This is normally the best option in a lot of ways, but physical access to our classrooms and labs is more limited right now than usual, and many of you are not on campus anyway.
Remote access also may be easier -- or at least faster -- if you're on campus, and even if you're not, it does have the virtue of simplicity in that in that you don't have to install anything (other than optionally a VMWare client for using ITS's VDI).
In previous years it was not ideal for Windows users because setting up even a text-mode connection to a Linux system from Windows can be a pain.
However, all of you should now have access to a Linux virtual desktop via ITS's VDI. If you've used this interface before, you know how it works, but this year in addition to a Windows desktop you should have access to a Linux desktop. (If you don't, then we somehow didn't add you to the list of people with access; e-mail me and I'll get you added.) If you haven't, point a Web browser at vdi.trinity.edu; what to do from there should be fairly self-explnatory. You have the option of installing a local VMWare client or continuing with HTML. HTML is fine for initial or occasional use, but if you do this often it makes sense to install the client.
If you install a VMWare client, you can share files on your local machine with the virtual machine; when you start the client, go to Connection->Settings->Sharing and add the folders/directories you want to share; they will be accessible from the virtual desktop in directory tsclient.
If you have access to a Linux machine, this is also an easy option: You may have to install some things, but that should be straightforward, since all the needed tools/programs should be available from your distribution's standard repositories. If you have any trouble doing this, e-mail me and ask. (Do tell me which distribution you use.)
The Mac Terminal application essentially provides something very much like what you get by opening a terminal window on a Linux machine. Here too you may have to install things. I can't tell you much about how to do that, but if you're uncertain, e-mail me and I'll ask our local Mac expert.
Note that while under the hood OS X is said to be based on a version of UNIX, it's one in which some commands differ slightly from the versions used in Linux.
Sadly, this is the environment that's both most common and the one where you have to do the most to get a suitable environment. Options for getting a Linux-like environment on a Windows machine include: