In the event of an emergency, the ability to teach courses on campus may be affected. This guide helps you identify and become acquainted with alternatives to face-to-face instruction for use during situations when campus may be closed and teaching must take place fully online. Please contact blackboard@daemen.edu for assistance or more information.
General Pre-emergency Planning for Instructors
- Blackboard Course Request
Complete the Blackboard Course Request form to have a section created for you on Blackboard. See the Faculty User Guide if you are unsure how to do this. - Copy Content from a Previous Course (if applicable)
This can be done at the time you complete the Blackboard Course Request form, but if you did not request the content be copied at that time, or you would like to copy content or material from an additional course you have access to, you can do so using Course Copy in original course view or Copy Content in Ultra course view. - Upload Syllabus & Course Information
Create content in your Blackboard course. One of the first items to be added should be your Syllabus and other Course Information. If not already included as part of the Syllabus; Instructor Contact Information, Course Calendar, and Course Grading Policy will need to be added to your course as part of your course organization and management. - Post a Course Continuation Announcement
Post an announcement in your Blackboard course that informs the students of the continuation of the course. - Make Course Available to Students
By default, when courses are created, they are set to unavailable to allow for faculty to edit and update the course before allowing students to access the course. Once you are ready to allow students access to the course, you can do so from the courses page, by clicking the lock in Original course view, or by clicking Open course in Ultra course view. Note: If you’ve requested your course content be copied from a previous version of the course, the availability will be set to match that of the previous course. - Students are auto-enrolled
The week before classes begin students will be automatically enrolled in your course. Enrollments are pushed periodically throughout the day during the Add/Drop period, but you may choose to enroll users manually. Note: Student usernames are their email address without the “@daemen.edu” at the end. - Course Development Consultation (optional)
Consider scheduling a one-on-one consultation with an Instructional Designer (Peter’s calendar, Eric’s calendar) to have any of your questions answered and ensure your course is prepared for the start of the semester.
Zoom
Zoom is a web conferencing platform that is available to all Daemen faculty, students, and staff where many individuals can join the same meeting and share audio and video. It also allows for screen sharing and presentation mode. Free Zoom accounts allow anyone to set up sessions lasting up to 40 minutes. Contact helpdesk@daemen.edu to see about the availability of campus Licensed Zoom accounts with longer session times. See Daemen How Do I and search Zoom for additional information on how to:
- Download/Install Zoom Client Software
- Host a Zoom Meeting
- Join a Zoom Meeting
- Share your screen in Zoom
- Log into Zoom on Mobile app
- Record a Zoom Meeting
More information about using Zoom can be found at the Zoom Help Center, including Zoom Video Tutorials.
Google Hangouts Meet
Google Hangouts Meet is Google's web-conferencing tool that is available to faculty to use as part of Google Apps for Education. Up to 250 participants can join a Google Hangout at a time. It's a great way to connect to your students remotely whether it be for synchronous classroom instruction or for 1-on-1 meetings and faculty office hours. Learn how to:
Google rolled out free access to their advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities to all G Suite for Education customers globally including:
- Larger meetings, for up to 250 participants per call
- Live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain
- The ability to record meetings and save them to Google Drive
To help teachers and students continue teaching and learning outside the classroom. Be sure to check out:
- Teacher Center resources and trainings
- The Google for Education blog for ideas and inspiration
- Have an idea to share? Submit your best strategies for supporting remote learning
Faculty have a number of options available for them in terms of recording lectures and where to store/share the videos:
Creating/storing asynchronous lectures:
- Zoom- will allow you to record your screen and save the file on your local computer for upload to YouTube or Google Drive.
- Slides 9, 10, 12, & 14 - 16 from the Creating & Sharing Videos from Blackboard Workshop will help you get started.
- Screencast-o-matic - will allow you to record your screen and save the file on your local computer for upload to YouTube or Google Drive.
- Slides 8, 12, & 14 - 16 from the Creating & Sharing Videos from Blackboard Workshop will help you get started.
- PowerPoint- allows you to export your current powerpoint presentation as an MP4 that can then be shared in your Blackboard course via Google Drive or YouTube.
- Slides 6, 7 , 12, & 14 - 16 from the Creating & Sharing Videos from Blackboard Workshop will help you get started.
- YouTubeallows you to record a video right on your smartphone, laptop, or tablet or upload an existing video to the video-sharing platform. You can opt to make your video:
- public (available to anyone),
- private (only available to you), or
- unlisted (available to anyone who has the link)
Daemen Instructional Design recommends that instructors upload course-related content, such as lectures, to YouTube as unlisted. Users can control the availability of their YouTube uploads at their YouTube Studio dashboard.
- Google Drive - Daemen College has unlimited storage via Google Drive, which makes the facilitation of course materials through Blackboard very efficient.Each of the following will guide you through the use of Drive
- Storage in Google Drive - Adding content and organizing your Drive
- Sharing via Google Drive - common GSuite items and various Share settings - useful for providing links in Bb
- Leveraging Google Drive - Version History tools and Action Items
Sharing recording
- Blackboard - To share the recording with your students, provide the URL as a link or embed the video in your Blackboard course (Upload video in Original, upload video in Ultra).
- Add audio and media files in the editor (Original)
- Insert media files in the editor (Ultra)
Online discussions provide unique benefits. Because students can take time to ponder before they post ideas, you may see more thoughtful conversations. You can observe as students demonstrate their grasp of the material and correct misconceptions. You can extend your office hours and reach students more often during the week so that learning is continuous.
A sense of community among students is crucial for a successful online experience. With online discussions, course members can replicate the robust discussions that take place in the traditional classroom.
For smaller course groups, you can also offer group discussions where only members of the group may access the discussion.
Students have access to Zoom and its features in the same way faculty do. Students can leverage Zoom to:
With assignments, you can create coursework and manage the grades and feedback for each student separately or through group submissions:
Navigate grading in Blackboard by first understanding the legal implications of sharing grades electronically and confidentially by understanding Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act - FERPA Basics for Faculty/Instructional Staff. A FERPA-related college education record begins for a student when he or she enrolls in a higher education institution. At a postsecondary institution, rights belong to the student in attendance, regardless of the student’s age. Find more information about FERPA at Daemen College. You control which Grade Center data is released to students and when.
With Announcements and Messages, you can send your students information regarding updates, changes, and other relevant information. Keep in mind that Announcements will show up in the Activity Stream and be available for all students enrolled in the course. Messages, on the other hand, can be sent either to all enrolled students, or to individual students, similar to how one would send an email.
Blackboard offers the ability to create a variety of questions (multiple choice, short answer, matching, etc.), populate questions in your Question Bank/Pool, and then assemble questions from your Question Bank/Pool into an Exam/Quiz. Check out the links below to get started.
- Middlebury College offers a helpful guide on Course Continuity for Lab Courses, including links to open-source simulation collections in the sciences and social sciences.
- Find tips for instruction in Teaching Science Online: Practical Guidance for Effective Instruction and Lab Work, and e-book held by the Daemen College library.
Support
- Teaching Continuity questions: keepteaching@daemen.edu
- Instructional Design support: ID@daemen.edu
- Daemen Blackboard support: Blackboard@daemen.edu
- Blackboard Help - Faculty
- Blackboard Help - Student
- IT Helpdesk
- SMART Squad Technical Support
Inspired by Purchase College and Dartmouth College