How to facilitate your class online due to an unforeseen circumstance

If the campus were to close for unforeseen reasons, would you have a back-up plan for teaching your face-to-face classes? Some circumstances may prevent you and your students from meeting in person. This page lists a few recommendations and tips for teaching remotely due to unforeseen circumstances.

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Course Continuity

Adapt your in-class activities for an online environment. Utilize the Blackboard tools below to build content to meet your learning outcomes and keep your class going.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Keep your students informed about your class.	LIVE SESSIONS Present live video at your usual class time or another agreed-upon time using ZOOM or Bb Collaborate video conferencing tools.	COLLABORATIONS Have students work together on assignments as a class or in small groups.
CHAT Chat with students who are online, at the same time as you, using ZOOM or Bb Collaborate.	DISCUSSIONS Create discussion boards in which students can interact with each other.	INBOX Use the built-in Blackboard email tool to stay in contact with your students.

 

There are two modes of instruction you can choose: teaching a live, synchronous class using the Zoom video conferencing application and Blackboard Collaborate and/or delivering your class asynchronously using CSUDH’s Learning Management System, Blackboard.

Click here for youtube playlist of online essential tutorials!

 

For either modality, you can contact atu@csudh.edu for assistance.

 

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Blackboard Supported Web Browsers

We recommend using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, or Microsoft Edge with Blackboard.

 

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Host a live session using Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate

 

ZOOM

You can schedule a virtual meeting using the Zoom video conferencing application. You will need a computer with a microphone and a webcam for this to work best. Your students can join using a computer, tablet, or even phone.

• Instructions for setting up a Zoom meeting
• Create an Announcement and/or send an email to your students announcing the virtual class session, including the URL to join
• Record your session so students who cannot join in real-time can watch it later
  • You can record locally to your computer or online using Zoom Cloud Recording
  • If you record locally, you can upload your video into Blackboard using TechSmith Relay.

 

Blackboard Collaborate

Blackboard Collaborate is a real-time video conferencing tool that lets you add files, share applications, and use a virtual whiteboard to interact. Collaborate with the Ultra experience opens right in your browser, so you do not have to install any software to join a session.

• Instructions on how to use Bb Collaborate Ultra

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Deliver your class asynchronously using Blackboard

Blackboard is the University learning management system. Blackboard can be used for a number of tasks, such as announcements, assignments, discussions, content delivery, media management, collaborations, and more.

Many instructors use their course shell, a course site which contains your course content, in Blackboard to share updates via the announcements and email tools.

In addition to sharing updates on your homepage, you may consider the following options for engaging your students using Blackboard:

 

Facilitate a class discussion

Creating class discussions in Blackboard allows students to respond to you and one another asynchronously. You can create a forum that asks students to discuss course material, reflect on how key concepts are linked to other fields of study or to their own experience, or share their works in progress, among other things.

• Instructions for creating BB discussions

 

Record a lecture

Did you know that you can record and share video and audio of your computer screen and a webcam with your students? TechSmith Relay is integrated into Blackboard and it allows you to capture and share lectures, tutorials, demonstrations, and the like.

• Get an overview of TechSmith Relay, a lecture-capture tool integrated with Blackboard

 

Share course materials

Instructors have a number of options when it comes to sharing course materials online. You can upload documents in Blackboard’s content area.

• Check out how to use Blackboard content tool
• Best Practices for Teaching Online

 

Use Tests and Surveys in Blackboard

You can use tests and surveys to measure student knowledge, gauge progress, and gather information from students.

• Learn more about creating Tests and Surveys in Blackboard

 

Have students submit an assignment

Avoid having your email inbox bombarded by students submitting assignments. Instead, require them to submit assignments using Blackboard’s assignments tool. This versatile tool not only allows you to keep student work in one place, but also allows you to offer feedback and grade assignments.

Additionally, you may create a Turnitin assignment, which will check a student submission for originality through a similarity report.

• Create assignments using Turnitin

 

Group Activities/ Collaboration

Collaborative learning offers many benefits over traditional instruction. Studies show that when students work as a team, they develop positive attitudes, solve problems more effectively, and experience a greater sense of accomplishment.

You can organize students into groups so they can interact with each other and demonstrate their knowledge while they learn to appreciate the perspective of others. You can create course groups one at a time or in sets.

• Creating Groups in Blackboard
• Student and project real-time communications: Zoom

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More Resources:

Academic Technology Tutorials

Remote Teaching FAQs

Submitting a Help Desk ticket here:

• Login with your campus username and password.
• Navigate to Request Support > Blackboard Support.
• Select an issue from the choices provided.