The Baruch Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is hosting Workshops for implementation of distance learning.

CTL Workshops (in the format of Zoom webinars) have been posted to the CTL events page. Faculty are encouraged to participate. The CTL will record most webinars and later post links so that colleagues who aren’t able to join synchronously may access the material at a time of their convenience. Please note: the CTL is not holding in-person workshops at this time. More workshops will be added for next week.

Upcoming workshop topics include:
Writing assignments
Discussion boards
Assessment strategies
Online quizzes & tests (focused on Blackboard)
Overview of tech tools
Free digital humanities tools
Drop in Q&A

From CTL Director Allison Lehr Samuels:

1. Read and review what’s already posted in preparation for going online when classes resume on March 19. We’ve been adding more resources for faculty and know there are many more out there. Given the large demand for assistance and my limited number of mostly part-time staff, we ask that everyone first read the resources that are already provided and participate in/review a webinar before making a one-on-one appointment. (We’re getting a lot of questions that are answered in the Resources for Maintaining Business Continuity document, particularly around Zoom and Blackboard Collaborate.) After next week, I hope to have capacity to offer more one-on-one appointments. One-on-one consultations can be scheduled on the CTL website. 

2. Faculty should develop low-tech ways for students to participate in their class. Using synchronous technology such as Blackboard Collaborate and Zoom are attractive to faculty because they seem like they will replicate the classroom experience. Be mindful that sometimes there are wifi issues using these technology and that students may not have the privacy to engage in a class discussion or might be joining by a mobile phone which makes it more difficult to see the material. We strongly recommend that faculty focus on asynchronous teaching, in which students are not required to gather at the same time. We will cover this more in our workshops. 

3. Encourage faculty to have a flexible mindset when approaching this transition. We understand and agree that this transition is disruptive and is more work for faculty. We are empathetic that most faculty have a way of teaching their course that has been successful for them. However, I think it’s helpful to manage expectations and let faculty know that in most cases they will not be able to exactly replicate the in-person experience online. This is a time when they might have to try out something new that may not be perfect, and that may not be in their comfort zone. While many faculty are understandably initially resistant to these new things, most wind up appreciating that they have a more diversified set of teaching approaches. Thank you for your patience, support and flexibility as we move forward. I anticipate that the nature of our support will evolve in the upcoming weeks as new questions and needs arise.