Upcoming Faculty Training and Consultation Opportunities

Over the last few weeks, faculty have received information about a number of opportunities to engage with IT professionals and their fellow faculty members in preparation for the fall semester. We also recognize that faculty have plenty of email in their inboxes. With this in mind, we have compiled a brief overview to help faculty members decide which training and consultation opportunities are right for them.

Teaching and Technology Tuesdays (Tuesdays at noon ET)

This weekly “lunch and learn” session is an informal gathering designed to provide information to faculty about best practices and approaches to teaching and instructional technology. The session provides an opportunity for faculty members to ask questions and participate in discussion with Martha Diede from the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) and Michael Morrison from the Online Learning Services (OLS) unit of Information Technology Services.

Overview of Fall 2020 Course Transition Services (Tuesdays at 6 p.m. ET)

Join representatives from Syracuse University and Blackboard for a guided presentation to learn about the services available to move your course materials online for Fall 2020. The Blackboard Academic Services team will review the course transition process and timeline. When you’re ready for the next step, we encourage you to fill out the Fall Course Development Form to request support or to submit questions about specific aspects of online instruction and preparation.

Fall 2020 Course Development: Open Q & A (Thursdays at 10 a.m. ET)

This open-format session allows you to ask questions about the Blackboard process once you sign up for the course design services. Syracuse University staff also will be available to address any questions regarding technical services beyond Blackboard and any other needs you might have in preparation for the semester.

Zoom Training: Teaching with Zoom (multiple times available)

Based on faculty feedback, we are excited to offer training sessions for the Zoom Web Conferencing system to prepare instructors to teach during the Fall 2020 semester. These sessions will be held in Zoom and will focus on best practices and ways to configure Zoom to support a variety of different teaching modalities, including full online courses and mixed delivery.

In addition to these group discussions, the faculty support team (help@syr.edu) provides one-to-one coaching and consultation. This group comprises representatives from the Center for Online and Digital Learning, the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence and Information Technology Services. Whether you have technical or pedagogical questions, the most appropriate support personnel will respond based on your specific needs.

Please also note that fall classes have been populated in Blackboard. Faculty can log in to Blackboard to access their courses. To request the Fall 2020 course template from the faculty support team, please email help@syr.edu.