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Teaching Remotely
Effective Monday, March 23, 2020, NAU will transition classes to online instruction for at least two weeks. NAU Information Technology Services is here to support a smooth transition for faculty to moving their materials online.
Drop-in sessions on Blackboard Learn
and Collaborate Ultra now available!
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Lectures, labs, and office hours Tab Open
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Faculty to student communications Tab Closed
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Blackboard Learn course setup Tab Closed
Lectures, labs, and office hours Accordion Open
Asynchronous discussions can provide students with the instruction and support they need without introducing new technology or increasing the traffic on the network. Please utilize the tools already at your disposal to provide students with the highest level of support.
Blackboard Collaborate Ultra
Use Blackboard Collaborate to conduct virtual office hours. Schedule regular hours as you normally would, including specific appointments with students, using the Course Room in the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra tool in your course.
- Overview & links to other articles
- How-to videos (NAU)
- How-to videos (vendor)
Kaltura
Kaltura Capture can be used to record simple lectures. For example, you may want to narrate a Powerpoint or demonstrate a process on your computer, then post it online in your Blackboard Learn course for students to view.
Recorded lectures, presentations, or other video elements can be uploaded to Kaltura. A video capture tool is also included in this software.
Online Labs and Simulations
Labs are one of the more challenging things to translate into an online course. The following resources may be good starting points as you are searching for effective online labs and simulations.
Faculty to student communications Accordion Closed
Blackboard Learn provides multiple ways to communicate with students. The Discussion Board is a great way to hold group discussions online. Discussions can be graded, so you can easily assign points for class participation. The Course Messages tool can be used to communicate privately with individuals or small groups of students in your course. This feature uses the internal messaging tool in Blackboard Learn, not NAU email, so the individual communication is self-contained within the course.
Use the Classlist mailing list tool to quickly send emails to all of your students via NAU email. This tool also lets you create a “Welcome Message” that will be sent to all currently enrolled students as well as any students who enroll in the future.
Blackboard Learn course setup Accordion Closed
Do not wait until you are are sick to prepare your class for asynchronous instruction. Complete the following to ensure you’re ready to use Blackboard Learn.
- Upload your syllabus
- Set up your Gradebook
- Create a calendar of events and assignments
- Familiarize yourself with discussion boards
- Familiarize yourself with quizzes
Blackboard Ally automatically checks materials against current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 accessibility. View additional information about Blackboard Ally at NAU and on Blackboard’s website.
These Blackboard Learn KB articles provide the guidance and instruction to get started.