GETTING STARTED

  1. Breathe. We know this is difficult. Unprecedented, in fact. We understand that this will not be perfect—we don’t expect it to be. We are striving here to keep people working and to help our students learn something despite this extreme international crisis.
  2. Set up a “command center.” If you are already using Blackboard or OpenLab, great! That is where your students will go to check for updates. If you can easily set up BB (http://websupport1.citytech.cuny.edu/facultybb.html) or OL (https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/blog/help/openlab-help/) use those. Otherwise, it is also fine to use a googledoc that students can all access as well (just make sure you turn link sharing to “ON.”) For Google Docs basics see: https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282664?hl=en
  3. Contact your students and let them know what’s happening. It’s okay if you don’t have everything set up yet—just let them know you’re working on it, and direct them to your command center. Also let them know you’re all in it together. Remember that (unless your class was previously deemed online or hybrid) courses are out of session until the 19th, so please do not request course work before then!
  4. Plan out the remaining arc of the semester—based on your learning goals. Sketch it out. What is most important—what are the end goals you need to achieve? What kinds of exchanges do you want to have with your students? What technologies do you need to get there? What type of feedback do you want to give and why?
  5. Do not feel the need to reinvent the wheel: Remember that teaching online does not require a huge arsenal of educational technology. You may end up using just Google Docs and Forms. You may end up just using email—or you may end up using a wide array of tech.

Please note: While you may be tempted to meet regularly via Zoom or another online forum at your usual class time, we encourage “asynchronous” learning, meaning that students can access your class materials or videos (if you decide to use them) at their own time. This is a much more accessible model! Please see: “What will my class look like?” for insights on how to make this work.

You may decide to use Zoom or Google hangouts from time to time to check in– that’s fine!  But please don’t penalize students if they can’t make it!