Author: Jody R. Rosen

Transition to Virtual Office Hours

If you’re reading this, you must have the OpenLab on your mind, too. Whether you’re completely new to it, an expert, or somewhere in between, the OpenLab team is working to support you. We’ve revamped our support schedule for the rest of the semester to support distance learning. Here are the highlights:

  • We’ve converted all in-person support to virtual office hours.
  • Please be patient with us, and we will certainly be with you–we’re still figuring out how these remote office hours will work, what we need to be mindful about, what the best practices are. Our trial run will be today, 1:00-3:00pm. You can meet us here.
  • We’re offering more office hours: each week has at least two sessions of office hours, two hours each.
  • We’ve shifted the workshop times to office hours: that way, we can address the specific questions you have rather than focusing on the content of our workshops.
  • We’re asking that if you’re interested in participating in office hours, please let us know by sharing  your contact info etc and in a sentence or so what you’re hoping to work on. It can help us be prepared and make the most of our time together.
  • Here are instructions for joining office hours remotely.
  • As always, we will continue to offer email support–if you can easily ask your question this way, we encourage it. It’s the same as for your teaching: asynchronous (not working at the same time) is going to be more feasible than synchronous (working at the same time) support. Email us at OpenLab@citytech.cuny.edu or use our contact form.
  • Our extensive Help section might have the answer you’re looking for!

As you think about what work you want help with, we want to encourage you to be realistic about what you can reasonably do this semester. Use tools that will make those goals possible, and that you’re comfortable with. During office hours, we might show you how to use the OpenLab to do something, but we might encourage you to use other tools you have available to you that you already know how to use (eg email).

We hope to see you on the OpenLab again soon!

Announcing Commons In A Box OpenLab!

Commons In A Box OpenLab logoEver since the OpenLab launched at City Tech back in Fall 2011, the OpenLab team has  been asked: “How can I get the OpenLab at my campus?” There wasn’t a good answer, until now.

The OpenLab team is excited to announce the public release of Commons In A Box OpenLab, a free open-source software platform for teaching, learning, and collaboration.

For the past two years City Tech’s OpenLab team has partnered with the Commons In A Box team, based at The Graduate Center, CUNY, to create a new teaching-focused version of their Commons In A Box community-building software that’s modeled on City Tech’s OpenLab.

Because the software is freely available, faculty members, departments, and entire institutions anywhere in the world will be able to create and customize their own OpenLabs!

This exciting development would not be possible without the contributions of our 27,000 OpenLab members over the past seven years. The OpenLab is a community-focused and community-driven platform, and it is so successful because of our community. So a big thank you to each and every one of the OpenLab’s members.

CBOX OpenLab homepage

The project was made possible by a Digital Humanities Implementation Grant awarded to The Graduate Center, CUNY, by the National Endowment for the Humanities’ (NEH) Office of Digital Humanities.

To learn more, check out the official launch announcement and the Commons In A Box site. And, as always, contact us at openlab@citytech.cuny.edu if you have any questions.

OpenLab workshops this week

This week, join the OpenLab Community Team for the last student and faculty/staff OpenLab workshops of the semester:
FOR STUDENTS:
 
INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT CITY TECH’S OPENLAB?
JOIN US FOR THE FINAL SPRING ’14 WORKSHOP!

OPENLAB TOOLS, TIPS, AND TRICKS
Learn new skills for working with the OpenLab.
    Thursday, 5/1, 2:00-3:00pm, G604
*************************************************************************************** 
FOR FACULTY AND STAFF:
We on the The OpenLab Community Team know that the end of the semester is in sight, and hope that you have the time to join us for the final workshop of the semester:

REORGANIZING YOUR OPENLAB SITE (Experience Required!)–NEW!

Now that you’ve worked on the OpenLab for a while, learn how to structure your site for improved interaction with your audience.

  Thursday, 5/1, 3:30-5:00pm, G604

* Faculty/Staff workshops require registration. All part-time faculty are eligible to receive a stipend for workshop participation. Questions? Please contact us at OpenLab@citytech.cuny.edu.

***************************************************************************************

What is the OpenLab? Check it out at openlab.citytech.cuny.edu. The OpenLab is a key part of the U.S. Department of Education Title V grant-funded project, “A Living Laboratory: Revitalizing General Education for a 21st-Century College of Technology.”
For more information, contact our friendly Community Team at openlab@citytech.cuny.edu