V. TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING

(See also Chapter IV: SERVICES, RESOURCES AND FACILITIES)

RESERVING COMPUTER CLASSROOMS OR PRESENTATION SPACES

ITS PUBLIC COMPUTING LABS

The ITS Public Computing Labs and classrooms are available throughout each semester. Training sessions, orientation/presentation classes or classes that meet occasionally can be scheduled via a ROOM REQUEST FORM at the Atrium Lab. Have the completed form signed by your Dean or Chairperson and return it to the lab manager in the Atrium Lab. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance of your desired date. Note: requests from the Registrar may override other reservations. See Chapter XII: Appendix for an application.

RESERVING THE ITS PUBLIC COMPUTING LABS

• Obtain a Room Request Form at ITS Public Computing Labs, West End Building (WEB), or see Chapter XII: Appendix for an application.
• Have the completed form signed by your Dean or Chairperson
• Return the form to the lab manager in the ITS Public Computing Labs or fax it to 718 951 4332, or email it to any of the following:

  sthreet@brooklyn.cuny.edu
  jstephen@brooklyn.cuny.edu
  dperez@brooklyn.cuny.edu
  

MULTIMEDIA CLASSROOMS

RESERVING MULTIMEDIA CLASSROOMS

1. Obtain and complete a Multimedia Classroom Request Form (see Chapter XII: Appendix) and use the table below as a guide.
   
   

   To reserve a MultiMedia Classroom for:	Complete and submit application by:
   Fall Semester	Last week of June
   Spring Semester	Last week of November
   Summer Semesters	Last week of March
   Individual Sessions	Three weeks prior to date required

   
   
2. Have the completed form signed by your Dean or Chairperson.
3. Return the form to Nick Irons.
   
   

   RESULT

   You will receive either confirmation or notice of conflict via e-mail within a week. Your confirmation notice is your only guarantee that you will have the classroom on the day(s) and time(s) requested. Your application itself is not a guarantee of availability.

   
   
4. Upon reservation confirmation, meet with a member of the Faculty Lab Support Staff for an orientation of the features of the classroom. Please also arrange for your Teaching Assistants to attend the orientation.

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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WHILE TEACHING

Technical assistance is generally provided at the facility itself. Support is provided by Academic Information Technologies (AIT) for classes in the Library, by ITS for classes in the ITS Public Computing Labs, by the manager of an academic department lab, etc.

USING THE INTERNET FOR INSTRUCTION: A FACULTY GUIDE

USING THE INTERNET FOR INSTRUCTION: A FACULTY GUIDE provides basic information about Faculty Web Accounts at Brooklyn College and the basic policies governing their use.

FACULTY WEB ACCOUNTS

There are 5 types of web accounts available to faculty. Four (4) accounts are for course instruction and 1 is for personal use.

• Only 1 account, Blackboard, accepts either Word or text files without any HTML formatting and allows you to upload files directly to the web.
• Blackboard is administered by the Office of Academic Information Technology.
• The other 4 types of accounts require plain text files in HTML format and use an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program to upload files to the web. These accounts are administered by the Office of Information Technology Services.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

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§1: BLACKBOARD

( HTTP://PORTAL.CUNY.EDU )

WHAT IS BLACKBOARD?

Blackboard is the on-line learning and course support tool of the Brooklyn College community.

Professors can:

·         Post syllabi, reading lists and assignments on-line.

·         Store electronic documents and other reading materials for student’s use.

·         Set up a course calendar.

Students can:

·         Submit assignments via the Internet.

·         Easily communicate with Professors, Teaching Assistants and fellow students via e-mail and real time chat.

·         View their grades.

 For more information about the Blackboard program and its capabilities, click here.

SET UP YOUR ACCOUNT

If you are a Brooklyn College student, faculty or staff member, a Blackboard account has been reserved for you! Before using it, you must first set the account up, specifying your account preferences. As of the Spring 2005 semester, Blackboard is accessed through the CUNY portal; account usernames and passwords from previous semesters will not work.

To set up your account:

1. From any internet computer visit the CUNY portal at http://portal.cuny.edu

2. Click on the link Log-in.

3. For your one-time account setup, click on Register Now!

4. You will be given several options. If you are a faculty, click on Faculty.

5. On the User validation screen, enter your last name (case not important) your 9 digit Social Security number and your birthday. Click the Next button.

6. On the following screen confirm that the information you have entered is correct. Click Confirm if it is. If you made a mistake click Cancel and re-enter  your information.

7. Now you must select a user name. The sign on  process will choose one for you (usually your first initial and last name) but you may change this if you wish. After the user name, select a password (your choice, though it must be at least six characters, all numbers and letters, no spaces or punctuation) and enter it twice. Enter your e-mail address as well. This will be made available to your Professor and fellow students. After checking your information for correctness, click on the Save button.

8. You have completed the account set-up. Be sure to write down your username and password. Please see the next page for logging-in instructions!

LOGGING ON TO BROOKLYN COLLEGE BLACKBOARD

Once you have set-up your account, you may now log into Blackboard from any internet computer!

To Log-on to Blackboard:

1. From any internet computer visit the CUNY portal at http://portal.cuny.edu.

2. Choose Log-in.

3. Enter your username and password and click.

4. From My Page click on the Blackboard link

5. You will see a list of all CUNY schools (you may visit any one by clicking on Guest). To go to your personal Blackboard page, click on on the Brooklyn College line.

6. You will be brought to your own Brooklyn College Blackboard page!

THE BLACKBOARD WELCOME SCREEN

The Welcome screen brings you an overview of important tools and information on all of your Blackboard participating courses without having to access a specific course website.

TOOLS– Here you will find all functions of Blackboard (calendar, e-mail portal, etc.) for all of your Blackboard accessible classes in one convenient place.

MY ANNOUNCMENTS– Your Professor’s announcements, such as “quiz this Tuesday” and “all term papers due in 1 week” will appear in this box.

MY CALENDAR– Important dates sent from your Professors and dates that you have marked important yourself.

MY COURSES– A list of your Blackboard participating courses. The courses will appear here automatically! To gain access to a course website, simply click on its name!

Having problems with the Blackboard site or portal?!?

Call the staff of ITS for help!! (718) 677-6180

Or click on Portal Help on the opening screen

Is the CUNY portal down? Sluggish? Non-responsive? Try the Blackboard back door at

https://blackboard-doorway.cuny.edu/ and click here.

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§ 2: COURSE INSTRUCTION

( HTTP://ACADEMIC.BROOKLYN.CUNY.EDU )

DESCRIPTION

The college provides a dedicated server for course instruction: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu. You can load files directly to this server.

REQUIREMENTS

• Text files must be coded in HTML. You must either know HTML or a web design program that codes HTML for you, such as:
  • Netscape Composer
  • Frontpage Express
  • Dreamweaver
  
  Netscape Composer and Frontpage Express are free.
  
  Dreamweaver can be used in the Library or purchased at an educational discount.
  Use Dreamweaver at this location: Academic Computing Lab, 382 Library
  

OPTIONS

• Upload text files
• Upload graphics files
  • Preferably, GIF and JPG format

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT, CONTACT:
ITS Network Support Services
718 951 5861

or

Prepare and submit the application form as follows:

1. Download the application form from http://infotech.brooklyn.cuny.edu/public.php
2. Return the completed form by fax or Interoffice Mail.
3. Allow two weeks to process your application and receive your User ID and Password, which are the same as your FTP User ID and Password. (See §6)

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DIGITAL SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION

( http://ait.brooklyn.cuny.edu/gateway/ )

DESCRIPTION

Digital Supplemental Instruction (DSI) is designed to supplement readings and in-class instruction with a variety of tutorials or explanatory materials. It assists students in mastering specific course concepts.DSI is not designed to replace class text or class lectures. The supplemental materials can take many forms, such as digital audio and video, reusable learning objects, full online texts, spreadsheet problems/solutions, and Flash animations. In its most successful form, DSI material apeals to and impacts all three student learning styles: visual, auditory and kinesthetic.

Are all DSI materials Blackboard-based?

No. While there are some supplemental materials that are excusively Blackboard-based, most others can exist on the Web, outside Blackboard.

Why are some materials available only through Blackboard sites?

Some publishers require that their educational material be stored within Blackboard to ensure that their copyrighted material is used only by Brooklyn College students currently enrolled in classes.

Where can I see DSI in action?

Academic Information Technologies (AIT) has prepared supplemental materials for: General Chemistry 1: Chem1; Elementary Macroeconomics: Econ10.1; Cell and Molecular Biology: Biol17; Pre-Calculus: Math 2.9; and Introductory Accounting: Accnt1.

The DSI Web site contains interactive syllabi with links to multimedia content for the benefit of Brooklyn College students and faculty. Faculty can review the content and provide AIT with ideas about how to improve the Web site for the benefit of their students.

To view the Web site, direct your browser to: http://ait.brooklyn.cuny.edu/gateway/

How can I use DSI materials?

You can incorporate DSI materials in part or whole on your own course Web site.

Can I add my own material to the DSI Web site?

Yes.

Contact

Nick Irons
718 758 8236
niron@brooklyn.cuny.edu

Contact Nick Irons if you find the DSI concept appealing but the existing content does not meet your classroom needs. He can help you create supplemental materials more suitable for our academic discipline.

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§3: MEDIA SERVER

( HTTP://BCMEDIA.BROOKLYN.CUNY.EDU/USER )

DESCRIPTION

The BC media server, http://bcmedia.brooklyn.cuny.edu is specifically designed to store video files.

Files uploaded to the BC media server will not be indexed with a search engine. You must give students your URL so that they can locate your media files on this server.

The media server can be set up so that only on-campus users can access the files. At this time, the media server has no password protection ability.

REQUIREMENTS

• Because of copyright and fair use considerations, it is recommended that you create a movie page that is password-protected and accessible only to your students.

OPTIONS

• Store video files in the following formats:
  • Real
  • QuickTime
  • MPEG1
  • Windows Media
• Some MP3 audio files can also be stored on this server.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT, CONTACT:
ITS Netgroup
718 951 5861 or
netgroup@brooklyn.cuny.edu

Allow two weeks to process your application and receive your User ID and Password, which are the same as your FTP User ID and Password. (See §6)

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§4: EXTRANET SERVER (HTTP://EXTRANET.BROOKLYN.CUNY.EDU)

DESCRIPTION

The extranet server, http://extranet.brooklyn.cuny.edu, is used to upload ASP files. (The academic server does not run the scripting languages used in ASP files.)

Because the extranet server is not behind the firewall that protects all other Brooklyn College servers, it is vulnerable to outside attack. Therefore, you are responsible for guarding against hackers, viruses, and other attacks.

REQUIREMENTS

• ASP file format, unless another scripting language has been pre-approved by the ITS Netgroup.
• All ASP files must be uploaded to the extranet server: http://extranet.brooklyn.cuny.edu.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT, CONTACT:
ITS Netgroup
718 951 5861 or
netgroup@brooklyn.cuny.edu

Allow two to three weeks to process your application and receive your User-ID and Password, which are the same as your FTP User-ID and Password. (See §6)

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§5: PERSONAL WEBSITE

( HTTP://USERHOME.BROOKLYN.CUNY.EDU )

DESCRIPTION

The personal website server, http://userhome.brooklyn.cuny.edu, is designed for faculty to share personal information, such as family pictures and hobbies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT, CONTACT:
ITS Network Support Services
718 951 5861

or

Prepare and remit the application form as follows:

1. Download the application form from http://infotech.brooklyn.cuny.edu/public.php
2. Return the completed form by fax or Interoffice Mail.
3. Allow two to three weeks to process your application and receive your User ID and Password, which are the same as your FTP User ID and Password. (See §6)

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§6: FTP: UPLOADING FILES TO YOUR WEB ACCOUNT

DESCRIPTION

Uploading files to every Web account except Blackboard requires a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program.

REQUIREMENTS

• Brooklyn College recommends that you use WS-FTP.LE, which is easy to install and use. The only information you need to use this program is your FTP User-ID, your FTP Web password and the name of the server.

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ADDING YOUR WEBSITE TO THE BC WEB DIRECTORY

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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

For up-to-date copyright information, go to http://www.usg.edu/admin/legal/copyright/copy.html

BROOKLYN COLLEGE EMAIL

Brooklyn College provides e-mail accounts for all full-time and part-time faculty and staff. The address is [name]@ brooklyn.cuny.edu.

TYPES OF E-MAIL ACCOUNTS

• All campus computers are set up to access email accounts with Microsoft Outlook. ITS provides instructions for configuring Outlook on your home computer so that you can access your BC email account at home.

• Your email can also be accessed via the Web, as follows:
  1. Go to http://webmail.brooklyn.cuny.edu
  2. In the Username box, type [bcnet\Your User ID]
     For example: bcnet\SandraD
  3. Type your password in the Password box
  4. Click [log in]
     

SENDING CAMPUS-WIDE E-MAILS

• Individual faculty cannot send announcements to all or most campus users. However, You can email an announcement regarding a matter of widespread institutional interest as follows:
  1. Forward the email to Mark Gold, Director/ITS
  2. Allow at least two (2) days for the announcement to be emailed.

TO OPEN AN E-MAIL ACCOUNT, CONTACT:
ITS Netgroup
718 951 5861
netgroup@brooklyn.cuny.edu

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GENERAL POLICY ON WEB USAGE

USING BROOKLYN COLLEGE RESOURCES

• You must have a valid, authorized account to use any such computer resources that require such an account, and you may use only those computer resources that are specifically authorized. You may use your account in accordance with its authorized purposes and may not use an unauthorized account for any purpose.
• You are responsible for the safeguarding of your computer account.
  
• You are strongly advised to change your password frequently and not to disclose it to anyone.
• Take all necessary precautions to protect your account, no matter what type of computer resources you are using.
• You may not circumvent system protection facilities.
• You may not knowingly use any system to produce system failure or degraded performance.
• You may not engage in unauthorized duplication, alteration, or destruction of data, programs and/or software.
• You may not transmit or disclose data, programs and/or software belonging to others, and may not duplicate copyrighted materials.
• You may not engage in abusive or improper use of computer hardware. This includes, but is not limited to, tampering with equipment, unauthorized attempts to repair equipment, and unauthorized removal of equipment components.
• You may not use computer resources for private purposes, including, but not limited to, use of computer resources for profit making or illegal activities.
• You may not use computer resources to engage in abuse of computer personnel or other users. Such abuse includes the sending of abusive, anonymous or unsolicited messages within CUNY or beyond via network facilities.
• You are expected to be familiar with college regulations regarding the use of college computer resources. You must also note that these regulations are subject to change and/or revision.
• The University and Brooklyn College reserve the right to monitor, under appropriate conditions, all data contained in the system, to protect the integrity of the system and to insure compliance with regulations.

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General Rules And Enforcement

• Users of university computing resources must comply with federal and state laws, university rules and policies, and the terms of applicable contracts, including software licenses, while using university computing resources.
• Users may not state or imply that they speak on behalf of the university or use university trademarks and logos without authorization to do so. Authorization to use university trademarks and logos on university computing resources may be granted only by the Office of Public Relations.
• The use of appropriate disclaimers is encouraged.
• Users who violate the policy stated herein may be denied access to university computing resources and may be subject to other penalties and disciplinary action, both within and outside the university, including suspension and/or termination of computer privileges, disciplinary action(s) by appropriate college and/or University officials, referral to law enforcement authorities for criminal prosecution, and other legal action, including action to recover civil damages and penalties.

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Security and Privacy

• The university employs various measures to protect the security of its computing resources and user accounts. Users should be aware, however, that the university cannot guarantee security and confidentiality. Users should therefore engage in "safe computing"
  practices by establishing appropriate access restrictions for their accounts, guarding their passwords and changing them regularly.
• Users should also be aware that their use of university computing resources is not completely private. While the university does not routinely monitor individual usage of its computing resources, the normal operation and maintenance of the university's computing resources require the backup and caching of data and communications, the logging of activity, the monitoring of general usage patterns and other such activities that are necessary for the rendition of service. The university may also specifically monitor, without notice, the activity and accounts of individual users of university computing resources, including individual login sessions and the content of individual communications, when:
  
  • The user has voluntarily made them accessible to the public, as by posting to Usenet or a Web page
  • It reasonably appears necessary to do so to protect the integrity, security, or functionality of university or other computing resources or to protect the university from liability
  • There is reasonable cause to believe that the user has violated or is violating this policy
  • An account appears to be engaged in unusual or unusually excessive activity
  • It is otherwise required or permitted by law
    

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Commercial Use

• Computing resources are not to be used for personal commercial purposes or for personal financial purposes or other gain.
• Occasional personal use of university computing resources for other purposes is permitted when it does not consume a significant amount of those resources, does not interfere with the performance of the user's job or other university responsibilities, and is otherwise in compliance with this policy.
• Further limits may be imposed upon personal use in accordance with normal supervisory procedures concerning the use of University equipment.

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Unacceptable Use of the BC Networks

1. The creation or transmission of data or material that is obscene or that displays indecent images; any data that can be resolved into obscene or indecent material; the creation or transmission of data and material that are not lawful and properly supervised.

2. The creation or transmission of material that is either purposefully designed, or likely to, cause any and all of the following on the part of the recipient: annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety.

3. The creation or transmission of material of a defamatory nature.

4. The transmission of any material that infringes upon the copyright of another person's work.

5. The transmission to User Organizations, or to organizations connected to other networks, of advertising material or material that is of an unsolicited commercial nature.

6. The purposeful conducting of activities that waste the time and efforts of staff and network resources, including the spending of time on end systems that are accessible via BC Network; damaging, corrupting or destroying the data of other users; violating the privacy of other users; disrupting or interrupting the work of other users; causing service to be denied to other users;
and any and all indicated, specific and commonly understood misuse of the network or network resources, such as the introduction of "viruses."

For the full policy statement governing Web administration at Brooklyn College/CUNY, go to http://infotech.brooklyn.cuny.edu/standards.

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