Roberta S. Matthews Center for Teaching and Learning

AIT Blackboard Schedule for the Week: Tuesday May 26 to Friday May 29

Wednesday, May 27

1-2 p.m. Balancing the Blackboard Grade Center and Saving Students Grades in your Desktop

• https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/901d0b9259d34e969629555d8e9cfa86
• Learn how to balance the grade center, access different grade center views, and export the grade center to Excel.

Friday, May 29

1-2 p.m. Rebuilding your course using a Blackboard template

• https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/6e55ed88038e41a0bb5ad271e83a34b2
• We will share with you a Blackboard template with useful resources and guidelines embedded into some of the course menu hyperlinks.

Additional Support

If you need technical support with Blackboard, e-mail AIT. If you need support after hours (8 p.m.–8 a.m. and weekends), call 646.664.2024.

If you are looking for technical support with tools for asynchronous instruction, the OER team is available to work with you on an individual basis via phone/e-mail/Zoom. They can also set up small virtual group trainings. E-mail Professor Miriam Deutch for same-day assistance and/or to set up an individual or small virtual group training with the OER team.

If you need technical support with Teams, Zoom, Meet, or other BC-supported online tools, contact the IT Helpdesk via e-mail or call 718.951.4357.

Faculty in need of one-on-one pedagogical support can Schedule a Consultation for Remote Instruction. We will follow up within 48 hours.

Summer Faculty Development Opportunities

Brooklyn Guide to Online Pedagogy (BCGO)

The BCGO is a four-module, self-paced (fully asynchronous) series intended to give faculty an overview of best practices in online teaching. It provides faculty with core principles, strategies, recommendations, and resources gathered from experienced and critical online educators/resources. 

The modules focus on teaching online in the context of COVID-19: 

• an introduction to online pedagogy and frameworks, 
• trauma-aware pedagogy, 
• course and syllabus design, 
• activity/assessment design and rubrics, 
• assessment and testing, 
• online facilitation, communication, and community-building. 

The course modules are not facilitated.

All Brooklyn College faculty—both full-time faculty and adjuncts—are invited to use BCGO as a resource for reference and consultation at any time. In addition, BCGO can be taken as a course, which requires completing assignments and assessments. 

• Self-enrollment Instructions (pdf)
• Self-enrollment Video Demo

CUNY-wide Online Teaching Essentials (Offered by the School of Professional Studies)

This fully online 3-week course in on-line pedagogy is a facilitated, asynchronous course and includes faculty from across CUNY. Total estimated time is 9–12 hours, though times may vary. Take a look at the Online Teaching Essentials Overview (pdf) for more information:

• The program will be offered in June and again in July.
• $500 stipend (upon successful completion, with completion of a Brooklyn College Blackboard Basics Course).
• This course is the most comprehensive training available to faculty this summer.
• To apply: please fill out this Application form for the CUNY-wide Online Teaching Essentials. This training is administered by the CUNY School of Professional Studies. Brooklyn College is collecting the applications but the final decision about who will be accepted to participate is determined by CUNY SPS and Academic Affairs.

Brooklyn College Blackboard Basics for Faculty (Offered by BC Academic Information Technology (AIT)

BC Blackboard Basics is a self-paced introductory course to the Blackboard platform. It takes approximately 4-6 hours to complete for those new to Blackboard. Once you start, we recommend that you complete it within two weeks. Participants will be introduced to the various features and tools of the Blackboard platform for their hybrid and online teaching. Each module will include a short assessment.

• Available now
• To enroll yourself in the Brooklyn College Blackboard Basics course, please follow this link: Self-enrollment Instructions (pdf)

This course fulfills the Blackboard Basics training requirements for both the CUNY-wide Online Teaching Essentials and the Brooklyn College Guide to Online Pedagogy courses. In order to receive the appropriate stipend, please complete this course concurrently with either of the pedagogy courses listed above.

Open Educational Resource (OER) Development & Online Course Support

If you are interested in developing a Zero Textbook Cost online course, the OER team can help you create discussion tools, maps, videos or audio assignments, quizzes, and tests. For more information visit the Brooklyn College's Open Educational Resource (OER) Initiative.

• To sign-up, contact Professor Miriam Deutch at MiriamD@brooklyn.cuny.edu.
• To receive a $1,500 stipend, the course must completed by fall 2020. Funding is available to support up to 10 faculty this summer.

We are also offering a special faculty development opportunity in the fall semester that will make a difference in your teaching online and also face-to-face.

CUNY Innovative Teaching Academy

This grant-funded program is designed for faculty teaching high-enrollment, high-failure STEM and other courses. The goal is to build on strengths and increase success for students at Brooklyn College, with a focus on equity. Funding is available for 60 faculty who will each receive $1,000 upon completion.

• Contact the Roberta S. Matthews Center for Teaching & Learning at Brooklyn College at ctl@brooklyn.cuny.edu to enroll or for more information.

Important Zoom and Other Webinar Platform Resources

• Zoombombing Resources from the University of Southern California
• An informative blog post from Zoom
• Protecting Your Video Conference (Brooklyn College ITS)
• Zoom Security Protocol (CUNY) (pdf)