WHAT TECHNOLOGY SHOULD WE USE?
The primary tools we anticipate faculty using to interact with their students are:
- Learning platform for course delivery – Blackboard (learn.kent.edu) or Canvas (canvas.kent.edu)
- Conducting a real-time lecture or class discussion – MS Teams (Canvas or Blackboard). Collaborate Ultra (Blackboard Only).
- Recording and posting presentation – Kaltura or MS Teams
- Sharing Classroom materials – Blackboard or Canvas
- Assignments and Assessment - Blackboard, Canvas, Proctorio
Start by establishing your preferred method of delivering learning content to your students.
- Live (synchronous) lectures
- If you do live lectures, deliver them at your scheduled class time. Record lectures to allow students who may be ill to watch later.
- Recorded lectures (voice-over PowerPoint, or other video)
- Posted readings and videos
- Instructions for readings in printed books
Determine synchronous and asynchronous learning.
Synchronous learning is learning that occurs in real-time, where the student would need to attend the course online at a specific time. Common features of synchronous learning include scheduled chat room or discussion board time for students to share ideas, scheduled video conferences or group phone calls, or live-streamed lectures or demonstrations.
Asynchronous learning is learning that occurs at different times, allowing the student to self-pace through the course and log in at various times. Common features of asynchronous learning include recorded presentations (such as slideshows or video), email, discussion boards, or collaborative cloud-based documents.
Your course may be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous components. If you use synchronous web conferencing, you should consider providing alternatives in case students are unable to connect at the appropriate time.
MS Teams integrates with Canvas and is also available to use in Learn. Teams is the official video conferencing tool for Canvas. More information about this exciting integration can be found on the MS Teams for Academics Support website.
(BLACKBOARD ONLY) HOW MANY STUDENTS CAN USE COLLABORATE ULTRA AT THE SAME TIME?
Students should be advised to join your session using their computer audio first. A Collaborate Ultra session has a default seat limit of 250 users in a session at the same time. Those users have full access to their webcam and computer audio. You may have up to 25 attendees on the phone in a session.
(BLACKBOARD ONLY) WHERE DO I FIND COLLABORATE ULTRA RECORDINGS?
Students and instructors can find Collaborate Ultra recordings by following the steps below or viewing Restrict Access to Collaborate Ultra Recorded Sessions (PDF).
- Access the Collaborate Ultra area of the course.
- Select the three-line menu in the upper left.
- Select Recordings in the menu.
- Recordings will be visible in this area. If not, click Filter By, and locate a recording that may not be visible within the current date/time range.
CAN I INCREASE THE MICROPHONE OR CAMERA RANGE WHEN LIVESTREAMING?
Using the camera and microphone to capture what is happening in class may require some adjustment. Some tips include repeating students' questions/discussion points and asking students to post questions/discussion points in the chat window or on a separate shared Google document. For additional assistance, view Active Learning In Physically Distanced Classrooms (PDF).