Remote Teaching Resources and Options

Dear BUSSW Faculty:

As we now know, BUSSW classes will not meet in person from Friday 13, 2020 through April 13, 2020. Course content and instruction should be available via remote access and through online class session. To assist you with the transition of delivering our face-to-face courses over electronic media we would like you to review the following information:

Using Zoom

Please be in contact with your Remote Teaching Buddy (see below) to discuss best practices with Live Classroom sessions to be held via Zoom. Most of Zoom meetings should be offered at the same time as your regularly scheduled classes. This may differ if you teach in the Off-Campus program. You will need to determine the dates and how long your live sessions will be.

Please be sure to login to your Zoom account ahead of time to ensure that your Zoom account is working properly.

Getting a Zoom Account

Go to https://Bostonu.zoom.us and click download and will automatically be assigned/upgraded to a Zoom Pro account.

• It is crucial that you use your BU credentials (login and Kerberos password).
• Click HERE for instructions on how to specifically log into Zoom and make sure it is working.
• Should you have any problems please contact ithelp@bu.edu.

To participate in Zoom live session using your computer, you will need a headset with a microphone, and a webcam. To determine if your computer meets Zoom’s specifications, review the Zoom System Requirements.

Please note that we have informed students that the instructor will provide them with the link to the Zoom session. It is recommended that you do this through blackboard. We can assist you with setting up your Zoom live classroom sessions through your Blackboard site if you would like. Please send an email to sswrtc@bu.edu with your course number and the dates, time and length of the sessions. If you would like to do this on your own, please see attached instructions. 

Using Blackboard

Each BUSSW course has a designated Blackboard site accessible via learn.bu.edu. You may log in HERE. Please update your courses’ Blackboard sites regularly. Please note that there is also a ‘Blackboard buddy offered through Blackboard’.

Digital Learning & Innovation’s Educational Technology team will be hosting a series of training sessions specifically for Boston University remote teaching faculty. You may access those training HERE. Included in these trainings are how best to use Blackboard.

Remote Teaching Options

You have the following options for remote teaching:

1. Use an existing online course, if available:
   • The student would access the online course content
   • You would hold live classroom sessions during your courses at the regularly schedule time
   • View the list of courses already offered online HERE.
2. Offer only virtual sessions using Zoom – please be aware that it is difficult for attendees to have Zoom sessions longer than 1.5 hours.
   • You could also add additional content/assignments through your course Blackboard site;
   • Prepare recorded lectures through Zoom and make them available to students.

Remote Teaching Buddy System

For additional information regarding your course please contact the following the following individuals:

Checklist

To get you started the following checklist has been created:

   Determine how you plan to teach your course remotely

   Review training materials provided in the email/attend training sessions

   Prepare your Blackboard course(s) site(s) as needed

  Download Zoom

  Schedule your zoom sessions according to the course schedule

• See attached directions or contact sswrtc@bu.edu to request that we do this for you

  Email students to inform them of your plan:

• How they will access course and expectations
• Start date and time of live sessions

You will receive additional information from your course instructor. We appreciate patience and flexibility while we work through this critical and important time for BUSSW and especially for our students.