North Island College Teaching & Learning Supports
 
Faculty Update – August 17, 2020

Faculty Update – August 17, 2020

To: Faculty Members

Re: Important Technology Notices, Workshops, Resources

Technology Notices

  1. MyNIC direct link to Blackboard Learn Courses Disabled for Students and Employees – as of Monday August 17th
  • Blackboard Learn: Instead, use the direct link https://learn.nic.bc.ca/ or the link on the NIC website (top R corner) https://www.nic.bc.ca/
  • Temporarily disabled for reducing extra server activity as preventative measure for increased loads expected this year on Blackboard Learn

 

  1. BlueJeans 5X5 Expanded Gallery View Available! – Uninstall Existing and Install a New App to Access – as of July 31 – you can now see 25 people at a time with an enhanced gallery view but it requires a quick uninstall and new install to see up to 25 people at once
  • Completely new architecture of the video platform – See Video and Info for more details
  • Need to uninstall existing desktop BlueJeans app on your computer and install new version from website downloads page (uninstall all older versions hanging around while you are at it)
  • Windows Uninstall: Start Button > Settings (Gear Icon) > Apps > Apps and Features >Select App and choose “Uninstall” and then Install latest Download off BlueJeans Site
  • Mac Uninstall: In Launchpad locate the BlueJeans App > Click the X next to it > Delete to confirm or through 2) Finder > Application Folder > Drag App to Trash > enter name/password if asked > Finder > Empty Trash and then Install latest Download off BlueJeans Site
  • Version 2.23 – You should be installing version 2.22 from website but when you open up BlueJeans for the first time at bcnet.bluejeans.com it will do one more automatic upgrade to version 2.23 and that is the version you need for the new enhanced gallery view. You can check your version by going to the hamburger icon (3 lines) in top LEFT of BlueJeans app by BCNET words > About BlueJeans > Version X.XX
  • Expanded Gallery View: Can be disabled at any time by a user as it does take more bandwidth to process > Settings > Turn Off Expanded Gallery View (middle of screen)

 

  1. Kaltura / NIC MediaSpace – Inaccessible Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 – out for two days for significant upgrade at UBC
  • Annual Kaltura upgrade has already taken place on a duplicate server at UBC and has been successful
  • UBC is testing this week with the new server and then outage on weekend is to just move over 20 BC institution’s videos to the new location
  • Back online Monday August 24 with new analytics features, new playlists and new options to display your video listing
  • This weekend: NO access to videos, no uploading, no viewing – but you can still make videos offline and save locally to upload on Monday

 

  1. Closed Captioning: Enhancing Accessibility for All Students! – for both Kaltura videos from now on and BlueJeans coming soon
  • Kaltura: Closed machine captioning was added as a feature to our instance last week – automatically captions all videos you create from today onwards (nothing for you to do, a CC appears on your video after processing)
    • Previously created videos with no captions: Just go to video link (not editor), > Actions > + Captions Requests > Order Captions (leave all entries as is: machine, English, Captions) > Submit (takes about 30 minutes and then cc appears on your videos)
    • Kaltura captions are by machine-created so the accuracy is about 85-95%, you can download the .srt file and edit it and upload again with ease for fixing anything
  • BlueJeans: machine captioning on live classes will happen by end of month; it has to be turned on by users in the Preferences section (anyone in the class can turn just for them to see)
    • Pay Feature – BlueJeans closed captions: NIC pays by the number of concurrent classes/meetings user captioning – with a max of 25 at any one time. If only one student turns on captions for a course, that counts as “1” of the 25. So please don’t use if don’t need to and leave for learners using in classes. Or practice using in off-peak hours (evenings, weekends, early morning).

 

Teaching and Learning Workshops

  1. Course Redesign Sprint (August 18th  – 21st) – last chance Monday August 17th to sign up!
  • Register Now: email CTLI@nic.bc.ca for Tuesday start
  • Updated Course Sprint for redesigning your courses to translate to digital formats for Fall or get a head start on Winter 2021
  • 4-days (3 hours/day) – 10:30 – 12:00 noon and 1:00 – 2:30 pm (Tuesday 18th to Friday 21st)

 

  1. LOTS of Instructor Learning Sessions and Workshops! – repeats and many new sessions!
  • URL: https://teachanywhere.opened.ca/nic-essentials/nic-workshops-and-sessions/
  • Technology Sessions on BlueJeans, Blackboard Learn, and Kaltura NIC MediaSpace
  • Pedagogy Sessions on Ungrading, Non-Disposable Assignments, Learning Outcomes and Assessment, Managing Diverse Groups Online, Team-Based Learning, Intercultural Classroom in Digital Realm, and Supporting Students who have English as an Additional Language
  • NEW: Course First Aid Kits: Are you Prepared for Disruptions to Digital Learning? And Engaging your Digital Learners: A Recipe for Success in Student Readiness, Accountability, and Active Learning

 

  1. Thursday, August 27th – Teaching Digitally Symposium – one-day orientation to the essentials for successful teaching in digital formats – August 27th
  • Save the Date: Thursday, August 27th – many short sessions to choose from during 9  – 4:30 pm – all via BlueJeans, in 20 minute or 45 minute sessions
  • URL for Info: https://teachanywhere.opened.ca/teaching-digitally/symposium/ geared for any faculty member to help them launch the semester with success!
  • Registration Email: coming soon – but we will also have handouts and videos for those who can’t attend

 

 

Preparing Your Classes

  1. Don’t Forget! Student Technology Orientation Tours: Book NOW – reminder – 1-hour tour most requested, book now!
  • See:separate emails sent  with details for booking directly with Geoff or Tyler from Student Technical Services
  • Give your students a leg up in having a tour of the key learning technologies – with a live session to make connections for support
  • Book now for first weeks of September; other self-serve videos and resources included in Learn Anywhere website
  • One-Hour “Full Tour” is recommended – cuts down on issues, increases confidence in students and gets students aligned with Student Tech support people

 

  1. Textbook Sites Hosted Outside Canada Require Student Privacy Consent – FIPPA legislation will impact your use of textbook websites if student info is required
  • Textbook Websites: If your textbook has an accompanying website with a login or Blackboard Learn integration, most likely personal student information (email, name) is required to access and use
  • BC FIPPA laws: Indicate you must give notice, knowledge and consent (digital consent is okay) from students before use to do your due diligence
  • Faculty Resources on FIPPA: Website Link – including sample consent form and privacy flowchart to make informed decisions and helpdesk@nic.bc.ca if you need help

 

  1. Learn Anywhere Website – site for students on how to learn digitally along with learning technologies videos, handouts etc.
  • URL: https://learnanywhere.opened.ca/ – fairly complete with lots of resources, help and ideas for learning digitally
  • Add to your course outline and/or your Blackboard Learn courses to remind students
  • Areas include: Digital Learning, Digital Technologies, Digital Responsibilities, Supporting Learners, Learning Strategies

 

  1. Making Instructional Videos – Equipment Loans and ITV Recording Studios – recording studios and equipment ready!
  • Video Equipment for Loan: Webpage – GoPro Hero8 cameras, tripods and lighting kits! See the page link for who to contact and what equipment we have to loan to you.
  • Recording Studios for Instructional Videos: Webpage – Repurposing ITV rooms. See page link for who to contact and set up a session.

 

 

Faculty Resources

  1. Teach Anywhere Website – web site for NIC faculty
  • URL: https://teachanywhere.opened.ca/ – lots of resources and many pages of support for NIC faculty
  • Home Page: Posts of notices, news, copies of these updates etc. See menu on right for Post Categories to search all posts
  • All CTLI Workshops and Learning Sessions: Webpage

 

  1. Magna Online Subscription: The Teaching Professor and 20-Minute Mentor Commons – free articles and videos on teaching and learning
  • See: separate email with details for signing up for your free subscription
  • Over 1000 archived articles on teaching and learning in The Teaching Professor
  • Nearly 300 20-minute videos in the Mentor Commons area
  • Watch, read, browse, check out on your own time when you want to learn more about teaching and learning

 

  1. Faculty Helpdesk: Helpdesk@nic.bc.ca
  • In subject line, include words ‘teaching and learning’ to help process request
  • Checked couple of times a day by Liesel and assigned to the appropriate support person
  • Please do not email us directly as we may be doing a workshop, not able to check email or working in the ticket system