Technical Resources for Remote Teaching
A list of technical resources available for MCC faculty to support remote learning efforts
Technical Resources for Remote Teaching
In addition to the Blackboard, MCC email, and Microsoft Office 365, there are other resources that are currently available on the Web that are either free - or being made free for a time - limited period during the present situation. (Please note: this page will be updated regularly as staff locate new resources to share.)
The Academic Technology & Distance Learning Department has created a list of several
instructional technology tools that can be used to extend the teaching and learning
environment outside the classroom walls to support your students’ engagement with
the course content and facilitate your communication with them.
Here are key technical resources--both those supported by the college and those free
to use via the Internet. Please contact Roxanne at mccorryr@middlesex.mass.edu or Daniela at loghind@middlesex.mass.edu if you need any additional information or support to implement these in your courses.
Tools Supported by MCC
MCC Blackboard Learn
A great instructional technology tool that can aid you in maintaining the continuity
of your course. All face-to-face courses automatically have a Blackboard Learn shell
that provides faculty with a “private classroom” area for you and your students. In
Blackboard Learn, faculty can post announcements about the status of class with instructions
on how to proceed through related learning activities; upload various types of content
such as assignments, readings, lecture notes, or PowerPoint slides; link to related
online resources such as YouTube videos or web sites; set up assignment areas where
students can submit homework; and facilitate discussions for students to engage with
the course materials. Login to MyMCC then select Blackboard under My LaunchPad (on the left side of your computer screen) to locate your Blackboard course shell.
Again, here are some important Blackboard Learn resources
MCC Blackboard Collaborate Ultra
A virtual classroom (web-conferencing tool) that can be used to facilitate interactive
online course activities such as live lectures, review sessions, online office hours,
guest speakers, and group work. Blackboard Collaborate Ultra supports audio, video,
slide presentations, document sharing, screen sharing, whiteboard activities, chat,
and polling. Blackboard Collaborate Ultra sessions can be recorded for later viewing
by students who are unable to attend the live session. And the nice thing is that
Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is integrated into each Blackboard Learn course site
and can be found under Tools in your course menu. Watch these videos on Bb Collaborate
to see how it can enable you to interact/talk to your students online.
- How to access & set up Blackboard Collaborate
- Managing Your Bb Collaborate Session
- Faculty Tutorial on Bb Collaborate File Sharing & Screensharing (synchronous or asynchronous options)
Office 365
Accessible through MyMCC, this allows students to create and share MS Office documents.
Free to Use Tools on the Internet
Screencast-o-matic
An easy to use screen capture software program that allows you to record anything
on your computer screen (PowerPoint presentation, software program, etc) along with
your voice. Screencast-o-matic can be used to create pre-recorded mini-lectures. Video
files can be uploaded to YouTube or Google Drive and then linked into Blackboard Learn.
You can make an unlimited number of videos, but the length of each video is limited
to 15 minutes. This is a good way to chunk your content into segments. http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/
Audacity Audio Recording Software
A free audio-recording program that can be used to create MP3 audio recordings. Audacity
is simple to use and can be used to create pre-recorded mini-lectures. Audio files
can be added into Blackboard Learn. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets
Web-based collaborative tools (documents, presentations, or spreadsheets) that can
be used by students to easily work together on a project. If a student uploads a document
to Blackboard, they should save it as a pdf and then upload it. [NOTE: a student would
have to create a free Google account to use the full functionality of Google Docs.] http://drive.google.com
One very useful aspect of Google Docs is Google Forms. With Google Forms you can create
a survey to send to your students. See this video on how to create a Google Form.
Google Hangout Meetings
This is similar to Bb Collaborate Ultra. A web-based conferencing tool that can be
used to facilitate small group conversations or collaborations. A Google Hangout supports
audio and video conversations, text chat, and YouTube video, screen, and Google Docs
sharing. You will need a gmail account to use.’ http://hangouts.google.com/
Zoom Web Conferencing
Zoom is another web-conferencing tool that can be used to facilitate interactive online
course activities, office hours, and meetings. The free version allows unlimited time
for 1:1 meetings and a 40 minute limit for group meetings. (This is similar to Bb
Collaborate Ultra) https://zoom.us/
YouTube
A repository of videos of all sorts with ample educational content on nearly any subject.
Instructors can create videos to post here or create a playlist of lectures and instructional
content already available on YouTube. To share or watch a video, no account is necessary. http://www.youtube.com
Content for Online Coursework
OER Commons
Open source curriculum, free to use and remix https://www.oercommons.org/
Lumen Learning
Lumen provides course content curated from open educational resources
https://info.lumenlearning.com/transition-spring2020
Pearson Resources
Pearson Publishing is making some of their content freely available during the pandemic.
https://www.pearson.com/news-and-research/working-learning-online-during-pandemic.html
Web-based Interactive Teaching Tools
Kahoot
Kahoot! is a web tool for group learning, e-learning, distance learning, and self-study. https://kahoot.com/
Perusall
Students help each other learn by collectively annotating readings in threads, responding
to each other’s comments, and interacting. https://perusall.com/