Delivering course material during or after campus-wide class cancellations

October 26, 2019
CalMessage from Paul Alivisatos, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Oliver O’Reilly, Chair, Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate, and Shawna Dark, Chief Academic Technology Officer

Dear Faculty, Instructors, and Graduate Student Instructors,

While there may be many approaches to resilience, Digital Learning Services has gathered helpful online resources for instructors and graduate student instructors to deliver course material which is listed below. We are also offering consultations with staff from Digital Learning Services at the Academic Innovation Studio (AIS) to support you in developing alternative instructional approaches to ensure your students are enabled to cover the material.

What you need to know:

  • We are encouraging instructors to think creatively about how to deliver the content to make up for missed instruction where appropriate. 
  • Schedule a DLS Consultation with a specialist! We will even have “virtual” consultations if campus access is restricted via zoom.
  • Look at our “Quick Tips for Incorporating Teaching and Learning Digital Tools” below here on the DLS website.

Starting Monday, October 28 through Friday, November 1 from 9am to 4pm, if there are no campus disruptions due to power outages or air quality, Digital Learning Services staff will be at the Academic Innovation Studio (Dwinelle 117, Floor D) to provide consultations for Instructors and GSIs on the use of bCourses, the creation and sharing of voice-over lectures, or other options for remote instruction. If possible, please book a consultation by using the DLS Consultation calendar (bit.ly/bCourses). In-person and virtual consultations will be available. If there are no campus disruptions due to power outages or air quality, instructors and graduate student instructors who find themselves without power in their residences are encouraged to use the facilities in the AIS to prepare their classes. If there is continued interest from instructors and GSI’s we will extend these consultation hours.

Note for Smoke and Wildfire Preparation: If the Air Quality Index used by the campus exceeds 150, consultations will be offered virtually using Zoom and not in person in the Academic Innovation Studio. Please refer to campus communications, Berkeley News and airnow.gov before coming to the Academic Innovation Studio. You will have a Zoom video conferencing link once you book your consultation.

Note for PG&E Shutdown: If official communication from campus is shared regarding a power shutdown, consultations will be offered virtually using Zoom and not in person in the Academic Innovation Studio. Please refer to campus communications and Berkeley News first. You will have a Zoom video conferencing link once you book your consultation. Upon return of normal campus operations, as stated above, staff will be available in the AIS for Instructor and GSI consultations.

Quick Tips for Incorporating Teaching and Learning Digital Tools

  • How to create a transcript of audio (Windows) and (Mac)
    • Instructions for voice-to-text to share with your voiceover PPT or Keynote downloadable file

If you have questions, please contact Shawna Dark, Chief Academic Technology Officer, shawna.dark@berkeley.edu or Suzanne Harrison, Director of Digital Learning Services, suzanneharrison@berkeley.edu.

Please refer to Berkeley News, WarnMe alerts and other official campus communications for the latest guidance.

We appreciate your collaboration on leveraging technology and other creative modalities to support the continuity of instruction. 

Best,

A. Paul Alivisatos

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost 

Oliver O’Reilly

Chair, Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate

Shawna Dark

Chief Academic Technology Officer