Get Up to Speed in Your Summer Course Tech!
With SPS Summer 2018 courses rapidly approaching, the Online Support team is fully immersed in technical training to prepare faculty and associates for a smooth experience running summer courses.
What Training Do I Need?
It is strongly recommended (and mandated by a few MS programs, so check with your Program Director!) that all instructors, teaching assistants, and associates attend Canvas (CourseWorks) training. Additionally, all folks teaching (and supporting) online and hybrid courses this summer will be using Zoom for required synchronous class sessions. All instructors are welcome to attend this training, as Columbia University CUIT provides a free version of Zoom for instructor use – and it’s an excellent tool for holding online meetings.
Why Should I Attend Canvas Training? What Can I Expect?
Our Platform Support Specialists (yours truly and John Pesantez) make Canvas training as quick and painless as possible. They offer a fast-paced, 60-minute overview of the learning management system (aka where your course site lives and where you can engage with students), focusing on the top features for instructor success and general best practices for using Canvas at SPS. After the online training session, you’ll be invited to the Canvas QuickStart training site that’s full of self-paced resources for further learning and troubleshooting. And remember – if you forget anything, you can always click on Canvas Support in any SPS course site to reach Canvas directly, 24/7!
What About Zoom Training? What’s In It For Me?
Beginning this summer, Zoom will be the official videoconferencing solution for online and hybrid courses at SPS that have required online synchronous (real-time) meetings. Upon completing training, instructors of these courses will receive a Zoom “Pro” account with all the features required to hold robust, engaging, and interactive online meetings. That said, if you’re teaching an on-campus (face-to-face) course, we’d still love to train you! You can request a free Zoom account through CUIT by signing in here with your Columbia UNI: https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/signin.
Where Can I Get More Information or Help?
Reach out to us by submitting a request at https://cusps.zendesk.com. We’re eager to help you get comfortable with the core course technologies at SPS, and always love working directly with instructors and associates. We look forward to hearing from you.
