The Teaching & Academic Support Center (TASC) provides the following Technology Toolkit to support continuity in instructional delivery in the case of disruption by a widespread illness or other circumstances. Please click on the title of each topic below to expand it and find instructions and tutorials (click again on the topic to collapse it for easier viewing of the page). Please contact TASC at 257-8272 with any questions or requests for further training or consultation.

TASC is also hosting a faculty-led series on these and other topics. Scroll to the bottom of this Web page for a full listing of presentation dates.

Planning Ahead

These tools are intended to assist you now with developing alternative instructional strategies should there be a disruption of traditional face-to-face modes of course delivery. Download the following Word documents to review instructional issues that should be considered and suggestions for possible alternative strategies.

The customizable Student Internet Access Survey provides an opportunity to adequately plan for contingencies by allowing you to know in advance how many of your students have Internet access or at home or some other off-campus site.

There are a number of  Instructional Questions to Consider regarding course policies, content delivery assessment of learning, and other instructional issues that need to be considered should face-to-face, on-campus meetings be disrupted.

This Course Planning Checklist gives you a printable checklist of alternative course strategies based on the questions above.

The University of Kentucky acknowledges and thanks Eastern Carolina University for sharing its Continuity of Instruction: During a Catastrophic Event plan and allowing UK to draw inspiration from it for the development of these planning tools.

Remote Desktop Tools for Windows

Download and use the tools that will allow you to remotely access your work computer if necessary.

First, ask your college IT person to help you prepare your office computer to allow remote access in from home or elsewhere. If you are your own computer “administrator,” you can prepare the computer yourself. If you encounter difficulties with the preparation, contact your college IT team.

The Remote Desktop tool will allow you to connect to your work computer from a remote location and access your programs, files and network resources.
Instructions (PDF)    
Video Tutorial: Download Remote Desktop (3 minutes)   
Video Tutorial: Use Remote Desktop (3 minutes)

The VPN tool will allow users with appropriate UK credentials to log on to the UK network from a remote location.
Instructions (PDF)    
Video Tutorial (3 minutes)

Remote Desktop Tools for Mac

Download and use the tools that will allow you to remotely access your work computer if necessary.

You can use remote access with your Mac from home, but please ensure that you follow the AFP instructions at
http://wiki.uky.edu/mac/Wiki Pages/Remote Connections.aspx

Blackboard

An online course management system, Blackboard provides space for your syllabus and assignments, and it helps you keep in contact with your students. Bb will also enable you to teach online from a distance if desired or necessary.

Blackboard   
Blackboard “Quick and Simple” provides a very brief online introduction to using Blackboard (Bb). Please follow the instructions below for getting started.

  • If you are starting from scratch in Bb due to H1N1 planning, then first email Brett McDaniel to request your course shell, which is the space in Blackboard where you will build your course. (All others please use the Course Request Form indicated in the training module).
  • Go to http://elearning.uky.edu and log in with your Link Blue ID.
  • Click on the Courses link near the top left of the page (to the right of My Bb and under the Library tab).
  • In the Course Search line, type Bb-100 (exactly as you see it there, including the hyphen).
  • Find the Course ID (first column) Bb100-FAC-TASC2, and click the down arrow next to the Course ID.
  • From the drop-down menu, click on Enroll.

PowerPoint Narration

Learn how to add narration to your PowerPoint presentation so that you may upload it to Blackboard, your Web page or other hosting sources.

Instant Messaging

This tool, known as Office Communicator (and sometimes OCS), is provided by UK IT free of charge to all faculty, staff and students, and it provides a means for instant communications using text, audio, and/or video between individuals or among groups. It also includes desktop sharing.

Web Conferencing

LiveMeeting, Office Communicator and Adobe Connect Pro can provide a synchoronous face-to face experience with your students.

Podcasting

Find tools here for creating and sharing podcasts, which may include your lectures, student projects, or other presentations.

Instructions (PDF)   

iTunes U Tutorial (coming in October)

Blogs

These instructions will help you learn more about blogs and how they can provide a continuing journal or presentation format for you or your students.

Instructions (PDF)    

Video Tutorial: Bb Blog (5 minutes)

Wiki

Need to build a project while everyone is separated geographically? Here you will find information about how a wiki can help.

Instructions (PDF)    

Video Tutorial: Bb Wiki (4 minutes, 30 seconds)

Other tools and helpful hints

These are other tools that may be helpful to you.

Camtasia Records onscreen activity (audio, video, screen, PowerPoint slides) and allows you to edit into a video. TASC has Camtasia stations available. A free, fully-functional 30-day trial is available on the Web site.

UK Cable Channels  
UK programs several Insight Communications cable channels, including ones that are seen on campus only (channels 45, 48, 49 and 69) and ones seen both on campus and throughout Fayette County (channel 16 and Digital Tier channel 219). View the Program Guide for Channels 16 and 219 online. To request specific programming, to provide video for programming, or to provide announcements for the calendar in the form of PowerPoint slides, contact Mike Weikel in TASC’s Taylor Education Building office.

iTunes
This software allows you to access an ever-growing library of podcasts, movies and music. The iTunes software is necessary for accessing iTunes U (see Podcasting section for more information).

Additional Tools (PDF)  
Download this flyer for links to more tools that you may find helpful.

Faculty Presentation Series

These half-hour presentations will provide ideas for using many of the tools found on this page.

The workshops will be posted here in early October.