The University of Massachusetts Amherst aims to meet its mission of providing high-quality academic instruction, even when face-to-face meetings may not be possible.
Instructors are asked to follow four steps to shift their instruction to remote course delivery and help students to continue making progress in their studies:
- Use the Learning Management Systems (LMS) of Moodle and Blackboard for communicating with students about your course. If your course does not currently have a Blackboard or Moodle (LMS) course site, you can request one and students enrolled in your course will be provided access to the site.
- Use the Learning Management Systems of Moodle and Blackboard to share course content, such as lecture notes, PowerPoint slides, assignments, and other course materials that can be uploaded (posted) to your LMS course site.
- Use Zoom to stream or record class lectures. Many faculty members may choose to schedule a Zoom class meeting with their students during their normally scheduled course day/time (e.g., Tuesday and Thursday from 11:15-12:30 if that is your class meeting time). These Zoom class lectures can also be recorded to be viewed at a later time if desired.
- Adapt the course content, pedagogy, and assessment, if necessary, to fit this new modality of instruction. The Center for Teaching and Learning can provide guidance and support.
Many of our faculty members already use these tools and pedagogical approaches. Detailed instructions for each step are provided below. If you need support, do not hesitate to reach out to: instruct@umass.edu
Faculty
1. Communicate with Students about your Course:
If you already are using an LMS platform, you should continue to use your existing platform.
If you do not have an LMS, Blackboard, Moodle, or functional equivalent, you should request a course using the following instructions:
- Moodle (default)
- Blackboard (only Isenberg, Nursing, Public Health & Health Sciences)
Use one of the following guides to maintain communications with your students about your course, depending on your LMS platform:
- Communication via Email (using Spire class roster) (prior to LMS setup)
- Communication via Moodle (LMS)
- Communication via Blackboard (LMS)
2. Distribute Course Content
Course materials should be uploaded to your specific LMS using the following instructions. These files could be PowerPoint slides, word documents for notes, PDFs, etc.
- Moodle - Add a File to a Moodle Course
- Blackboard - Upload Files to Content Area
To share content using an existing web link, follow these specific instructions based on your LMS:
- Moodle - Sharing hosted content
- Blackboard - Adding a weblink to a Course
For questions and support, contact: instruct@umass.edu
3. Stream and Record Video Lectures
Use Zoom to stream and record your class lectures.
- Sign in to Zoom to configure your account
- Schedule a meeting
- Administer meeting with screen share and recording, includes ending the meeting
- Retrieve and distribute the recorded lecture via Blackboard or Moodle
As a practice session, consider scheduling office hours or one of your current classes as a zoom meeting.
Use the Quick Start Guide for Zoom for detailed instructions.
If you are already familiar with using Zoom, go directly to Zoom.
4. Review your Current Syllabus and Adapt
Review your syllabus and consider ways you deliver course content, conduct in-class activities, and assess learning. Adapt your instruction as necessary.
If you need support with specific technology, contact: instruct@umass.edu
If you need support with adapting your teaching and pedagogy, contact the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL): ctl@umass.edu
Students
A Blackboard or Moodle (LMS) course site will be available to you as a student. Each course will either have a course site in BlackBoard or Moodle.
You should use the course site to:
- Communicate with your instructor
- Access course materials posted by your instructor
- Submit assignments as explained by your instructor
LMS course site login pages:
You should access and check your UMass email address regularly:
Access Zoom lectures: streaming or pre-recorded.
Instructors may provide access to lectures, using Zoom. These lectures may be live streamed and recorded or may be provided as pre-recordings. Zoom links will be provided by your instructor via BlackBoard, Moodle or email.
- Need help with Zoom?
Help
For questions and support, contact: instruct@umass.edu
