Before anyone gets sick
Students are encouraged to have a “study buddy.” These people can be a go-between for sick students and their respective faculty members. Likewise, faculty should have a “teaching buddy.” The buddy should have a copy of the syllabus and access to the Blackboard course and the Mediasite presentations, if appropriate. Faculty uncomfortable with this should at least give the Office of Educational Technology (OET) access to the Blackboard courses (we already have access to the Mediasite presentations) so we can give the “buddy” appropriate access if necessary due to illness.
All faculty should have all course content on Blackboard or some other web site for students who can’t get to class. Such Blackboard sites need not be elaborate. OET can help set up these “emergency” Blackboard courses but it does need to be done in advance.
Student absences
If a class with absences is normally scheduled in a classroom with Mediasite recorders, we can simply activate the recorder during class. We can then deliver these lectures to selected students. Note that we have fine granularity and can make the presentation available to individual students for instructor-specified time periods.
If the class is not in a recording room, then the faculty member would have to agree to re-create the lectures for recording at another time in a recording room. Alternatively, OET can set up a faculty office for recording using Camtasia. This system is not as robust as Mediasite but can serve adequately in a crisis.
For courses currently being recorded but not normally providing viewing access to in-class students, upon faculty request we can give access to selected (or all) in-class students for a faculty-specified period of time.
Faculty absences
OET will make recording facilities available to the “teaching buddy” for recording. This substitute lecture can then be delivered electronically to students registered in the ill faculty member’s class. These recordings may have to be done in off hours. Students affected by faculty absence may watch these recordings at the location of their choice; we can also play them over the in-class equipment at the course’s normally scheduled time and classroom.
OET absences
OET personnel have access to all necessary equipment from home. To such extent as our own health allows, we will continue operations as usual from home. We can consult with faculty by e-mail or telephone. We can manage Mediasite recordings and delivery. We can provide on-demand help in the classrooms from home, also.