As the university has temporarily transitioned to all online and alternative instruction, this guide helps you find and use the technology you need to keep teaching. Please contact [email protected] for help and more information or submit a work ticket to our support staff.

What do you need to know before you work from home?

How do you prepare to teach online in an emergency?

The second annual Bruce and Lillian Wright Online Teaching Awards were presented on Wednesday, April 16, 2014, at the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching’s Celebration of Teaching.

The annual online teaching awards are a way to showcase and share effective, memorable, and inspiring student distance learning experiences created by UM-Flint faculty. The winning faculty, involved in online and mixed-mode learning and teaching, were selected by their peers and honored for their innovative and creative individual lessons or units.

First place:          Chuck Apple:  COM272 – Film Genre
Second place:     Jen Blackwood:  PTP770 – Assistive Technology to Enhance Accessibility
Third place:         Remi Holden:  EDT631 – Online Project Collaboration Methods and Tools
Fourth place:      Jamie Koonmen:  NUR412 – Community Health Nursing
Fifth place:          Jamie Koonmen:  NUR412 – Community Health Nursing

The winning presentations can be viewed here http://www.umflint.edu/oel/faculty-awards-2014.

Honorable Mentions:

Mark Valacak / PHS 421 Occupational Health & Safety
Daniel Lair / COM338-ENG338 Communications in Business
Daniel Lair / COM362 Communication Behavior in Organizations
Gergana Kodjebacheva / HCR 411 Economic Applications in Health Administration
Jeff Kupperman / EDT 576 Introduction to Mobile App Development for Education
Jeff Kupperman / EDT 441 Technology: Focus on Literacy Learning and Instruction
Jeremiah (Remi) Holden / EDE 504 Learning in the 21st Century
Mary B. Killeen, PhD, RN, NEA-BC / NUR840 Administrative & Organizational Theory
Amanda Smith / PSY309 Abnormal Psychology

To learn more about the Bruce and Lillian Wright Online Teaching Award, please visit http://www.umflint.edu/oel/awards.

A newly revised Blackboard orientation is now available to students if any are in need of training.  Students will see it listed in the ‘My Courses’ module as Blackboard Orientation for Online Students.  The course is available to all UM-Flint students and is completely self-paced.  Students only need to click on the course to begin.

Also, this is a reminder regarding the role of OEL and online exams using Blackboard.  Our department is happy to support you in development and deployment of your exams, as well as provide technical support to your students if any technology issues come up.  OEL staff cannot unlock or reset exams for students without written permission from the instructor of the course.  If your students contact us to unlock an exam we will direct them back to you as the instructor if we do not have written permission.

• Never wait until the last possible moment to attempt an exam, if you can.
• Use Firefox or Chrome web browsers when attempting an exam. If you do not have it, you may download it for free at http://www.firefox.com and http://chrome.google.com
• Before you attempt an exam, restart your computer to make sure there are no past programs running which may interfere with the exam. The only program you should open is your web browser.
• Maximize your web browser window before you begin the exam.
• While in the exam, DO NOT use the BACK button in the web browser or DOUBLE CLICK the mouse.
• SAVE your work as you complete the exam, every 10-15 minutes should be fine. Click the ‘Save All Answers’ button at the top or bottom of the page.
• Double check your answer selection before moving on to the next question.
• Do not let the computer go to sleep. If you are working on a long question wiggle your mouse every five minutes. Most PC’s will go to sleep after 10-30 minutes.
• When moving through the exam, use the scroll bar on the right side of the window instead of the scroll wheel on the mouse or keyboard.
• In Blackboard you should only be single clicking buttons and links. This includes when you save or submit your exam. You should never double click anything in Blackboard.
• When you click to submit your exam, be patient. A long exam may take a few moments to submit. Only click the submit button one time.