LITS has put together a list of resources and how-to-guides for a variety of technology and software that you can implement in your classroom. Examples include: Video Conferencing, Video Recording, Podcasting, and Photo Editing. Head to the Distance Learning Resources page for information.

Distance Learning Resources

DLR Visual PDF Version

College librarians are available to help students with their projects and assignments via phone, email, and video chat.

Students may be based in many different time zones, so the best way to set up a research appointment. Librarians are able to accommodate appointments outside of our regular hours, when necessary.

Resources

Ask a Librarian Chat and Knowledgebase

Request a Research Appointment or Information Literacy Session

 

Staff Available to Help

Kelly Leahy

• Position: Student Success & Engagement Librarian
• Email: leahykm@beloit.edu
• Phone: 608-363-2724

Haley Lott

• Position: Student Success & Engagement Librarian
• Email: lotth@beloit.edu
• Phone: 608-363-2246

There are many resources available online to help you adapt your course.

GENERAL CONTINUITY

Keep Teaching – Indiana University

Remote Learning & Teaching – Bowdoin College

 

ONLINE DELIVERY

Accessible Teaching in the Time of COVID-19 – The Mapping Access; includes survey questions for students about their capabilities to access technology.

Are your students prepared for a fully online course? Find out by asking them. – American Geophysical Union

Bringing Your Course Online – Humanities Commons

Building Community in Asynchronous Online Courses – Duke University

Going Online in A Hurry – Chronicle of Higher Education

Inclusive Approaches to Support Student Assignments During Times of Disruption - Brown University

Ten Tips for Quickly Converting Courses for Online Delivery – Higher Education Whisperer

SPECIFIC DISCIPLINES OR COURSES

Temporary Remote/Online Teaching and Learning Guide: Fieldwork, Group Work, and Lab Classes – James Madison University Libraries

Pandemic Prepping in the Language Class – The FLTMAG

There is no single correct approach to teaching a course online. You need to decide what will work best for your course. A helpful way to strategize online instruction is to think about student and instructor engagement as falling into one of two time-use categories: synchronous or asynchronous.

SYNCHRONOUS

Synchronous activities are where participants interact with each other in a live setting much like an in-class experience, or where participants engage in a simultaneous assessment (like a quiz, poll, or timed exam, or small-group discussions).

Tools for this approach include Zoom, Google Hangouts/Meet, and (for synchronous assessments) Moodle. If you plan to meet electronically with the whole class or a large subgroup, using your assigned course time (e.g., MWF 10-11:05 CST) will minimize time conflicts.

ASYNCHRONOUS

Asynchronous activities are where learning and assessment materials are readily available for students and instructors to engage with at a time of their choice.

It may include distributing content via recorded lecture, voice-overs on PowerPoints, or readings, but can also include discussion boards, assignments, and polls to promote class interaction. Moodle is a common tool. Zoom and various google applications can be used to make materials available asynchronously.

EVALUATING WHICH APPROACH TO USE

Synchronous activities may help reduce the instructor’s time spent monitoring student engagement online, and they may help maintain students’ senses of class community.

Asynchronous activities may be essential when students are in distant time zones, and the fallout of temporary technical problems is less severe than during synchronous events.

To access certain campus resources from off-site (such as the shared (M) drive, Jenzabar, Raiser’s Edge, etc.), you can connect to the college VPN.

LITS Documentation for Connecting to the College VPN

WHEN TO USE THE VPN

Use of the college VPN should be limited only to the situations in which it is required. While public VPN services exist to help address privacy concerns while browsing the web, the college VPN is not designed for this purpose and should be used exclusively for accessing campus resources that are not available from off-site.

DISCONNECTING THE VPN

It’s important to remember to disconnect the VPN when not using the above resources from off-campus.

While connected to the VPN, you may notice that network connectivity (including web browsing, file transfers, etc.) will be slower than normal, even while on a fast internet connection. The VPN client may also try to keep you connected to the VPN even after you have returned to campus or after you have restarted your computer or disconnected from the internet.

To prevent connection speed issues or other problems, be sure to disconnect from the VPN after using it.

Most of the library’s subscription resources are restricted to users currently affiliated with Beloit college by publisher and vendor license agreements. This means that on-campus students, faculty, and staff are granted access to these resources via IP address verification.

Students and faculty must login into a proxy server called EzProxy in order to access library resources off campus.

Library Databases A-Z List

How to Use EzProxy

Library staff can help you make reserve materials available online.

The consensus among academic librarians and copyright experts is that we (faculty and libraries) are able to do large-scale digitization as a result of this pandemic. This lifting of prohibitions is tied to the “public purpose” provisions, with that purpose being digitizing to allow people to self-quarantine or to enable studies to happen while a public health emergency is ongoing.

To be clear:

• This does not include digitizing entire textbooks.
• Digital copies of materials with active copyrights should be destroyed after the emergency situation has ended.

FACULTY

If you need materials scanned, or want us to search for e-resources, please complete this form as soon as possible.