March 16: Webinar Schedule and Faculty Resources - For Faculty

The following message was distributed to the CalArts Faculty:

Faculty Resources March 16, 2020

Dear Faculty!

Welcome to the week we have set aside for preparing for teaching remotely. Many of the tools you need to plan your classes will be introduced today or tomorrow. We want to remind you that we are not intending for you to create perfect replications of your in-person courses. Rather, we are aiming to provide educational continuity for our students and community in an extraordinary time.

Please think creatively about teaching and course expectations. Remember, we have time. Remain calm and breathe. We intentionally set aside this week for people to prepare and experiment and we have devised a week of training to support you while you do so (see webinar schedule below).  

You should NOT start teaching this week; remote learning begins March 23rd. Please do not run your class before then; we need this week to make sure faculty and students are prepared. You can help students prepare by reaching out to them this week and letting them know when they can expect information from you about the course structure, how to expect communication from you, and any information about shifts in deadlines or assignments you might already know. Faculty are one of the main resources for students and it will be hugely reassuring for them to have contact with you in the days to come.

Keep in mind that students have multiple courses so make sure you make your expectations manageable. Students, too, will have variable levels of equipment access and technical ability, and are themselves processing a stressful environment, so be patient and flexible with them as we all adjust to this situation. 

While we begin teaching remotely next week, on March 23rd, we then have a pause for Spring Break before returning for two more weeks of remote teaching.  It is worth thinking about what is most essential to achieve in your course next week. You do not have to have your entire course redesigned by next week, revised syllabi are not due until April 6th. You may teach next week in a simpler manner than you will teach once you return from break. There will be some webinars specifically aimed to contemplate how to address this first week of teaching, and how one might be creative within that.

Take time to remember who we are as a community; that it is in our foundation to be able to think about education and learning creatively and find ways to work with compassion to meet the needs of this extraordinary moment we are in.

EDUCATIONAL CONTINUITY and CAIT pages on the CalArts Website

Information is being continually updated to the Educational Continuity page on the Coronavirus Page of the CalArts Website: calarts.edu/educational-continuity

You can also access information about technical resources available through CAIT on their COVID-19 page: https://cait.calarts.edu/ You will find info about getting a Zoom account if you need one, how to use Zoom and Zoom help pages, Adobe access, and how to obtain a MiFi if you live in an unstable internet area.

LEARN COURSE PRELOAD

To help onboard as many faculty as possible to this system, we are importing a number of course shells not currently on Learn for all Spring 2020 sections, plus faculty and students for those sections. Faculty will also be invited to a training course, Teaching on Learn: LMS Orientation Course for Faculty. You are not required to use Learn for remote teaching; the import is just so the platform is ready for you if and when you need it. All faculty will receive an email from “Learn CalArts” later today to explain the process further. 

REMOTE EDUCATION WEBINARS AND TRAINING SCHEDULE

We will start offering training to faculty through interactive Zoom webinars starting Tuesday, March 17. This is just a preliminary list—more training sessions will be scheduled in the coming days. You will need to register in advance to access the live webinar, though the recordings will be available for viewing afterward.

More webinars will be added to the Educational Continuity website as they are confirmed. Please check that page for updates. 

Again we urge you to aim not for perfection but for compassion and continuity. We are here to support you however we can; you can always reach out for help at learnhelp@calarts.edu. Your question will go to us as a team so we can best work together to get resources to you as quickly as possible.

Best,

Tracie Costantino, Provost
Bree Howard, Associate Provost
Lee Anne Schmitt, Director of Faculty Affairs
Jen Hutton, Project Director, Online Education and Research

Go to Coronavirus Information and Updates