1. (37) Technical assistance specifically for online course development and online teaching is provided for faculty.

Not Observed      Insufficient      Moderate Use     Meets Criterion Completely

SLIS faculty members have a broad range of technical assistance options to support their online teaching.

SLIS provides abundant support for use of the D2L learning management system. The School has its own D2L administrator and additional staff to support faculty use of the LMS. Support features include:

• SLIS Technical Support Form (responses are handled within 24 hours, often much more quickly)
• SLIS D2L tutorials for instructors (login with username: d2l and password: teaching)
• D2L student assistants to help every faculty member with all aspects of their course site development and functioning

The SLIS Network Administrator is available by email, instant messaging, or phone to assist with technical support related to account requests for server space, web conferencing, management of locally hosted wikis and blogs, and use of software such as Panopto (for lecture capture).

SLIS has a full-time Equipment/Help-Desk Technician who assists faculty with computer issues. Remote troubleshooting is carried out via a variety of communication media including telephone, email, and desktop sharing.

The Assistant Director provides technical support for the web conferencing platform. Under her direction, a group of students assist faculty and students each semester through a training and class assistance program. Faculty members who desire assistance in their use of Blackboard Collaborate are each assigned a trained student who provides support as needed in preparing for and carrying out online sessions.

The SLIS Web Technologist leads a team of staff and student assistants who provide assistance with all class-related web resources. Faculty text book selections and course syllabi are all available on the SLIS web site. The SLIS web team and the Programmer/Analyst provide timely support to faculty members who post their course information each semester. When faculty members begin to prepare their first course, they must complete the Teaching Online course, an online course taught by the Assistant Director for Distance Learning. Specific technical assistance resources and staff are introduced in the course. See the course outline included in this document.

The online faculty handbook provides technical reference material and tutorials to guide faculty members through a broad range of topics related to their online teaching. See the Faculty Handbook.

The Faculty Tech Tips blog provides information on emerging technologies with specific implementation steps outlined for practical use.

Once each year, faculty members are invited to attend the two-day Faculty Institute in San Jose. The School covers travel and lodging expenses associated with this event. The Institute focuses on technology and pedagogy topics associated with online teaching. Institute resources are made available in the faculty sites within the learning management system to facilitate access for those who did not attend the Institute. See the 2012 Faculty Institute program included in this document.

Next: Faculty Support #2

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