Here’s some great news for all of our colleagues in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences!

This is a message from ATLAS, the LAS tech service. If you’re having any difficulty getting the tech you need to teach this Fall, please reach out to your department’s EO’s and staff to make sure they know about this option.

ATLAS remains committed and ready to assist instructors with their technology needs as we transition into this unprecedented Fall semester. We realize that additional technology may be needed to support remote instruction. Things such as cameras, microphones, etc. may be needed to support instructional delivery. ATLAS has set aside funds to aid FTE instructors and faculty who need to purchase these types of devices. 

ATLAS will provide up to $200 per instructor towards the purchase of this equipment. Due to capacity constraints, ATLAS is unable to handle the logistics of all of the potential requests, therefore we are requesting that the departmental business managers and/or administrative assistants track the requests and execute the purchases and delivery of these devices. Please maintain a spreadsheet of these items including cost, item, names, and NetIDs.

If your unit has substantial needs beyond what this initiative can support, please let us know so we can work with you to come up with a solution. ATLAS will review the spreadsheet and do a lump fund transfer to the departments after the semester is over (we are targeting mid-January for the transfer).

Thank you

ATLAS

*Last Updated on May 5th, 2020.*

There are now over 1,200,000 confirmed cases of Corona Virus, also known as COVID-19, in the United States. On March 20th Governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, issued a shelter-in-place order effective until at least April 7th. This order has since been extended until May 30th. To avoid contracting or spreading the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you keep at least six feet of distance from others, stay indoors as much as possible, and frequently disinfect commonly used or shared surfaces such as keyboards, computer mice, toilets, sinks, door handles, light switches, controllers, remotes, chair backs, and staircase railings.

NTFC has compiled some resources, tips, and useful articles to read to help us navigate this transition to online teaching and connect our members to Mutual Aid services in Champaign-Urbana. We’re all in this together, so, if you have concerns or need some tips you’d like to see on our website, please contact us. Please also send us your suggestions for how to improve this resource.

Mutual Aid

Some community members have started a Mutual Aid Resource document listing aid programs in Champaign County. For some of the most recent headlines regarding utilities, legal news, and mutual aid resources, you can also check out this resource guide post from the Public i.

In addition, we encourage our members to check out the American Federation of Teachers’ new COVID-19 resource, Solidarity Academy. They’re hosting free webinars every Friday on topics like applying for unemployment insurance and the effects of the pandemic on adjunct faculty.

Watch the AFT’s latest webinar about unemployment insurance

Or, read this summary of the webinar provided by the union at Elgin Community College.

What Does Our Contract Say About Online Teaching?

While our contract does not have language directly related to online teaching, the same expectations of departments to clearly set and define duties and expectations of work apply. Our contract stipulates that all departments must, for example, be able to tell you what percentage of your job your teaching, research, or service duties are.

In addition, we recognize that many of you might face delays or altered course schedules due to the transition to online teaching. We remind you that, per our contract, you are not required do perform any duties outside your dates of service except for: grade reporting, grade disputes, and unit orientation, training, or meetings, all of which can be done electronically. Your department must notify you if they expect you to perform other duties after the end of the semester. Just because you’ve faced delays in your class schedule doesn’t mean the semester end date has been pushed back! Don’t overwork yourselves–stick to your end date and alter your course plan accordingly.

Online Teaching Tools

Each class is different, and there’s no one-size-fits all approach. There’s plenty of software out there that you’ll want to experiment with to see what’s best for you. A few programs to check out are below, with some that might require subscriptions for full functionality.

• Zoom–This is a great tool for video conferencing with your students. You can share your screen and video of yourself at the same time, and you have the option to mute participants, upload files to the chat, and record the entire session so that others can view it at a later time. Everyone with a valid NetID should have Zoom access. You can check out this quick guide to get setup with Zoom.
• Slack–You can use this to organize your class online and easily see information about different threads or “channels”. It’s all free, and includes add-ons for taking polls, integration with Google Calendar, and other features.
• Discord–Similar to Slack, Discord offers a platform to quickly and easily sort information into different channels. It also includes video and screen sharing support for conferencing with students.
• When2Meet–This tool lets you quickly and easily schedule meetings. It’s especially useful for trying to schedule large groups of people, as the best times to meet are instantly visualized and updated each time a new person fills out the poll.
• Kahoot–This is best for creating short quizzes or games for students to play to help them learn information, and many language classes use it to teach vocabulary. Kahoot also comes with a very meme-able soundtrack, free of charge.

Guides, News, and Resources for Online Teaching

• Guide to Local Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
• Low Cost and Free Internet Options in CU
• University of Illinois General COVID-19 News and Updates Page
• University of Illinois Recommended Approaches to Online Teaching
• ATLAS Online Teaching Guide
• The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning has a resource page for online class development, and you can also schedule individual consultations with them about how to design/improve your online classes.
• University of Michigan’s “Keep Teaching” Guide to Remote Instruction
• Chronicle of Higher Education, “How to Be a Better Online Teacher”
• Chronicle of Higher Education, “Preparing for Emergency Online Teaching”

What Are Other Schools Doing?

• Many schools are moving to all pass/fail courses, or extending deadlines by which classes can move to this category. Schools like Harvard University, Middlebury College, Vanderbilt University, Ohio State University, and many others.
• Most schools have suspended all international travel, closed campus, moved to remote teaching, and closed libraries and other public buildings.
• Many schools are still deliberating whether or not to hold in-person classes in the fall.
• Most other NTT’s and NTT unions are negotiating with their school administrations to reach Memorandums of Understanding, or MOU’s. NTFC is currently negotiating such an MOU right now, and will be releasing an update shortly on what is being covered.

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