[CCoE Notice] Cullen College Faculty -- Let us get ready for the fall semester!

Tue Jun 30 14:49:33 CDT 2020

Dear Colleagues:

As we all expect, this upcoming fall semester could be a challenging time for instructors at UH. With this in mind, Dean Tedesco has instructed the Online Team in our college to mobilize in a big way, so that all of us get trained and prepared for delivering high-quality instruction this fall.

Towards this end, I and JC McDonough and our wonderful team of departmental Online Advocates will be engaged with you all in July and August to conduct a series of college-specific training sessions, both online, and in-person (subject, of course, to social distancing rules).

The first important step that all of us need to do is to participate in the upcoming training opportunities provided centrally by the Provost's office. This will provide the necessary foundation on which the subsequent college training will build upon.

The specific task list for all of us is as follows:

  1.  View the introductory video about online and HyFlex mode of instruction at:
https://uh.edu/power-on/teaching/introduction-video.mp4
  2.  Next, review the "UH Best Practices Guide" at:
https://uh.edu/power-on/teaching/
  3.  Start attending live/recorded online training sessions starting July 6. For this, you need to RSVP and register at:
https://uh.edu/provost/faculty/current/fed/events/?d=1&m=07&y=2020&view=m#month
These training sessions are on the following topics:
     *   HyFlex/ Online Essentials (Required) July 6, 8, 9
     *   Learning Objectives (Optional) July 7, 13, 16
     *   Big Picture Design (Optional) July 8, 13, 16
     *   Putting Courses in LMS (Required) July 10-31
     *   Course Materials (Required) July 10, 14, 17
     *   Closed-response assessment (Required) July 21, 23, 28
     *   Deliver & Stream Lectures (Required) July 15,20, 23
     *   Designing Assessments (Required) July 21, 22, 2
     *   Assessing Participation (Required) July 21, 24, 27
     *   Engaging Students Basic (Optional) July 23, 29, 30
     *   Strategically Engaging (Optional) July 24, 29, 30

  4.  Please note that the recording of each training session will be made available within 48 hours of the live session at the Microsoft Streams video channel of UH Faculty Engagement and Development (UH FED) at this weblink:
https://web.microsoftstream.com/channel/d8cac8c0-f508-4f1a-a509-56f44fc8e5fa

  5.  After we have progressed through the above training sessions, the college team will schedule additional training sessions to cover topics such as (i) the new integration between Blackboard and Microsoft Teams, (ii) Hands-on training for delivering hand-annotated lectures in our new HyFlex General Purpose Rooms, (iii) Specific instructions for using tablets and iPad and document cameras in the classroom, and more.

Again, please save this email so that you can refer to all the references and pointers listed above. Let us get going and get ready for the fall semester!

Best regards,

JR

Dr. JR Rao
Associate Dean for UH Engineering in Katy
Associate Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Director of Online Programs and Extension Services
Cullen College of Engineering
University of Houston
A Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university
713-743-4535<tel:713-743-4535>
rao at uh.edu<mailto:rao at uh.edu>
Address:
The University of Houston,
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Building 1, Room N207
4726 Calhoun Road
Houston, TX 77204-4006

________________________________
From: Paula Myrick Short, Provost
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2020 4:50:46 PM (UTC-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada)
To: Rao, J R
Subject: Faculty Summer Training Program

View web version<https://cloudapps.uh.edu/sendit/w/vy5LczFViFxM6qmx2s8gDQ/YnMQUW1VLUcjNrID5m0zPA/oT2NpsGCqQnRx8TIZQi2Tw>

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Dear Faculty Member:

As we move into July, I hope you have had an opportunity to find at least some time to take a break from what has been a very busy summer for us all. The process for reengineering the fall class schedule is now underway and will be completed by July 14. This is being done based on faculty instructional preference and optimization of a limited supply of socially distanced classroom space. I appreciate your patience and flexibility as we complete this process.

We are working in close collaboration with departments, colleges, and the Office of University Registrar. We all recognize the significant challenges we will face in delivering classes this coming fall, especially considering the recent COVID-19 resurgence. However, we are committed to providing safe and flexible options for delivering a high quality educational experience for our students regardless of the final format of the fall semester.

In preparation for the upcoming semester, I am announcing the launch of a comprehensive virtual training program and suite of online resources designed to support you in transitioning your fall classes to a HyFlex or online mode of instruction. Under the exceptional leadership of the FED Faculty Advisory Board, this training program was developed by a group of highly accomplished faculty and staff members that together have a wealth of experience and expertise in providing the highest quality online instruction to our students. I appreciate all of their hard work and commitment in developing this critical resource for their fellow faculty colleagues under the most challenging of time constraints.

The training materials developed by faculty for faculty include:

  1.  An introductory Orientation Video to HyFlex and Online Instruction;
  2.  A Best Practice Guide to HyFlex and Online Instruction which you can download;
  3.  A series of online, instructor-led training sessions that will be offered beginning July 5;
  4.  A comprehensive set of instructional technology resources related to the training program.

All of these training materials are now available online through our new Power-On website<https://cloudapps.uh.edu/sendit/l/vy5LczFViFxM6qmx2s8gDQ/fssPRUq1MvN1ItXzAk5gPw/oT2NpsGCqQnRx8TIZQi2Tw>. This common portal will provide access to a wide range of resources designed to support you in transitioning your fall classes to either a HyFlex or an online format. The Power-On website<https://cloudapps.uh.edu/sendit/l/vy5LczFViFxM6qmx2s8gDQ/fssPRUq1MvN1ItXzAk5gPw/oT2NpsGCqQnRx8TIZQi2Tw> will be regularly updated with curated examples of HyFlex and Online classes, as well as additional resources identified as being helpful to faculty members in developing their instructional materials for the fall and beyond.

While the online instructor-led training sessions are designed so that individual faculty members can select the particular topics of most interest to them, the Faculty Advisory Board Working Group, who developed the training, suggests that faculty members take the various training modules sequentially. All training sessions will be live-streamed on multiple days and times, as well as being recorded so that faculty members can review them asynchronously. In addition, each instructor will hold virtual office hours after each live-streamed training session to discuss the material covered and to answer any follow-up questions from faculty members. Faculty members can now sign up for these online training sessions using a web-based registration site linked through the Power-On website<https://cloudapps.uh.edu/sendit/l/vy5LczFViFxM6qmx2s8gDQ/fssPRUq1MvN1ItXzAk5gPw/oT2NpsGCqQnRx8TIZQi2Tw> under the Instructional Training tab, which can also be accessed directly through the Events Calendar on the FED website<https://cloudapps.uh.edu/sendit/l/vy5LczFViFxM6qmx2s8gDQ/NgTjYzW8Jzv892q8dPocxiUQ/oT2NpsGCqQnRx8TIZQi2Tw>.

I truly appreciate your continued efforts to ensure that our students receive the highest quality educational experience possible. I thank you for your willingness and commitment to being fully prepared to meet the instructional challenges of the rapidly approaching fall semester. Even in these unprecedented times, student success, including our students’ ability to progress towards graduation, remains our top priority.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at provost at uh.edu<mailto:provost at uh.edu> if you have any comments or suggestions you would like to share.

Sincerely,

[https://www.uh.edu/provost/_images/2019-pms-signature.png]

Paula Myrick Short
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, UH System
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, UH
Distinguished Professor of Education
provost at uh.edu<mailto:provost at uh.edu> | 832.842.0550<tel:832-842-0550>

This is an official message sent by the University of Houston. To verify the validity of this message, email security at uh.edu<mailto:security at uh.edu>.

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