Faculty are expected to help support the academic progress of students who have temporary conditions or disability-related needs that prevent them from participating in person. Faculty have discretion in determining the most appropriate and feasible way to do so.

There are ways for students to keep up with class until they are able to be present in person, just as they would have prior to the pandemic. Faculty are not required to provide remote access to students who cannot attend class. In the majority of classrooms, remote access may not be an option because classrooms are not Zoom-enabled. Instead, lapel mic recorders will be available to capture audio recordings to accompany other course materials. College A/V teams should serve as the primary resource for faculty when electing to use technology-enabled solutions.

Options might include:

• Current class audio recording: The university has procured lapel mic recorders for making audio recording of class lectures to share with students. Please note, clip-on microphones issued last year will not work with these recorders. Instructors should contact the local AV technical support for the building in which they are teaching to borrow these mics and receive training on how to use them. Detailed instructions on how to use the lapel mic recorder and transfer recordings to you student(s).
• For blackboard capture, faculty can utilize high-resolution USB cameras on tripods. These cameras were successfully used last semester and are very light weight and easy to deploy. The cameras are used in conjunction with the room's built-in PC or the instructor's laptop. Software such as Panopto or Zoom can record and share the recordings with your student(s). Detailed instructions on recording and sharing video are available on CIT’s website. Please note that if you are recording blackboard work, you may also choose to record with the lapel mic recorder. This will produce two files for the student(s), but allows for audio of the entire lecture to be captured, not just the work at the blackboard. Your local AV support can consult on which approach is best depending on the particulars of the room and course pedagogy.
• If available, lecture audio or visual recordings from previous semesters may be shared with students via Video on Demand, in conjunction with current slides.
• Zoom: Please note that even if your classroom is equipped with a computer, it may lack the other pieces of technology required to enable a proper zoom connection for students. If that is the case, instructors who are interested in using Zoom to support students can use their own laptop (or a loaner) to connect to zoom, either to provide a live synchronous connection or an asynchronous class recording. Instructions on how to record in Zoom are available on CIT’s website. If a room is not setup for Zoom, a USB speakerphone can be used to improve the quality of audio captured. Please note that using a USB speakerphone has limitations and may not work well if you move away from the teaching station or turn to work at the blackboard.
  • Instructions on how to transfer recordings to specific students are available on CIT’s website. Please contact your local AV technical support to make arrangements.

In addition, faculty can support students by facilitating collaborative note taking:

• Ask that students use a Google doc to compile (crowd source) lecture notes to share. OneNote allows students to write, draw, or sketch course notes and collaborative in a shared folder.
• The use of Hypothesis, accessible through Canvas, enables instructors and students to annotate handouts, create notes, and start conversations in the margins of text (readings, new, blogs, books, etc.). It also allows students to authentically connect online to ask questions, share ideas, and collaborate.