Communicate with Your Class
If you are using a Bard-supported learning management system (Moodle or Google Classroom),
you already have an easy-to-use system for sending class-wide announcements.
In Moodle, locate and click the Announcement link at the top of your course page.
In Google Classroom, go to the Stream tab, click within the “share something with your class” text box at the top.
Use this to type a message, quickly share updates, files, videos and URLs with your entire class.
Announcements that you share in either system will be emailed to your students and will appear as a post within the course site.
Consider adding a statement to your syllabus that directs your students to check for class updates in either
your Moodle or Google Classroom site in the case of inclement weather or campus closings.
Offer Online Office Hours
Let your students know that they can still meet with you regularly - and tell them how.
Consider sharing a message such as this with your students - either by email or in an Announcement
in your Moodle or Classroom course site:
Dear [Program/Course] Students,
I'm writing to let you know that I'll be online, in front of the computer, and holding virtual office hours Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:00-4:00 pm for the duration of the semester.
If you'd like to stop by, send me an email at MyEmail@bard.edu and we can connect via hangout (or FaceTime, or Skype—or whatever's easiest for you). I'll also be holding office hours by appointment through the end of the semester. Just send me an email (again, at MyEmail@bard.edu) if you'd like to schedule an online meeting for any day next week or after spring break.
Wishing you all a soft landing as the virtual becomes manifest--
Your professor
Utilize Synchronous Tools
- Use Google Meet for video conferencing. Meet allows for large meetings (up to 250 participants) and offers meeting recording, auto-captioning, and desktop or application-sharing functionality. Google Meet links can be added to either Moodle or Google Classroom by adding a Link (with the meeting room url) to your course page.
- Use Google Hangouts for real-time, text-based group chat.
Click the Contacts icon in the upper left corner.
Create a New Group for your class.
Enter each of your students’ names to search for them in the college directory, then add them to your new Hangouts class group. - Use G Suite apps (like Slides, Docs) to share and complete group writing projects or presentations in real-time. This can be very effective for small group work, and, when initiated from within your Google Classroom site, provides you with a “home-base” from which to quickly navigate between student groups.
- Offer your online “office hours” using Google Meet and inform students of your preferred methods for communication (Bard email, chat, phone call, etc.).
Utilize Asynchronous Tools
- Use the recording and share desktop features in Google Meet or Bard Blue Jeans to pre-record lectures and presentations. Links to these recorded lectures can be shared to your Moodle or Google Classroom course sites by adding a link (with the recording URL) to your course page
- Leverage your Moodle or Google Classroom site to post readings and assignments, create discussion boards, quizzes, and paper submissions.
Assignments in Moodle
Assignments in Google Classroom
Request a Google Classroom course site
You’ll have access to Classroom if you log in using your bard.edu “G Suite/Google Apps for Education” account.
1. Choose the “I am a Teacher” option to request Instructor access to Classroom. Once that has been approved, you will be able to create your own course sites.
2. Click the “+” (plus sign) in the upper right corner of the browser window, next to your username. Then choose: CREATE CLASS.
