January 26, 2022

This message is distributed to All-Instructors, Academic-Assistant-Deans, and Academic-Department-Managers. (Click here to view description of distribution groups.)

The following is being sent on behalf of the Instructional Support Team
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The Instructional Support Team would like to reiterate guidance for Winter quarter and provide additional information and resources with this update.

 

Winter Quarter Instruction

EVC Marshall and Senate Chair Susannah Scott have both provided extensive update on Winter quarter instruction. The Instructional Support Team reminds you:

  • You can learn more about technologies available in your General Assignment or College of Letters and Science classrooms. If your classroom does not appear in either of these lists, email help@id.ucsb.edu and they will point you to the right resource. 
  • If you are using a General Assignment classroom, please review Key Classroom Information for Instructors prior to your first day of instruction and complete any outstanding action items, including picking up lectern keys at the Classroom Services Desk. Due to limited staffing, the Classroom Services Office is operating under reduced hours. Currently the Classroom Services Office is open from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM until January 31.

    Effective Feb 1st, Classroom Services Office hours are:  
    Monday & Tuesday 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    Thursday - Friday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

    If you need to pick up equipment or need additional assistance please contact help@id.ucsb.edu or visit the office during our front desk hours. Please note ID staff may not be able to respond to requests for help from the classroom immediately due to limited staffing, as well. 
  • It is (still) possible to teach courses in hybrid (combination of some in-person and some remote) and/or dual (simultaneously in-person and remote) modes. Per Academic Senate guidance:
    • Regular Academic Senate policy allows up to 50% of instruction in an in-person course to be delivered online, on a weekly basis. The 50% in-person content of a hybrid course is calculated from the point of view of the enrolled student. The online portion of the instruction must be justified by its pedagogical value and clearly announced to the students. Faculty who notified their department chairs and students of their intent to teach a hybrid course in winter quarter prior to the Dec 12 deadline may proceed as they originally planned. 
    • Faculty who choose to teach in dual mode should contact Instructional Development for information about their classroom technology, and to ensure that any special equipment that may be needed is available.
    • Faculty who wish to continue offering some remote/hybrid course components in their course remotely may also do so, provided they (1) maintain at least 50% of the weekly instruction in the course in person; (2) inform their department chair, with a justification of the pedagogical value of the online component, and (3) inform students of the new course schedule, by Jan 31. The instructor of record is responsible for ensuring that the online component is 50% or less of the total instructional time each week, and that teaching associates and teaching assistants are treated fairly in the allocation of remote teaching time. Teaching assistants who are concerned about the distribution of in-person vs. online teaching in their assigned course should contact their department chair for assistance.The portion of the course offered remotely may be synchronous or asynchronous.
    • Faculty may still use elements of a course designed for remote instruction (e.g., assessments, lectures, or other activities).

 

Resources: Gradescope Training Sessions Throughout February

Join us for an online workshop series and learn how instructors use Gradescope. This series will cover all Gradescope assignment types and course formats, including the LMS workflow. In the sessions we’ll offer guidance on the delivery of assignments that are hand written, fully online, and a combination of the two. 

Available Sessions:

  • Gradescope for In-Person Teaching
    • Friday, February 11, 9am PT / 12pm ET
    • Tuesday, February 22, 11am PT / 2pm ET
  • Gradescope for Online and Hybrid Teaching
    • Thursday, February 17, 11am PT / 2pm ET
    • Wednesday, February 23, 10am PT / 1pm ET
  • Gradescope for Computer Science
    • Wednesday, February 16, 9am PT / 12pm ET
  • Gradescope for Existing Users
    • Thursday, February 24, 12pm PT / 3pm ET
  • Using Gradescope in Your LMS
    • (Moodle-specific) Wednesday, February 16, 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET

Register and reserve your spot: https://info.gradescope.com/workshop-series 

*Instructors are welcome to invite their TAs and grading staff.

** Recording of the session will be shared with all registrants. Please register even if you can't make it to the live session.