Last week, a colleague encouraged me to reconsider using the word “unprecedented” in any further official communications—citing that the whole world was quite exhausted by the term. We are traveling through uncharted instructional readiness territory as we rapidly near the beginning of the Fall 2020 term. We recognize the unparalleled, unequaled, unmatched, unrivaled, extraordinary, uncommon, and remarkable efforts and preparations that you are making for your students’ Fall 2020 instructional readiness. As you navigate this significant work, remember that your support partners in the Office of Information Technology (OIT), the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), and the SMU Libraries are here to help.
Your Academic Support Partners – For Personalized Assistance and Support
The Academic Technology Services and Center for Teaching Excellence teams provide pedagogical and technical assistance with Canvas, Zoom, and instructional support resources to help you prepare for Fall 2020. In addition to the many general support resources available at SMU—please make frequent use of your local faculty support partners. Especially if you have any questions, are having any trouble, or want to learn more about either online teaching or new remote technologies in your classrooms—please reach out for personalized assistance.
Here is a listing of some important local OIT faculty support offices which are available to help you—if you don’t know the Academic Technology Service Director in your area—please reach out to say hello! Also included are important gateway contacts to the CTE and SMU Libraries!
| School Academic Technology Services Contacts | |
|---|---|
| Dedman College of Arts and Sciences | Faye Walter |
| Dedman College of Law | James Pan |
| Meadows School of Arts | Mousumi Tanha |
| Lyle School of Engineering | Merlin Wilkerson |
| Simmons School of Education & Human Development | Jennifer Culver |
| Cox School of Business | Christina Churchill |
| Perkins School of Theology | James Pan |
| SMU Guildhall | Levi Sterling |
| Academic Technology Services | Jason Warner |
| Other Important SMU Faculty Services Are Contacts | |
| Center for Teaching Excellence Contact | Michael Harris |
| SMU Libraries Contact | Elizabeth Killingsworth |
If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact anyone on the list! Advanced teaching assistance and instructional design consultation is available from the Center for Teaching Excellence by contacting Michael Harris (above) or the CTE at cte@smu.edu. For assistance with any Library needs, please contact Elizabeth Killingsworth (above) or access https://www.smu.edu/libraries/fondren/ask.
Reorganized Keepteaching.smu.edu Website
Whether you are teaching Fully Online or SMUFlex, you’ll find new information at the SMU Keep Teaching website. This site has been reorganized to that you can easily find the resources you need. If you would like resources that you do not see there, or have any suggestions for the improvement of this site, please let us know! Check back to this site frequently!
Upcoming Support Events & Resources
In addition to our on-going July fully online course programs, stay tuned for even more resources and support events to assist you in preparing for Fall 2020 instruction:
- August – Virtual Conference/Workshop Series: Teaching & Technology
Similar to the virtual conference hosted in May, we will host an online conference of faculty-led workshops about teaching and technology. We will feature curricula for faculty at all levels of online teaching experience from beginning to advanced—and we will also offer several tracks based on how you will be teaching and testing students in the fall. Looking for faculty presenters: If you are experienced teaching online, have taught HyFlex previously, have experiences to share about engaging students digitally—please let me know (clicking will open an email link)! We’d love to feature you and your experiences to help other faculty! - July/August – Scheduling SMUFlex classroom technology orientations and training:
As finishing touches to new classroom technologies are completed, your college’s Academic Technology Service Director will be scheduling in-person SMUFlex classroom demonstrations for you to prepare for and practice using the new tools. Visit your scheduled classroom space ASAP to begin orienting to SMUFlex!
If there is anything that we can do to serve you or to communicate with you more effectively, please let me know.
Unprecedently,
Jason Warner
Executive Director, Academic Technology Services
