Get Ready for Fall with FCLD's August Jumpstart!

The Faculty Center for Learning Development (FCLD) offers ongoing seminars and instruction on a variety of instructional technology, including Blackboard, the University's learning management system. FCLD will be offering the following seminars and miniseries in August. Unless otherwise indicated, all seminars are held in the Woods Classroom in Mortensen Library.

Faculty interested in attending should register by emailing fcld@hartford.edu or calling 860.768.4661. Detailed descriptions of each seminar may be found on the FCLD website.

To download the August Jumpstart calendar, click here.

Getting Started with Blackboard
Tuesdays, 12:15-1:30 p.m.
In this general orientation to Blackboard, you'll learn strategies for organizing your Blackboard course, review the many tools and features available in Blackboard, and start adding content such as a syllabus to your Blackboard course. Be sure to bring digital versions of your syllabus or other course documents; this hands-on seminar is designed to get you up and running on Blackboard!


Grade Center: Do It Now!
Multiple dates: Thursday, Aug. 9, 10-11 a.m., or Thursday, Aug. 23, 3-4 p.m.
Come and learn how setting up your Blackboard Grade Center at the beginning of the semester has numerous advantages. Doing so early means you can:
• Have course grades calculated automatically throughout the course.
• Help students keep track of their own progress throughout the course.
• Have information ready at your fingertips when it's time to submit mid-semester reports or final grades.
• Weight grades and drop lowest scores quickly and easily.


Getting Started with Web Conferencing on WebEx
Wednesday, Aug. 15, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
Web conferencing is useful for advising, office hours, study reviews, and conducting classes when face-to-face meetings may not be possible. In this seminar, FCLD will introduce instructors to the basics of setting up and facilitating a web conference meeting with students. Note: This is an in-person workshop. Instructors who attended the online workshop are welcome to attend this session as well.


Miniseries: A Plethora of Presentation Tools
Mix and Match or Stay All Afternoon!
Friday, Aug. 17, 12:30-3 p.m.

 • Interactive White Boards: A Quick Introduction to the Hitachi Starboard, 12:30-1 p.m., Mortensen Library Curriculum Lab, third floor

• Bored of Bullets? Creating Engaging PowerPoint Presentations, 1-2 p.m.

• Zoom in with Prezi: A New Way of Creating Presentations and Writing Visual Essays, 2-3 p.m., with Dr. Nels P. Highberg, associate professor and chair of Rhetoric and Professional Writing and interim chair of Cinema, College of Arts and Sciences.


Blackboard 9 Refresher and Update
Multiple Dates: Tuesday, Aug. 21, 3-3:30 p.m., and Thursday, Aug. 23, 1:30-2 p.m.
Were you away on sabbatical last year when Blackboard was upgraded? Have you used Blackboard previously and just need a quick refresher? This seminar provides an overview of Blackboard 9 new tools and features, as well as a quick review of the basics to get you up and running for the fall semester. Instructors who are unable to attend this session are encouraged to contact FCLD to schedule an appointment.


Submitting Assignments Electronically: No more 'Blackboard ate my homework'
Thursday, Aug. 23, 2-3 p.m.
In this seminar, we'll provide an overview of the different ways to have students submit assignments electronically on Blackboard and the benefits of each.


Miniseries: Blackboard Essentials
Mix and Match or Stay All Afternoon!
Thursday, Aug. 23, 1:30-4 p.m.
Get ready for fall with an afternoon of seminars on some of Blackboard's most popular tools.

• Blackboard 9 Refresher and Update, 1:30-2 p.m.

• Submitting Assignments Electronically: No more 'Blackboard ate my homework', 2-3 p.m.

• Grade Center: Do It Now!, 3-4 p.m.


Scanning Tips and Tricks
Friday, Aug. 24, 10-11 a.m.
Location: FCLD Lab.
Come learn the basic techniques of scanning images and articles and sharing them in a presentation or on Blackboard.


Give Your Blackboard Course a Tune-up!
Wednesday, Aug. 29, 1-2 p.m.
Do you teach the same course every semester? Or are you teaching a course you haven't taught in a while? Either way, FCLD can help you tune up your Blackboard course for the fall semester. In this seminar, we'll share strategies to help you update your course for the fall, including copying material from old courses, organizing your course menu and finding new ways to post materials and assignments.