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We will update this page with new communications throughout the semester.

Table of Contents

Past Updates

JULY 16, 2020

We are excited to announce that Kaltura at Syracuse University is now available. This cloud-based video management system will help instructors store and share video course content to create engaging and accessible learning experiences for their students.

Kaltura:

  • enables instructors and students to create video content through Blackboard;
  • provides instructors the ability to edit and combine videos while making them more interactive; and
  • empowers instructors and students to use webcams and mobile devices to create content.

In the coming months, instructors also will be able to take advantage of Kaltura’s lecture capture ability.

We have prepared some FAQs to address questions you might have.

How do I access Kaltura?
You can access Kaltura by logging in to blackboard.syracuse.edu or video.syr.edu. You also can choose to use the Kaltura mobile app. Please note that any videos created in Kaltura must follow Syracuse University’s Information Technology Resources Acceptable Use Policy.

Is training available?
Yes. You can register for online training sessions. These sessions will prepare instructors to teach with Kaltura during the Fall 2020 semester with a focus on how to create, upload and deploy instructional videos in Blackboard.

Does Kaltura replace Ensemble?
Yes. As of July 15, 2020, Kaltura is the University’s official video repository tool. Although Ensemble will continue to be available through the Fall 2020 semester, any new content should be created in Kaltura.

Will I be able to move my Ensemble content to Kaltura?
Yes. We are developing a process to migrate existing content from Ensemble to Kaltura. We will share more details about this process soon.

Does Kaltura work with Blackboard?
Yes. Additional Kaltura functionality is available within Blackboard courses to promote teaching and learning. For instructions, tutorials and how-to documentation related to Kaltura in Blackboard, please refer to the Kaltura in Blackboard support page. 

How can I learn more about Kaltura?
We encourage all instructors to explore the Kaltura at Syracuse University home page on Answers.

If you have questions about Kaltura, our Fall 2020 Course Transition Services or any other aspect of preparing for the fall semester, you can contact the faculty support team (help@syr.edu). Please also remember these online coaching and consultation opportunities: 

We look forward to working with you.

JULY 14, 2020

In challenging times, it’s helpful to distinguish what you can control from what you can’t. In terms of preparing for the fall semester, you can control your curiosity about technology, how you organize your course and how you transition it online.

Exploring Technology with Answers

Available to all faculty, students and staff, Answers is Syracuse University’s knowledge base of technical self-help information. The website’s content focuses on campuswide and school- or college-specific systems and technical services, including how-to instructions, FAQs and more. In addition to the Online Success Toolkit, the Information Technology Support home page is a good place to start exploring. Answers is always evolving to meet the needs of our community, so be sure to check back periodically for updates. Even better, you can configure your Answers profile to get a daily digest of changes. To do so:

  • Log in to Answers.syr.edu using your NetID and password if you haven’t already.
  • View your email settings.
  • Click the “Edit” button and then select “Subscribe to daily updates.”
  • Click the “Submit” button.

Organizing Your Course

The good news for your fall courses is that you don’t have to start from scratch. You can take advantage of the Syracuse University-specific Fall 2020 Blackboard course shell. To preview the course shell and decide whether to apply it to your specific course, email help@syr.edu with either Course Name: Syracuse University Course Template – Fall 2020 or Course ID: sutemplate.fall2020 in the subject line.

Transitioning Your Course Online

Once you have developed a clear vision and materials for your course, we recommend working with Blackboard Academic Services as part of our Fall Course Transition Services to build out the first two weeks of your course, which will ease you into the mixed delivery format. Blackboard Academic Services will show you how to upload content, create assignments, build assessments and more. Using this approach, you don’t need to have a semester of content ready—only the course alignment (from syllabus through assessments, assignments and activities) and the first two weeks of materials. Once you have finalized your syllabus and prepared your initial content, contact Blackboard Transition Services using the Course Is Ready for Transition Form.

If you have questions, you can contact the faculty support team (help@syr.edu). You can learn more about how ITS is helping faculty prepare for the fall semester by listening to the new episode of “Behind the Monitor,” the official ITS podcast. For more tech tips and tricks, follow us on Instagram.

Please also remember these online coaching and consultation opportunities: 

We look forward to working with you.

JULY 9, 2020

Four Steps to Jump-Starting Your Fall Course Transition

With the start of the fall semester less than seven weeks away, we wanted to share four steps to getting started with the Fall Course Transition Services available through Syracuse University’s partnership with Blackboard:

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This is not the semester that anyone envisioned. We realize that everyone’s situation is slightly different in terms of family, resources and more. Even so, please remember that you are not alone—we are all in this together. We look forward to helping you make the best of a challenging situation.

March 12, 2020

To support the transition to online course delivery effective at the end of the academic day on Friday, March 13, we will continue to send regular communications to ensure you have the most up-to-date information related to online teaching and learning. If you haven’t already, please bookmark the Academic Continuity Resources toolkit available at at Syracuse.edu/coronavirus/academic-continuity.

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