Instructional Continuity Plan
Instructional Continuity Plan
In the event of a campus closure, this guide will help you to continue teaching and communicate with your students through the college’s learning management system, Brightspace. This guide will support the continuation of instruction via an asynchronous format (self-directed learning). In addition, you may also use additional technology tools to conduct live (synchronous) online meetings/lectures.
All faculty and students in credit-bearing courses at Westchester Community College are automatically enrolled in a Brightspace course shell. To access Brightspace, faculty/students can log into Brightspace, via the login page. The MyWCC username and password will be used to log into Brightspace . Once faculty have successfully logged into Brightspace, they can access their course(s) from the My Courses area by clicking on the course name.
For Brightspace support call SUNY ONLINE Helpdesk @ 1-844-673-6786 or visit their website https://online.suny.edu/help/. Let them know that you are a Westchester Community College faculty/student and need assistance with Brightspace.
Use Brightspace Announcements
Post Announcements with messages for your students. This is the easiest way to communicate with your entire class from within Brightspace. Students can see these announcements as soon as they log into Brightspace.
Video guide to creating Brightspace Announcements
Use college email
Use your college email account to send communications to your students. Log in to your email on this page.
Upload documents to your Brightspace course shell
Faculty can upload their syllabus and other important documents to their Brightspace shells. Students will then be able to access these files when they log into Brightspace.
Use the Assignments Tool in Brightspace
Brightspace has a tool that allows students to submit assignments online, and instructors are able to access the assignments, grade and provide feedback, all online.
Asynchronous Teaching Method
This online teaching method allows for student participation at different times during a one week time period.
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Set up a Class Discussion Forum
Faculty can use the discussion board in Brightspace to bring the conversation outside of the physical classroom.
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Record and upload lectures to Brightspace (optional)
Create a YouTube video of your lecture
Please do not upload video files to our Brightspace system. Upload video files to Youtube, as an unlisted video, and then place the link to your Brightspace course shell.
Synchronous Teaching Method
This online teaching methods requires live, scheduled meeting times.
Westchester Community College utilizes an online conferencing system for faculty to use with their students in Brightspace without any time limitations. Contact the Office of Online Education for more information.
- Note: For faculty, leading a session as a moderator, the best and recommended web browser is Google Chrome.
Equipment needed to conduct live lectures and online class meetings:
- Device with a good internet connection
- Headphones or earbuds (optional)
- Microphone (if possible; a separate microphone can be better than your device’s built-in mic)
- Web camera (optional, preferred for face-to-face contact)
Use the Grade Center to grade student work
The Grade Center in Brightspace allows instructors to enter grades and feedback for students to view. Students only see their own grades and not the grades of anyone else in the course.
Associate an Activity with a Grade Item
Facilitate Exams/Quizzes Online (optional)
Quizzes and exams can be created in Brightspace, using a variety of questions types, such as multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching and more. Exams can also be configured to grade automatically.