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This is a working resource for DePaul College of Business faculty and staff. The advice and procedures cover how to flexibly react to large-scale disruption to university business. Please note that the university has a team of centralized support for academic technology that provides documentation, support and training:


Presently, we consider a combination of five scenarios to impact university business.

  1. (Some) staff are unable to come to campus.
  2. (Some) students are unable to come to campus.
  3. (Some) faculty are unable to come to campus.
  4. A travel ban and/or international shutdown prevents faculty from teaching overseas.
  5. The entire university is closed.

This page provides practical advice and strategies for each of these scenarios.

Off-Campus Staff


Staff working remotely should follow these basic principles:

  • A personally owned device (via remote access) or a DePaul provided computer can be used for DePaul work.
    • Windows remote instructions here.
    • Mac remote instructions here.
  • DePaul covered data (financial, legal, health, FERPA, etc.) should not be stored on non-DePaul equipment.
  • Data should be backed up.
  • Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to ensure that your internet connection is secure.
  • Zoom can be used for videoconferenced meetings.
  • All staff intending to work remotely should read the detailed instructions that Information Services has created for telecommuting:

Software


DePaul licenses various software tools for staff, faculty, and students (such as Microsoft Windows and Office). DePaul software can be downloaded here.


U & W Drives


The DePaul U & W drives are available via a web browser here.


E-Fax


Faxes can be sent to email, the W drive, or a printer. You will need a scanner if you want to send faxes via this system. Please contact netconnect@depaul.edu for guidance.

Work From Home Checklist


If staff are considering working from home, here is a checklist of questions that may better prepare you:

  • Can duties be fulfilled remotely?
  • Have they worked from home successfully before?
  • Do they have a work-provided laptop?
  • If working remotely, do they need to remote desktop to their work computer?
  • Do they have a personal computer that they are comfortable using for work?
  • Do they have a smartphone?
  • Do they have broadband connection to the internet at home?
  • Can they run Zoom from home?
    • Do they have a webcam?
  • Can they connect to the U & W drives from home?
  • Can they connect to a shared Box folder from home?
  • In their work duties, do they access sensitive DePaul data?
    • Can they use the VPN?
  • Do they need to receive faxes?
    • Can they scan documents at home?
  • Do they need to telephone external contacts (students, vendors, etc.) as part of their regular responsibilities?
    • How do they intend to respond to voicemails?
    • How do they intend to telephone back?
  • Do they have any concerns or suggestions about working from home?

Off-Campus Students

Please note: This information is out of date. All students are off-campus.
You may be teaching regular classes, in which some of your students request to attend remotely. This is possible via several ways:

  1. All DePaul classrooms have Zoom installed. If a webcam and microphone is attached the classroom PC, your students can connect remotely via Zoom. The can see the content you display on the PC, and anything that you point the webcam at. They can hear what is said in class. You and the class can see the remote students via their webcam, and hear what they say via their microphone. These classes can be recorded.
    • Your department will have at least two Zoom kits (webcam, microphone, tripod) that you can borrow.
    • If you have a suitable webcam, you can connect this to the classroom PC.
  2. You can present via your own laptop. Zoom can be installed on your laptop. The remote students can see the content you display on your laptop, and anything that you point the webcam at. They can hear what is said in class. You and the class can see the remote students via their webcam, and hear what they say via their microphone. These classes can be recorded.
    • Your laptop webcam may not be facing content you want to record.
    • Your laptop microphone may not pick up audio from students in the classroom.
  3. Videoconference rooms. DePaul has several videoconference rooms. These are typically not designed for large classes, but may be suitable for small classes. Locations include:
    • Operated by the College of Business:
      • Finance Polycom Videoconference Room
    • Zoom Rooms operated by Information Services (available 8am to 5pm):
      • 55e701 - Physical capacity about 11
      • i55e725 - Physical capacity about 14
      • 55e734 - Physical capacity about 16
      • 55e840e - Physical capacity about 11
      • Sac285 - Physical capacity about 10 (Open 24 hours)
  4. Rooms with permanent webcams. The marketing department has one room with two permanently wired webcams (DPC 7406).


Zoom Kit


Your department has at least two Zoom kits. This kit can be deployed to any DePaul classroom, and connects via two USB cables to the classroom PC.

Recommended Webcam


Logitech C922x Pro Stream Webcam – Full 1080p HD Camera

Classroom Zoom Instructions



  1. Schedule the meetings in Zoom. Instructions here.
  2. Send the Zoom invitation to your remote students. You can post this information in D2L as well.
  3. At the start of class, place the tripod in a convenient and safe position near the classroom PC.
  4. Connect the quick-release plate and position the webcam facing the area you want to film.
  5. Plug the USB cable into the back of the Blue Snowball microphone.
  6. Plug the two USB cables (webcam and microphone) into the USB ports on the classroom PC (you can use the two extension cables if the existing cables are not long enough).
  7. Log into the classroom PC with your Campus Connect username and password.
  8. Click on Windows icon.
  9. Click on “Zoom.”
  10. Click on “Sign In.”
  11. Click on “Sign in with SSO.”
  12. Enter “depaul” as company domain (to complete depaul.zoom.us)
  13. Enter your Campus Connect username and password.
  14. If asked to switch apps (and open “Zoom Meetings”) click “Yes.”
  15. Choose “Join Audio by Computer.”
  16. Join or start your scheduled meeting.
    • Note: The meeting ID is a nine-digit number created when your meeting was scheduled. This is the same meeting ID that is given to your remote participants to connect. You can enter this to join a meeting you have scheduled.
  17. In Zoom, click on "Share screen."
    • Click on “Desktop.”
    • Check the two options (“share computer sound” and ”optimize for full-screen video clip”) at the bottom of the window.
    • Click on “Share.”
  18. When you start sharing your screen, the meeting controls will move into a menu that you can drag around your screen.
    • Mute/Unmute: Mute or unmute your microphone.
    • Start/Stop Video: Start or stop your in-meeting video.
    • Participants/Manage Participants: View the participants.
    • New Share: Start a new screen share. You will be prompted to select which screen you want to share again.
    • Pause Share: Pause your current shared screen.
    • Annotate / Whiteboard: Display annotation tools for drawing, adding text, etc.
    • More: Hover over more for additional options.
  19. At the end of the class, click on “End meeting for all.”

Breakout Rooms For Group Projects


If teaching a class with a mixture of in-class and remote students, it is possible to assign small group discussions that mix both the in-class and remote students. To do this, you use breakout rooms in Zoom:

  1. One member of each in-class group will need to bring a laptop to class.
    • The laptop will need a working webcam and microphone.
    • The laptop needs a connection to the internet. WiFI instructions can be found here.
    • The Zoom Client needs to be installed. You can download here: http://depaul.zoom.us
  2. During group work, the studemt with the laptop opens the Zoom client and clicks “Join a Meeting.”
  3. The student enters your meeting ID (a nine-digit number) and clicks on “Join.”
    • NOTE: Before being assigned to a Zoom group breakout room, students should mute their microphones. This will prevent audio feedback. Once in Zoom group breakout room, they can unmute their microphones.
  4. The Zoom host (typically the instructor) assigns students to groups. In Zoom, the students will see an invitation that says “The host is inviting you to join Breakout Room.” They should click “Join.”
  5. Once students have joined the breakout room, they will have full controls similar to the meeting. They can:
    • Mute/Unmute to speak.
    • Participants - view the Participants list.
    • Share screen – this allows any student to remotely share content from their computer desktop.
    • Chat - type messages to the other participants in your breakout room.
    • Ask for Help - request help from the meeting host. If they click “Ask for Help,” Zoom will notify the instructor that assistance is requested, and that they are asked to join the breakout room.
  6. At the end of the group session, The host should send a message to say that the breakout room is closing. Students can leave the breakout room and return to the main meeting session at any time, or they can leave the meeting entirely from the breakout room.

Polycom To Zoom Instructions


Polycom is a video conferencing system that provides a communication channel between specially equipped rooms, both within and outside DePaul. The Finance department has a Polycom room on the 5th floor of the DePaul Center. This room can connect to Zoom.

  1. Schedule the meetings in Zoom. Instructions here.
  2. Send the Zoom invitation to your remote students. You can post this information in D2L as well.
  3. Switch on the equipment in the room. There is a Windows laptop at the podium that you can use to present. If you need to use your own laptop, you will need to connect to VGA.
  4. On the Polycom handset, click on the call button.
  5. Enter the Zoom IP address (from your scheduled meeting, it will look something like this: 162.255.37.11)
  6. When prompted, enter “#” on the handset and then the meeting ID (a nine-digit number) followed by another “#
  7. To show the PC screen, press “Camera” on the Polycom remote and the number “4.”
  8. At the end of the class, end your meeting.

Zoom Resources


DePaul has a professional site license for the Zoom videoconferencing system. Zoom is perfect for remote guest presentations to class. You can find out more here:

Recording with Zoom


All Zoom meetings can be recorded to the Cloud. These recordings are kept for 120 days, then automatically deleted. Faculty can share a password protected streamed recording (for 120 days). If required, the recordings can be added to D2L. This provides an extra level of security. If intending to record with Zoom, please make these changes beforehand:

  1. Sign into Zoom at https://depaul.zoom.us
  2. Click on “Settings.”
  3. Click on “Recording” and conform these settings:
    • Hosts can give participants the permission to record locally: Off.
    • Record active speaker with shared screen: On.
    • Record gallery view with shared screen: On.
    • Record active speaker, gallery view and shared screen separately: On.
      • Active speaker: On.
      • Gallery view: On.
      • Shared screen: On.
    • Record an audio only file: Off.
    • Save chat messages from the meeting / webinar: On.
    • Add a timestamp to the recording: Off.
    • Display participants' names in the recording: Off.
    • Record thumbnails when sharing: On.
    • Optimize the recording for 3rd party video editor: On.
    • Audio transcript: On.
    • Save panelist chat to the recording: On.
    • Automatic recording: Off.
    • IP Address Access Control: Off.
    • Only authenticated users can view cloud recordings: Off.
    • Require password to access shared cloud recordings. On.
    • Auto delete cloud recordings after days: On.
    • The host can delete cloud recordings: On.
    • Recording consent: Off.
    • Multiple audio notifications of recording meeting: Off.


Exams


If your student cannot come to campus there are three options:
  1. Provide a take-home exam.
  2. Create an open-book quiz in D2L. Instructions here.
  3. Create a secured exam in D2L via Examity. This option is typically reserved for online courses only, requires setup prior to the start of quarter, and may not be available to you.

Off-Campus Faculty

Please note: This information is out of date. All faculty are off-campus.

If faculty cannot come to campus, there are three options:

  1. Faculty can schedule a Zoom session to a DePaul classroom (students attend class as normal).
    • This requires a person in classroom to facilitate (trusted student, staff, etc.) and the Zoom kit (webcam, microphone, tripod). Note: This is not a scalable solution.
    • The session can be recorded
  2. Faculty can schedule a Zoom session to remote students (no classroom, students using computers).
    • a. The session can be recorded
  3. Faculty create prerecorded video. There are two options:

Travel Ban

Please note: This information is out of date. All faculty are off-campus.

If faculty cannot come to campus, there are three options:

  1. Faculty can schedule a Zoom session to a DePaul classroom (students attend class as normal).
    • This requires a person in classroom to facilitate (trusted student, staff, etc.) and the Zoom kit (webcam, microphone, tripod). Note: This is not a scalable solution.
    • The session can be recorded
  2. Faculty can schedule a Zoom session to remote students (no classroom, students using computers).
    • a. The session can be recorded
  3. Faculty create prerecorded video. There are three options:

University Closed



There are two types of closure:

  1. Facilities closed, but university open: We teach online.
  2. University officially closed: All teaching ends for the duration of the closure, including online courses and at any remote locations (such as overseas or at corporate locations).

Advice For Spring Quarter


You should have already received an email from the Dean informing you that all Spring Quarter classes will be asynchronous. In that email she says:
I am requiring all business faculty members to teach their spring quarter courses online asynchronously. This means that faculty members must deliver their course content online without obligating students to be online at a specific time or place.    We are taking this action to support student learning and ensure that we have sufficient technological bandwidth to offer all of our spring courses online. Chairs and directors are convening or have convened faculty meetings for each department and school to address your questions and plans for spring quarter asynchronous online teaching.
Dean Misty Johanson
  1. Support
  2. Driehaus Online Starter Pack D2L Template
  3. Activating your D2L Course
  4. Emailing Students Via D2L
  5. COVID-19 Message To Students
  6. Course Copies
  7. Merging Courses
  8. D2L Training
  9. Recording Video
  10. U/W Drive
  11. Virtual Labs
  12. Publisher’s Materials
  13. Software
  14. Hardware
  15. Frequently Asked Questions

1: Support


The Center for Teaching and Learning has created a portal to assist you this quarter. The page you should bookmark is:

Remote Teaching Options

On this page, you will find links to webinars, documentation, and online consultation.

Additionally, Josh Lund (FITS Senior Instructional Designer for Business) is running Zoom Office Hours every day Monday to Friday from 12-2. Please feel free to take advantage of this kind offer.

For technical support you can continue to email FITS: FITS@depaul.edu

2: Driehaus Online Starter Pack D2L Template


We have created a D2L template that may be helpful for faculty who have not taught online before. If you would like this template copied to your Spring courses:

  1. Go to https://wapp.is.depaul.edu/lmsforms/allforms.aspx
  2. Click on "Copy Course Content."
  3. In the “If your course is not available in the dropdown, type as much course information as you can recall in the box below” textbox, type “Driehaus Online Starter Pack.”
  4. Select the course you want to Copy Into.
  5. Click on “Submit."
  6. On the next page, verify that the information you have provided is correct, and then click on “Submit."
 
The "Driehaus Online Starter Pack” contains:

  • Welcome message to students.
  • Resources for instructors.
  • Panopto instructions for instructors.
  • Online student resources (academic, technology, software, library, etc.).
  • Example syllabus.
  • Example schedule.
  • Discussion board introductions and Q&A.

If you just want to look at the course, I can add you as an “Observer.” To add you I would need via email:

  1. Your name.
  2. Your EmpID (the seven-digit number on your DePaul ID card).

3: Activating your D2L Course


Your upcoming classes have been loaded into Desire2Learn. These classes are ready to be activated by you (students will not see their class in D2L unless activated). Note: Please disregard this advice if you have already activated your D2L course.
 
  • Go http://D2L.depaul.edu
  • Your inactive courses will be branded “INACTIVE” on the course image.
  • Hover your mouse pointer over the course image on the D2L homepage and click on the three dots that appear on the top right of the course image.
  • Click on “Course Offering Information.”
  • On the “Course Offering Information” page check “Course is Active.”
  • Click “Save” at the bottom. Your course is now activated. Students will see your course listed in their “My Courses” widget when they log in to D2L.

4: Emailing Students Via D2L

  • Click “Classlist” in your course navigation bar. The Classlist page will open; it displays a list of the students in your course.
  • Click the “Email Classlist” button at the top of the page.
  • Click on the “Students” tab. A page will open that displays a list of students who will receive the email.
  • Click the “Send Email” button at the bottom of the page. A new window will open with the email addresses of all of your students listed in the BCC field, a blank subject line, and a text-editing area.
  • Enter your subject and message in the appropriate fields.
  • Click the “Upload” button if you want to add an attachment to your email, and locate the file on your computer (optional).
  • Click the “Send” button in the upper-left corner of the page when you are done composing your email. 

5: COVID-19 Message To Students

The Dean’s office has created a standard message for students that we suggest you place in your D2L course (this message is in the “Driehaus Online Starter Pack”). The message is as follows:
Undergraduate and graduate business courses for spring quarter are being offered online asynchronously, which means that you don’t need to participate in these classes at a specific time. Please refer to your syllabus for course requirements and deadlines, and contact your instructor with any questions or concerns. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we work together as a community to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on our mission to educate and support our students.
The Dean’s office

6: Course Copies


There are two ways you can copy content from a previous D2L course into an upcoming course:

  1. Manually. Full instructions can be found here.
  2. Request that FITS makes the copy for you. This course copy will typically take two business days, but may take longer with an influx of additional requests. The process to follow is:
    • Go to https://wapp.is.depaul.edu/lmsforms/allforms.aspx
    • Click on "Copy Course Content."
    • On the next page, enter your Campus Connection Username and Password, then click on “Login."
    • Select the course you want to Copy From.
    • Select the course you want to Copy Into.
    • Click on “Submit."
    • On the next page, verify that the information you have provided is correct, and then click on “Submit."

7: Merging Courses

You may find it easier to merge D2L courses if teaching multiple sections of the same course. This means you only have to use one course to teach multiple sections. The process to follow is:

  • In your D2L course, click on “Edit Course” and select “D2L Request Forms.”
  • Click on “Combine Course.”
  • Choose your “Primary Course.”
  • Select the “To be combined” courses.
  • Click on “Submit.
  • Click on “Submit."

8: D2L Training


There are multiple ways that you can get training on how to use D2L effectively:

  • D2L Essentials
    CTL offers a self-paced online workshop that covers the basics of D2L. For more information and to register, please visit here.
  • Individual Appointments
    You can meet virtually with a FITS consultant who will work with you one-on-one. You can schedule here.
  • D2L Guides
    The Teaching Commons has extensive videos and teaching guides that you can explore here.

9: Recording Video


You will probably want to add video to your D2L course. Before creating something from scratch there are some options to consider:

  • Do my students need this as video? It could be that written text or directing your students to a chapter of the textbook is sufficient.
  • Does this topic exist as a video on LinkedIn Learning? All faculty, students, and staff have access to LinkedIn Learning. The videos there are professionally made, and might be sufficient to the task.
  • Does this topic exist as a video elsewhere? Publisher’s materials, YouTube, or Creative Commons may have what you need.
  • Does a colleague have recorded content? It could be one of your colleagues has content that they are willing to share, or to combine course sections.

You have several options for recording content:


Some faculty may have an existing recording option that they are comfortable with. You do not need to learn a new tool. However, you will want to upload your video into D2L via Panopto for security and improved quality of service. This is considerably better than using services like YouTube, which may violate FERPA (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). Instructions on how to add Panopto to your course and embed videos can be found here:

10: U/W Drive

You can access DePaul’s U: and W: drives via the Web and on mobile devices via:
http://webdrive.depaul.edu

11: Virtual Labs

The DePaul Virtual Lab is a Microsoft Remote Desktop Services environment that lets students access DePaul-licensed courseware applications from their personal computers, even off-campus. Students can access the Virtual Lab by downloading and opening the Virtual Lab application launcher files from DePaul's website. Once they have downloaded a launcher file, students may continue using it without returning to the website. Occasionally, DePaul may update the launcher files, so if students are having trouble accessing the Virtual Lab, they should return to the website to download a new copy. The website can be quickly accessed at:
https://vlab.depaul.edu

12: Publisher’s Materials

Faculty are advised to contact their publisher’s representative if using a textbook. You can arrange for the course cartridge for the courses you are teaching to be imported into D2L. The quiz bank is there in case you need to create D2L quizzes and exams:

  1. Log into your course in D2L.
  2. Click on “Course Administration” then “Import/Export/Copy Components.”
  3. Select “Import Components” and click on “Start.”
  4. Click and drag your zip file into the Upload area.
  5. Click “Import All Components.” The import will process and the bank will now appear in the Question Library.

13: Software

Faculty and students are able to purchase or lease discounted software via Kivuto web store. Microsoft Office and Windows are free for faculty, students, and staff:

http://software.depaul.edu

14: Hardware

Some faculty have asked about using a webcam at home. Generally, the webcam and microphone on your laptop are sufficient. However, an external webcam will have a superior video and microphone. Here are our recommendations for webcams to purchase:


Some faculty have asked for a better microphone. The webcams listed above all have very good microphones. If you are looking for a dedicated microphone, these are all excellent:



Some faculty need to be able to write and draw in recordings and creation of materials. They can do this with:

  • Windows laptop with touchscreen. The recommended DePaul laptop is the Windows Surface Pro.
  • iPad
  • Android tablet

If faculty need an affordable option, the XP-Pen stylus pad works with Windows and Mac. Faculty will need to install a driver to use, so this will not work on classroom PCs. It will work on:

  • Home computers
  • Faculty laptops
  • Office computers

I have tested the XP-Pen. It does the job, and is affordable. Two versions to consider:

Active Area: 4 x 3 inches ($20)
Active Area: 6 x 4 inches ($30)

More information about the XP-Pen stylus can be found on my website here.

15: Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Mini-Studio available?
The Mini-Studio is not available at this time.

I need help – whom can I contact?
If you need help with D2L or any other educational technology, simply email fits@depaul.edu

A team of specialists monitors the FITS email account, and your questions will be swiftly and knowledgably answered. You can also schedule one-on-one sessions here.

My home internet connection is slow. What should I do?
Your WiFi may be at fault. WiFi is a shared medium, and interference from your neighbors’ networks, electrical devices, etc. will result in network congestion. Using a wired ethernet connection from your router to your computer will improve your experience.