Zoom is Truman’s web conferencing tool. It provides a platform on which to conduct live online conferences, presentations, lectures, meetings and group chats. Instructors with Zoom Pro accounts can use Zoom inside Blackboard to schedule conferences with students and to capture daily lecture sessions. Outside of Blackboard, Zoom Pro and Basic accounts can be used to record mini-lectures, tutorials, and other content to supplement course resources. Zoom instructions and resources.
If your connection meets the minimum 1 – 1.5 Mbps requirement, you will still need to do some optimizing to get your work done. When it’s time for online work, be sure that the connection is as unburdened as possible. Talk with your family and consider setting up a schedule for when coursework, gaming, entertainment, or other uses will take place will help free up this resource for academic work.
The activity that uses the highest amount of bandwidth is live-streamed multidirectional video and audio sharing. We are encouraging professors to pre-record lectures and other video content whenever possible so that during this crisis, there is less need for the most bandwidth-intensive types of content.
Truman State University has partnered with Hoonuit for online technology training and support. Through this partnership, Truman is able to provide learning opportunities that make it easy for learners of all ages to embrace technology and develop critical skills for success at school, at work, and in life. The Hoonuit catalog has over 50,000 training modules available to choose from.
In addition to the resources noted above, Truman has also enrolled all faculty into a Blackboard course designed for continued collaboration. When you log in to Blackboard, you should have access to the course titled: Online Teaching Workspace – this course has a wealth of information and other resources available for teaching remotely.
Multiple commercial carriers like Comcast/Xfinity and Charter/Spectrum are offering free WiFi connectivity at thousands of hotspot locations throughout the U.S. through the duration of this crisis. Check with your local providers for details.