Make sure your labs and classroom computers have the right software
As we return to campus for fall 2021, we want to make sure that your labs and classrooms are set up to best support your teaching and research needs. We’re taking a new slimmer approach to software distribution to help your computers run more quickly. We’ll now be tailoring each lab and classroom to the needs of the specific people who use it.
The deadline for this request was August 13. If you haven't yet completed the software request form, please do as soon as possible. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.
Save content in Moodle courses from AY2018
In accordance with LITS' Course Access and Retention Policy, we will be deleting courses from AY2018 (SU2017-SP2018) from Moodle in late August. Please save anything you might need from these courses to your own personal storage outside of Moodle before August 20, 2021. Have questions or need help? Email the Educational Technology team (formerly Digital Pedagogy) at edtech@mtholyoke.edu for support.
Submit your Course Reserves Now!
To make library course reserve materials as widely accessible and barrier-free as possible, reserve books and videos will be provided in digital format whenever possible.
Where to Submit:
- Required texts should be submitted on my.mtholyoke.
- Chapter, article and streaming video reserve requests should be submitted through LITS’ online reserve system as early as possible.
Note: If you are only using a portion of a work, LITS can assist by providing a scanned version of your selected chapters (about 10% or less.) Scanned materials meet accessibility standards and will be available in your Moodle courses.
Ensure Accessibility in the Classroom
Instructors are required to proactively ask and answer the question, “How can my students participate in class with equivalent ease, timeliness, and independence if they encounter accessibility issues using course technology?” MHC’s updated Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Policy reinforces federal and state mandates that require any programs, services, and activities that occur in digital environments be accessible to all community members. Additionally, the policy emphasizes that faculty should have a plan to make free and open source software activities used in their courses accessible to all students.
The MHC Technology Access Committee (aka “TechAccess”) is available to answer questions about equally effective alternative access and making your courses universally accessible at techaccess@mtholyoke.edu. For specific accessibility accommodation questions, contact the AccessAbility Services office at accessability-services@mtholyoke.edu.
Now:
- Appointments with research librarians, instructional technologists, and archivists are available for fall assignment and class visit planning.
- All LITS spaces, the library stacks, and the Circulation Desk are now open to MHC faculty who have submitted their exemption or vaccination paperwork.
- Fall 2021 course sites have been created in Moodle.
- LITS has updated the red ‘MHLinks’ button to a blue ‘MHC|Get it’ when accessing full text articles. For questions about the updated interface email mhc-eds-g@mtholyoke.edu.
August 1: Submit course reserves by this date to ensure materials are ready for the start of classes.
August 11: There is planned site maintenance for all Moodle sites on August 11th. All Moodle sites will be inaccessible.
August 13: Submit your software requests for labs by this date. (Earlier is always better.)
August 20: Content from AY2018 Moodle course sites will be deleted.
August 30: Fall courses begin.
New grading tool: Gradescope
Gradescope has been licensed by LITS for use by all Mount Holyoke faculty. If you expect to teach a large class or require a large number of assignments, Gradescope may save you time and energy on grading. You can get started with Gradescope by signing up with your Mount Holyoke email address at gradescope.com or by adding it as an activity in your Moodle course. Please be in touch with the Educational Technology team if you have any questions about whether or not Gradescope is right for you, or if you'd like a consultation. Recorded webinars are also available for on-demand training (you must be logged in to view).
New video service: AVON (Academic Video Online)
LITS recently added a subscription to AVON (Academic Video Online), a collection of over 70,000 videos in subject areas including anthropology, history, film studies, music, psychology and more, curated for an educational setting. All films are immediately available, and come with performance rights for campus viewings. All Five College faculty and students will have access to AVON.
Meet with the Archives
Now is a great time to talk with an archivist and plan a class visit to Archives and Special Collections! Please reach out to Leslie Fields, Head of Archives and Special Collections, at lfields@mtholyoke.edu. Learn more about Archives instruction sessions and teaching philosophy here: https://lits.mtholyoke.edu/archives-special-collections/teaching-learning-and-class-visits
Team-based support from Research and Instructional Support (RIS)
Research Services: researchservices-g@mtholyoke.edu
- Schedule research skills sessions for your students, get help designing a research assignment, and ask about library materials for your courses. Email or make an appointment with Research Services.
Educational Technology (formerly Digital Pedagogy): edtech@mtholyoke.edu
- In order to more clearly indicate the role of the group, Digital Pedagogy is now Educational Technology. Instructional technologists are available to discuss technology tools and project/assignment design, and schedule class visits.
Language Resource Center: lrc@mtholyoke.edu
- Contact the LRC Coordinator to plan for events or curricular use of the LRC spaces, and for support with language pedagogy technology.