Sqlite studio. Respondus allows instructors to import quiz questions in bulk from Word documents or import from question banks provided by certain publishers. Respondus 4.0 has been licensed for all Emory instructors and can be downloaded from Software Express (https://software.emory.edu/express). Respondus Lockdown Browser – All or part of your tests and final exam will be taken on your laptop computer using the Respondus Lockdown Browser. Therefore, your laptop battery. MyVCCS - Virginia's Community Colleges. Click 'Need help?' To reset password.
Throughout the second half of spring semester, Teaching & Learning Technologies helped get Emory instructors up to speed to teach remotely with Zoom and Canvas. We watched as you adapted and and were impressed with the job you did, in many cases partnering with our team and using Canvas for the first time. Our work was challenging and invigorating, and we were grateful for it.
As we adjust to our changed reality, we are here to help you prepare for a fall semester that will be unlike any before, we want to assure you that we will stay with you via Zoom, telephone calls, and email, and we have all the tools to help you and your students stay “together apart” as the new catch phrase goes. Some classes will meet in person, some will meet virtually, but we’re confident that you will have the technologies and techniques you need to teach them well.
We know your purpose involves the deepest imparting of the knowledge and practice of your discipline to students, and we remain here to help you do this during the ongoing crisis. Our team has come to realize that its purpose is to share with you our expertise in designing classes for flexible delivery, supporting your teaching with technology, engaging and supporting your students even when you don’t see them face-to-face.
Please continue to ask us questions as soon as they arise; we have gotten really good at answering them. And our sole purpose is to support you.
We have heard concern from some of you that you may overburden us when you schedule a 1-on-1 appointment, but we use a calendaring tool that keeps us from overbooking so that no one member of our team takes too much of the load. Schedule with us at it.emory.edu/canvasappointments.
We also use a group email: classes [at] emory [dot] edu, to most efficiently address your requests and questions.
Finally, we invite you to join us for the Canvas training program we rolled out last month. We call it Canvas 1-2-3 and it and it consists of our key Canvas training classes to get instructors familiar with the technology and how to use it. The schedule continues into August and you can learn more about it at canvas-support.emory.edu/training/index.html.
As the start of fall classes approaches, we will have more to share with you about new tools and features, most built right into Canvas. In the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, concerns, or requests. Join us for a training session. Or just enjoy a cold drink during these dog days of summer—we’ll be here when you’re ready for us.
Emory University Respondus Lockdown Browser
From COVID-19 to the presidential election, 2020 was more than miserable, and remote learning greatly contributed to that misery. Seeking to imitate the rigor of in-person classes, many professors last semester increased assignments, administered exams during unfair timeframes and failed to accommodate student concerns.
Unless professors make reasonable adjustments, remote learning will continue to exhaust students this semester as well. As international student international student Iris Li (22C) wrote in a recent Wheel op-ed, the physical and emotional toll of online classes amid a pandemic is excruciating. To minimize the frustration and difficulty of remote learning this spring, professors should add more accessible time windows for exams, institute flexible attendance policies and administer and listen to frequent student feedback forms.
Emory Respondus Lockdown Browser
Despite living through a pandemic still taking a serious toll on the mental and physical health of Emory students, professors insisted on enforcing strict exam protocols last semester. To mitigate cheating and Honor Code violations on assessments, many professors used Zoom to proctor their exams in real time, and others used the Respondus LockDown Browser to record individual students during tests. But if Emory students’ condemnatory reactions are any indication, surveillance is not the answer. Proctored assessments are stressful regardless, but they are especially strenuous for international students, who are forced to take these exams very late at night or early in the morning.
As a possible remedy, Niki Patel (23C) pointed out that the 24-hour window for exams in her NBB 201 class last fall allowed for more flexibility. The course’s three exams were all open for a full day, and she could choose when to take them. Patel found this arrangement to be “especially helpful … I always had one or two other midterms on the same day that my NBB exams were scheduled,” adding that “the autonomy in choosing when to sit for at least one exam was great.”
To provide all Emory students with equitable testing conditions, Emory should mandate that professors keep their assessments open for a 24-hour window or longer. That way, all students, no matter their time zone, can take their exams at a reasonable time. Professors should establish such windows with their students’ input to ensure that testing protocols meet their needs.
Making attendance and participation in synchronous lectures mandatory also jeopardizes the equity and effectiveness of education. For international students who live half a world away from Emory and endure significant time differences, waking up in the middle of the night for classes is unnecessarily grueling. In her op-ed, Li, who lives in Beijing, explained that 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. became her regular bedtime last fall because her synchronous classes were held in the middle of the night in China. Sleep abnormality and deprivation seriously threatened international students’ immunity and mental health last semester, and unless professors listen to their students, the same will happen this spring.
Mandatory attendance not only harms the health of international students, but also disproportionately affects low-income students. The latter are more likely to have poor internet connectivity or live in an environment unsuitable for participating actively in class. To mitigate these concerns, professors should replace mandatory attendance with more recorded lectures and asynchronous materials that are always accessible. Grades should be based on effort, not on time zone or internet access.
Not all Emory faculty have failed to accommodate students with difficult circumstances, however, and other professors should learn from their examples as they design their spring courses. For example, gathering feedback from students throughout the semester proves to be effective. Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Arber Tasimi asked for suggestions to improve his course on every exam he issued, which provided him the information to make his tests more valuable and less arduous. The course required students to earn six research participation credits at the beginning of the semester, but as some students explained that they could not find suitable time slots for research, Dr. Tasimi allowed students to waive the requirement by writing three summaries of research papers. This spring, all professors should follow his example by gathering feedback through exam questions, Google forms or Canvas discussion forums. As students have first-hand experience with remote classes, they are more qualified than anyone to improve it.
To be fair, teaching is difficult enough when everyone involved is in the same room; doing it with new technology amid a pandemic can be punishing. Professors, lecturers and teaching assistants are enduring the same social, political, personal and financial turmoil as students, and their learning curve has been beyond steep. But the best way to overcome it is to ask the people for whose benefit it exists in the first place — students — and listen to what they have to say.
Though the pandemic has not been easy for anyone, professors should adapt to these extenuating circumstances by gathering feedback and improving their classes. Student responses can drive courses to become more academically effective, equitable and keep us motivated and enthusiastic. Checking in on students and allowing reasonable leeway for exams and assignments will improve the health and well-being of students in the upcoming spring.
Remote learning already takes away so much from education. To make the most of our current situation, Emory professors and administrators need to listen to students and make reasonable changes. It’s the least they can do.
The above editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is composed of Sahar Al-Gazzali, Brammhi Balarajan, Viviana Barreto, Rachel Broun, Jake Busch, Sara Khan, Sophia Ling, Demetrios Mammas, Meredith McKelvey, Sara Perez, Martin Shane Li, Ben Thomas, Leah Woldai, Lynnea Zhang and Yun Zhu.