On this page we share many of the resources created by ACERT and the Center for Online Learning during the past semesters, organized in a way to help you address specific interests and needs for your in-person, hybrid, or online courses.

We’ve collected recordings and slides of presentations held by faculty for faculty at the ACERT lunchtime seminars, blog posts from the ACERT website, and resources created by the Center for Online Learning. The full list of contributors is included at the end.

You can find out about upcoming technology workshops offered by the Center for Online Learning on this page. For individual help with a tool or an activity, you can attend the Center’s virtual ed tech office hours, listed on this page. Check the ACERT website and calendar for our upcoming events. We also announce all these events via the ACERT mailing list (subscribe here!).

Please note: all Hunter/CUNY tools are marked with an asterisk, and you can find more information and instructions (including on how to access the tools) on this resource page from the Center for Online Learning.

Overview

Getting ready

I would like to…

• get my syllabus ready
  • Innovative syllabus design – video and presentation slides
  • “Practices and principles in syllabus design” – blog post with additional resources
  • the Hunter syllabus checklist – link to checklist
• share information about Hunter resources with my students
  • “Resources to share with your students” – blog post with additional resources
  • Services and support to share with students – link to Resource Padlet (pink notes)
• create orientation (“week-zero”) materials
  • Orientation modules: what, why, how – resource page  
  • Giving students a warm welcome – blog post
• prepare my Blackboard course site
  • Start of the semester reminders – link to checklist
  • How to create a course banner – link to instructions
  • Copying course materials – link to instructions and video demo
• make my course and course materials accessible
  • Creating accessible PDF and Microsoft Office* documents – link to instructions
  • Enabling live subtitles in PowerPoint* – link to instructions
  • Video captioning in Zoom*, VoiceThread* and YouTube – link to instructions

I would like to…

• record my lecture
  • “12 tips for recording mini-lectures” – link to tips
  • Record using Zoom* – video and presentation slides
  • Record using VoiceThread* – instructions and examples; get started with “How to create a VoiceThread”
  • Record using Loom – video and presentation slides (! instructors and students can get a free account)
  • Record using Screencast-O-Matic – instructions and examples

• add subtitles to my videos
  • How to add subtitles in Zoom*, VoiceThread*, and YouTube – link to instructions

• store and share large files (such as video lectures)
  • Use Dropbox* to store and share files – video and presentation slides

• create asynchronous modules
  • “Asynch Done Asynch” – an asynch module about asynch modules (featured tools: Blackboard Discussion Board*, Padlet*, hypothesis*, VoiceThread*, Zoom*, SnagIt*, Mentimeter, Playposit)
  • How to create modules: a step-by-step guide – link to guide
  • Some sample modules (Nutrition, Classics, Mathematics, Psychology, Economics, English) – link to modules

I would like to…

• have my students write and/or work together 
  • Managing group work and collaborate writing during class time (synchronous) – video and presentation slides (featured tools: Google Docs, Google Slides, Blackboard Wiki*)
  • Managing group work and presentations outside of class time (asynchronous) – blog post with additional resources (featured tools: Google Docs, Blackboard Groups*, Blackboard Adaptive Release*, Padlet*)
  • Collaborative reading and annotating with hypothesis* – video; instructions and examples; short video on designing a hypothesis assignment
  • Sharing and collaborating with Padlet* – video and presentation slides; instructions and examples

• design creative assignments for my course
  • Creating social media based assignments – video (featured tools: Twitter, Blackboard Discussion Board*, Instagram); article “Using Twitter for academic purposes: how to guide students” 
  • Using podcasts in teaching and research – video (featured tools: Spreaker)
  • Creating game-like or playful activities – video (featured tools: Ivanhoe WordPress via the CUNY Academic Commons*, Digital Escape Rooms via Google Forms, Flippity); getting started with Ivanhoe; getting started with digital escape rooms; article “MEME: Motivating Engagement using Meme Examples” | learn more about the Spring 2022 Playful Pedagogy Series
    
  • Creating shareable e-books – video (featured tools: Book Creator and CUNY Manifold*); quick overview of Book Creator; getting started with Book Creator; getting started with CUNY Manifold*

• add interactive moments to my synchronous online sessions
  • Starting class with an icebreaker – video and presentation slides (featured tools: Zoom*, Padlet*, Mentimeter)
    
  • Creating polls – video and presentation slides (featured tools: Zoom*, Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, Peardeck)
  • Adding “stop-and-react” moments in your classes – video and presentation slides (featured tools: Peardeck, Mentimeter, Kahoot!, Jamboard, Playposit, Edpuzzle)
  • Written discussions in live class sessions – video (featured tools: Google Docs, Slack, Discord)

• create interactive (homework) assignments 
  • Asynchronous discussions with VoiceThread* and Blackboard Discussion Boards* – video and presentation slides (also mentioned: Blackboard Quizzes*) 
    
  • Flipgrid* – a short video on using Flipgrid* to facilitate video or audio discussions outside the classroom
  • “Playposit: A remedy for the passive viewing of videos” – blog post

I would like to…

• streamline my grading
  • Some tips and tricks for using the Blackboard Grade Center* – video and presentation slides
  • Organizing, standardizing, and automating grading using Gradescope* – video; blog post

• adopt different approaches to grading
  • “Ungrading”: decentering grades and encouraging self-reflection and self-assessment – video; blog post; Susan Blum, ed., Ungrading

I would like to…

• create an inclusive classroom
  • Teaching for social justice – video and presentations slides (1, 2, 3)
  • Discussing difficult and controversial issues in the classroom – video and Michael Lewis, “Norms of Engagement” handout 
  • Leading critical conversations on race, identity, and social equity – video; handout on critical talk moves; handout on critical listening exercise; M. Schieble, A. Vetter, K. M. Martin, Classroom Talk for Social Change
  • Addressing multigenerational needs in the digital classroom – video and presentation slides