October 12, 2022 English Department Newsletter
Newsletter Editor Jane Weiss
Online Teaching Essentials Course: Registration Is Open
CUNY will be offering another session of the Online Teaching Essentials (OTE) online teaching certification workshop this October. Facilitated by the faculty development team at the School of Professional Studies (SPS), Online Teaching Essentials (OTE) prepares faculty for online and hybrid course instruction. Registration for the next 2022 OTE session is open through Monday October 17 2022, for the session meeting Tuesday, October 25 – Monday, November 14 2022.
The 3-week Online Teaching Essentials Workshop focuses on best practices in online pedagogy and flexible use of online teaching resources in any modality, from fully asynchronous online to hybrid, flipped, and blended modalities. The major topics covered in the OTE are: Understanding the Online Learning Environment, Inclusive Teaching, Backward Design & Effective Assessment, Online Presence & Engagement, and Communicating & Interacting Online. The workshop final project is a syllabus and course schedule for an upcoming online or hybrid course. Faculty can find more information on the Online Teaching Essentials Workshop site: https://oteworkshop.commons.gc.cuny.edu/
All faculty are welcome to participate, but those who participated in the CUNY Preparation for Teaching Online (PTO) workshop since 2019; those who have previously completed the OTE or the CUNY WGU workshops; Continuing Education instructors; and full-time, non-teaching instructional staff are not eligible for the stipend associated with certification in OTE. Upon successful completion of the workshop, eligible faculty will receive $500 and be certified to teach online. We welcome participation by faculty who are interested in improving on or consolidating the new teaching practices you have experimented with over the last two years.
Faculty can signal their interest in the October 2022 OTE by completing this linked form: https://bit.ly/OTE_Oct2022 by October 17 2022. This form requires faculty to log into Office 365 using their CUNY credentials (firstname.lastname##@login.cuny.edu & CUNYfirst password). A how-to guide (attached) has been included for those who need help accessing their Office 365 CUNY faculty accounts. Please consult this guide first if you encounter any issues registering. Participants will enter their EMPLID and their department information into the form.
Because all correspondence for the course will occur through Blackboard, please verify that your email address in Blackboard is correct. If you need help doing this, please work with KCC’s Blackboard Support team at Blackboard_Support@kbcc.cuny.edu.
If you do not feel comfortable with Blackboard but want to take OTE, please enroll in CUNY’s self-paced Blackboard Basics course by following the steps in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gF7Llsq_9U&feature=youtu.be If you get stuck, please reach out to our Blackboard support team to help you complete your enrollment: You can send questions to Janine Palludin: Janine.Palludan@kbcc.cuny.edu .
KCC College Council
A message from Mike Sokolow:
As per the Open Meetings rules disseminated by Governor Hochul and CUNY, all College Council meetings (including those of its committees) must take place in person henceforth. The College Council will meet in-person on campus on Thursday October 13, 2022 at 3:00 PM in room U219/220. At this meeting the President will present her report and plans regarding the Governance Recommendations. All members of the campus community are welcome to attend and observe the meeting. The Meeting Agenda is posted on the Council webpage at: https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/college_council/index1.html
Link to the Governance Recommendations: https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/college_council/documents/SharedGovReport_Dec192021.pdf
The College Council is the governance body of Kingsborough Community College, comprised of elected representatives from full-time and part-time Instructional Faculty and Staff, Students, Support Staff, Administrators, and Alumni. The Council generally meets twice each semester to address the ongoing business of the College, formulate policy, and assess a wide range of performances and practices at the College. The participation of dedicated members of the campus community is crucial to the mission of the Council.
The next Council Meeting this Fall 2022 semester will take place on Tuesday November 15, 2022 at 3:00 PM in room U-219/220.
WN Grade Reversals
If in your Verification of Attendance rosters you accidentally marked a student as Never Attended who actually has participated in the class, you can reverse the WN grade by completing this form: http://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/registrar/registrar_forms.html . Log in using your KCC email address (in firstname.lastname format) and the password you would use for your office computer (not your CUNYfirst password). Select your department chairperson, the appropriate class, and the student. Sign the form electronically by typing your name.
Course Syllabi For English Department Office
Please send copies of the syllabus for each of your courses to Shelly Benjamin (Shelly.Benjamin@kbcc.cuny.edu) or leave a print copy in the file holder on her desk in C309.
Composition Office Hours
Office hours in C309B:
Greg: Mondays and Wednesdays, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm;
Rachel: Mondays and Wednesdays, from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm
Remote office hours:
Greg: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 am to 10:00 am:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6372657798?pwd=L28zMVBxenZzR05vbU1GRis5ajRUZz09 ;
Rachel: Fridays, 9:00 am to 11:00 am https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5834566892
Upcoming English Department Meetings
The English Department will meet on Tuesday, October 25, 2022 3:00 PM-4:30 PM (with the English Department Bylaws proposals as the focus); and Tuesday, November 29, 2022 3:00 PM-4:30 PM.
CRC Meeting Dates for Fall 2022
A message from Greg Bruno and Rachel Ihara:
As of this year, CRC Meetings are open to the entire Department, although only committee members may vote. Here are the dates for upcoming meetings:
Tuesday, October 18th, from 3pm-4:30pm
Tuesday, November 22, from 3pm-4:30pm
Tuesday, December 13th (Reading day), from 11am-1pm
Keycard Access for Locked Classrooms
A message from Greg Bruno:
For faculty who need keycard access to computer labs: Kindly write to Elsie Quiles with the following information: the room number(s), day(s) and EMPLID. She will be able to program your card for access to your classroom.
Campus Reopening Hub
For information about KCC’s reopening, visit the new KCC Campus Reopening Hub: http://kbcc.cuny.edu/campusentry/index.html . You can find information about the reopening plan, mask policies, on campus COVID-19 testing, the Cleared4 pass and visitor policies.
KCC Information Technology Services Office
You can call KCC’s ITS Help Desk at (718) 368-6679 or email helpdesk@kbcc.cuny.edu 9:00 – 5:00 on weekdays. For Blackboard support during hours when KCC’s Help Desk is not available, call 1-646-664-2024
CUNY Alerts
To receive notifications by phone, text, or email regarding campus conditions, sign up for CUNY Alert by logging on to CUNYfirst. Once you have logged on, the CUNYfirst Main Menu will be near the top of the screen on the left side. Click CUNY Alert Subscription to sign up; you can update contact information at CUNY Alert Preferences. You can check KCC’s home page www.kbcc.cuny.edu/ for updates about campus conditions.
A Note about the Newsletter
The next issue of the Newsletter will come out on Monday 17 October 2022. Please send newsletter items by Friday, 14 October 2022 to Jane Weiss at Jane.Weiss@kbcc.cuny.edu. Please keep items brief (preferably 100 or fewer words). Longer items will be abridged.
