Class Continuity - Students

Introduction

This page is designed to help students prepare for maintaining continuity of learning despite inclement weather, natural disasters, health outbreaks, or personal emergencies. Regardless of the format of your course, a campus closure or personal emergency does not need to stop learning altogether.

All Courses: Student Access

Remember that in the event of weather, health, or disaster-related campus or school closure there may be a need to maintain continuity of learning in alternative ways, such as utilizing online tools or correspondence.  Please consider what devices and connectivity you have access to: do you have ready access to: Email? Text messages? Telephone? US Mail? Laptop? Blackboard? Video streaming? Videoconferencing? Library? You may otherwise have access in a continuum that may affect how you adapt to the situation. Where do you fall on this continuum? It will be helpful to know your options, capabilities and limitations in order to answer any questions your faculty member might have:

Wi-Fi Parking Lots

Some libraries, campuses or organizations may offer "internet parking lots" or wi-fi parking lots where you can park and get online. Here are some resources:

Pratt Library - Baltimore City:

https://www.prattlibrary.org/drive-in-wi-fi/

In addition, many campuses, like UMB, are part of a wi-fi network called Eduroam, which means you can get online at any participating campus. 

• • Eduroam - this is a wireless network that is found throughout UMB and many college campuses, even in many campus parking lots. You can log into Eduroam wi-fi with your UMID at any Eduroam-participating campus. 

Syllabus

Check your class syllabus for information regarding contacting your instructor. Don't hesitate to call them on the phone. Need a faculty phone number? Here are some places to check:

SSW Directory

SURFS

Office.com - log in with your @umaryland email address, UMID, password and DUO. Locate or compose an email to your instructor, click on their email address: you can then see their telephone and other contact info. 

Announcements

If you can log into Blackboard and/or UMaryland email, look there for announcements regarding your class(es). Again, be sure to communicate with your instructors if you have limited access, to make sure they are informed. 

Using Blackboard

Most students have completed the student Blackboard orientation prior to starting their MSW journey. If for some reason you have not, we highly recommend doing so, as it is always available. This will help you learn about how to get support, get started in Blackboard, navigate, participate, submit assignments, take quizzes and so on.

Try to set aside focused time, just as you would for a face-to-face class, for reading, viewing, listening, and writing. 

Live Virtual Class (Synchronous) Sessions

It is possible that your instructor may ask if some students can participate in a live virtual class session either during your normal scheduled class time or at another time that is more convenient to the most students. These sessions can also be recorded so that students who could not make it can view the recording later. 

In order to prepare for these, you should first have established which device and connectivity to which you have access. Next, you will want to keep things like ear buds, headphones and power chargers at the ready. Then, we recommend orienting yourself to these technologies by trying them out.