FAQ for Addressing COVID Absences on BUMC (Spring 2022)

According to President Brown’s guidelines (January 5, 2022), BU Medical Campus will resume in-person teaching and learning when classes start the week of January 18th with adjustments available, whenever possible, for students, faculty, and staff who test positive or have temporary disruptions to their caregiving responsibilities. Until February 18, the following core guidelines apply at BUMC to address COVID absences: 

• Faculty should make recorded lectures available to students who cannot attend class because they are in isolation. 
• Faculty who test positive for COVID but are well enough to teach can do so remotely and send Zoom link information to BUMC IT EdMedia edtech@bu.edu or GSDM AV dentav@bu.edu to have it displayed in classrooms for students.
• Faculty who are not well enough to teach and have previous year’s Echo recordings they would like posted to their Blackboard site can contact the same groups respectively.

Who should access this guide? 

This FAQ is designed to give Medical Campus faculty and staff all the information they need to respond to these new guidelines to address COVID absences, with links to further resources and tutorials. The core BU-supported technologies we recommend are: Echo360  Zoom, and MyMedia (also referred to as Kaltura Capture). 

How do I provide a recording of my class to students who have to miss lectures? 

There are two recommended methods for recording in-person classes to assist students in isolation: Echo360 lecture capture and Zoom recordings.  

Echo360 is available in many classrooms and can make asynchronous recordings of classes available to students after classes conclude. Recordings are processed automatically. However, please note that Echo360 requires set up before any class begins. Only certain classrooms have access to Echo360 for Presentation and Audio Capture. See below question on Technology in Classrooms for a list of rooms which have this feature.

Zoom offers flexibility in quickly responding to circumstances of individual classes. Instructors can use Zoom to record in-person classes for asynchronous distribution, or to record asynchronous lectures remotely. See below for more on sharing Zoom recordings with students.  

How can I record my lecture from home if I temporarily need to be remote? 

Using a combination of Zoom to record locally and uploading the file to MyMedia is the preferred method for recording and distributing lectures to students remotely. CRC has prepared a detailed, step-by-step tutorial on how to effectively record and edit a video using Zoom and MyMedia. 

For long-term storage after the semester is over, it is better to record lectures locally, then upload to MyMedia, instead of recording Zoom cloud. As announced by IS&T on December 9, 2021, Zoom cloud recordings are only stored for 180 days before being automatically deleted.  

Do I have to do this synchronously or can it be asynchronous? Does it have to be a recording of the in-person class or can I record a separate video for absent students?  

As announced in BU Today on January 6, 2022, these Spring Semester adjustments are not the same as planning and executing a hybrid class. Faculty should make class material available to isolated students, WITHOUT providing synchronous hybrid class experiences.  

Where do I save my recordings? How do I share recordings?

For long-term preservation of recordings, the best place to store them is using MyMedia. Videos in MyMedia can be shared via a link to students directly or posted directly to Blackboard using the MyMedia Blackboard integration.   

Please note: Zoom cloud recordings are only stored for 180 days before being automatically deleted. If you want to preserve videos longer, you will need to download the file locally and upload them to MyMedia here.  

Echo360 recordings can be shared directly with individual students by logging in to your library at https://echo360.org. We can also help you connect your Echo360 library to your Blackboard site so the entire class can access the media. Please contact us for more information. 

What technology is available in my assigned classroom(s)? 

All Centrally Scheduled Classrooms on the Medical Campus that have a capacity of 21 seats or more are equipped with classroom recording capabilities. Many classrooms have Echo 360 Pro Device Capture: Baskt, Keefer, 670Aud, EB43, L110, L112, R115, R108, R103, & L311 & GSDM rooms: G170, G300, G-340, and G-358.

Non-auditoria centrally scheduled classrooms with 21 seats or more also have an instructional computer, Jabra speakerphone, and webcam to be able to record in Zoom or Echo Classroom Capture.  Contact BUMC OneHelp 617-358-1111 to discuss options or email edtech@bu.edu or dentav@bu.edu.  

Who do I call for support in the classroom?  

For questions or support for classroom technology in BUMC Centrally Scheduled classrooms, please contact BUMC IT EdMedia Instructional Services via phone One Help 617-358-1111 / edtech@bu.edu. For questions or support for GSDM classrooms, contact 617-358-6087 / dentav@bu.edu.

For facilities-related emergencies in classrooms, please call Control: 617-358-4144.  

Can I meet with someone for training and/or assistance about my classroom before the start of classes? 

BUMC IT EdMedia has a variety training and support materials on our website. Please see this page for links to Classroom AV set up guides for reference. Request training with EdMedia on any number of services here. Contact EdMedia through One Help 617-358-1111 / edtech@bu.edu. For GSDM, contact 617-358-6087 / dentav@bu.edu.