News

What a whirlwind semester start. We want to thank all of you, the instructors that support the teaching and learning mission of the campus, for understanding that technology does not always work and for being partners in figuring out solutions to keep instruction going when faced with technical challenges.

SuiteC Fall 21 Update

When we re-built the SuiteC tools earlier this year, we prioritized the popular Asset Library and Engagement Index tools and made the decision to retire the native whiteboard tool and support use of the many available third party whiteboard tools. Our first major update to SuiteC includes a number of ways to make it easier to bring these external whiteboards into the Asset Library.

For Course Capture Instructors:

Review our latest instructional support newsletter with the latest updates and resources available to the campus community.

To keep our tightly scheduled 200+ classrooms operational and updated in-semester, our dedicated engineering team turns to evenings and nights to do some of their best work when the rooms are empty. In addition to addressing more complex issues, such as replacing a bad projector, that requires an empty classroom, we also focus on upgrading smaller, analog-only classrooms during the semester to bring them into the digital world with the following updates:

Visit the Academic Innovation Studio (AIS) in Dwinelle 117 (Level D), 9am - 4pm, to get connected with support for RTL services starting August 18. All workshops will continue to be offered virtually in the near future. Check out RTL's Quick Support Options available to the campus instructional and research community.

Review our latest instructional support newsletter with the latest updates and resources available to the campus community.

Research, Teaching, and Learning (RTL) is offering several programs and support services for faculty as they prepare for the Fall semester.

As you return to campus, eduroam is now the primary Wi-Fi service for the best connection and access to the campus network. There are a few steps to follow, but once you have done this the first time, your device should automatically use eduroam whenever you are within an area where it is provided. 

Connect to eduroam

To access campus Wi-Fi, a key or password is needed. Follow these steps to get your auto-generated password. Note: there is not an option to create your own password.

For those returning to campus:

Link to Fall 2021 Classroom Technology Newsletter.

The fee for Video with Operator Course Capture has been reduced from $2000 to $1000 for the Fall 2021 semester. This fee only applies to auditoriums in Wheeler Aud, Pimental, 2050 VLSB, and 245 Li Ka Shing. This is not to be confused with the new feature Video without Operator service that has been added to other existing classrooms. The new Course Capture Video with Operator service remains free to use.

Review our instruction/research support newsletter with the latest updates and resources available to the campus community.

The Asset Library and Engagement Index tools are being rebuilt, and new versions will be available in the fall, while Whiteboards and Impact Studio are being retired.

Background:

The SuiteC tool set was developed as part of a grant-funded project and first piloted in 2015. Over time, technologies have modernized, class sizes have increased, and the performance of SuiteC has fallen behind, ultimately leading to the need to retire the current toolset.

Thanks to generous support from campus and departmental leadership, RTL has received funding to accelerate our classroom refresh, add video cameras, and add video conferencing capabilities to 37 classrooms this summer.

In-between Spring and Summer instruction, we will upgrade the Turnitin academic integrity integration available inside bCourses: On May 23rd, we will enable a new Turnitin integration, and turn off the legacy integration. 

Turnitin Similarity Reports generated before 5/23/21 will no longer be accessible by instructors in bCourses after that date.

Review events, announcements, and resources to support Berkeley's research and instructional community: March 2021 Newsletter 

RTL will be operating on modified schedules Monday, March 22 through Friday, March 26 during the academic spring break week. Emails and requests received during this time will be answered in the order in which they were received on Monday, March 29. Updates about system outages and maintenance will be available on the System Status page(link is external)and as bCourses announcements.

The Academic Senate’s Committee on Teaching is pleased to announce 42 individual and team awardees for the UC Berkeley’s Extraordinary Teaching in Extraordinary Times award.