Support and Resources for the Digital Classroom
Educational Technology Services (Ed Tech) for Boston College Law School is handled through the Law Library. Please contact Kyle Fidalgo at lawedtech@bc.edu or 617-552-2091 for assistance.
Ed Tech helps Law School faculty stay abreast of current trends and incorporate technology into their teaching through workshops, training sessions, and newsletters.ÌýWe also work very closely with The Center For Teaching Excellence on main campus.
Contact
lawedtech@bc.edu
617-552-2091
Help Center
Law Library, Room 205
Learning Management Systems
Learning Management Systems (LMS) allow you to reach students anywhere. Faculty can upload files, share feedback, engage in online discussions, or hold open office hours. Support for LMS is provided via the Law Library Educational Technology Specialists who act as the Law School's learning management administrators and primary troubleshooters. The Law Library maintains a list of law school courses that have a website component. If you notice one missing, please email us.
Canvas is the LMS used at Boston College. It allows you to securely share information with your automatically enrolled students, collect assignments, engage in online discussions, and utilize a variety of video and audio tools. It is also used as the primary delivery method for any classes that are captured with the Panopto lecture capture system. This is the most widely used LMS option at Ï㽶ÐãLS giving you the added benefit of student familiarity and usability, as well as local administrative support. Each semester a Canvas site is created for every law school course and linked with Panopto. If you have any questions, please contactÌýlawedtech@bc.eduÌýand we can setup a consultation to get you up and running with your own site.
Access Canvas through Agora or directly atÌý
Resources
TWEN, or The West Education Network, is a CMS offered by Westlaw. Faculty can create course sites, share information, and take advantage of many of the same features offered in Blackboard Vista (online discussions, voting, assignment uploading, links). TWEN sites are created by the faulty, and students are required to enroll in them.Ìý
For more information please see theÌý
Questions and troubleshooting for TWEN courses can also be directed toÌýwest.twensupport@thomson.comÌýor 800-486-4876.
Teaching Tools
The Educational Technology department can help you utilize a variety of different teaching tools inside and outside your classroom. Please email lawedtech@bc.eduÌýto access or learn more about any of the resources listed below.
Lecture Capture
Panopto Lecture Capture allows you to record class sessions for archiving or for distribution to students and colleagues. Most classrooms are already equipped with the needed audiovisual capabilities.
Pool Laptops
The Administrative & Technology Resources (ATR) department has a number of Mac and Windows laptops available for faculty and staff to use. Please reserve a laptop in advance and specify the length of time for which you will need it.
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Skills Practice
Resources are available that allow students to watch brief practical skills challenges. They then record videos with their responses, and in the process, practice their skills. These resources give all students an opportunity to practice the skills and theories they learn in the classroom.
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Wacom Tablets
The Wacom Tablet is a drawing tablet that lets instructors use a stylus to easily annotate, handwrite, and draw in applications such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Current uses at the Law School include taking notes on Powerpoint slides and displaying a virtual whiteboard during class. The results can be shared with students via Canvas or email.
Personal Response Systems
Personal Response Systems (PRS) enable students to respond to questions posed by their instructors using either remote hand-held devices or an app on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. After students have responded, instructors can show anonymous results on a graph. Poll Everywhere is the main system used at the Law School.
Virtual Communication
Virtual communication allows the sharing of audio, video, and other content in real time online. It is a growing presence in our world and in the lives of our students. It can also enhance teaching and learning in a number of ways. Some possible uses include virtual office hours, virtual instruction, and virtual presentations.