During a flu pandemic or catastrophic event it is possible that face-to-face instruction and access to physical facilities could be interrupted by specific circumstances or suspended by the university.  In the case of a flu pandemic, a period of high absenteeism, or the extended illness of a faculty member due to flu, it may become necessary to consider alternative methods of instruction to provide academic continuity.

At the University of Louisville, the most convenient way for faculty to continue instruction would be the use of the university’s learning management system, Blackboard.  All courses have a Blackboard shell automatically generated prior to the term that is accessible by the faculty member assigned to that course, as well as students enrolled in the course. Other tools are also available to faculty via their Blackboard course shell, including Tegrity, UofL’s course capture software, and Wimba, a synchronous collaboration tool currently being piloted.

Not all faculty regularly use Blackboard, so the Delphi Center has specially prepared a series of videos and documents to assist new or unfamiliar users on placing their course, or portions of their course, in Blackboard within a short time frame. These videos and documents are available on the Blackboard Quickstart Essentials page. More extensive documentation is available on the Blackboard Help page.

In addition, the Delphi Center offers a regular schedule of Blackboard-related training courses each term as well as providing individual consultation and training, department-specific training and synchronous online training upon request.  Requests for specialized training or information about any aspect of Delphi Center services should be made by emailing Delphi or calling 852-4319.

The University of Louisville has a site devoted to dealing with flu and other disease pandemic issues at:  http://louisville.edu/update/flu/

 View the Blackboard quickstart essentials