Author: Jim Julius

Important Zoom News / Updates

If you use Zoom for meeting and/or teaching (and don’t we all?), please review the updates and guidance below!

Participants self-selecting Breakout Rooms is now A THING!

I’ve heard from so many of you about this need. Zoom has finally come through! The latest Zoom app update, 5.3.0, includes this ability. Meeting hosts now see this option when setting up breakout rooms: Allow participants to choose room. Please note that in order to have your Zoom meeting participants use this feature, they must be on the latest Zoom mobile or computer app – browser-based Zoom does not support this. Make sure your students/participants have updated their app or downloaded the latest from http://zoom.us/download .

Forcing Passwords on all Meetings is NOT a thing (yet)!

At the end of August, TechConnect sent out a notice saying that by the end of September, all ConferZoom meetings which were not set up with passwords would have passwords imposed upon them by Zoom. However, information on the ConferZoom site now states that Zoom has delayed this change. (By the way, TechConnect email notices are ending up in my Outlook junk. If you aren’t checking your Junk email once in a while, you may want to do so.) (Also by the way, Zoom is apparently going to start calling passwords “passcodes”.)

Zoombombing, sadly, is STILL a thing

While not extensive, I have heard several faculty report “Zoombombing” incidents this fall. This generally consists of an unwanted participant disrupting a Zoom meeting. It’s clear that most incidents of Zoombombing aren’t random “hacks” preventable through passwords on meetings, but rather cases where invited participants are sharing access information with outsiders. Waiting Rooms can help but even those aren’t foolproof (take that word literally), and they do add overhead to running a Zoom meeting. Check out our 2-page Zoom tips which describe a variety of strategies to try to reduce the likelihood/impact of Zoombombing. Most important may be the Security button on the Zoom toolbar to allow you to quickly deal with a disruptor by kicking them out, reporting them to Zoom, and/or shutting off access to certain tools. Also, if you experience Zoombombing, please fill out the Maxient CARE form to report the incident, which will help the college to centrally track this issue.

Privacy Guidance when using Zoom with students from multiple class sections

The college is continuing to explore issues related to privacy regulations and live online interactions with students. For now, please abide by the following:

  1. Recorded Zoom sessions should only be shared back with the participating class section
  2. Regular instructional sessions for Zoom classes should only be held with one class section (except for true cross-listed classes)
  3. Optional/supplemental Zoom sessions that combine students from multiple sections are ok (do give students the option to participate anonymously)

Weird issue with ConferZoom recordings in Canvas modules, on Chrome         

A ConferZoom cloud recording shared as a singular linked item in a Canvas module, set to open within Canvas rather than in a new tab, for unknown reasons now fails to play back properly in the latest version of the Chrome browser. If you share ConferZoom recordings this way, the simplest fix is to set the link to open in a new tab.

Zoom support info

  • If you are still using a free account from Zoom.us, please switch to a fully licensed account through CCC TechConnect. Details about how to do that, along with lots of other Zoom tips and recorded trainings by MiraCosta faculty, are available at https://tic.miracosta.edu/conferzoom
  • CCC Tech Connect provides 1 hour training sessions every day on using Zoom. Learn more including how to sign up.

Zoomily yours,

Jim Julius, Ed.D.
Faculty Director, Online Education

Antiracism: The Conversation – A S.A.F.E. Topics and (Re)Teach Special Podcast Event

Hello, Campus Community! 
The S.A.F.E. Topics Podcast is back for Season 2! In our season premiere, we teamed up with Bruce Hoskins and his (Re)Teach podcast to bring you a special conversation on “Antiracism.” As a campus, we are reading books on talking about race and the concept of “antiracism.” We brought together some dynamic folks to provide their perspectives. 
This episode is broken up into 3 parts

  1. The Talk
  2. The Work
  3. Our Hope 

Be sure to listen to these in order. 
Many ways to listen

  1. Re(Teach) – Buzzsprout
  2. Podbean Website – S.A.F.E. Topics – Season 2, Episode 1 
  3. S.A.F.E. Topics Spotify – Episode 11
  4. Apple Podcasts – Search for “safe topics” and/or “(Re)Teach”

Here are the details

Antiracism: A one-word conversation with faculty 

For the start of its second season, the first episode of The S.A.F.E. Topics podcast is an exciting one! Hosts Sean and curry are joined by Dr. Bruce Hoskins, host of the (Re)Teach podcast in a collaborative conversation with faculty about antiracism. We are joined by Rachel Hastings (Communication Studies), Oswaldo Ramirez (Counseling), Chad Tsuyuki (Letters), and Denise Stephenson (Writing Center) in an unscripted conversation about issues related to one word, “antiracism.”  

What to listen for

  • Antiracism, nothing new, but how do we start with ourselves? 
  • Looking inward while being surrounded by the normalcy of white supremacy. 
  • Antiracism is not equity.  
  • To be antiracist, it is a daily self-assessment of looking at “normal” spaces. 
  • Language at the root of performance and culture. 
  • “Walking the walk.” – Bringing race to the forefront. 
  • How often are you asked to talk about your own experiences? 
  • We have been socialized to perform, but we need to be action oriented. 
  • Political correctness and getting to ignore talking about race. 
  • Having a fear of saying anything wrong. 
  • Speaking about race will not be a comfortable conversation.  
  • Acknowledging white fragility, but not making it the centerpiece of attention. 
  • Where are our students left out? 
  • Having antiracism integrated into everything we talk about.  
  • Reflections on the NCHEA equity workshop. 
  • The baseball metaphor of antiracism. 
  • Acknowledging the Black Alliance group on campus.  
  • Shifting the conversation from equity to race.  
  • We must focus on what we’re good at as educators. 
  • Asking each of our guests the question: what are we feeling hopeful about? 

    You can connect with the S.A.F.E. Topics podcast on Instagram: @safetopics_podcast and share this podcast with this link.  

The S.A.F.E. Topics and (Re)Teach Teams

Bruce Hoskins – Faculty, Sociology (Co-Host)
curry mitchell – Faculty, Letters (Co-host)
Sean Davis – Faculty, Sociology (Co-host)
Kelly Barnett – Intern and Music Technology Student (Audio Editor)
James Garcia – Associate Faculty, Sociology (Show Notes)

(Re) Teach. Equity-Inspired Community College Teaching.
SAFE Topics - Dangerous Discussions Need a Safe Space

Launch of the PROJECT – Online Faculty Mentorship Program

Hello, Faculty Community!

We are very happy to announce the launch of the PROJECT – Online Faculty Mentorship Program! 

Project Online Faculty Mentorship Program logo

We know that folks are still adapting to our shift to distance education this Fall. Today, our President Dr. Sunny Cooke, announced that we will be continuing in our current modality for Spring 2021. Are you in need of assistance with your online course design and teaching? Are you looking to learn more ways to engage your students and help them better navigate your classes? Do you want help implementing more equity practices in your online course offerings? 

We have 12 faculty members on the team who are ready to work with you on your online courses – both synchronous and asynchronous classes. Our mentors work in non-credit and credit in disciplines that span across all ACPs (Academic and Career Pathways)

If you want to connect with and be assigned a mentor, please complete the following form so we can assess your needs and know how to best pair you with a member of the team: PROJECT – Online Faculty Mentorship Program

For more information, feel free to contact us! 

Sean Davis (sdavis@miracosta.edu)

Jim Julius (jjulius@miracosta.edu) 

MiraCosta Online Ed Key Issues Recap

Hello, faculty –

This is a quick recap with links to critical emails sent last week, for those who may have been immersed in summer until the last minute (good for you!). Please review any and all that may be of interest!

Email #1 – includes info on the new ability to merge Canvas course sections

Email #2 – includes a quick overview of MiraCosta’s primary online teaching tools, a heads-up about potential broken links in your courses, and a note about special support for CE faculty

Email #3 – includes info about online ed Flex workshops (now you can view archives of those), new Canvas-based faculty support resources, info on how to access past workshop archives, a note about updates to AP 4105, and info about Canvas support now available via chat

Email #4 – Includes key online student support resources to share with your students: the Canvas Student Support Hub, Student Orientation to Online Learning workshops, CARE resources for students in need, and support for student identity online (pronouns and preferred name)

PROJECT Trainers & Mentors Wanted – was sent by Sean Davis with a call for faculty interested in serving as compensated trainers and/or mentors for other faculty this fall to enhance our equity-minded online teaching practices. Remember to fill out the form by Friday, Aug. 21!

Best wishes for a great start to fall!

– Jim

Jim Julius, Ed.D.

Faculty Director, Online Education

MiraCosta Online Ed Pre-Fall Email #4


Enjoying your last hours of summer freedom? Haha! This is the fourth in a series of emails about all things online leading up to MiraCosta’s fall 2020 semester. If you missed email #1, email #2, or email #3 (which, yes, was inadvertently labeled as a second #2 – oops) please check those out!

Thursday updates: all about connecting your students with support for online learning –

  • Student Support Services & Resources, Online
  • Student Orientation to Online Learning
  • Resources to Include in Your Classes
  • Pronouns and Preferred Name in Canvas – an important change

Campus Closed. Student Support Open.

Campus may be closed, but our amazing array of student support services and resources are just one or two clicks away. Point your students to the Student Support Hub in Canvas. Share the link and point them to the Student Support button on the left in Canvas for quick access to online support from the library, STEM & MLC, online tutoring, writing center, counseling, career center, open computer lab staff, student help desk and more! The new Help Hut on the MiraCosta website is also a quick way for students to connect with all kinds of support services, and the tutoring hub gives access from the website to all the academic support resources found in the Student Support Hub within Canvas.

Student Orientation to Online Learning Workshops

I’ll be offering over two dozen Student Orientation to Online Learning workshops this fall – see all dates and times on the TASC site and in Canvas announcements. These workshops help to familiarize students with the resources MiraCosta provides online to support them, as well as to adopt habits and attitudes of successful online students. Encourage your students to attend and, if you like, find out which of your students participated in order to incentivize their attendance.

Two Highly Recommended MiraCosta CARE Resources

The Reshaping Your School Schedule During Remote Instruction document has great info for students on good habits for online student success, self-care and mental health tips, online learning netiquette, Zoom tech tips, and more. Linking to it from your syllabus and course home page could easily provide students with a wealth of great tips tailored for this unique time. You may also wish to share the CARE form – students who are need of technology resources or have other major life concerns making it difficult to maintain their studies can seek help via this form. You also can fill out the form on behalf of students experiencing hardships.

Ensuring Student Identities are Equitably Presented in Canvas

  • Canvas itself now supports pronouns and all Canvas users are able to select their pronouns in their Settings. An announcement in Canvas reminds all users about this. If you previously used NameCoach to support pronouns, note that it is no longer available at MiraCosta.
  • Please make sure that students know that if they prefer to be known by a different name from their legal/formal name, they may indicate their preferred name via SURF – instructions are here. Preferred name is used in Canvas, on class rosters, and elsewhere around MiraCosta.

Got your Flex schedule all planned out? See you online!

– Jim

Jim Julius, Ed.D.

Faculty Director, Online Education


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