Email from Kim (April 30,2020)
Hello Everyone: We're counting down to the MFA Summer Residency, and are getting things in place to meet you all online. We're sure you're anxious for details!
How will this all actually happen? We will be using the university's Brightspace platform for the residency. Live sessions will take place within Brightspace, and all of your course materials will be housed there as well. You access Brightspace through dal.ca. Basic information on Brightspace is here: https://www.dal.ca/dept/remote-teaching/students.html You must have your Dalhousie NetID and password set up in order to access Brightspace. If you have not set it up, please do so asap. If you have forgotten your password, information on resetting it is here https://www.dal.ca/dept/facilities/about/common-IT-questions/change-unknown-netID-password.html. If you need assistance, please contact Dal's IT support at support@dal.ca.
How the residency will work: We know it's impossible for people to sit in front of a computer screen for hours on end, so we have made some adjustments to how the residency will work online versus face-to-face. Normally, we'd be together for an intensive 9 days, with all lectures, mentor group meetings and readings happening then. We still see that 9-day period as being the core of your residency, but we will be providing materials to you so that you can access many lectures at your own timing and pace, before, during or after the official residency period.
Attachments: Attached are a Residency Schedule and a listing of the Recorded Lectures. Both will be referenced below.
Required live mentor sessions: The core of the residency will be your live group mentor sessions. These will take place from 1:30-4:00 pm Atlantic time during the residency (June 6-14). The time has been chosen to allow students from across the country to participate at a time that works from coast to coast: that means a start time of 9:30 am Pacific; 10:30 Mountain; 11:30 Central; and 12:30 Eastern. You should ensure that you are able to clear that time slot so that you can participate live in your mentor groups. (Note: For Class of 2022, the session will stretch to 4:45 Atlantic on Tuesday June 9. For both the Class of 2021 and Class of 2022, the session will stretch to 4:30 Atlantic on Sunday, June 14.)
Optional live sessions: You will also see in the residency schedule gold boxes labeled "CB", green boxes labeled "Q&A" and yellow evening sessions that are readings. All of these sessions are also live, and all are optional. You may participate in them if you wish to, but you are not obliged to attend. The Q&A and Reading sessions will be recorded so that if you miss them, you can view them later. The CB sessions are informal "coffee break" sessions, and will not be video or audio recorded.
Wednesday, June 10: We aren't scheduling any live sessions on Wednesday, June 10. This is to give you the chance to catch up, watch recorded sessions or simply take a break.
Recorded lectures: Normally, half of your day in the face-to-face residency would be spent in lectures. For the online residency, we are pre-recording most of the lectures. They will be available to you starting around May 25. You may watch them at your convenience, in advance of the residency, during the residency or after the residency. You will also have access to PDFs of slides for the lectures, handouts and exercises where applicable, and for some lectures, there will also be audio files so that you can listen rather than watch if you prefer to do so. Lectures will also have corresponding online discussion threads, so that if you want to ask questions, talk with other students about the lecture or connect with the lecturer, you may do so.
OK, but really, how is it going to happen? Later in May, we will be setting up practice sessions to get you online in Brightspace, so that you're not trying to figure this out at the last minute.
What technology do I need? You need a device that is able to access dal.ca--a laptop or desktop computer is ideal. You need a headset or earbuds with microphone for your live sessions. You will also need an internet connection.
Together, we'll get you set up and sorted out so that you can participate fully in the residency. It's going to be different this year--but we're doing all that we can to ensure that it's chock-a-block with opportunities to connect with your classmates, interact with mentors and faculty members, and spend lots of time talking, listening and learning the craft and business of nonfiction publishing!