Update to 2020 course formats
May 27, 2020
We have some big news to share about how our courses this year will operate, what software we will use, and how we are accommodating participants outside Eastern Daylight Time.
To begin, for purposes of preparing and finalizing course materials, registration for all courses will close 72 hours before the listed start date.
The 2020 ICPSR Summer Program will use a variety of tools and services to provide online instruction for the summer. We are using a program called Canvas to support all of our offerings. We believe it will be useful in administering enrollment, providing access to readings, organizing and grading assignments, and collecting evaluations.
Participants will be provided a Uniqname for the Michigan computing system so that they can access the Canvas website for their course. Once we finalize each Canvas site, we will send registered participants a link, and they will be able to view course materials, readings, and other information. More information about how to use Canvas will be sent to participants in the days before their course begins. Lectures will be done through Zoom, as it integrates very well with Canvas.
Lectures will be recorded and posted to each course's Canvas site, where they will be available for viewing up until 11:59PM EDT 48 hours after a course ends (a course that ends on a Friday will cut off Sunday night, for example). Recording these lectures is important for a number of reasons, the most important of which is to support our many participants from around the world. We don't want anyone to have to sit through a lecture at 2:00AM!
Finally, we would like to thank you for your patience while we put these arrangements in place. It's been a lot of work transitioning the program online this year, and we appreciate your understanding and support.
We hope you are well, healthy, and safe.
May 13, 2020