Center for Teaching and Learning

The Center for Teaching and Learning(CTL) at School of Labor and Urban Studies is here to support faculty in their work and professional development. Our mission is to explore and foster inclusive, evidence-based teaching practices. We aim to facilitate the development of vibrant, challenging, and reflective student-centered learning experiences.

Contact CTL 25 West 43rd Street 19th Floor New York, NY 10036
On this page
TEACHING SPOTLIGHT
TEACHING RESOURCES
TECHNOLOGY
Teaching Spotlight

Please contact your advisor/program coordinator to assist with your next class selection and to have your advisement hold lifted.

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Technology
In this section
READMISSION
TECHNOLOGY
TRANSCRIPTS
DIPLOMAS AND CERTIFICATES
ENROLLMENT VERIFICATION
VERIFYING DEGREE
INTRODUCTION

Digital technology is used for every course at SLU, whether the class is fully online or taught in-person. The core tools SLU faculty use to support instruction include SLU email, CUNYfirst, Blackboard, Zoom, Microsoft Office, and Dropbox.

On this page, you can read more about:

For details about other applications and services available to faculty at the University, see the list of Technology Services for Facult maintained by CUNY Computing & Information Services (CIS).

Need technical help or need to borrow a laptop? Contact the IT Service Desk by phone at 646-313-8440 or send an email to . IThelpdesk@SLU.CUNY.edu The IT Service Desk will need to know:

  • Your first and last name
  • A phone number where they can reach you
  • A detailed description of your issue or request

For Fall 2022, IT Service Desk operating hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m.–9 p.m. and Fridays 8:30 a.m.–6 p.m. The Service Desk is currently providing services remotely, so please contact the IT Service Desk to make an appointment if you need on-campus support.

Getting set up

Teaching at SLU for the first time? There are two sets of credentials—usernames and passwords—for the accounts you'll need as an instructor.

    - **[CUNY Login](https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/CUNY-login-faq/)** information helps you access most of the teaching tools we use at SLU. - Another username and password is used to log into your **[SLU email account](https://owa16.CUNY.edu/owa "CUNY Outlook Web Access")**.

Getting set up

Teaching at SLU for the first time? There are two sets of credentials—usernames and passwords—for the accounts you'll need as an instructor.

  • CUNY Login information helps you access most of the teaching tools we use at SLU.
  • Another username and password is used to log into your SLU email account.

Finding your CUNY Login details

Your CUNY Login username and password are the same ones used to access CUNYfirst as a University employee or student.
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Usernames are formatted as Firstname.Lastname##@login.cuny.edu and include the following information:

  • The first and last name entered into your CUNYfirst record, minus any spaces. Your first name and last name are separated with a period (.).
  • The last 2 digits of your EMPLID. Your EMPLID is the 8-digit ID number assigned to you by CUNY.
  • @login.cuny.edu to structure the information like an email address.

CUNY Login accounts are usually activated during the new hire process. If you didn't activate it, or you forgot your username or password, you can visit the CUNY Login account self-service page for help.
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Accessing SLU email for the first time

SLU email addresses are assigned to each new employee. Once your email account is created, you'll receive a username and a temporary password from the IT Service Desk.
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These details are used to log in to Outlook:

  • The domain. The domain for faculty is slu\; staff typically enter co\ here.
  • A username. Note that this username may be different from your SLU email address
  • A password. You'll use a temporary password to access this account for the first time. Once logged in, you'll be prompted to create a new password.

Need help contact the IT Service Desk for help, you can call them at 646-313-8440 or send an email to IThelpdesk@SLU.CUNY.edu.
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Using these accounts

After you have your CUNY Login details[^1] and your SLU email address, you'll be able to access the tools described below.

For first-time instructors at SLU, it will help to confirm access to these accounts as soon as possible and before the start of the semester. It's useful to try signing in to them in a specific order:

  1. SLU email to access the automated messages sent from University-wide services used for instruction, like CUNYfirst, Blackboard, Zoom, Office, and Dropbox
  2. CUNYfirst to check course assignments in CUNYfirst, so the IT Service Desk can address any issues. Access to CUNYfirst also ensures there's at least one way to communicate with students, and provides details (CUNY Login usernames) that may be needed to set up course collaboration tools like Microsoft Office 365 and Dropbox.
  3. Blackboard to confirm course shells have been created, contact the Blackboard administrator if needed, and start adding content for students to access before the semester starts.
  4. Zoom to adjust default meeting settings and begin scheduling virtual class sessions
  5. Microsoft Office and Dropbox to set up any additional collaboration tools that may be used for course instruction or document management. It may help to consult CUNY's Academic Cloud Tools Comparison Chart when deciding what cloud-based (online) tools to use.

SLU email

{IMG: Screenshot_OWA}
Sign in to CUNY Outlook Web Access with your SLU email address and password.

About SLU email

Checking your SLU email frequently will help you stay up-to-date with announcements from the Registrar and other school administrators.

Official communications will be sent to this email address, which is automatically linked to your CUNYfirst record. This SLU email address is also where to find messages sent for software applications you access with CUNY Login details.
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It's crucial to send and receive messages with your SLU account directly and not through email forwarding. Automatic forwarding is not supported because it goes against CUNY information security policy. For a more reliable option, we recommend synchronizing emails with an app on your computer or mobile device.

Using SLU email

Log in through CUNY Outlook Web Access once you have your [[#Access your SLU email address|SLU email account details]], :
username: domain\username
password: *********

SLU email accounts are managed through Microsoft Exchange. This means you can access your account with any email app that supports Exchange, including Outlook for Windows or Mac, Outlook for Android, and Outlook for iOS.

If you'd like to set up Outlook for an app on your computer or mobile device, please contact the IT Help Desk.

CUNYfirst

{IMG: Screenshot_CUNYfirst}
Sign in to CUNYfirst with your CUNY Login information.

About CUNYfirst

CUNYfirst is an integrated group of software tools we use for many administrative and operational processes at the University. As an instructor, you can use the CUNYfirst Faculty Center to:

Employee Self Service in CUNYfirst is also used for personnel-related functions.

Using CUNYfirst

Visit the CUNYfirst login page and use your CUNY Login username (Firstname.Lastname##@login.cuny.edu) and password to sign in.

If you've used CUNYfirst before, it may look different now thanks to a software upgrade (PeopleSoft 9.2). This update adds mobile device support and new navigation features, including a new Faculty Center.

Tips for CUNYfirst:
  • For quick, view-only access to your class schedule, rosters, and the academic calendar, you can also log into CUNYfirst MyInfo. Since MyInfo is mobile-friendly, this tool can be especially helpful at the beginning of the semester.
  • The CUNY Office of Computing & Information Services offerings user training courses through Blackboard. For access to the faculty course:
    • Go to the CUNYfirst Faculty Center course in Blackboard, and click the + Enroll link which appears at the bottom of the side navigation menu.
    • Click the Submit button to complete the enrollment.
    • Click the OK button to proceed to the CUNYfirst Faculty Training.
CUNYfirst links:

Blackboard

{IMG: Screenshot_BB}
Sign in to Blackboard with your CUNY Login information.

About Blackboard

Blackboard is a CUNY-provided Learning Management System with tools that can supplement online and face-to-face instruction. Before the semester starts, a Blackboard site is automatically created for each course. Faculty can use this site to:

Our students increasingly rely on Blackboard to find course readings and to communicate with instructors, so it's important to become familiar with the platform. Blackboard includes a lot of functionality which make it a valuable tool for creating a fully online course as well.

Using Blackboard

After claiming your CUNYfirst account, visit the CUNY Blackboard login page and sign in with your CUNY Login credentials.

To help you get started, see CUNY's brief introduction to common Blackboard tasks.

Tips for Blackboard

Zoom

{IMG: Screenshot_Zoom}
Sign in to Zoom with your CUNY Login information.

About Zoom

Zoom is the software frequently used to host online class sessions and virtual meetings at SLU.

Zoom is an online platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars. Users can join with their web browser, through the desktop or mobile app, or use a phone to join (audio only). CUNY's implementation of Zoom for Education includes the following for all users:

Using Zoom

After claiming your CUNYfirst account, visit the CUNY's Zoom login page and sign in with your CUNY Login credentials. After signing in, you can access your profile and update your user information.

Users are also strongly encouraged to review security settings and CUNY's Zoom Security Protocol to ensure meetings are secure and that unknown attendees are prevented from joining.

Tips for Zoom:

Microsoft Office 365

{IMG: Screenshot_MS-365}
Sign in to the Microsoft Office 365 web portal and MS Teams with your CUNY Login information

About Microsoft Office 365

Microsoft Office 365 for Education is a collection of software for document creation, productivity, and collaboration. The Office 365 suite includes:

  • Free downloads of Microsoft Office applications for PC, Mac, and mobile platforms, including: 
    - [Word](http://SLU.CUNY.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Word-Quick-Start-Guide.pdf) for word processing
            - [Excel](http://SLU.CUNY.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Excel-Quick-Start-Guide.pdf) for spreadsheets and data analysis
            - [PowerPoint](http://SLU.CUNY.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/PowerPoint-Quick-Start-Guide.pdf) to create presentations
            - Outlook for email
            - OneNote, a note-taking program with collaboration options
            - Access, a database management system
            - Publisher, a desktop publishing application that focuses on page layout and design
  • Web-based (internet browser) versions of Microsoft Office applications
  • Microsoft Teams, a communication platform with support for meetings and chat, video, file sharing, and collaboration tools
  • OneDrive for cloud storage (1 TB per user)
  • SharePoint for web-based collaboration, document management, and more

Using Microsoft Office 365

After claiming your CUNYfirst account, visit the Microsoft Office 365 web portal and sign in with your CUNY Login credentials.

If you download any Microsoft Office software, those applications may need to be activated with CUNY Login credentials as well.

Users are strongly encouraged to review CUNY's security policy on University Data in the Cloud before storing, synching, and/or sharing data in any of cloud service, including Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, or SharePoint. This policy aims to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access. A table summarizing the policy can be found with CUNY's overview of Dropbox.

Tips for Microsoft 365
  • Microsoft Teams can be used in a web browser by visiting MS Teams sign-in page and signing in with CUNY Login credentials.
  • When working together in Teams or other Microsoft Office 365 applications, collaborators must be invited using their CUNY login usernames. Faculty who want to use Office 365 as a class resource can see student CUNY Login aliases in their CUNYfirst class roster.
  • Students with disabilities may not make their disabilities known; others may not realize they're disabled. Consider making content accessible to people with disabilities when creating course materials or communicating with students. Guides from CUNY IT Accessibility can help with creating PDFs and Microsoft Office documents and emails using Microsoft's built-in accessibility tools.
  • See Dropbox's FAQ for Microsoft Office integration for information on using Dropbox and Microsoft Office 365 together.
  • Every CUNY user has 1 TB of storage in Microsoft OneDrive. Files can be accessed with a browser, though installing the app on a computer or mobile device allows for file syncing.
  • For an example of what SharePoint is capable of, visit the CUNY Computing & Information Services (CIS) Technology Training Resources page, which is hosted through SharePoint (CUNY Login credentials required).

Dropbox

{IMG: Screenshot_Dropbox}
Sign in to Dropbox with your CUNY Login information.

About Dropbox

Dropbox is a cloud-based file storage service for active faculty, staff, and students. CUNY offers unlimited Dropbox storage to employees, allowing faculty and staff to organize and archive work in one virtual location without worrying about hard drive capacity or data security.

An integrated tool called Dropbox Paper allows multiple users to collaborate on a document at the same time and embed videos, PDFs, images, and PowerPoint presentations. Dropbox's Document and PDF Scanner makes it possible to add documents with a mobile device.

Together, these tools allow users to store and access files from different devices, share files, and collaborate on content.

Using Dropbox

After claiming your CUNYfirst account, visit the CUNY Dropbox login page and sign in with your CUNY Login credentials.

Users are strongly encouraged to review CUNY's security policy on University Data in the Cloud before storing, synching, and/or sharing data in any of cloud service, including Dropbox. This policy aims to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access. A table summarizing the policy can be found with CUNY's overview of Dropbox.

Tips for Dropbox

Finding more information on University-wide tech resources

CUNY Computing & Information Services provides many University-wide resources that are helpful for faculty, including the following:

For individual support, contact the SLU IT Service Desk by phone at 646-313-8440 or send an email to IThelpdesk@SLU.CUNY.edu. The Service Desk will ask for your name, phone number, and a detailed description of your issue.

[^1]: When you access University-wide applications, you'll be redirected to a CUNY Login page to enter your username and password. You'll automatically return once you're signed in.

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Guides

Course Scheduling - learn how to use Schedule Builder, learn about Epermit and its requirements, find out how to Apply for Readmission

CUNYfirst - how to use this thing

Update Personal Information - Add/Edit Address, E-Mail, Phone Number Add/Edit Name, Birthdate, Or Social Security No., New York State Residency

Graduation - find out how to use CUNYfirst to apply for graduation.

FERPA - read about The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that affords rights to students with respect to their education records.

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