Emergency Planning & Communication for Online Faculty
The activities listed below are strongly recommended for faculty using Vista. The eCollege Helpdesk (contact information at the end) will gladly assist you.
"An Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." ~Old Proverb Print this page for reference.Contingency Plans
- Collect students’ contact information (home, work and mobile phone numbers and personal email addresses) using Vista’s survey tool. After the students have completed the survey, download their responses to your local computer. Save the file in your course folder and print a copy. (Using the survey tool, the information is automatically compiled into a single document.)
- Keep copies of all course files in a folder on your local computer as well as within your Vista course. Regularly backup your computer’s data files using a flash drive or other device.
- For discussion postings or email messages, especially lengthy ones, enter your text in Word or Notepad, save the file in a folder on your local computer, and then copy and paste the text in the Vista tool (received messages may also be copy, pasted and saved locally).
- Download and save a copy of your gradebook to your local computer – especially after recording a significant graded activity.
- Periodically, create and download a backup copy of your entire course – especially after making major changes to the course such as adding content pages, tests, or discussion topics.
Communication
If Lone Star College System email is available, your Lone Star College System address will be used for all notification and updates. If the Lone Star College System/eCollege website is unavailable:
you may still be able to login to Vista by going to: http://nhmccdvista4.blackboard.com