News & Blog

Category: Digital Support

CARES Act – Technology Access

University of Central Florida, through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), has established the Federal Emergency Grant to support students negatively impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Technology is one of the items for which CARES Act funds can be used. Two specific examples are new technology for online classes and the purchase of laptop/desktop as a result to classes moving online due to COVID-19.

Students who need assistance meeting these unexpected financial challenges should apply for CARES Act funds by submitting a federal emergency grant request.

The form to apply for funds is available at https://ucf.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86rDdVwFnV1Rj0h

Application window will be open until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, May 19. Assistance is subject to availability of funds, and applicants must meet eligibility criteria.

UCF has a CARES Act FAQ at https://www.ucf.edu/coronavirus/question/how-can-students-apply-for-cares-act-funds/.

For additional resources, the UCF CARES office provides assistance in connecting students with mental health services, support groups, sexual and domestic violence support, and concerns about wellbeing such as financial and housing crises.

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Faculty Support: Streaming video made easy

Did you know UCF Libraries has streaming video options that are searchable through our catalog?

We do! Alexander Street Press, Films on Demand, and Kanopy films are all searchable through the UCF Libraries’ catalog and can be used for online courses (or just for fun).

Alexander Street Press contains more than 80 collections filled with videos, audio tracks and playlists. The collections range from literature, black history, psychological counseling and therapy to religion, sociology and medicine. Entire films can be embedded in courses or only relevant segments. The full Alexander Street Pres video catalog search will require a UCF or OpenAthens login.

Films on Demand is a great resource that includes documentaries, TEDTalks, and even a playlist of Ken Burns series including Vietnam. Entire films can be embedded in courses or only relevant segments. The full Films on Demand catalog search will require a UCF or OpenAthens login.

Kanopy films are paid for by UCF on an on-demand, per-title basis so the selection is somewhat limited, but it includes popular films and a wide range of documentaries. Examples are Ex Libris: The New York Public Library, The Mask You Live In, Awake a Dream of Standing Rock, and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.

Please consult your subject librarian for any of these films to verify expiration dates. If you do not know your subject librarian, their contact information can be found through our subject specific list.

Copyright, Fair Use, and Online Teaching During Emergency Circumstances

Sarah Norris, UCF Scholarly Communications Librarian, and Rich Gause, UCF Government Information Librarian, will provide a session on Copyright, Fair Use, and Online Teaching During Emergency Circumstances. This session will be held via Zoom on Thursday, May 7th at 3 p.m. All UCF faculty are welcome to attend. The session will provide a bit of information on fair use (exploring the four fair use factors in depth) and other components that will be helpful as you consider the materials you need when teaching online. 

Specific copyright and fair use questions can be directed to Sarah Norris and Rich Gause ahead of time or during the session. 

Zoom Link for the online session

See also our online guide “Academic Resources during COVID-19 Situation: Copyright Clarifications”

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Faculty Support: Swank Streaming Video for Your Courses

Streaming videos are a great way to add engaging content to online courses in a broad range of fields beyond film studies. Everyone from Sociology and LGTBQIA+ Studies to Environmental Studies and Mental Health Counseling can benefit. Luckily, UCF Libraries has many options for you. Today we are featuring Swank Digital Campus.

Swank Digital Campus offers many popular films and current releases as well as HBO documentaries and TV series for use in online courses. UCF currently has 143 Swank films licensed for use including recent releases like Bombshell (2019) and The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) to classics such as Cool Hand Luke (1967) and Greed (1924). Links for these films can be sent the same business day as the request.

If none of those great films fits your course, you can search the full Swank catalog for specific films or browse by discipline. New film requests generally have a 24-48 hour turn around time. Please note that some films and TV shows are listed as needing “additional fees & time.” These requests need special permissions for the extra cost and have a turn around time of 4-6 weeks.  

If you see anything you like, submit a request through the form on our guide.

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Faculty Support: Taking Quantitative Methods and Data Analytics Online

Are you transitioning your quantitative methods or data analytics modules to a 100% remote environment, and looking for ways to incorporate some real-world data?  You may wish to consider the data and teaching resources available through IPUMS: these video tutorials, introductory webinars, and hands-on exercises are great for use with R, SAS, Stata and SPSS statistical software (as well as Excel).

Additionally, instructors who have registered with IPUMS can also create a classroom account that makes their students’ registration process far more streamlined. 

ABOUT IPUMS:

IPUMS provides government census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space. Their data encompasses a broad variety of fields (global health, demographics, education, GIS, environment, time use, etc.) describing over 1.4 billion individuals.

IPUMS is a part of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the University of Minnesota

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