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Social Work

This guide is a collection of resources to make research and library use easier for the social work students, faculty, and staff. It's designed as a central hub of information about the library & its social work-related resources.

You don't have to study alone if you're off campus. Just invite fellow students and set up a regular study time!

Use one of the video conferencing resources listed below to meet with other students in a virtual study room.

Tips & Tricks

Never participated in an online study group before? Here are some tips to help you be successful!

  • Keep it small. Try to keep the group to a manageable number where everyone can contribute equally and schedules are easier to coordinate. Something like 3-5 people is recommended for a productive, effective group.
  • Keep it short. A big deadline may seem like a good reason to do a marathon study session -- but short, regular, weekly sessions (no longer than 45 to 60 minutes) are more effective and allow schedule flexibility.
  • Keep it focused. Online study groups can benefit from having a moderator (members can take turns) to manage sessions and keep everyone's attention focused on the subject at hand. This person can set a group agenda for the session and steer the group away from tangents. Set session goals.
  • Keep it quiet. Log in from somewhere that's relatively quiet and conducive to learning. Resist the urge to check messages and focus on the session.
  • Keep to a plan. Decide as a group what you would like to cover in a session (via email ahead of time or at the end of your previous meeting). You can focus on completing practice questions, or take time to identify and understand key concepts for the most challenging material.

Here is some other advice we've found that may help everyone be more productive:

Blackboard Study Groups

Did you know you can schedule your own group study sessions using your Blackboard course? Here's how to set it up!

Creating a Bb study group

  1.  In your course menu, click Groups link.
  2. Click "Create Group"
  3. On the "Create self-enrollment group" page, fill in a meaningful name. It's helpful to include things like date, time, and topic. For example, if you want to study with some classmates weekly at a specific time, you can create a group with name "Friday 2 pm study group" that meets every Friday in the group Collaborate Room. If you want to discuss group project topics on Tuesday, 4/11, at 3PM, your group name could be "Group project discussion Tuesday, 4/11 at 3PM"
  4. Fill in the description box with a brief description of what the group is for.
  5. Use the group name for  "Name of Sign-Up Sheet"
  6. Fill in "Maximum Number of Members" in the box. If you do not put any number, there will be no limit on the number of classmates who can sign up.
  7. Click Submit.  Your group is created. If you want to modify the group name or description, click the down arrow on the right of the group name, then click Edit.

Don't forget to inform your classmates that the group is created!

  1. On the course menu, click "Send Email"
  2. On the send email page, click "All Users"
  3. For title, use the group name.
  4. Fill in the message with a description of the study group and invite your classmates to join.
  5. Click the Submit button and your message will go out to your class.

Joining a Bb study group

  1. On the course menu, click Groups link.
  2. Under the group you want to join, click the "Sign Up" button.
  3. On the "Sign Up Sheet" page, click "Sign Up" - you have now joined the group.
  4. You can find the meeting room under Collaborate in the "Group Tools" section. At the time when the group meeting starts, click "Join Room" on the right and you will be in the session!

For Blackboard help, see the CTLET and IT guides to using Blackboard located here: york.cuny.edu/ctlet/for-students/bbstudent-main-page

Google Meet

Google Meet lets you schedule video meetings, hold impromptu video meetings, and create recurring meeting sessions. Anyone with a Google Account can create a video meeting, invite up to 100 participants, and meet for up to 60 minutes per meeting for free. All participants will need to be signed into a Google Account to join. You can create a Google Account with a work or personal email address.

Learn more about using Google Meet at the Google Workspace Learning Center. In under less 10 minutes, you can learn how to start a meeting from any device.

Meeting links remain active until the meeting has ended. Meeting links for recurring meetings will stay active for as long as the event repeats.

Zoom

Zoom is now available to all York faculty, staff, and students, and it's easy to use Zoom to set up online study sessions. You can make one study group session, or many recurring meetings for your group.  You will need to have an active CUNYfirst login to use the full version of Zoom.

Using Zoom:

Go to https://cuny.zoom.us/

zoom login pageClick Sign In, and you will be prompted to use your CUNY login.

Once you are logged in you will be taken to your profile page, which you can update if you like.

You can Schedule a meeting, Join a meeting, and Host a meeting from your Profile page.

If this is your first time using your CUNY Zoom account, there are helpful video tutorials here: Zoom video tutorials

 

 

You can also download the Zoom client, mobile app, or web browser extension if you prefer a particular interface.

 

If you have any trouble with Zoom, try the York College Zoom Support page or contact the IT help desk: