Keep Teaching Remotely During an Emergency
Tips to accomplish your course goals without meeting in person.
Guidance from the Department of Education on using online courses to temporarily accommodate students includes, “instructors must initiate substantive communication with students, either individually or collectively, on a regular basis.”
Establish Online Presence
Make your Canvas course available to students.
- Publish Canvas Course
Every course created in Banner has an associated Canvas section. You can access it by going to https://usu.instructure.com and logging in with your A number and strong password.
Communicate with Students Using Canvas
Suggestions for keeping in touch.
- Communicating with Students using Canvas Announcements
This is the easiest way to communicate with all of the students in your class. You can use announcements to:- Send a written message
- Record and upload a video
- Distribute files
- Link to web resources or other course components
Note: Students have the option of changing their notification preferences in Canvas and may not receive announcements outside of Canvas. Encourage them to set Announcement Notification to at least a daily notification of announcement posts.
- Canvas Conversations (message)
Send a text-only message to your students. You can add one attachment. - Email
If you need to email all of your students, and you don’t want to use Canvas, you can get a list of email addresses for all of your students in Banner and use your regular email client to send/receive messages.
Deliver a Lecture Asynchronously
Record yourself or a presentation.
- Record on your own using MyMedia (Kaltura)
- Use a Public Video Link to email the video to students.
- Consider keeping videos a maximum of 20 minutes.
- Record lectures in the Academic Media Production Studios for MyMedia (Kaltura)
- Schedule the Audio Studio (DE 101) to create voice-over screen captures with Kaltura Desktop Capture.
- Schedule the Video Studio (DE 101) to create videos with both instructor camera and/or screen capture with Kaltura Desktop Capture.
- Both studios have on-screen annotating capabilities.
Deliver Live Interactions
Meet virtually. Consider implications carefully.
- Webex
Use for one-on-one conferences or office hours for students who have confirmed they have computers, internet, or phone access.
Webex is the only supported method for web-conferencing. It allows for students to join from a computer or connect to the audio by calling in from a telephone. There is no toll-free number for the dial-in option. At high-demand times, support may be limited.
Webex status reports can be viewed at https://status.webex.com/service/status?lang=en_US.
Distribute Class Materials
Provide students with readings, worksheets, or resource files.
- Canvas
- Email
- Add files to Box and distribute a link to the folder via email.
- Google Drive
- If you are comfortable with using Google Drive, you have unlimited storage by setting up an Aggiemail account. You could then share a drive folder with students via email.
Library Resources
A good place for content.
- LibGuides
Resources for your subject and maybe even specific course. - Subject Librarians
Email your subject librarian for a virtual research consultation - Need other library help? Email library.help@usu.edu
Accessible and Inclusive
Ensure your materials are accessible for all students.
- If you have been informed by the Disability Resource Center that you have a student with a disability in your course, be mindful of any accommodations you have been asked to make.
- Make sure your online content is accessible. The way you make your content available and communicate with students can make a big difference in making sure your online course materials are accessible and inclusive for all students and helping to ease concerns and anxiety during a difficult time. Accessible Remote Teaching Resources.
Engage in Class Discussion
Make the most of asynchronous Q&A.
Virtual Office Hours
Continue meeting with students one-on-one.
- Instructions for using Webex
- Activate Webex in Canvas
- Set-up Webex to include Office Hours
- Set-up Office Hours Appointment Availability
Collect Student Assignments
Collect students' digital work.
- Canvas Assignments
(Make sure that you indicate the assignment will be submitted online, and choose the “file upload” option for the submission type. Don't forget to Save & Publish) - Plagiarism Detection using Turnitin
Return Assignment Feedback
Keep students progressing.
- Canvas SpeedGrader
The SpeedGrader is the grading mechanism in Canvas for providing feedback to students. - Hide Grades until You are Ready to Publish them using a Grade Posting Policy
If you want to grade all submissions before any students see feedback, you can use a manual grade posting policy.
Assess using Quizzes and Exams
Multiple-choice, true/false, essay, and more.
- Remote Quizzes and Exams provides more information about this topic.
Grading
Keep records up-to-date.
Submit an Online Conversion Help Request
Keep in mind that during an emergency, students may not prioritize their schoolwork. Be realistic with expectations for what can be achieved online, especially if students are not experienced online learners.
Courses deemed ready for students to participate will have the following:
- A tentative course schedule
- A communication and availability plan for students
- Office hours via Phone or Webex
- Directions for finding, accessing, and navigating content
- Instructor readiness: Instructor knows how to use the tools they need to use
- Resource access: Instructor has access to the tools they need to run their course
Staying 1 Day ahead of schedule:
- Exams are online, and if proctoring is necessary, Proctorio is set-up
- Lectures are recorded at least one day ahead of schedule
- Assignments are set-up
- Necessary discussion methods are set-up
Support Information for High Volume Periods
Support resources are in high demand at this time. In order to best serve you, please review the resources provided on our website. If you still require assistance, try to contact the most appropriate level of support as follows.
IT Desktop Support
Contact your IT Desktop Support person for:
- Hardware issues
- Audio/video troubleshooting
- Email, Banner, and other basic technical issues
IT Service Desk
- Login issues (including DUO, password issues)
- Webex meeting troubleshooting
Center for Innovative Design and Instruction
- Canvas
- Video (MyMedia, Media Gallery, Kaltura)
- Proctored testing
- WebEx set-up