Overview
In the event of an emergency, such as widespread illness, the university may deem it necessary for all instructional activities to shift to an online format. This guide will help instructors quickly adjust their classes even if they are unfamiliar with technologies like Canvas or online teaching techniques. Every course is created in Canvas prior to the start of the semester and enrollments are automatically maintained. This ensures that all instructors can launch an online presence for their course in a matter of minutes without the assistance of ITS. Staff in the Instructional Resource Center in ITS will be prepared to work with instructors during an emergency situation to make sure that the continuity of instruction is maintained.
A Word of Advice As You Start
One of the most important things to do when making an unanticipated shift is to remain calm and focus on immediate needs. It can be easy to get overwhelmed about all the possibilities, so stick with what needs to be done in the next week or two. Students and instructors are both under tremendous stress during emergency situations, so ask for grace and give grace when you can.
Another important thing to do is to keep communicating with students. The Announcement tool on Canvas will post an announcement in your course and send an email notification to all students. (We have more information about communicating with students in the next section.) Make sure students know how you're going to communicate with them. You cannot communicate too much with students when you're in an online format. Make sure you're posting an announcement on the days that you would normally meet in class and lay out the expectations of what you will be doing and what they need to be doing.
Shifting Your Course to An Online Format
One of the most important things to do when making an unanticipated shift is to remain calm and focus on immediate needs. It can be easy to get overwhelmed about all the possibilities, so stick with what needs to be done in the next week or two. Students and instructors are both under tremendous stress during emergency situations, so ask for grace and give grace when you can.
Here are some common ways that you might shift from a face-to-face format to an online format:
| Face-to-Face Activities |
How You Can Handle It in an Online Format |
| Presenting a lecture... |
- Video Conferencing allows you to still hold real-time lectures during a regularly scheduled class time.
- Screencast-o-Matic/ScreenPal allows you to create video lectures that students can review at any time.
|
| Having a discussion... |
- Video Conferencing allows you to hold a real-time discussion with students. Students can talk or type in responses.
- The Discussion tool allows you to hold asynchronous discussions so that students can comment at any time.
|
| Assigning and collecting homework... |
- The Assignment tool allows you to give homework instructions and allows students to submit homework online.
|
| Giving a quiz or exam... |
- The Quizzes tool allows you to give an online quiz. It allows for a variety of question types and includes a detailed log of the student's activity during the quiz.
|
| Having students interact with each other... |
- Collaborations allow students to work together on creating Google docs, sheets (spreadsheets), and slides (presentations). Students can comment and chat in the files and instructors can see the work they are doing.
- The Groups tool allows you to assign students to groups where students have their own discussion boards, video conferences, and collaborations.
|
| Communicating with students... |
- The Announcements tool allows you to post announcements for students both in the course and via email.
- The Inbox tool allows you to send messages to students. These messages are sent as an email to the student.
|
Learning More About Teaching Online
Teaching online is very similar to teaching face-to-face, but technology does present its own unique issues. The AU Online Instructor Guide provides an overview of how to teach online. Although primarily a resource for courses that will be online for a full semester, you may find that it's a useful resource if you're new teaching online even for a temporary amount of time.
AU Online Instructor Guide (PDF) | AU Online Instructor Guide (ePub)
A Word About Accessibility
Even in times of crisis, students with disabilities must have access to your course materials. We ask all students to notify instructors at the beginning of the semester if they need accommodations for a disability, so you should have an idea of what adjustments you may need to make in your class. If you have a student with a hearing impairment, videos and audio files must have captions or transcripts. If you have a student with a visual impairment, all text files must be formatted for use with a screen reader.
The IRC is available to help faculty make course material accessible. Please submit a Raven Solution request and we will contact you with information about the process.
Getting Help
For additional help with Canvas or any issue related to shifting to online, the staff members in the Instructional Resource Center in ITS are ready to assist you. Please submit a Raven Solution request and we will get back to you within an hour (8 am - 5 pm).