Is your course organized?
There is no one right way to organize a course, but there are some basic principles that will help students navigate and stay on path.
Address uncertainty in your syllabus
Recommended strategies and language to include in your syllabus to help address the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, try surveying students about their current routines and internet access.
Scheduling for success
Course schedules are tried-and-true tools that provide a bird’s-eye view of your course, and can effectively communicate to students your plan for the semester. A well-crafted course schedule clarifies structure, facilitates planning and explains pacing.
Where to find inspiration for course design
Course Showcase We can learn a lot from each other. You may be curious to see what other faculty are doing in their online class, like how they are organizing content and managing activities. Touring other courses can be a great way to get inspired about creating...Finding community and humor in a changed classroom
Despite the initial challenge, my spring semester students created an environment filled with community and humor, and it ended up being one of the most memorable classes I have ever taught.
Effective distance teaching through flexibility
Pros and cons of three distance-education methods — audio conference, video conference and online — from UAF’s rural-oriented programs.
Fostering engagement in online discussion
Creating active discussions in a course can be challenging. In times of COVID-19, fostering that space for community exploration and making connections between content and the current world can become the anchor that keeps the momentum.
Existing online courses not immune to COVID-19 changes
Courses that were already being taught online were not immune to the rapid changes brought on by COVID-19. After all, online courses exist in the world of humans and that world was not normal.
Early reflections about what worked and what we learned
With an unprecedented semester behind us, some faculty share their perspectives on how they adapted their teaching in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
OLC Innovate 2020 Virtual Conference
UAF eCampus has secured registration fees for anyone associated with UAF to virtually attend the Online Learning Consortium’s (OLC) “Innovate 2020” Virtual Conference. This virtual conference is from June 15-26 with daily sessions on weekdays. (There...Keeping the door open
Now more than ever, you are an important tether between our students and campus. Here are some tips for keeping the door open to maintain a relationship with your students.
End-of-semester grading for an extremely unusual semester
The end of spring semester is coming at us like a freight train and if you don’t usually use the Blackboard Grade Center, you may be wondering how to adjust the way you share grades with students while staying FERPA-compliant.
Impermanence, vulnerability and slowing down: Lessons from meditation
In times of uncertainty, we can apply principles from meditation to our teaching practices. Let’s reflect on a few of these principles: impermanence, slowing down and vulnerability.
Connecting with your students during crisis
Empathy is a powerful tool for social connection. Reaching your students now is critical not only to their academic success but also their overall health and wellbeing.
Roundup of relevant Teaching Tips during coronavirus pandemic
As you begin teaching via distance, these tips from the eCampus archives can help you modify your course without losing quality.
Collaborative student research brings diversity to course content
Course content in the Arts is often lacking in diverse perspectives. Involving your students in collaborative research can help in a variety of ways to reinvent that curriculum to reflect our modern world.
A Gentle Reminder to Take a Pause – Revised
This Teaching Tip has been revised from the original version for off-campus options. A default answer to ‘How are you?’ is often currently ‘Busy!’. In addition to forces beyond our control, we take on so much right now and sometimes feel overwhelmed as a result. ...Try Flipgrid for more engaging discussions
Flipgrid is one way to engage students in an interactive discussion and can be utilized without creating additional work for the student or faculty member.
Three ways to encourage student resilience
Today’s college students are excessively stressed. These suggested strategies can make your course less stressful without reducing rigor.
Easter eggs in videos can increase student engagement
See how two UAF instructors are using Easter eggs – hidden features – in their instructional videos to retain student engagement in their online classrooms.
One perspective on Quality Matters course certifications
UAF adopted Quality Matters as a framework for continuous improvement of online and blended courses four years ago. Gary Copus, professor emeritus, shares highlights, benefits and challenges of certifying three UAF Justice courses.
Creating a culture of mentorship
Explore the value of mentorship in academia and get ideas for how you can intentionally promote peer mentorship via course design and departmental initiatives.
Use student conferences to develop positive rapport
Research shows that the relationships between students and their instructors in a university-level course is “one of the most important factors’ contributing to student success. Use student conferences to give and receive feedback and build relationships that will improve everyone’s engagement in the course.
A Swiss Army knife for video
Kaltura MediaSpace provides a rich set of tools and features for staff, instructors and students to create video. Learn how to make the most out of what it offers.
Should you require proctored exams?
Proctored exams are a standard practice for preventing cheating but they can also place an inequitable burden on students.
Save time setting up due dates in Blackboard
Setting due dates for assessments in Blackboard can be a time-consuming task. Use the Grade Center Due Dates tool to manage this task faster.
Strategies for the first six weeks of class
The first six weeks are critical to student success (and UAF’s retention goals). Here are three small things you can do to help your students succeed this semester.
Four things to do before the semester starts
A new semester is starting in just a few days and there’s so much to do! Start here with these four step-by-step priorities.
Remove distractions from your class
Taking an online course can sometimes be like walking through an airport — distractions everywhere. Here are some simple and not-so-obvious ways to remove distractions from your course content.