Category: Teaching Tip

As we move to the online environment for teaching and learning, follow these fundamental principles:

Keep it Simple
Don’t try to create a whole online course now. While commercial and non-commercial companies are flooding your inboxes, now is not the time to try to learn and implement more technology than you and your students need. What are the essential skills, knowledge, and attitudes that students need to practice and show mastery? What are the simplest ways to assess these skills, knowledge, and attitudes? Do not lose sight of your primary purpose and student learning outcomes for your course.

Expect the unexpected
Technology will fail. People will have emergencies. The ability to concentrate will be less than usual (for our students and us). Test your technology before you use it. Have a backup plan if the technology fails. Determine what is necessary to keep in your course.

Consistency and Clarity are Key
In times of crisis, we need consistency and routine. Students expect syllabi and grades in Canvas. Canvas has many apps built-in, including course materials and Webex, so that students need to log into only one place and not figure out different apps, logins, and passwords. Remember, your students are in 3 to 5 separate courses. They need consistency and clarity of expectations. Consider numbering your announcements, or removing old announcements, such that information is up to date and precise.

Be Compassionate and Flexible
You and your students are under stress. Between changed routines and many uncertainties, choose to be kind, choose to be generous, choose to be compassionate, choose to be flexible.

Stay Connected
In this time of social distancing (pdf), we need community as much as we ever did, and it does not require lots of new techniques from you. Simple things like emailing your students once a week to check-in and offer updates are valuable for building community. Host office/student hours via Zoom or Webex. Provide individual feedback as much as you can. We are all in this global health pandemic together.

Practice Self-Care
Please take a moment for yourself when you need it. A few deep breaths can promote a state of calmness. A walk outside can be reinvigorating. Engaging in a creative activity like journaling or doodling can relieve stress. Keeping a gratitude journal can inspire hope. Please encourage your students to also pursue activities that bring them joy in this time of uncertainty.

To help you in this shift, CELT has created this Quick Start Guide page.

Our ISU Campus Partners are here to help, call us through the CELT Response Team 515-294-5357 (Monday-Friday, 8-5 p.m.). We have staff across campus willing to assist. If needed, the campus partners will meet with you virtually using Webex. Additionally, you may wish to contact one of the support units directly.

With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

This CELT Teaching Tip is adapted from resources on the Plymouth State University’s Preparing to Teach During COVID19 site.

This teaching tip includes answers to the most frequently asked instructor questions as well as Canvas basics for those new to ISU’s learning management system (LMS) Canvas.

In addition, we want to share how faculty are finding success while delivering content online:

• ISU news highlighted Steve Butler (Mathematics), Raluca Iancu (Art and Visual Culture) in this, “Iowa State faculty get creative as courses move online for the remainder of spring semester” article.
• Matt Wetstein (Physics & Astronomy) developed this fun Physics 221 Online: Theatrical Trailer (YouTube video) for students.
• Inside Iowa State featured Megan Myers (World Languages and Cultures) in their “Instructors use student survey to guide online transition” article.

Do you or your colleagues have success stories to share? Email us at celt@iastate.edu.

With joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning?

Synchronous happens in ‘real-time’ at a specific virtual location during one particular time of the day using video conferencing tools (Webex, Zoom) to live stream a lecture/meeting. For example, every Monday at 2:10 p.m. (Central Savings Time) in a Webex virtual room. Use synchronous mode for student office hours and courses where oral communication and live discussions are crucial to attaining learning objectives.

Asynchronous happens on your schedule: materials, lectures, and assignments posted in Canvas for students to access. There are due dates, but there is also flexibility in when and where students access and complete the tasks. Self-guided lesson modules, streaming video content, virtual libraries, posted lecture notes, and exchanges across discussion boards are examples. The asynchronous model allows time for students to settle into the learning routine and for instructors to pace their facilitation.

How do I “deliver content”?

• Consider recording short, up to 8-minute videos of mini-lectures.
• Create videos in Canvas Studio (located on the left global navigation bar above ? help) and post them inside your online course. Videos uploaded to Studio are compacted and more accessible to students with limited internet access. For advice on how to do these things and more, see the Canvas Studio guide in MyCanvas Teacher.
• Or consider an even more accessible option, posting mini-lectures in the form of PowerPoint slides with notes, or even a PowerPoint file and a pdf of the Notes documents, in which instructors describe the slides.

How do I deliver exams and promote academic integrity?

Assessments are powerful learning tools and provide useful information to you as an instructor.

• In Canvas, quizzes serve as low and high-stakes assessments.
• Use Canvas Assignments for essay exams (or use the recommend File Upload option in Canvas quizzes).
• Consult ways to promote academic integrity and capture student learning for additional ideas.
• Be sure to post responses to the most challenging questions, and perhaps there is a need for more significant explanation via a short Video or posted notes.
• Ask students to self-assess their mistakes and find opportunities for mastery of content.

If you have not seen your questions answered here, please consult the Deliver course content table on the Quick Start Guide page for other ideas on transforming your in-person sessions into the online environment or email celt@iastate.edu.

3 things to emphasize to all ISU students

Senior Vice President and Provost Wickert asked us to share this with you, “As you send messages (via email or Announcements, Canvas Inbox) to students regarding ISU’s conversion to virtual instruction, it is helpful to emphasize these three points consistently:

• Virtual courses continue to count toward students’ degree programs.
• We have implemented a temporary Pass/Not Pass option (PDF) to provide students with additional flexibility.
• Our faculty are committed to providing a high-quality educational experience in the virtual environment. This commitment was expressed recently in a resolution from Iowa State’s Faculty Senate (PDF).”

5 steps to successful teaching in Canvas

Use these key Canvas steps to ensure a successful teaching and learning experience. Conversations with undergrad and graduate students, instructional designers, and examination of tickets submitted to the ISU Solution Center helped create these points.

1. Announcements. Every time a student logs into your course, they see whatever you provide them via the front page (How to set a Front Page guide) as well as announcements (How to add an announcement guide). During this time of uncertainty, be sure to create an informational front page and add (and remove outdated announcements) to keep students up to date.
2. Update Notifications. Students can turn off Canvas notifications! Set your notification preferences and then explain how students can update their notifications to ensure that they receive all Canvas updates in their iastate.edu emails.
3. Modules for Organization. Make your course easy to navigate so that students can concentrate on the subject matter at hand. Within each module, you can include PowerPoint slides, lectures, quizzes, assignments, and discussion prompts. Some instructors organize modules by weeks and some by multi-week units under the same topic.
4. SpeedGrader. This Canvas tool is an easy and effective way to provide an electronic record of the students’ work, your feedback, and the grade (How to use SpeedGrader guide).
5. Publish. One of the most frequent issues submitted to the ISU Solution Center is that students cannot access the course, the modules, quizzes, tests, or assignments. The solution? Publish each content item, and use Student View to make sure that they see what you see (How do I view a course as a student? web guide).

Uncertainty strains our mental, physical, and emotional resources. Much like scheduled Canvas, Webex, and Zoom maintenance updates, there are steps that we can take to help our students (and ourselves) feel a bit more certain.

I do not know about you, but I am stressed. Stressed about the well-being of my parents in a Covid-19 hot zone, worried about family members working in health care, and sad that the students in my creative thinking class do not have the experience that I had planned just a few months ago. And yet, I am sitting in my comfortable extra office/bedroom/gym with little worries that I will have a job or that I have enough food to eat. I am safe. For many of our students, staying home means a loss of employment, added responsibilities, and the stress of keeping up.

Here are some ideas to make this uncertain situation feel a bit more stable:

Consider assessment as a paradigm shift. Changed assessment strategies do not mean foregoing quality and teaching excellence. Consider how you can use Canvas quizzes and assignments as learning aids, and project and problem-based learning as essential survival skills. Even the College Board is adjusting its usual AP exams, eliminating multiple choice and reducing three-hour exams to 45 minutes. There is precedence for a temporary paradigm shift in the traditional assessment of student learning and in treating our students as adults also struggling with readjustment amidst uncertainty.

Keep accurate gradebooks. Undergraduate students will be able to take a pass/not pass at the end of this semester. Many students continue to work diligently to earn their deserved letter grades. Keeping your Canvas gradebook up to date provides students with an accurate depiction of their current standing.

Dispel the unknown. Provide students a structure and plan for the rest of the semester so that they can organize their time.

Listen to your students. With all of the uncertainties right now, do you know how your students are doing? This act can be as simple as asking your students how they’re doing. Students can write a word, sentence, paragraph, post a picture, or choose to opt-out. This one question can give you valuable information about their well-being and ability to connect to technologies and complete course work. If you can, provide prompt, encouraging feedback to students using written, video, or audio tools that reinforces you heard them.

You might also ask students to complete an anonymous plus delta to have a pulse on the positives and possible adjustments to your teaching and their learning. Create a Wordle from their responses and post prominently in your online course to inspire and help them persevere.

Uncertainty remains in many spheres of our lives. We can help students feel more certain by assuming the best, listening to them, and understanding that they are feeling as much, if not more, stress as we are.

With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

*Quote from author Cia Verschelden during AAC&U Webinar on “Safeguarding quality, equity, and inclusion as learning moves online.”

So much of the spring semester 2020 is different. As you prepare for your final exams, consider the following factors, and consult the CELT Remote Assessments page for more information.

1. Determine the acceptable evidence of learning

• Your learning goals are an excellent place to start when considering alternative assessments. Consider:
• What can I do to promote student learning while we all are coping with COVID-19?
• What do I hope students will be able to do by the end of my course?
• What ways can they demonstrate what they know?
• How can I make it more meaningful/authentic?
• How can I incorporate knowledge creation?
• How can I leverage the online context?

2. Consider the impact of proctored exams at this time

Traditional timed, proctored exams are possible using the tools available in Canvas along with remote proctoring tools (e.g., Lockdown Browser with Respondus Monitor) or proctor it yourself with Webex. However, proctored remote exams have several drawbacks, including increased stress and setup challenges (Woldeab & Brothen, 2019). Consider Canvas exams (quizzes), open-book exams, or the other assessment strategies (listed below) that are relatively easy to grade.

3. Choose the suitable remote assessment method

Changing a course from face-to-face to online teaching poses particular challenges. Go to the CELT Remote Assessments page and review the following options as alternatives to proctored assessments:

• Annotated anthology or bibliography
• e-Portfolio
• Fact sheet
• Group project
• Non-traditional paper (essay)
• Open Book or “Take-home” Exam
• Peer- and self-review activity
• Professional presentation or demonstration
• Series of quizzes
• Student-developed quiz question

4. Finally, be sure to communicate clearly your expectations to students!

Provide an announcement that contains information about the exam and ensure that students contact you with any questions. Use the guiding questions on the CELT Remote Assessments page to help outline your communication with them, clarify essential details, along with promoting academic integrity.

With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

References

• Woldeab, D., & Brothen, T. (2019). 21st Century Assessment: Online Proctoring, Test Anxiety, and Student Performance. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education, 34(1), 1-10.
• Information adapted from Rutger’s University Remote Exams and Assessments website.

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: 4 factors to prepare for remote assessments (April 21, 2020 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Take a moment (April 30, 2020 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for April 30, 2020 (PDF).

Online Course Essentials (ONCE) is a simple ISU Course Template in Canvas and a straightforward process to assist instructors in including the must-have elements in their online courses. Whether a course is taught entirely online or as a combination of face-to-face lectures with online instructional materials, activities, and assessments, it can benefit from including these essential components. Both the ISU course template and the Plan Your Course Worksheet contain a reference to the following online course essentials:

• Direct relationship between the course’s learning objectives, assessments, learning activities, instructional materials, and technologies
• User-friendly, consistent, and accessible course navigation
• Transparent learner expectations
• Technical and academic support resources
• ISU-branded course elements (not a necessary feature, but a nice option)

Built around the Essential 3-point Standards (PDF)  of the  Quality Matters rubric, ONCE gives instructors all the online course essentials. Focus less on the technicalities of creating an online course in Canvas and more on what matters the most – student learning.

To begin, visit the CELT’s Online Course Essentials (ONCE) page.

Host a CELT Online Course Essentials (ONCE) course design virtual workshop. Upon participating in this workshop, attendees will be able to:

• Build a Canvas course using ISU Template
• Recognize the online course essentials
• Map out the essentials for your online Canvas course
• Locate CELT online teaching and learning resources

Submit a request via the CELT ONCE Course Design workshop form.

Need assistance? Contact CELT by emailing celt-help@iastate.edu and including “ISU Template” in the subject line.

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Implement online course essentials and guidance for virtual classes summer 2020 (May 14, 2020 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for May 14, 2020 (PDF).

Fall semester, beginning August 17th, is right around the corner. As you prepare, CELT has you covered with website resources, programming, and the ISU Course Template. Of great interest:

• ISU Course Template: Easy to use and to adapt, the ISU Course Template contains the fundamental components for a quality online course. The template is pre-loaded with a homepage, modules, and necessary information of value to you and your students. Instructors such as Professor Stacy Cordery, History, have raved “The savings to me in terms of time, energy, and anxiety are incalculable. I know it’s going to be a great tool for faculty and students, whose lives will surely be made a bit easier with some uniformity and predictability as they try to navigate all their different syllabi (online, in class, and hybrid).” See the ISU Course Template page,
  Register to attend a webinar, Online Course Essentials (ONCE) using the ISU course template,
  • Jul. 30 (1-2:15 p.m.),
  • Aug. 3 (3-4:15 p.m.), or
  • Aug. 12 (11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.).
  • Or, submit a departmental ONCE workshop request form.

• Start of Semester Checklist: The how-to with pictures of preparing your Canvas course: The Start of Semester Checklist.

• Quick Start Guide: Apply these strategies to help you prioritize and communicate with your students this fall, Quick Start Guide.

• Teaching with Technology: Whether you are teaching face to face, hybrid, or online, check out the redesigned “teaching with technology” web resources. These resources include everything from the new Canvas @ ISU site, instructional strategies about teaching, including web conferencing (yes, info about Webex and Zoom!) to instructional tool how-tos to ideas for engaging students in the online environment. Review and bookmark the Teaching with Technology page.

• Programming: Mark your calendars for exciting CELT programming from 30-minute “choose your instructional tool adventures” to hour-long discussions of course design, engaging students, inclusion, accessibility, web conferencing (Webex, Zoom, MS Teams), managing disruptive conduct in learning spaces to semester-long teaching and learning communities, via the Upcoming Events page.

Do you have questions, concerns, ideas about teaching and learning? Or ideas about programming? Email celt@iastate.edu.

With a joy for teaching,

Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Teaching synchronously online poses unique challenges for encouraging thoughtful participation. The ability to foster student participation is especially true if you teach a face-to-face course simultaneously with students attending the course online. We asked ISU Faculty (and surveyed the literature) to share these strategies for engaging students.

1. Build community. It is challenging to volunteer an idea if you do not know the others in your class. Consider icebreakers where students first discuss in smaller groups of students in online breakout rooms. Then, use collaborative signals in the large group, such as thumbs up or hands raised, to cue “I agree” or “I have a question.” (Megan Myers, World Languages and Culture).
2. Communicate expectations. Tell students in advance that you expect them to participate in the discussion. If possible, provide the prompt before the discussion. Rather than beginning discussion within the large group, start with 5-15 minutes in smaller person breakout groups. Instruct the students to determine a recorder (i.e., a student with first name closest to the letter Z or the person with the most significant number of pets) who would then share one idea during the whole class portion of the session. (Amanda Baker, School of Education).
3. Use collaborative notetaking tools. For large or small group exercises, create a shared notetaking tool, such as Google Docs, with the prompt and space for breakout groups to type their responses. At the end of the activity, the participants have a crowd-sourced list of ideas or notes. This action also allows the instructor to clarify any misconceptions or call on a student group to elaborate on particular items. (Idea contributed by many! Monica Lamm, Chemical and Biological Engineering and CELT Faculty Fellow, Clark Coffman, Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology and CELT Faculty Fellow, and Karen Bovenmyer, CELT).
4. Consider not discussing! If you want to get a “pulse” on the students’ knowledge or attitude in the class, consider strategically using the chat window or a poll rather than large or small group discussions. Pose a question for the students to respond to in the chat window. Or display a problem with plausible solutions. Ask students to use the emoticons on Webex or Zoom to “vote” for the correct answer. (Lesya Hassall, CELT).
5. Explain the why of discussing. Lastly, inform students that you value their perspectives and explain why you ask for their participation—seeing the why behind discussions can positively influence their participation.

Have an idea to share? Email it to celt@iastate.edu, and we will include it in our Instructional Strategies.

With a joy for teaching,
Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

Full Teaching Tip

View the published CELT Teaching Tip: Encouraging thoughtful participation (August 28, 2020 – Constant Contact) website.

Prefer a Print version?

To view the Teaching Tip as a printable document with web addresses, download the CELT Teaching Tip for August 28, 2020 (PDF).