INSTRUCTIONAL CONTINUITY

Having course materials online helps you to be prepared and ensures that students always have access to the content they need. The following list contains a number of ways you can share various types of course materials with your students online. Using Canvas, the official learning management system of the UW, is a simple way for your students and you to stay connected. Course sites are automatically created in Canvas each quarter and allow instructors to:

• Use a UW Tacoma Canvas Template to get you and your students off to a great start
• Post the course syllabus Please visit the Suggested Syllabi Service Statements page for potential elements(inclement weather, campus and classroom policies, academic support, etc.) to include in your syllabus.
• Post your "in case of emergency" contact information and communication plan in the event of a campus closure.
• Pre-record and post class lectures
• Provide course materials, including assignments, readings, and audio/visual materials
• Collect student assignments online
• Manage quizzes
• Record and submit grades
• Set up and manage online asynchronous discussions
• Set up and manage group work

For guidance on how to setup these various Canvas Tools see: Canvas help for instructors

Communication channels

• Use Canvas Announcements instead of email to communicate with students.
• POLICY For social media, consider using UW Yammer, which is FERPA-and HIPAA-compliant. Snap Chat, Discord, Twitter, and Facebook are not FERPA– and HIPAA-compliant.
• Lastly, establish clear expectations for how frequently and where students should check for announcements and other communications.

Planning to Stay Connected

Canvas is the preferred method for communicating important course information to your students. In some cases, Canvas may become inaccessible due to power outages, system outages or other issues. You should communicate a back-up plan with your students to mitigate any confusion that may arise during an unforeseen event. Here are some possible alternatives for communicating with your students. 

1. Make sure that you can access your UW email from your phone or on the web

Email on your phone

Modern smartphones and cell-connected devices provide the best way to access email during emergencies. Cell networks are often buffered from disruptions in power and are less susceptible to wind damage than cable, phone and fiber networks. When the worst does happen cellular services are some of the first systems to be restored.

Smartphone apps such as Microsoft Outlook Web App or Gmail for iOS and Android provide a modern interface with functionality superior to either UW G Suite Gmail or UW Office 365 Exchange Online accessed via the web browser. 

Email on the web

If you have access to a web browser but you don’t have access to your own computer, you can still use UW G Suite Gmail and UW Office 365 Exchange Online. They are both web-based and accessible via the Internet.

Remember computer security best practices. If you are using someone else’s computer or a public computer:

• Make sure the computer is running antivirus. Accessing your UW email from an unprotected computer violates UW policy and puts your personal information at risk.
• Don’t cache your password.
• Sign out of your email when you are done and close all browser windows.
• Delete any downloaded file that contains FERPA or sensitive data.

2. Create a UW email distribution list for your class and have student emails or phone numbers handy

• On MyUW: You can request an email distribution list for your class on MyUW under the Teaching tab. Class lists will be ready to use the day after you request them.
• UW Mailman Listserv: If you want to create a list for cross-listed courses or combinations of courses, submit a Mailman Instructor Class List request.
• Class email contact list: You could also post the class contact in your Canvas course so your students can contact each other. 
• Use social networking tools to send messages to your students

3. Use social networking tools to send messages to your students

Creating and sharing social media pathways with your students using Twitter, private Facebook groups, or other platforms is a great alternative if email or Canvas is not available. It is critical, however, to get students prepared to use these platforms as an alternative method of communication as well. Once you have created a social media presence for your class, give students the opportunity to test it out before a critical need arises. 

Twitter, Facebook: While these social networking services are popular, they are not safe for FERPA and HIPAA content. If you use these social networks, do not expose sensitive information, such as the names of students in your course. 

UW Yammer: Consider using UW Yammer, which provides a FERPA– and HIPAA-aligned environment. 

4. Use chat, voice, video or all three

• UW Zoom: Use UW Zoom to participate in group video chat during online class sessions, host virtual office hours, collaborate remotely on research, share screens and host real-time video conversations, host live web broadcasts to thousands of people worldwide and record to the cloud or computer for easy sharing. Learn more about UW Zoom

5. Create a telephone hotline

• Voicemail: Turn your voicemail box into a telephone hotline. Update your greeting with timely information about the status of your course(s) or campus operations.
• Call menus: Contact UW Information Technology (help@uw.edu) to create enhanced hotline functionality such as call menus (e.g., Dial 1 for X or Dial 2 to reach Y).

Best Practices

• Be clear from the start. Make sure that your expectations and course logistics are easy to find in your syllabus. Consider spending part of your first class session to acknowledge this new reality and reviewing these expectations and logistics. Although you are teaching class remotely, instead of in-person, many of your expectations remain the same.
• Communicate with your students and encourage them to stay in contact with you.
• Explain if teaching remotely is new to you. If you are new to remote teaching, tell your students that you don’t have it all figured out yet. Most likely, learning online will be a new experience for many of them, as well.
• Let students know that you expect them to stay informed. Students should take responsibility for staying connected and up-to-date on assignments and due dates. Tell them where and when you will share information, such as on the homepage of your Canvas course.
• Encourage students to use the technology. Remind them to seek help from classmates, UW workshops, and online resources to learn the technologies you will be using to teach. Post links to these resources in your Canvas course.
• Ask students to create a dedicated space where they live for participating in online classes. Encourage them to coordinate with roommates or family members so that they aren’t competing for network bandwidth when attending a class.

End of quarter communication

• Communicate about finals early and often.
• Inform students of the date, time, format, and weight of the final exam.
• If the final is synchronous, let students know how much additional time they’ll have for “just in case” technology glitches.
• If the final is asynchronous, tell students when they can access the final, how much time they will have to complete it and when it’s due.
• Inform students of their options if they are unable to complete the final due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances.

• Course Readiness Checklist (before the quarter starts)
• Course Delivery Checklist (ongoing throughout the quarter)

• Proactively focus on access for all students. Ensure that your online course content provides the greatest level of access and flexibility for all students, including: students with disabilities, those with different devices and internet service, non-native English learners, and those living in different time zones.
  • Use Ally in Canvas to have more accessible course documents
  • Use technology to enhance both asynchronous and synchronous instruction methods
  • Establish equitable norms and practices
  • Consider alternatives to high-stakes exams
• Understand that not all students will have access to the same technology or internet connection. For example, some students may not have a camera on their laptop and may need to join a session by phone. Be prepared to work with students who have technological challenges. Direct them to the Student Technology Loan Program.
• Work in accessibility elements. Provide accessible documents via Ally so students can read and listen to material, caption course media and videos, record lectures to allow for Zoom auto captioning use by students.
  • Review Getting Started with Accessibility
  • Consider incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
• Be open to adjusting your grading structures and rubrics to account for any circumstances that arise during the quarter. Be mindful as you create the structure of where it can tolerate change in case you need to make an alteration.
•  Know how to adjust an assignment due date  for an individual student and how to moderate quizzes in Canvas.
• Provide activated accommodations when notified by a DRS office. Connect directly with DRS offices on implementation of activated accommodations you have received.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SEE THE DIGITAL LEARNING TOOLKIT

Recommended practices and easy wins

• Prepare your students to conduct class remotely by introducing remote learning tools and practices early in the quarter. Communicate fully and explicitly with students. Summarize all of the changes to your course on a dedicated Canvas page. See Canvas guides for creating a page and uploading media.

• Utilize Canvas announcements to keep your students up-to-date on any changes or modifications.

• Focus on learning outcomes even if you need to adjust the specific activities that contribute to those outcomes. Keep students moving toward those outcomes. Avoid "busy work."

• Prioritize course activities and focus on delivering the ones with the most significant impact on learning outcomes.

• Take advantage of colleagues’ ideas, departmental practices, and share your ideas.

• Communicate your instructional continuity plan through UW Email and your Canvas course site.

• Create and share social media pathways with your students using Twitter, Facebook, or other platforms.

• Whenever possible, keep local secure copies of your documents/grades as backups in case they are inaccessible during an interruption event.

Practices to avoid

• Waiting until the day of an unforeseen event to come up with an alternative plan or learn how to use technology tools.

• Holding class via Zoom at a time and day the class does not meet.

• Extending class beyond the time the class usually meets.

• Increasing the amount of work students are expected to do.

• Asking students to do the same amount and kind of work the syllabus initially expected them to do while (a) compressing the work into a shorter time period and/or (b) reducing their access to instructor, peer, or campus resources. If you have more content than time, reflect on the student learning outcomes for your course and focus on those that are the most important.

• Teaching via individual consultation and tutorial (unless you were going to do that anyway).

• Increasing the weight of any graded assignment.

• Extending the course so that it ends after finals week. Many students have multiple finals and many will have a time conflict during finals week.

• Rescheduling finals.

• Adding a class session during finals week.​

Prepare your students for the technology and tools you will utilize in class

It is essential to build in support resources for your students to ensure they are prepared to learn and thrive in an online space.  

• Build in low stake opportunities for students to test and become comfortable with technologies like Zoom or Canvas features (quizzes, discussion boards, assignment submission). 
• Link out to the following Becoming a More Successful Online Learner page from within your Canvas Course site. 

• Inclusive teaching strategies
• Addressing microaggressions in the classroom
• Teaching first-generation students
• Teaching international and multilingual students
• Teaching student veterans: Resources for instructors
• Inclusion, Equity, and Access While Teaching Remotely- Rice University, Center for Teaching Excellence
• Universal Design for Learning- Center for Teaching Innovation, Cornell University
• Mapping Access
• A General Guide to Netiquette

For additional resources on supporting students during this crisis, visit the UW Tacoma Digital Toolkit and the  Equity and Inclusion COVID 19 resources page. 

Teaching online presents new opportunities and flexibility for both faculty and students. The online mode can also present barriers for learners. The resources below offer some tips and training on how to minimize barriers by making content accessible for everyone and offering an inclusive environment. 

Faculty & Instructors Resources for Specific Accommodation Guidance - http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/covid19-resources/.

UW Bothell's Accessibility Tips when Teaching Online page has information on:

• Accessibility 101 online self-paced short course
• Creating accessible PowerPoint slides tutorial
• Creating accessible Google Slides tutorial
• Creating accessible Word documents tutorial
• Creating accessible Google Docs tutorial
• Scanning best practices tutorial
• Creating accessible Canvas pages tutorial​

​Additional Resources from UW

• 20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course
• ​30 Web Accessibility Tips
• Getting started with accessibility
• Creating accessible documents
• Creating accessible videos
• Procuring accessible IT