Tips for remote teaching

The following pages in this site aim to support you in your remote teaching. For some of you, using technology to deliver your teaching may be a process that you are familiar with, for others this may be a new and slightly daunting experience.

Before planning on teaching remotely you will need to ensure that you are set up technically – requirements include:

  • A high-quality internet connection – preferably a wired connection.

  • Access – An up-to-date device such as a laptop or desktop PC.

  • Connection to the VPN – This will enable you to access all University services as if you were on campus.

  • Appropriate hardware (e.g. headset, webcam) – For online discussions and live sessions, good quality audio (e.g. a headset with separate headphones and a microphone) are a must. It does not matter how good the video quality is, if students can not hear you then there is little point in running the live session.

The following are things to consider when getting started in planning to design teaching materials and activities for online delivery:

  • Identify priorities – During this period of disruption, in the first instance, we would recommend you looking at what online provision students require that will directly support them in their current assessment tasks.

  • Keep things simple – You may need to look for multiple solutions to deliver your teaching and assessments online – this site contains alternative options to delivering face-to-face teaching and assessment. However, do keep in mind what you can realistically implement within the timeframe you require. Start small and build up. Less really is more.

  • Manage expectations – Both academic staff and students have different levels of digital capabilities – include instructional guidance, where required, to support those who need to access and complete an online task or activity.

  • Keep your content clear, consistent and accessible – Use tools available in Moodle to help structure your content (Topic spaces, Labels, Folders, and Books) so that users can easily locate and access learning materials.

  • Communicate with your students – Communication is key. There are many ways to communicate with students to keep them updated with changes in your teaching activity – especially concerning due dates to assessments. Be consistent when you are delivering communication so that students don't miss any vital information – we recommend using the Moodle Baseline, 'Welcome tab' to deliver key information to students regarding any module changes or information.

  • Consider the digital wellbeing of your students (and colleagues) – Jisc have produced a useful quick guide, which offers advice on the impact that technologies and digital services can have on people’s mental, physical, social and emotional health.

  • Take a look at the 'Do this, Not that online teaching' infographic and our Case Studies page.