Pandemic Preparedness - Continuity of Instruction

Introduction

This document describes a set of strategies for maintaining the continuity of instruction if there is a period during which students and faculty cannot meet physically - whether that be for one day or several weeks. These suggestions were compiled from strategies that each of the eLearning Directors are employing at their own college. At the system level, Cable Green (eLearning Director, SBCTC) has reported to the eLC that the state-wide eLearning tools, including ANGEL (learning management system), Elluminate (Webinar platform) and Presidium (24/7 support), have sufficiently robust systems in place that their operations will continue to run even during an emergency.

Strategies and Resources for Administrators

Generally it is recommended that faculty are encouraged to develop a specific plan for how to teach from home, to communicate the plan to their dean and their students (through the syllabus), and to practice the plan well in advance of an emergency event.

In order to make sure that everyone has had an opportunity to give the issue careful consideration, Vice Presidents of Instruction may consider asking each faculty member to submit a plan about how he or she intends to manage instruction during a school closure. The plan may be very simple, or more complex, depending on the individual faculty member's needs and comfort level with technology. So as not to overwhelm faculty with choices, consider giving faculty a short menu from the choices below that your college is prepared to support.

With respect to administration, it is recommended that all eLearning support staff set up to work from home: PCs, mics / cameras, high speed connections, Elluminate, e-mail, and phone. Further, it is recommended that crucial support staff be prepared to leave campus and work from home at the first indication that a wide-spread pandemic is imminent.

Administrators should also keep in mind that this will also be an ongoing problem and that all will need to plan not only for college closures, but for potentially significant absenteeism throughout the quarter.

Specific Strategies

1. Before addressing eLearning solutions and strategies, it is important to note that there are several low-tech measures that instructors can take to ensure that students have the information they need in case of a closure:

During the first week of class, the instructor should ensure that they have accurate and up to date contact information for each student to include a voice number and email address.
Faculty should spend extra time creating a detailed syllabus. Faculty should make hard copies of the syllabus and hand it to all students first week of class. Online students should be directed to make a back up or physical copy of the syllabus. The syllabus should include:
Instructor provides clear instructions about how to contact him/her via email or other platform (in syllabus).
Specific information so students can continue working independently through the material, including goals & objectives for each week, chapter reading assignments, and due dates for exercises & paper assignments.
Independent research projects that are prepared in advance and can be initiated with simple email instructions.
Alternate contact information for the instructor should the campus network, learning management system, etc go down.
Faculty should consider organizing the students into small groups or have everyone pair with a "study buddy" so that each student would have someone to call to find out crucial information about course assignments and expectations.
Encourage faculty to become familiar with available remote access options like online email access, checking voice mail remotely, VPN etc.
Make sure each faculty member has access to campus files over the network or using a jump or thumb drive to back up their files and take them home.

2. With respect to strategies that employ basic eLearning technology, there are several steps that can be taken to maintain communication and instruction. These tools can be used during a college closure or to support students through flu related absences. Regardless of the plan selected, it should be communicated clearly in the course syllabus.

Course Management System (ANGEL, Blackboard, Moodle, etc.). Colleges can plan to have all courses available in the college course management system (CMS) so that students have a single place to go. The announcement features can communicate college information and individual faculty plans. If faculty are not planning to use the CMS as their backup plan, that information can also be communicated through the CMS. Faculty would need training to effectively use this tool. Colleges should:
- Build a shell in Angel for all classes on campus (classes that would benefit from a website – class-site).
- Create ID for all students (deactivated then activated as used).
- Instruct faculty about how to use Angel. Training should include:
  - How to log on,
  - how to post an announcement,
  - How to upload a file,
  - How to make a link.
  - How to create a discussion forum.
Elluminate - This web conferencing tool could be used to conduct virtual class sessions. It is available at all colleges and is integrated into the ANGEL CMS. Faculty would need training to effectively use this tool (Elluminate has high quality online training– Faculty could complete 2 hour basic training on their own.). Instruction should include:
- How to schedule a session,
- How to use a headset with microphone,
- How to activate webcam.
- How to share a file,
- How to take a web tour.
Email - campus email can be a low tech but effective way to communicate with classes, distribute assignments and continue basic instruction. Faculty should already know how to use this tool, but may instructions on how to effectively use email to communicate with their classes including creating or learning to access an email distribution list in the college learning management system or elsewhere.
Web based solutions - there are many web based solutions that require little training and may already be familiar to faculty and students
- a simple chat website (e.g., Meebo, Tinychat) can be used to hold virtual office hours. Faculty may need training on How to set up and manage an online chat session.
- a simple blog (e.g., Blogger) could be used to communicate with students. Faculty may need training on
  - How to create an account and log on,
  - How to create a post
  - How to upload a file,
  - How to make a link.
- document sharing (e.g., Google Docs or Scribd) or presentation sharing (e.g., SlideShare) can convey course content and continue course activity. Faculty may need training on
  - How to create an account and log on,
  - How to upload a file,
  - How to send a link to students.
- a more robust website (e.g., Ning), blog (e.g., Drupal) or wiki (e.g. Wikispaces, PBworks) that could be used to communicate with students, including:
  - How to create an account and log on,
  - How to create a post (or edit a wiki page),
  - How to upload a file,
  - How to make a link.

Resources

1. Closure Ideas from Leslie Ann Wallace at BTC (http://btcresources.wikispaces.com/Closure+Ideas)

This wiki contains lots of practical information and tutorials about how to set up a blog or wiki, as well as how to use these tools effectively.

2. Example Preparedness Plan Description (Preparedness_Sample_Plan)

3. eLearning Bootcamp from Rick McKinnon at SPSCC (http://web101.wikispaces.com/)

This wiki contains information about how the tools of eLearning can be used to enhance student engagement and amplify learning, as well as supporting documentation about both synchronous and asynchronous modes of online instruction.

Web Tools Mentioned in this Advisory

Blogger (www.blogger.com)
Google Docs (docs.google.com)
Meebo (www.meebo.com)
Ning (www.ning.com)
PBWorks (pbworks.com)
Scribd (www.scribd.com)
TinyChat (tinychat.com)
WikiSpaces (www.wikispaces.com)

Strategies and Resources for Faculty

Generally it is recommended that faculty develop a specific plan for how to teach from home, to communicate the plan to your dean and your students (through the syllabus), and to practice the plan well in advance of an emergency event.

1. Although flu season is rapidly approaching, it is always good to have a plan for what to do when you and your students can’t come to the campus and/or when the network goes down. Maybe you’ll need the plan for a single day closure or a multi-week scenario.

2. Get up to date contact info, to include phone and email from every student, every quarter and have a backup or paper copy. Do not depend on registration information.

3. Make your syllabus as complete and descriptive as possible so that in the event of a disruption your students can rely on it as a guide to continue learning.

4. Practice implementing your plan now and regularly – before there is any trouble.

5. Use web-based tools such as ANGEL, Google, or simply email to communicate with your students. Even if you teach face to face, consider adding a web-based component now to promulgate course materials, post grades, etc. that you could rely on more heavily in an emergency.

6. Whether you teach face-to-face or online, have a back-up electronic method of communicating with your students such as alternate email addresses in case the campus network or ANGEL goes down.

7. Work with a colleague so that you both have someone to rely on in the event that you get sick or cannot come to class. Work with a colleague so that you both have someone to rely on in the event that you get sick or cannot come to class.