• I have reviewed all resources that will help me to teach in the MDC LIVE modality.

• • There is the MDC LIVE Faculty Guide and this current MDC LIVE Checklist. Both are geared for helping someone who has never taught in this modality to acclimate themselves and find the appropriate resources to help them get started. In addition, there are plethora of resources in the CIOL ORG.

  • There are recordings of special presentations given during live MDC LIVE sessions from fellow faculty members who discuss their tips and tricks as well as pitfalls to avoid for teaching in this modality. Each faculty member shares different technology tools they use as well as different best practices they suggest to effectively reach and engage students.

  • There are collaborative documents that MDC LIVE session attendees, who are mainly professors and administrators, discuss and take notes on five important topics related to teaching in the MDC LIVE modality. The topics are: Getting Ready for the First Day / Week, Leveraging the Synchronicity, Teaching the “Whole” Student, Using Technology to Communicate, Engage and Assess, and Taking Care of Yourself. You may learn many ideas from reading through these documents!

• I checked to make sure I have a reliable Internet connection.

• Here is information from Blackboard on connectivity.

• I made sure to update all browsers on my computer and mobile devices.

  • • Here is a resource on browsers from Blackboard.

• I made sure that I have all appropriate equipment for teaching in the MDC LIVE modality.

• It is recommended that you have a PC or laptop and two monitors to teach in this modality. It is also a best practice to have a headset to provide the best sound quality to your students. You should have a webcam (it maybe built in, but if not, you’ll need an external one).

• I copied this cheat sheet of all the contact information for where to go to get support for me and my students. I also made note of the CIOL information below. I put it somewhere handy so I may quickly access it when needed.

Below is a list of possible places to get assistance while teaching MDC LIVE:

Faculty Support with CIOL:

• Contact the CIOL. To get information about CIOL workshops and registration, please contact us at CIOL@mdc.edu.

• Request an Instructional Design Consultation. To get help beyond the basics, which the CIOL has many on-demand and live workshops for, you may request one-on-one time with one of the instructional designers. To schedule an appointment, use this link: https://tinyURL.com/BookanID

• The CIOL ORG. To find this, go to Blackboard at https://mycourses.mdc.edu and then click on Organizations. Under Current Organizations, you should see the CIOL ORG. In this organization, we have many resources in the Blackboard folder that may be of interest.

Feel free to visit the following three areas:

• • The MDC LIVE Training area

  • The Zoom Essentials area

  • The Collaborate Ultra area in the Blackboard section

• I have identified the video-conferencing tool I will use to conduct my classes and have taken the necessary training to learn how to use it. Note, it is suggested that for MDC LIVE you use Zoom (TECH112 Zoom Essentials for Faculty), although you may also choose Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (BBL3007) or MS Teams Meetings (TECH113) as well. If you select one of the other tools, please let us know and we can assist at CIOL@mdc.edu.

To take the self-paced 24/7 Zoom training: Please sign up for the TECH115 Zoom Essentials for Faculty course. We have received very positive feedback about the training. Please be sure to complete it at your earliest convenience. See instructions below on how to get started. You will learn everything you need to know to use the Zoom features, how to record, where the recordings are saved, how to run reports (attendance, Polls, chat script, etc.), what students need to join your virtual sessions, and much more.

To get started with your self-paced (24/7) online training for the TECH112 Zoom Essentials for Faculty course:

• Log on to http://mycourses.mdc.edu using Chrome or Firefox 24 hours after you enroll. Your course will not be available until then.

• Click on “Courses” after you log on and enter the training site

• Click on the training module to get started

• I have updated my syllabus to reflect any pertinent changes that teaching in an MDC LIVE modality will bring about, such as how students should take tests, complete assignments, find materials in my course, participate in discussions, etc…I have examined other syllabi for others teaching MDC LIVE and compared them to my own to ensure I’ve included all necessary items.

• I have made a comprehensive lesson plan for the first day and first week of class to ensure everything runs smoothly. I have built in extra time for technical problems so that I don’t fall too far behind in my curriculum. I have included activities to create community and have also let students know in detail what the class will be about and what they will need to do to be successful.

• I have planned in my daily schedule to come early and stay after each class for any personal questions and to get to know students better so I can address their needs and help them do well in my class. I let students know that I’ll be available at these times, and I also ensure my settings in my videoconferencing system allow for early entry and late exit.

• I have created a backup plan for if technology or something else doesn’t work as expected. I have built in extra time into my lessons the first week of classes just in case there are technical problems to resolve. I have contacted one or two students in each class and come up with a plan for what to do if I lose all connectivity so they can communicate with the rest of the class about what I expect them to do. Note: Some professors recommend using the Remind app or Whatsapp to be able to communicate outside of class without giving away personal information.

• I have planned a session before the start of classes for students to come in to test and troubleshoot technology. I have sent around an email and even provided a few different days and times to accommodate students’ varying schedules. If students cannot make one of the days and times that I specified but would like to participate, I have arranged private meeting times with them.

• I have shared relevant materials (notes, slides, handouts, etc…) in Blackboard so that students have access to them. I have designed my Blackboard course to be very easy to follow and I have everything labelled so the students will know exactly what I want them to do. I have avoided having too many subfolders and embedded activities so it will be easy for students to find course materials. I have even provided time approximations on each task I’ve assigned to them so they can better manage their time. I have given students a tour of the course so they know where to locate materials.

Note: To save time in class, you can make a short video and email it to students before classes begin so they’ll know how to navigate your course with ease (see below). Alternatively, you can give a tour in writing on a Word document or even create a scavenger hunt to force the students to have to navigate through your course at the beginning so they won’t be lost looking for resources.

• I have created a welcome video introduction (optional but highly recommended) to introduce myself, my interests, my educational background, what in the course they’re taking may interest them, etc… I’ve made sure to include any special instructions and share textbook information and any homework software information. I have sent this welcome video a week before class and then every few days since because students are continually adding to my course. I made sure to include instructions for how to log into Blackboard and how to join my Virtual Room.

Tip: You may use this as an opportunity to share personal things with students to humanize you, such as your hobbies, your pets, etc... Be careful not to divulge too many personal details or anything that could identify where you live.

• I have created a video tour of my course (optional but highly recommended) where I have shown my syllabus and how I organized my Blackboard course and how to access each item. I have also shown students how to use any other application or software component that they will be using for class. I’ve made instructions for how to join the virtual room where I will be holding class and also information about how to log into Blackboard and how to locate your course.

Note: This video tour and the welcome video introduction could certainly be combined into one video. Just make sure it’s not too long or overwhelming for students.

• I have come up with a plan for how I will assess students. It is important to me that I preserve academic integrity while administering exams remotely. I have taken the Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor workshop and also the “Cheatproof Your Exam” webinar and have made necessary provisions to ensure my students cannot cheat on their quizzes and exams.

(put information in here about how to sign up for both workshops)

• I have come up with a plan for how I will intervene early to ensure my students are successful. I have taken the Early Alert and Intervention webinar and have developed strategies I will employ for getting students on track early in the semester to increase my retention and success rates.

ONCE CLASSES BEGIN:

• I have made all expectations and instructions very clear early in the term regarding technical issues, how to take tests or complete assignments, late policies, netiquette practices, etc… I have posted these in my syllabus or elsewhere in my Learning Management System and have let students know about them throroughly and frequently.

• I know how to engage my students in my MDC LIVE classes. There are many methods you may use to conduct your class and engage students when teaching online in a fully synchronous mode. There are also many technology tools. You may enroll in the session below to get started with some of the more popular tools.

  • • Kahoot is a tool that allows you to create quizzes to play with your students or assign them for later. You may also have a team quiz competition, depending on how you set it up. Note: Kahoot has recently implemented a 10-person maximum on the free version and it will cost $5 per month to have up to 50 participants.

    • Flipgrid is a tool that allows you to create interactive discussion boards where the instructor as well as students can communicate through videos that they create.

    • Socrative is a tool that is very similar to Kahoot. There are some slight differences, but it’s basically has much of the same functionality. Socrative also allows you to send exit tickets to your students and have one-question polls.

    • Jamboard is a free Google tool that is an interactive whiteboard. It allows you to use all sorts of drawing tools and lets you change your background image to be graph paper or any other image you choose.

• I plan on arriving to my virtual classroom early to ensure hardware and software is ready to go and students have an opportunity to ask questions and/or chat with me. I have let students know when I will be there and also let them know what to do if they need to speak privately with me about personal issues.

• I have a plan in place for how I will get to know students and how I will foster community by helping students to get to know one another. I have prepared at least one ice breaker activity. I also present a bit about myself so my students can get to know me.

• I have prepared a communication plan, including how often I will answer emails, communicate after grades are posted, let students know when there’s new content, etc… I have reminded my students of whatever my plan is frequently so they are aware of how I will communicate with them.

• I have established, explained, and modeled correct netiquette to my students. I have used various techniques that are explained here and others as I see appropriate.

• I have shared information about office hours in all my classes. I have provided a link to the virtual room where the office hours will take place. I have explained to students to come prepared and other behaviors I expect in office hours.

Tip: Create one virtual room for all office hours with “no fixed time” (Zoom) / “no end date” (Bb Collaborate Ultra) in one of your courses and share the link with all your students. Let them know you will be there at times posted in your syllabus. When you create a no fixed time / no end date repeating session, this will let the room remain open and then you just show up at your designated times and everyone from all your classes can join. If you have many show up at once, use the Waiting Room feature in Zoom or the Breakout Rooms to put students in different areas until you are ready for them.