A Liquid Syllabus is public website that creates your student's first impression of you and your course. It positions diversity as an asset and demystifies how to be successful in the first week of the semester. It contains essential information that students need to know before they log-in to their online course, such as instructor contact information and a link to the course Canvas page. My liquid syllabus is also my full syllabus and is a resource to be used throughout the course. So that I do not overwhelm students before the start of the semester, I hide many of the more detailed pages. Before the semester starts, students see a warm welcome from me, review course essentials such as textbook and technology needs, and get a look at what they will need to complete in the first week of the semester. I made the liquid syllable using Google sites, which adjusts text and images for accessibility and is viewable on desktop and mobile devices. I also add alt-text to images, allowing students who use screen-reader software to access all of the information. 

Course cards are rectangular icons that greet students on the Canvas Dashboard. By making a personalized course cards, instructors can offer a warm and inviting "front door" for the course. For my California Water course, I chose a photo of the Sacramento River with the skyline of the city, the Delta King, Tower Bridge and blue skies with the course title and my name superimposed. The photo is visually appealing with welcoming blue skies, and shows the capital city and state's largest river. The course name also pops out, helping students navigate to the correct course from their dashboard. 

The course homepage is what the students see every time they log into the class on Canvas. I have a banner with the course name superimposed over a photo of the Sacramento River to represent the course subject material. Each section gets their own unique banner. All of the images on the page have alt text for students using a screen reader. I use the rainbow color pattern on the navigation links to help my visually-oriented students quickly find links, keep the page bright, and remind my students that I am an ally. The page is simple, and consistent throughout the semester. 

A Wisdom Wall is a collection of "learning stories" recorded by students in a prior class and listened to by students in a current class. By listening to the advice, future students can identify that struggle is normal. The future students can learn strategies from past students on how to be successful. This activity fosters metacognition by connecting students with spoken reflections of their learning and portrays ability as a growth process, as opposed to a fixed characteristic.

A bumper video is a short video used in a variety of ways to help alleviate confusion or stress about a topic or assignment. Bumper videos can be used to provide a brief explanation of a new assignment, clarify a sticky concept, or introduce a new module, for a few examples. In this this bumper video, I introduce a multi-day lab experiment that my online students will be conducting in their homes. Watching this video will be the first thing the students view before starting in on the pre-lab reading, videos, and quizzes. By watching this video students will get an overall sense of what needs to be accomplished. The video provides a warm demander expectation. Hopefully, this video will alleviate fears and get students motivated to start the project.

Microlectures are short 5-10 minute lectures on a targeted topic that covers only one learning objective. This is a powerful tool, as the course content can be designed around each individual learning objective. That way, students do not need to try to skim a 60 minute lecture to find the topic they need to review. The instructor can also provide reading and problems around that one learning objective. In my example microlecture, I lecture only on the learning objective: Describe bioaccumulation and biomagnification of fat-soluble toxicants in ecosystems. In the module, students learn about impacts to waterbodies caused by the California Gold Rush. This microlecture is placed after I introduce the legacy pollution caused by the use of mercury in gold mining processes. Ultimately, microlectures such as these, can provide for a highly organized course with clear learning objectives.