Rapid Response Guide to Remote Teaching

The Instructional Effectiveness team is here to support you and your students during this time.

Google Document Version

Getting Started

• Begin preparation in advance where possible
• Stay information about the event - Nicolet’s updates can be found on the college website
• Communicate early and often
  • Make sure your students know that
  • Form a communication strategy with your students and keep it consistent. Will you be using email, the announcement feature in Brightspace, other? Make sure that everyone knows how you will be communicating with them.
• Consider realistic goals during this time period
• Review your course schedule to determine priorities
• Review your syllabus for points that must change
• Reset expectations for students
  • Things to consider: participation, deadlines, accommodations
• Prioritize care, compassion, kindness - some of your students may get sick, care for family members who are sick, have difficulties with technology/internet access, along with a host of other things. Knowing that you care about them and will help them figure it out will go a long way in helping them be successful.

Focus on What Matters

1. Show care and interest in each student's success. Your interactions with each student matter.
2. As best you can, provide a safe, accessible, and supportive environment for each student's learning.
3. Clearly communicate realistic course goals. Students need to know the target they are aiming for.
4. Clearly communicate how students are supposed to work through the course material.
5. Help students learn the main ideas and skills in the course. Put your course content online and provide a predictable structure.
6. Try to keep students engaged.
7. Provide clear directions of what is expected in completing the assessments and assignments. Make sure they align with revised, realistic course goals.
8. Provide helpful and timely feedback on learning activities, assessments, and assignments.
9. Clearly communicate student support resources that are available.
10. Be willing to work with each student to meet their learning needs. Flexibility is key.

Communicate with Students

Keeping in touch with your students during this time is essential. Some may need additional support since this may be their first experience learning outside a traditional classroom. You will want to let them know about changes in schedules, assignment procedures, and broader course expectations.

• Communicate early and often - this will help ease student anxiety and hopefully prevent an onslaught of individual questions. If you do receive a bunch of like-type questions, send out a communication to all addressing the question.
• Create a communication plan with students and stick to it - they need to know where they can go to get the information they need regarding your course. Additionally, share what students can expect from you in terms of response time, availability, office hours, etc.

Substitutes for Face-to-Face Meetings

Substituting face-to-face meetings with video meetings helps build a positive student-teacher relationship--especially during these uncertain times. Two approaches are synchronous (live) and asynchronous (recorded).

Asynchronous (Recommended)

• Recommended so students can watch them on their own time.
• TechSmith Relay - best used for lecture capture. Record your lectures using your computer and upload them to a private YouTube account.
• Synchronous
  • BlueJeans - BlueJeans can be used for synchronous remote class meetings and meetings with students. To request a BlueJeans room submit a Helpdesk ticket at the bottom of the homepage.
  • Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Teams can be used to hold quick video or calls with students. All students have access to Teams from the navbar inside of Brightspace.

See Technology below for additional uses and how-to resources.

Convert Course Materials and Readings

You will likely need to provide your course materials to your students online, we are recommending you do this through modules in your course shell on Brightspace.

• Encourage your students to turn on notifications that new content is added. They need to know when new materials are posted.
• Keep things accessible and mobile friendly.
• Add notes to your presentation slides before uploading them.
• Upload handouts and other documents you use in class.
• Give explicit instructions. Be clear and concise in your instructions.

Need additional resources? Reach out to our team to see what might be available as Open Educational Resources. No need to recreate the wheel!

Assessment

Students need to know they are on track to meeting expectations and when they have met expectations. Create opportunities to practice, reflect, and show what they know.

• You may need to reconsider and adjust the course goals. Consider what is a realistic outcome given the current situation? Assess at this new level.
• Consider the tools students have available to show what they know and can do. Think digital--Brightspace assessments, assignments, quizzes, and discussions; emailed documents and artifacts; and when necessary mailed assessments.
• Explore online assignments such as group projects, reflective writing and journaling, written or photo essays, research reports, critiques, simulations, scenarios or case study presentations. Ask your students to come up with project ideas--In what ways can you demonstrate what you know and can do?

Ideas

• Modify in-class checks for understanding to online versions. Simple ideas and examples from Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching can be found in this Classroom Assessment Techniques document and their Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) website.
• Demonstration of a Skill or Performance
  • Aim for essential, foundational understandings like theory and/or the critical sequence of steps in a process or procedure. Refine the skill in person at a later date or in a future course.
  • Consider video. If not feasible, convert the demonstration to a document with the steps of the process; include a series of graphics if possible.
• Presentations
  • Convert to a voice over PowerPoint or a paper; elaborate in PowerPoint slide notes.

Technology

Keep it simple. Here are some of the technologies tools that you can use, along with suggested uses and how-to resources:

BlueJeans

• Hold synchronous class meetings with your students
• Hold office hours

TILT Website - BlueJeans

TechSmith Relay

• Record lecture capture
• Demonstrations

How to Download and Install TechSmith Relay

How to Use Relay Video

TechSmith Relay Detailed

Video Notes in Brightspace

• Can be used record 3 minute:
  • Mini lectures
  • Announcements
  • Feedback on assignments
  • Discussion board posts

How to Record a Video Note in Brightspace

Closed Captioning Video Notes in Brightspace

Microsoft Teams

• Student group work
• Meetings with students

Microsoft Teams Video Training

Flipgrid

• Socratic Discussions
• Project-based learning
• Research presentations

https://blog.flipgrid.com/news/remotelearning

Respondus Lockdown

• Remote proctoring--Due to the heavy ask of students, we are recommending this only where an accrediting body is requiring it

Brightspace

• Each course should already have a course shell in Brightspace.
• Every faculty member should be enrolled in the Brightspace Instructor Resources course. If you are not, please contact the IE Team to enroll. Here you will find Brightspace instructional videos, documentation, and instructor guides.