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Resources, Trainings, and Advice for Teaching Continuity

Events and News

Resources, Trainings, and Advice for Teaching Continuity

The following resources provide guidance in how to move course content and student engagement to an online environment.

Tips for Teaching Remotely

This video provides you some helpful tools that you can use if you find yourself in a situation where you need to teach remotely.

https://mediaspace.minnstate.edu/media/Tips+for+Teaching+Remotely/1_r2727ii5

Academic Technology User Guides & Tutorials

The Faculty Resources section of our college website features a wealth of tutorials and other instructional materials geared toward helping faculty utilize the following academic technology in their courses.

There are also still innovation funds available for faculty who need new software or other technology to adapt their courses to online delivery. Please contact Martin Springborg to request these funds.

• MediaSpace is a recording tool most often used to create presentations or online lectures.
• Zoom is used for web meetings, and can be used to conduct synchronous class sessions online.
• Brightspace is the learning management system used to deliver all online courses at our college. Some of the most commonly used tools in Brightspace are discussions, content, quizzes, and gradebook and are best suited for asynchronous instruction.

Click on the tool names below to access tutorials and other instructional materials.

MediaSpace

• Download and share video content
• Record and share PowerPoint or other presentations
• Step-by-step guide
• Captioning and Caption Editing
• Login information

Zoom

• Getting started
• Help center
• Video tutorials
• Login information

D2L Brightspace

• Navigation and course design
• Discussions
• Content and assessments
• Gradebook

Getting Started Guides for Students

These user guides were created by Minnesota State System Office staff for student use. Please consider distributing them these documents to your students as you transition to online learning.

• Getting Started with D2L Brightspace - Student Quick Guide
• Getting Started Zoom - Student Quick Guide

Technology Resources for Students

• Technical and learning support hotline from Minnesota State
• Resources on D2L, Zoom, Email, StarID, and more
• Chromebooks for students who don’t have a device to complete coursework at home

Technology Services

Open Educational Resources

Look to MERLOT for course materials in all disciplines. These are easily adaptable to any teaching situation, and free to all users.

If you are teaching lab courses in the sciences, look to MERLOT's Virtual Labs for ready-to-use labs and demonstrations.

Wiley Education Services

Though usually a fee-based resource, Wiley Education Services is providing free and open access to its materials through spring semester.

Finally, consult the OER page of Faculty Resources for a list of other collections.

Zoom Trainings & Open Lab for Online Instruction

Our Zoom and Open Lab training schedule will be in effect the weeks of March 16 and 23. Due to telework restrictions, these trainings will take place solely online via Zoom at https://minnstate.zoom.us/j/6226139371.

After March 30, we will begin scheduling training sessions in all academic technology by email appointment. Martin Springborg, Director of Teaching and Learning, to schedule training sessions. If possible, please schedule at least one day in advance of your desired time.

Individual Consultations

Consultation services are designed to meet the needs of faculty members who prefer to work one-on-one with staff. Whether you need just-in-time training or advice in the application of a specific teaching tool, our staff are available to offer support – either in person or remotely, via Zoom.

Please see the staff page for staff program and service areas. Email staff directly to arrange a consultation.

Peer Support

Many of your colleagues have extensive experience teaching online and using academic technology. They are also here to help. Please feel free to reach out to them for assistance with specific technology.

Accessibility

As you transition to teaching courses online or via alternative delivery methods, consider the needs of our students with disabilities. If students enrolled in your course have Letters of Accommodations, please be sure to transition those accommodations to whatever delivery solutions you employ. The staff in the Office of Accessibility Resources are working diligently to provide auxiliary aids to students that require those services for equal access. If you have any questions about making your course accessible for your students, please do not hesitate to reach out to OAR staff. You’ll find their contact information on the OAR website.

System Office Resources

The System Office has made the following resources available to supplement campus support:

• Quick Start Guides - This Quick Start Guide provides some how-to videos and step-by-step instructions to help instructors perform some common tasks as they explore alternate modes of delivery. We’ll be updating references and links throughout the week.
• Drop in Sessions - A team of staff members from Minnesota State have scheduled Drop-In Sessions via Zoom to assist any faculty who may need assistance using the available educational technologies to which our community has access. A full schedule of these drop-in sessions is available on the calendar, but generally we’ll have staff available each weekday from 9-11am, 1-3pm, and 7-9pm. We will be reviewing these times and adjusting as possible, based on demand.
• One-on-One Sessions - If you require one-on-one assistance with a staff member, please use this electronic tool to reserve time with a staff member to work one-on-one via web conference (Zoom).

Advice

As you think through the logistics of moving various components of your in-person course online, keep the following practical suggestions in mind.

^*Excerpted from Going Online in a Hurry: What to Do and Where to Start.

1. Begin by going over your course assignments for the coming weeks. Are they accessible online, so that students can find the instructions and materials that they need? Is it clear how students will be turning in their work? Have deadlines changed, and are all of those deadlines prominently posted?
2. How will you give feedback on their progress? Consider how students will be able to practice the key skills and objectives you want them to get out of the course — things they would normally do in class.
3. Then, move on to the in-class experience. What do you normally use your in-class time for? Try to define what you do in class at a higher, more goal-oriented level (e.g., presentation of content, checking for understanding, collaborative project work — instead of just saying "lecture," "quiz," "discussion").
4. Decide what you're going to do about any high-stakes assessments, particularly exams. There are no easy answers here, especially if you planned to have a good chunk of a student’s grade hinge on what would have been a proctored, in-person test.
5. Consider the course materials. In all likelihood, your readings and other materials exist in digital form, and you may have posted them already. But you’ll need to double-check that any readings, videos, problem sets, quizzes, and the like are accessible, along with key documents such as the course syllabus and calendar.
6. Once you've dealt with those things, the name of the game is communication. In the face of all this uncertainty, you need to explain — as clearly as you can and in a variety of places — what students can expect about the course in the next few weeks. Be sure to cover what it is that students are responsible for doing, how they can find the things they need to meet those responsibilities, and what they should do first. Make sure the lines of communication are two-way, as well. When in doubt, offer more ways to get in touch with you (text, messaging app, email, video call), not fewer.

For more advice, consult this growing list of plans and recommendations from other institutions, managed by Daniel Stanford, Director of Faculty Development & Technology Innovation, at the Center for Teaching and Learning at DePaul University.

Teaching Continuity FAQ

Check out the frequently asked questions and their answers in relation to Teaching Continuity.