Preparing and Planning
In preparing for potential disruption to campus services or access, it is important to check frequently with the K-State website for detailed information about campus planning and resources. This will ensure you have the most up-to-date information.
Preparing your course for online or remote delivery
Some faculty have taught courses online or used remote technologies, but others have not. The information below is designed to assist all faculty as they prepare their class for online/remote delivery to students.
How should I prepare for the technical aspect of online or remote delivery?
- You will need some basic equipment. To engage with your students from home, you will need a laptop or desktop computer and internet access. If you are going to engage with students using video, you will need a web camera and the ability to capture audio. If you have any questions, please contact the IT Service Desk: Search the Knowledge Base, Submit a Ticket, or Start a Live Chat..
- Your digital course files will need to be available to you from off-campus sites. It is possible that the campus could be closed, so you will need to plan for this by uploading your course files from your on-campus location/computer to the cloud or to another easily accessible digital location. This will allow you to be able to access the files from home or elsewhere. The Division of Information Technology encourages the use of uploading files to OneDrive. Please contact contact the IT Service Desk for assistance: Search the Knowledge Base, Submit a Ticket, or Start a Live Chat.
- Use the Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access tools and systems securely, whether in the U.S. or out of the county. The K-State Global Protect VPN is available for Windows and Macs. To access, use the links below:
How do I set up the course on Canvas?
- Every course already has a Canvas site. Even if you are not teaching an online course or using your Canvas course site, you still have a Canvas “shell” that is populated with your students’ names and email contact information. To activate it, you will need to make sure that the course is published.
- Upload your course documents to Canvas. Consider uploading all course materials, such as syllabus and course schedule (including any necessary revisions), readings, assignments, and any other teaching materials that you want to share with students. When you upload them to Canvas, students will have access to them.
How do I communicate with my students online?
- From each Canvas course site, you can communicate with your students simply and easily. You can email your students through the Inbox feature Canvas. You can also post course announcements as needed as another communication tool. Of course, you can still use your email, but Canvas allows you to communicate with all of the students at the same time.
- Share the Student Checklist in Preparation for Remote Learning with your students. This checklist will help students to take the steps they need to prepare for remote learning experiences.
- Be prepared for more frequent communication. During the transition from face-to-face to remote teaching, you may receive more student inquiries than you usually would since students may have questions about the course materials or new activities or expectations for the course. To make sure you are frequently notified of communications in Canvas, you can adjust your notification settings.
How do I teach my course remotely?
- Decide how you want to operate the class. Explore the different course modality choices.
- You will likely need to change your course schedule. Depending on when the disruption is occurring during the semester, you may need to make changes to your course schedule. Areas to consider for revision might include:
- assignments
- testing format
- projects
- presentations
- labs
- Think about the learning outcomes for the class as your guide. You might need to streamline or change the weighting on your assignments, quizzes, projects, or other course expectations. The student learning outcomes should guide your considerations.
- Presentations. Moving online does not mean you must omit presentations. Canvas and other technologies (e.g., FaceTime) are other options.
- Group work. Canvas has excellent functionality for the use of groups.
- Any changes you make should be communicated to your department head and with students through a revised syllabus. Be clear in communicating the changes to students by emailing them any revised documents and sharing them in your course Canvas site.
- Join the Keep Teaching: Resources for Higher Ed virtual community. Created by K-State Global Campus, this free community connects you to hundreds of educators and higher education professionals all over the world who are working toward academic continuity on their campuses.
- If you have questions, ask for help. There are instructional designers around campus who can provide you with excellent assistance in helping to set up your class, as well as giving ideas on how to make the experience better for students. Also, you likely have colleagues who have taught online. Don’t be afraid to ask them for help.
I have experience teaching an online course. How can I help?
- Be supportive. Help your colleagues as they consider all of the options available.
- Mentor others. You can provide answers to questions, assist in the use of Canvas, and put people at ease with your experience.
