Both planned and unplanned events may prevent classes and labs from meeting at their usual time and location. Schedule interruptions can create some difficulties, but they also present us with opportunities for growth, empowerment, and to develop a collective sense of resilience, and community.
This page contains recommendations for leveraging existing campus technology such as Canvas, Zoom, and Kaltura for instructors who need to facilitate their courses online.
The Center for Teaching and Learning is firmly committed to teaching excellence and will strive to support all instructors working to address this matter.
Get Started in Canvas
- Accessing Your Canvas Courses
- Copy content from one Canvas course into another course
- Copy a Resource from Another Course
- Import the Canvas Quick Start Template
- Direct Share in Canvas:
- Canvas Quick Start:
- Setting course access dates
- Publishing a course
Create and Grade Assignments
Resources for Adding New Assignments:
- Creating an Assignment in Canvas
- Creating a Video Assignment
- Creating a Group or Team Based Assignment
Grading Assignments:
Quizzes and Tests
Resources for Adding New Quizzes:
- Creating a Quiz
- Quiz settings
- Randomizing Questions
- Respondus LockDown Browser
- Respondus Test Question Software
Grading Quizzes:
Online Discussion
Resources for Adding a Discussion:
- Discussion Prompts and Instructions (Requires self-enrollment in CTL’s Online Teaching Foundations)
- Creating Discussions in Canvas
Facilitating and Grading Discussions:
- Facilitating Discussions
- From Purdue University’s Repository for Online Teaching and Learning
- Online Discussion Boards & Rubrics
- From the University of Illinois’ Center For Online Learning, Research and Service
Providing Videos & Materials on Canvas
- Types of Online Instructional Videos
- Preparing Instructional Videos
- Presenting Instructional Videos in Canvas
Communicating with Students
- Canvas Gradebook Communication Tool
- Create a Canvas Announcement
- Communicating through Speedgrader
- Online Office Hours
Teaching Synchronously Online
With Zoom, a synchronous meeting tool, you can meet, learn and collaborate from anywhere you have access to a mobile device, tablet, or computer and an Internet connection using multi-way audio and video, application sharing, and content display. Zoom sessions are recordable, so instructors can record sessions and those unable to attend the live meeting can playback the session at a later time.
Instructors and students can open live sessions directly from their Canvas courses for classes, virtual office hours, problem-solving sessions and more. Students can view and download recordings from Canvas courses as well.
- Teaching with Zoom FAQs
- Best Practices for Synchronous Online Course Sessions
- From Boston College
Finding Your Comfort Zone
The Center for Teaching and Learning offers a wide range of learning opportunities for learning and implementing new instructional approaches or developing skills with the use of instructional software. We have regularly scheduled workshops and “drop-in” learning opportunities. We also offer phone support for Canvas and other tools and individual consultations are available. Please visit the Center for Teaching and Learning's event and workshop registration site https://ctl.gosignmeup.com to view our scheduled events and workshop times.