Faculty Quick-talks for Online Learning & Teaching

Every other Tuesday, 3:00-3:30pm. Register for upcoming topics on the YC flex workshop website.

For participants, or those who can't attend but have interest in the topics, see the summaries and hyperlinked resources archived below. Please let me know if I can help support you in putting any of the ideas or examples into your online courses.

Quick-talk #1: Modules tune-up

I set up the session recording below to allow for commenting at any point during the video so those watching later can contribute an idea, ask a question, or simply let us know they learned something new. 😊

Instructor Guides for Modules
Using requirements in Modules
CVC Course Design Resources: modules play a large part in alignment to A1, A4, A5, and A7.

Quick-talk #2: Crowdsource from Canvas Commons

I forgot to record this session. ;)

Since there's no recording I'll provide a short summary and a link to the resource shared during the workshop.

Canvas Commons is available in the global navigation when you're logged into your Canvas account. It has over 230,000 items K-16 so look for the Filter icon and use key words to narrow search results. You can search for course templates, modules, or even single Canvas pages. Clicking on a resource gives you the option to preview the components and then you can choose whether to import/download, or mark it as a favorite to return to later.

Preview may not show you the full details: this happens with html buttons and other html design features like tabs. The buttons and tab titles will just look like hyperlinked text in the preview but you'll see the style once it's imported and you view it as a page.
When you import/download you get everything that is in the resource, you can't pick and choose within a resource. So, you want to import it into a Sandbox (manually created blank Canvas shell) and then delete what you don't want to use, adapt what you do want to use to fit your context, etc.
From your Sandbox you can use the 3 dots to "Copy to" any module, page, etc. into your live Canvas courses.
Look for copyright or Creative Commons license types in the upper right; if you want to use a resource that is copyrighted you need to reach out to the creator for permission.

I've compiled some example templates on this Commons resource page. The course templates tend to have a sample orientation module and an example layout for a content unit module. They have been created by folks familiar with what makes pages, etc. accessible to students with disabilities. If you find your own resources in Commons be sure to look for accessibility features such as proper headings, etc. Be wary of using pages with a lot of buttons, especially if they're placed inside "invisible" tables for formatting. This can be problematic.

Yuba College resources include a set of Literacy modules from the Library and a page you can put in your course to encourage students to use the Writing and Language Development Center for help.
If you use my pages with tabs - or anything from Commons - and you "break" the page. Don't worry! It's part of the learning experience. Just let me know and we'll work on getting it looking right together.

Quick-talk #3: Student Surveys in Canvas

When and why would you create and administer surveys?

OEI Rubric Criterion A11: Anonymous Student Feedback
OEI Rubric Criterion C8: Self-assessment with feedback

Here's a short video demonstration of student surveys in action. Additionally, check out the Canvas Commons resource page in the section above to look for surveys you can adapt to your needs and interests.

Participate in the survey question "vote"

Guides and technical help:

How to create a survey in a course

How to view survey results

A couple useful tools in Canvas related to surveys include adding notes to the gradebook and filtering your inbox to show submission comments.

How do I use the Notes column in the gradebook?

How do I reply to Submission Comments in the Inbox?

Quick-talk #4: Rubrics in Canvas

I set up the session recording below to allow for commenting at any point during the video so those watching later can contribute an idea, ask a question, or simply let us know they learned something new. 😊

Rubrics Overview (4.5 minute Canvas tutorial video)
CVC Resources page about Rubrics (OEI criterion C5)
Rubrics can your students' best work (3.5 minute video from Helen Graves)

Quick-talk #5: Canvas Groups for Student Interactions

Unfortunately I was out sick for this workshop. As an alternative to the live discussion session, we had an asynchronous discussion. Please check it out to see the resources provided and consider participants' responses.

Quick-talk #6: Course Design Resources Extravaganza

Each slide in this Google presentation provides a set of resources to explore via the hyperlinks.

Quick-talk #7: Self-assessment & POCR (peer online course review)

Starting in Spring 2023 the DE committee's course review ("validation") process will be changing slightly to include a new pre-review of courses before the first official review begins. The pre-review looks at approximately 50% of the OEI Rubric criteria; the criteria fit into 3 key elements of quality online teaching and learning.

There is an active teacher in the course - through communication, teaching, and design.
Students can navigate the course, access materials to learn, and complete assignments that provide practice and lead to evidence of outcomes.
There is a class community: students learn with and interact with each other on a regular, predictable basis.

Using the Google Slides presentation below, this quick-talk discussion included a walk-through of the criteria included in the pre-review with an eye on self-assessing one's own course. Additional information and faculty examples of what the criteria look like implemented in a course are available through the hyperlinks on the slides.

Quick-talk #8: Humanizing Online Learning

In the final quick-talk of the semester we discussed the framework for creating a Humanized Online Course, and tools that can help with the implementation of humanizing principles and strategies.

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