{"id":688,"date":"2020-06-24T08:33:47","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T16:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/?page_id=688"},"modified":"2025-09-08T14:04:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T22:04:18","slug":"choose-the-right-tools","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/scholars.spu.edu\/etm\/choose-the-right-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"Choose the right tools."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do I…?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set up my classroom<\/a> | Communicate with students<\/a> | Record my lectures<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hold lectures online<\/a> | Provide course Materials<\/a> | Have students submit work<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facilitate discussions<\/a> | Facilitate group work<\/a> | Facilitate student presentations<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facilitate peer review<\/a> | Create quizzes<\/a> | Do grading<\/a> | Provide students with feedback<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This next part is tricky.  You need to keep the online environment and the tools available to you in mind, while at the same time keeping your goals in mind.  You need to have a blueprint for your course, but you have to design this blueprint so that it works within and takes full advantage of the online environment and its tools.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list below will help you think through this. Note that while this list compares elements of face-to-face teaching to elements of online teaching, simply transferring over your content is not what we\u2019re advising.  Simply transferring your face-to-face content and activities over is unlikely to be highly successful\u2014rethinking your pedagogy for the new environment in which you\u2019re teaching is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I\u2026? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This list is inspired by a list on Wheaton College\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a) Set up my classroom<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The tool we have that most resembles your classroom is your course\u2019s Canvas homepage.  This is the first thing students will see when they log into your course and it\u2019s important to set a good atmosphere right from the beginning.  Super-clear instructions plus a warm welcome are essentials here.  A nice image or two also helps to set the tone of the course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also see the suggested homepage layout in ETM\u2019s Remote Teaching Template. (For instructions on how to import this template into your course, see number eight on the Canvas page<\/a> of our website.)  We suggest using this layout because having a consistent approach to presenting basic course information will reduce student frustration.  Let students be challenged by your course\u2019s content, not by having to hunt for the syllabus or other information!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ETM Canvas Guide<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ETM Course Home Page<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

b) Communicate with students<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In a face-to-face classroom you can talk to students as a class, as a small group, or one-to-one.  You can do similar things using Canvas.  When you post a Canvas announcement, it will appear in \u201cAnnouncements\u201d and some students will receive it via email (depending how they have their settings set up).  You can also email the whole class, a group of students, or individual students through Canvas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear communication is key in online learning.  Try to anticipate what your students\u2019 questions will be before you hit send or post.  Clear communication can reduce the number of emails that you get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t message students either too little or too often.  You need to find a balance.  If they get too many announcements and emails, they might get overwhelmed and stop paying attention, but they do need regular contact to know that you\u2019re present in the course and that you\u2019re paying attention to what is going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let students know when they can expect to hear back from you.  Will you get back to them the same day?  Or within two days?  Let them know so that they don\u2019t sit there clicking refresh and hoping for an email that may not be coming for another 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the online student panel held in March, 2020, a consistent message from all of the panelists was to keep all course communication in Canvas.  Sending instructions, feedback, and announcements using other means creates a lot more confusion and cognitive overhead.  So\u2026keep it all in Canvas!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, to keep using our building analogy, include clear signage so students can figure out how to get where they want to go.  It\u2019s not much use to build a beautiful new hospital but forget to put up the signs for the ER!  Similarly, you need to create signs for your students so that they can find their way around your course.  Think about where they enter the course (your homepage) and how they\u2019ll navigate to the different pages you\u2019ve created.  A hint: putting everything (files, assignments, discussions, etc.) into weekly modules really helps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s information on contacting students through Canvas.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another great way to keep in touch with students is to create a discussion forum on the homepage where students can post questions they have and issues that have come up. Here’s our guide on discussions in Canvas.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, remember to set up virtual office hours with your students.\u00a0 You can hold your office hours using Teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c) Record my lectures (and keep them to seven minutes!)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Digression:  Synchronous and asynchronous learning.<\/strong>  As a quick reminder, synchronous learning is when you and your students meet at the same time.  Asynchronous is when you don\u2019t.  This webpage<\/a> lays out some of the advantages and disadvantages of the two.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key thing to remember when recording lectures is to keep them short, ideally under seven minutes.  If you have a lot to say, then break it up into several seven-minute videos. The reason for this is that, unless you\u2019re extraordinarily talented at delivering and producing video lectures, your students\u2019 minds are very likely to wander after about seven minutes.  If you\u2019re used to lecturing for 50 minutes or more, try to condense what you\u2019re saying and divide it into smaller videos, provide additional input via written material, or create additional activities that provide opportunities for students learn the material more deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SPU-supported tool for recording video is Panopto.  (It is possible to record video using Canvas\u2019s own video recorder or upload videos directly into Canvas, but each Canvas course has a limited storage capacity. Video recorded in this way is also hard to edit or caption, so Panopto is what we recommend.) Panopto can record just you, just your screen, or both you and your screen. Another benefit of using Panopto is its search function which allows you to search for a specific word spoken in the videos or slides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re not terribly fond of seeing yourself on video, consider making a screencast.  Hearing your voice will add a personal touch to your course, and you don\u2019t have to worry about what you look like on the screen.  If, however, your course is largely asynchronous, we do recommend occasionally including video of yourself as seeing you on video will help your students feel more connected.  Having a video of yourself in your welcome section is especially encouraged as it helps you to make personal connection with your students at the outset of the course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When recording videos about concepts, we advise not including information specific to this iteration of your class in videos that you could reuse.  Leave out things like specific due dates and deadlines so that you can use those videos again in the future. If you can separate out videos in the course that might be stable for a few years from videos tied to a particular cohort you can save yourself a lot of work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a quick reminder, here’s our guide to using Panopto<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

d) Hold lectures online<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the context of remote teaching, many faculty have held their classes over Teams (usually recording them for students who couldn\u2019t make a particular session). We\u2019re still analyzing the feedback from students and faculty about this, but there are a couple of perspectives that we\u2019re holding in tension as we reflect on this. Lecturing and holding class as normally scheduled but held online has helped faculty and students continue to teach and learn. It has provided a degree of a much-needed sense of community and continuity. It is somewhat familiar for faculty used to teaching face-to-face. However, ‘Zoom fatigue’ is a real thing for both faculty and students, and without additional structures to support learning, it may be difficult for students to take in an online lecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SPU\u2019s experience in the past quarter is also in tension with decades of research in online learning which strongly steers faculty towards the effectiveness of asynchronous methods of lecturing online, with synchronous elements being flexibly scheduled, limited in number, and carefully chosen to develop community or particular learning experiences. However, for most SPU students, learning online has not been their choice, and they may crave the familiarity of synchronous sessions. If I were to include a synchronous element in an existing time-scheduled class, I would do it once a week, have it be required, and prioritize the interactive elements of my teaching for that time \u2013 discussion, communal problem solving, student-led activities, or worked examples with Q&A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things to think about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n