Quick Reference Guide for Emergency Remote Teaching
Fort Hays State University has many resources to help faculty and students work remotely during an emergency closure. Below you will find the necessary resources to help you modify your teaching to work in an online format while still achieving your planned learning objectives.
Tips for effectively communicating with your students online:
As you prepare for the changes to your courses, consider the impact the circumstances surrounding an emergency closure may have on students’ ability to meet learning expectations. Moving a class online that was face-to-face could potentially be a major change to students and might disrupt their workflow. Be ready to handle requests for extensions or accommodations.
- Be present in the online environment. It’s absolutely crucial that you let your students know you are online and available to them as they were very used to meeting in person each day.
- Be consistent with the digital tools selected for online communications. Be sure to post this information in a prominent location.
- Set realistic expectations for how students should engage in the communication, including your preferred contact methods and how often they should communicate with peers in the online environment.
- The fastest and easiest way to communicate with your students is to send out an Announcement in Blackboard.
- It’s important to ask your students to modify their Notification Settings within Blackboard so they can receive any announcements in their email.
Essentials for Remote Learning
If you normally teach in a face-to-face environment and are not familiar with online teaching, the following resources are a great place to start.
Connect Synchronously Using Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (Recommended)*
For students who are used to seeing you, and one another, in class everyday moving online is going to be an adjustment. Even if you plan to shift to more asynchronous activities it will be a good idea to use Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate to help students stay connected. In the coming weeks students might feel a sense of isolation and having synchronous sessions will not only help students engage with your classes, it will also help them feel more motivated and connected.
Zoom Support
You can use your free Zoom account by going to our FHSU Zoom page and signing in with your FHSU ID and password for meetings up to 300 participants.
Zoom offers 24/7 live support. You will find support in the upper-right-hand section of your account page or via the blue 'Help' button on the bottom-right-hand side of your screen. We encourage you to bookmark Zoom Support.
Connect Asynchronously by Creating a Class Discussion with Yellowdig, Blackboard Discussion Boards, Packback, or VoiceThread
Create a virtual classroom discussion by using Yellowdig, Blackboard Discussion Boards, Packback, or VoiceThread. This is the best way for students and instructors to discuss class assignments and content asynchronously. You can also create groups in both Blackboard and Yellowdig for working on group assignments and projects virtually.
Record Short Lectures or Use Video/Audio in Your Course
Recording lecture videos or screen share presentations is an excellent way to show presence in an online environment. You can do this with VidGrid. VidGrid is available through our university license for you to use. To register for a VidGrid account, please follow this link: Register for a VidGrid Account
VidGrid Support
VidGrid offers live support M-F from 9am to 5pm CST. You can find a blue chat button in the bottom-right-hand corner of your account page or the 'Help' link at the top-right-hand corner of the page. We encourage you to bookmark the VidGrid Help Center to utilize their support options.
- You can watch video tutorials on most VidGrid features
- Live Chat or email at support@vidgrid.com
Submitting and Grading Assignments Online
If your assignments were completed in a face-to-face setting, you will now need to move any future assignments to Blackboard. Creating assignments in Blackboard is easy and below you will find tutorials and guides to help you. Some students might rely on their mobile phones to complete and submit assignments. This can easily be done by using the Blackboard Student app.
- You can use Qwickly to send emails, post announcements, and grade assignments in one place. The Qwickly link is located within Blackboard on the Navigation panel found on the left side of the screen. Then, click on the Tools.
- *IMPORTANT: Qwickly works best in Firefox
Using Online Quizzes and Exams in Blackboard
Any exams and quizzes will need to be transitioned to online using Blackboard tests. The links below will help guide you in creating your exams and quizzes in Blackboard. By doing this, Blackboard can automatically grade your tests for you, or you can manually grade them.
If you are concerned about losing academic integrity with online exams, you can enable Respondus Monitor or Honorlock in your course through Blackboard. Both are fully-automated proctoring systems that FHSU provides for online exams.
Strategies to Discourage Cheating on Exams:
- Create multiple choice exams in Blackboard: create a pool of questions that can be randomized so students all get different versions of the test and then limit timing to avoid extensive Googling activity.
- Think of other ways to assess students where appropriate; using papers, long form essays, and projects.
- Use Respondus Monitor: it is not perfect but will act as a deterrent for Blackboard based courses. We are putting together tutorials for instructors and students.
- Get creative: for example, if you were going to monitor comprehensive exams with a relatively small number of students by placing them in a room and watching them, perhaps you could provide them a Zoom link and watch that way.
Accessibility
It’s important to remember online accessibility while making this transition. Blackboard has an integrated accessibility checker that we have enabled called Blackboard Ally. Ally will automatically check your course content for accessibility issues and let you know how to fix them. For more information on Blackboard Ally, please follow the tutorial below. For more information on how to use VidGrid to caption your videos, follow the link below.
For more information on technology resources and tips for working remotely, follow the Technology Services webpage.
How to Reach Us
Hammond Hall, Second Floor
Phone: 785-628-4194
Fax: 785-628-4043
Hours:
Monday-Friday: 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Staff: Teaching Innovation and Learning Technologies Staff
Email: TigerLearn@fhsu.edu
For Blackboard Support:
Phone: 785-628-5275