Reading Time: 2 minutes“And the days went by like paper in the windEverything changed then changed again” – Tom Petty, “To Find A Friend” So, you’ve been teaching remotely for a week because of COVID-19. You thought you were halfway through, and then you got the latest news: We’re doing this for the rest of the semester. (And if you’re hearing this for the first time…surprise?) Whether you’re excited or apprehensive about the rest of the semester, know that you’re not alone. The CTL is here for you, and we’re going to help however we can. We’ll be adding to the Getting Started with Remote Learning course, and we’ll keep…
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Remote Learning: The Next Level
Reading Time: 2 minutesOnce you’ve worked through the tools we talked about in Remote Learning: The Basics, you’re ready for the next step. These items will enhance your course – they make content easier to find for students, grading easier for you, and improve accessibility in your videos. Linking Canvas content together We’re going to start off with one of the coolest features in Canvas: linking to items within the course from a page, discussion, announcement, or anywhere else that the Rich Content Editor is used. This is especially helpful if you’re sending an announcement out to students where you reference a page or assignment – you can link directly to…
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Best Practices for Conducting a Synchronous Session
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhile synchronous sessions can function similar to class sessions (you get to verbally communicate with all your students at once), there are some considerations you should make. From coming into the session with a plan to developing a method for student interaction, these items will help your sessions run smoothly. Prepare and plan ahead Are you planning on going through a presentation? Showing some other program or document via screen share? Have all of those items ready so it’s a simple toggle to the resource. You won’t have to sort through files for folders to find what you need. Consider also having an outline on what you…
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Remote Learning: The Basics
Reading Time: 3 minutesYou’ve survived the first couple days of teaching remotely because of COVID-19 – congratulations! We’re going to use this post to take a pause and review some of the methods that are most helpful for transitioning online. These are the things that will make your course functional. Your course will survive. And later in this transitioning online series, we’ll be covering items that will slowly take you from surviving to thriving. But for now, we’re starting small. If you haven’t checked out the Getting Started with Remote Learning course in Canvas, please do so. We walk through these tips plus best practices, FAQs, and ways to get…
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Using Google Forms for Proctor Registration
Reading Time: 3 minutesWith our sudden pivot to online learning, you may have an upcoming exam where you want to assign proctors. You’ll need to collect some information (e.g., email addresses so you can send proctoring information), and Google Forms is an easy and organized way to collect that data. Dr. McClain created a Google form for this purpose and shared it with the CTL. We’re going to look at how to create the form, add items, preview the form, share the form with your students, view responses, and send information to proctors. Creating the form and adding items This form is simple to create – it’s four short-answer questions…
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Canvas Fellow Interview: Megan Brown
Reading Time: 9 minutesToday we’re debuting the second installment in our Canvas Fellow interview series. We joined Dr. Megan Brown from the School of Education for this chat. Check out the recording or read the transcript below. Lauren Eissler: Today I’m talking with Megan Brown from the School of Education and one of our Canvas Fellows. Megan, thank you so much for chatting today. Megan Brown: Of course. Lauren: So to start off, can you please briefly describe your role here at Cedarville? Megan: So I’m an assistant professor of education, I specifically teach the literacy courses, children’s literature, the methods courses. I also teach some special education courses as…
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Canvas Fellow Interview: Aleda Chen
Reading Time: 7 minutesToday we’re introducing a new feature for Focus – interviews with our Canvas Fellows. We joined Dr. Aleda Chen from the School of Pharmacy for our first chat. Check out the recording or read the transcript below. Lauren Eissler: Today I’m talking with Aleda Chen from the School of Pharmacy and one of our Canvas Fellows. Aleda, thank you so much for chatting with me today. Aleda Chen: I’m happy to chat with you. Lauren: So first of all, can you please describe your role here at Cedarville. Aleda: Yes, so I am the assistant dean in the School of Pharmacy, and within the School of Pharmacy…
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How to Use Google Drive More Efficiently with Drive Priority
Reading Time: 3 minutesIf you’re anything like me, you use Google Drive pretty extensively to keep your work organized. Drive is so easy and convenient to use – it doesn’t matter where I am or what device I use. I can always access my files. The tricky part about using a system that extensively is it eventually can take more time to find the file you need. With Drive, the search feature does work well to help you find what you need. But Google has introduced two features that make using Drive even easier: Quick Access and Priority. Quick Access Google Drive now shows a banner of files at the…
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Three Tips to Improve Accessibility in Your Course
Reading Time: 2 minutesLet’s make sure we all start on the same page by defining our terms. When talking about “accessibility” related to the web or course materials, it’s easy to think about it in a context of screen readers and disability accommodations. But it’s more than that. According to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, accessibility means that products are not only designed in a way that people with disabilities can use them but also people who have “situational limitations” (being in a location where they cannot use their device as they typically would) or “temporary disabilities” (an injury that affects how they handle their devices). Today we’re going to…
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The Future of Education: Mobile Learning in Higher Ed
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen I started working on this post, I downloaded a PDF to my MacBook. I read a bit of it in my office before heading over to an event. I AirDropped the PDF to my iPad to continue reading and start doing some annotating using GoodNotes. On my way home, I asked Siri to record some notes that I wanted to include in this post. The next morning, I AirDropped my notes to the MacBook, pulled up the annotated PDF on my iPad, and began typing. Then I stopped and thought: I did all of this without thinking. Like it was normal. I was so overwhelmed with…