When teaching remotely, carefully plan how course information will be delivered. It should be well-organized and easy to find from the student’s point of the view.
1. Organize course information in an identifiable structure
Information that is clearly and logically organized and explicitly structured is easier to locate, process, and integrate. Organize content into easily identifiable, self-contained sections, and design a structure that facilitates your students’ progress while scaffolding their exposure to new information.
Tools
- eClass’ ‘Add an activity or resource’ function enables the instructor to organize content materials through a variety of formats and resources.
- Moodle Preview allows instructors to experiment with these tools and create different layouts and structures until they find one that fits the needs of the course and students best.
- Emergency Remote Instruction Checklist (Preparing for Success section)
Resources
- Accessing York eClass
- Setting up your Course Format in eClass
- Adding content in eClass
- eClass Documentation on ‘Resources’
- eClass (YouTube) ‘How to layout a course’
- York University’s web page dedicated to copyright, ‘Copyright @ York’
- Experiment with things on eClass Preview
- Consult SPARK Faculty module on how to add SPARK modules to eClass
- Book a virtual library class for your students to learn how to find, evaluate and critically interact with information
- Additional support modules available through the Libraries
- Teaching Commons Webinar: What you see is (not necessarily) what they get (Professor Ron Ophir)
- Teaching Commons Webinar: Assessment Structures in eClass: How to use assessment and other eClass tools to guide your students through online learning (Professor Mary-Helen Armour)
- What Students Want: A Simple, Navigable LMS Course Design
Best practices
- Section your content by creating small blocks or units that do not require extensive scrolling from students to get through.
- Introduce simple hierarchies (e.g., bulleted lists with no more than three different types of bullets/levels).
2. Create a predictable schedule
Ensure that your course structure is informed by the time requirements needed to cover the material. Repeat the structure and schedule weekly to build familiarity.
Tools
- eClass’ Scheduler tools enables the instructor to set up, change, or cancel appointments with individual students or student groups.
- Most activities in eClass allow the instructor to set their availability, deadline, and several other scheduling-related properties.
Resources
Best practices
- Create and communicate a consistent timeframe for activity and assignment completion.
- Use reminders and other forms of communication to keep student progress on track.
- Build in flexible deadlines when possible, giving students a generous window of time to complete coursework.
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