Please visit TEACHREMOTE.DARTMOUTH.EDU for updated guides and resources for the tools and techniques needed to teach students at remote locations.
In the event of an emergency situation caused by any number of factors, your ability to continue your class in the manner that you’ve planned may be impacted. This guide helps you find alternatives for these situations. Please contact learning.design.tech@dartmouth.edu for help and more information!
General Pre-Emergency Planning Tips
- Download student contact information from Banner should you need to get in touch with your students.
- At the beginning of the term/semester, send your students a welcome email that includes your contact information. Suggest that they hold on to the message until the end of the course in case they need to get in contact with you.
- Remind students to download or print a copy of the syllabus.
- Back up copies of any prepared teaching materials prior to the start of the term/semester in case you are unable to access the files on the Dartmouth network.
How can I offer synchronous lectures/meetings for my students with recordings?
Zoom is a web-based video conferencing application available at no cost to all Dartmouth faculty, staff and students. With Zoom you can connect and collaborate online with anyone, anytime, anywhere. To activate your Zoom account, go to: https://dartmouth.zoom.us
Select the "sign in" button and claim your account using your NetID and password. Zoom users can use in-meeting features to work on projects, share content and engage in live discussions. You can record Zoom sessions locally or in the cloud, and then upload your Zoom recordings to Canvas for students to view on demand.
You will need:
- Device with a good internet connection
- Headphones or earbuds (optional)
- Microphone (a separate microphone can be better than your device’s built in if possible)
- Web camera (optional, preferred for face-to-face contact)
A few tips and tricks:
- As host of the Zoom meeting, you can mute participants when their background noise becomes distracting
- If you would like to run Zoom from a classroom in order to allow students to connect from home, please contact Classroom Technology Services for assistance.
How can I pre-record asynchronous lectures and videos for my students?
Kaltura Capture allows you to record your voice and screen, complete some easy edits, and upload your video to a place where students can view in Canvas.
A few tips and tricks:
- Consider signing into My Media in Canvas and downloading the capture tool for a short test to see if it works for you BEFORE an emergency situation occurs.
- Consider using a microphone if at all possible to increase sound quality. One option many people will use is pairing an existing bluetooth or wired headset you might have for your phone with your computer. Jones Media Center also loans USB headset and tabletop microphones.
- Kaltura has a tool to auto-create captions, but you should proofread these once they have been created.
- Some instructors draft scripts before recording, others might refer to a brief outline, or to try a few takes before completing a recording with which they are happy.
How can I collect student assignments digitally?
Canvas Assignments is a feature used to collect assignments digitally, provide students feedback, and share student grades. This is widely used by faculty at Dartmouth to collect papers and other digital projects.
How can I share student grades confidentially and digitally?
Canvas also allows for you to communicate individual grades, category grades, and total grades with students.This is facilitated by the Canvas grade book.
How can I communicate updates, changes, and other relevant information to my students?
LDT recommends using the Canvas Announcements feature when you need to communicate with your class. With this feature, you also have the option to communicate with individual sections within a combined section course. Canvas Announcements will email the students and include a copy of the announcement on your course site. Alternately, you can get the student roster with emails from Banner Student and use your Dartmouth email to communicate with your students.
How can I facilitate exams, quizzes, or tests digitally with my students?
Canvas has a fairly capable Quizzes feature that allows instructors to author multiple choice and open ended questions fairly easily. It also allows support for both matching and fill in the blank question types. The options available within Quizzes allow you to control when each is available, what is released to students, analyze how students perform by question, and see general information about the student’s performance on the assessment (time to complete, etc.). Once a Quiz is published, there is also a feature enabling you to provide extra time and other accommodations that might be in place for specific students via Student Accessibility Services.