Now that Eastern Washington University faculty members have several weeks of remote teaching under their belts, many are eager to prepare for the next steps. EWU announced on Tuesday that it will follow an “online-first, maximum flexibility” instructional model for fall 2020. Most courses will be offered online, while face-to-face instruction will be allowed for certain classes.
To help faculty prepare, Instructional Technology and Design will partner with the Faculty Commons to offer focused development sessions in four major areas: course design, accessibility, assessment and engagement. Each Zoom session will last approximately one hour and is designed to assist faculty members as they plan for the summer and fall sessions, while also being applicable to all courses, whether in-person or online.
The workshops are scheduled for Thursdays from 2-3 p.m. Faculty should be on the lookout for a message from instructionaltech@ewu.edu with announcements for each week’s session and the registration link. Below is a description of each:
- Session 1: Designing Your Online Course—Thursday, May 7, 2-3 p.m.
In this session learn about designing an online course using the Backwards Design Model. From your course introduction and overview to objectives, assessments, instructional materials and learning activities, investigate best practices in designing your online course.
- Session 2: Developing Your Online Course Using Canvas—Thursday, May 14, 2-3 p.m.
Building from Session 1, Designing Your Online Course, start to use the Canvas Learning Management System to implement your course design in a manner that invites student engagement, interaction and participation.
- Session 3: Improving Accessibility—Thursday, May 21, 2-3 p.m.
Improving access to your course is important for all students. This session focuses on creating and improving accessible course materials and using technology available in Canvas to verify accessibility.
- Session 4: Assessments—Thursday, May 28, 2-3 p.m.
Creating assessments that are challenging, pedagogically sound and maintain academic integrity takes effort. Join us for a dive into designing and creating assessments that can verify learning has taken place. Also, learn about using rubrics and applying them to student work in Canvas.
- Session 5: Increasing Student Engagement—Thursday, June 4, 2-3 p.m.
Engagement and interaction with and between students are important aspects of online learning. This session looks at designing and developing engaging assignments and using the discussion board to encourage student-student, student-material and student-instructor engagement, as well as some of the technologies you can employ to achieve these interactions.
- Session 6: TBA—Thursday, June 11, 2-3 p.m.
Watch for an announcement from instructionaltech@ewu.edu for details.
EWU will offer small stipends for faculty members who complete the development sessions AND work with the Instructional Technology and Design team to design their upcoming online classes. Each class will go through a quality assurance check prior to receiving stipends.
“I hope you will join us in the development sessions and work with us to improve upon what you have already done,” says James Johnson, senior director of Eastern Online and Instructional Technology and Design. “Thank you for the tremendous effort you have put into pivoting to remote teaching.”
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