Important Notice

Page last updated: 03/30/20 – 4:00PM

Be sure to check this page regularly as it will be periodically updated. Stay informed about the latest resources, training, and information.

First things first: you can do this! You are not alone—we are in this together.

Welcome to the Remote Teaching Resources Hub, a collaborative effort between teams and individuals on campus who are working together to help you be successful as you transition your course to remote or online teaching.

​Teaching during times of potential disruption requires creative and flexible thinking about how instructors can support students in achieving the learning outcomes of the course despite the disruption of regular classroom meetings and schedules. This website offers suggestions to faculty who seek to continue offering a student-centered learning experience in a remote or online learning environment.

The sudden jump into teaching remotely may feel unfamiliar and frustrating. There will always be hiccups and challenges. Times of disruption are, by their nature, disruptive and everyone expects that. Be willing to make mistakes and switch tactics if something isn't working. While you might not be able to teach something exactly the way you imagined, If you stay focused on your students—being responsive to their needs, understanding when they experience challenges, and compassionate for the difficult times we find ourselves in—then your students will have every opportunity for success, through your guidance and their tenacity.

Below, you’ll find services and resources to help you go remote or online. Please check in often!

Remote Teaching:

Offering a fully in-person course through a digital environment while maintaining the approach to teaching and design initially established for the course. Remote teaching is about making the smallest amount of change to both course materials and the student experience to make it quickly viable in a digital environment.

Example: moving an in-person class to zoom using the same or a similar schedule and format, such as lecture.

Online Teaching:

Courses developed intentionally for digital learning environments. Online courses are offered primarily through asynchronous approaches, with occasional--often optional--synchronous (live) sessions available. Online teaching happens in courses that have been designed through online learning theories, pedagogies, and practices unique to online environments.

Example: a course designed, developed, and delivered exclusively through Canvas, with all course materials developed in advance.

If you aren’t sure where to start, stick with what is comfortable, and what will be least disruptive to you and your students. The guides below, particularly those on Zoom and Canvas, will help you get things going.

There are two options for instructors to facilitate class sessions remotely:

  1. Synchronous: Instructors and students gather at the same time and interact in "real time" with a very short or "near-real time" exchange between instructors and students.
  2. Asynchronous: Instructors prepare course materials for students in advance of students' access. Students may access the course materials at a time of their choosing and will interact with each over a longer period of time.

You may choose to engage students synchronously or asynchronously depending on your level of comfort, your students’ comfort, and what is best for your course.

You have many tools at your disposal to deliver your class synchronously or asynchronously. While synchronous tools can help you easily replicate what you do in the regular classroom, there might be content or activities that are better left in an asynchronous format, such as readings or discussions. Consider balancing your synchronous and asynchronous strategies as you move forward.

Also keep in mind that many students may not have computers or internet access. Rather, they may be compelled to access your course using their phones. In this case, video content may be inconsistent and choppy and may also carry with it data charges for the student.

Running into trouble? Contact one of these friendly service desks:

Canvas Tech Support

Email: support@instructure.com

Phone: 1-833-564-8141(Faculty)

Phone: 1-855-631-2250 (Students)

*Click ‘Help’ from within Canvas to access email address, chat, and phone numbers

Office of Information Technology Service Desk

Website: https://www.ucdenver.edu/offices/office-of-information-technology/get-help (Phone/Email/Chat)

Email: oit-servicedesk@ucdenver.edu

Phone: 303-724-4357 (or 4-HELP)