Your syllabus is one of the most essential parts of your course, and as such it’s vitally important that it be accessible to all of your students. Of course, it’s one thing to understand the necessity of accessibility and quite another to actually know the nuts and bolts of how to execute it. That’s why[…]
One of the best ways to learn new teaching techniques, stay abreast of the latest research in your field and to be “in-the-know” about the latest tech is to talk to people in your field or who those who work in higher education more broadly. This kind of professional networking often takes place at conferences[…]
With instruction being online for the summer and online and hybrid for the fall, it’s never been more important to create video content for your students. Of course, for those who don’t usually create videos for their courses, this may not be a straightforward process. You may not like appearing on camera, be unsure of[…]
Emails are often an overlooked area for accessibility but because they are commonly the primary means (aside from Bb course announcements) of communication with students, it’s critical to make sure that accessibility best practices are also applied to emails. What does that mean? We’ll show you! Most instructors are going to be using Outlook when[…]
Looking to move your in person course online? Hoping to build out some more content for your online or hybrid courses? There are lots of helpful resources out there that can help make the process a little easier. One of these resources is MERLOT. We’ll explain what MERLOT is, how to use it, and why[…]
It’s that time of year again, the weather is getting warmer, the flowers and blooming and… you’re inside grading. Ah, yes, the end of the semester, a time of great excitement but also of great stress because there’s just SO MUCH GRADING. (You can do it, just hang in there!) While this term is ending[…]
If you are teaching an online course at College of DuPage this summer, you will need to ensure that you’re ready for the challenges of online instruction– there are some key differences from in-person instruction. We’ve got instructions on our preparation process below. We’re also asking that instructors prepare for potential disruptions in our usual[…]
Many faculty have been asking about different ways to assess student learning as we approach the end of the academic year. You might want some new, fresh ideas because your traditional final won’t work well in Blackboard, or because the term paper you originally assigned seems like a heavy lift for students this semester, or[…]
Connecting with students through synchronous sessions or recorded lectures can be great, but not all solutions are created equally. Some tools may have issues with security (Zoom, ahem) or may have a steeper learning curve for users. If you already have an online conferencing tool you like, great! Keep using it! But if you’re in[…]
It seems simple enough. You assign something and students email you their work. However, as anyone who has ever gotten the alert that their inbox is reaching capacity can tell you, what seems simple on the surface can rapidly become overwhelming to manage. To save your inbox space (and your sanity), it’s easier in the[…]