University of Redlands

Academic Continuity Plan

University of Redlands strives to meet the needs of its growing student body by recognizing the ways in which teaching and learning with technology can enhance the educational experience for our students. Offering online courses is one way we are able to expand access to the quality education here at U of R.

Continuity planning is essential to the University’s operational effectiveness and ability to fulfill our mission of research, teaching and learning. The recent experience with the COVID-19 virus has underscored the importance of ensuring that we are prepared as an academic community to continue operations under any range of circumstances that may cause disruption.

Tools and Resources 

COMMUNICATION -

During a potentially disruptive event, it is important for instructors to establish and maintain open communication lines with students. 

Tips for effectively communicating with students online: 

  • Be consistent with the digital tool selected for online communications, and be sure to post this information in a prominent location, such as the Syllabus page in Canvas. 
  • Set expectations for how students should engage in the communication, including how they should contact the instructor. 
  • Set expectations with students for how quickly the instructor will respond to online communication.
  • Utilize Universal Design and promote accessibility.
COURSE MATERIALS

Email

Purpose: Quickly contact all enrolled students through email.

Email 

Courses Announcements

Courses Messages 

Self Service Class Roster

Live/Synchronous Discussion

Purpose: Communicate in real-time with students remotely.

There are many ways in which instructors can host lectures with their students, either synchronously or asynchronously, using digital tools provided by U of R.

To optimize your synchronous Teams lecture, we recommend: 

  • Use headphones or earbuds with a microphone to minimize surrounding noise and maximize your voice.
  • In your settings, opt to Mute Participants upon entry into the meeting. As the host of the meeting, instructors are able to mute and unmute participants at any point. 

Microsoft Teams (Both Text Based and Web Conferencing) 

Courses Chat (text-based instant messaging with a class) 

Self-Directed/Asynchronous

Purpose: Provide self-directed discussion activities.

Some courses rely on rich, classroom discussion to enhance students’ learning and peer engagement. Through Canvas Discussions, instructors can simulate an in-class discussion in a digital environment.

Tips for administering effective online discussions: 

  • Communicate clear guidelines in the prompt that establish your expectations for students’ contribution to the discussion. Many instructors choose to provide details about the writing style (e.g., formal/informal), number of posts, length (e.g., number of words), frequency, tone, and content (e.g., elements that constitute “value added”). 
  • Use threaded discussion responses to allow students to respond to one another multiple times in an organized way in each discussion board post. 
  • Be present in the discussion board by providing feedback and coaching to student responses.
  • Encourage students to participate in a variety of ways that work for the individual student, including text, audio, or video. 
  • Create questions and prompts that require complex thinking and application of ideas to avoid repetitive student responses. 

Courses Forums (facilitate class discussion)

Padlet Collaborating (facilitate student reflection and class comments via digital chalkboard Padlet)

Canvas Collaboration (facilitate collaborative content creation) Located within Canvas

Lectures or Readings

Purpose: Provide self-directed learning content.

For a virtual, asynchronous meeting, instructors can choose to record a lecture using the Personal Capture tool or upload a pre-existing video or audio file through Kaltura within the My Media in Moodle.  Within Kaltura, instructors have the ability to edit and enhance their lecture content with embedded media, text resources and quiz questions. 

To optimize your asynchronous Kaltura lecture, we recommend: 

  • Draft a script or an outline of your ideas for your lecture before recording. 
  • Use headphones or earbuds with a microphone to minimize surrounding noise and maximize your voice.
  • Record longer lectures into smaller, separate video lectures, organized by topic, idea, or skill.  By watching video lectures of less than 15 minutes each, learners are more likely to maintain focus and retain key information.
  • Include quiz questions throughout your lectures to engage learners and allow them to check for understanding as they watch. 
  • Upload PDF files, websites and media that support the content of your lecture to provide your learners a comprehensive and immersive learning experience.

Courses Lessons (create structured learning content, embed videos, and link to activities)

Course Design Assistance ( Pedagogy, Learning Canvas, TPACK, SAMR Model, OER and Universal Design) 

One Drive (post files, such as PowerPoint or PDF files)

Library Resources & Reserves 

PowerPoint Recording using Kaltura (record a lecture and post to Courses)

Web Conference Recording (use Teams and then uploading to Kaltura ; be sure to include the transcriptions and closed-captions for all videos)

ASSESSMENT

Papers, Quizzes, or Tests

Purpose: Assess student learning.

Instructors may leverage Canvas tools to formatively and summatively assess student learning.  For a low-stakes assessment of student learning, instructors may use the Assignments tool in Canvas to collect student work.  Instructors can then us Feedback Tool to make annotations and comments on students work, as well as provide rich feedback in written, audio, or video format.  For high-stakes assessment of student learning, instructors can create exams using the Quizzes tool in Canvas. 

Tips for administering effective exams online: 

  • Create complex questions that require deep, analytical thinking skills to complete.
  • Use time limits for the exam availability to maintain students’ focus during the exam.
  • Allow students multiple attempts (e.g., 2) to allow for troubles with internet connectivity.
  • Randomize the questions of a quiz to maximize academic integrity.

Courses Assignments (Assign, receive, and grade student papers)

Courses Tests & Quizzes (Schedule and grade online exams or quizzes)

Courses Gradebook (Share grades and feedback on student performance)

SOFTWARE

Software

Purpose: Tools for student to complete assignments off campus.

Office 365 (Office suite of products)

SPSS (e-mail with your Redlands.edu account to receive access)

ESRI (How to access ArcPro and ArcOnline)

Adobe CC (Temporary access to the adobe suite)

Training

CONSULTATIONS

Schedule a Consultation

Technology and Learning Team (All schools for Courses, Kaltura, and more)

DOCUMENTATION

Faculty Guides

Courses

Kaltura

One Drive

Teams

Contact

General Inquiries 

E: acits@redlands.edu

 

Instructional Designer
 909.748.8965
 909.748.8063
 iyan_sandri@redlands.edu