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Crafting Effective Multiple Choice Questions

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Ethical Considerations of Using GenAI Tools

Generative AI (GenAI) tools are becoming increasingly popular for a wide variety of uses, including in classrooms. Whether you’re generating images, building slides, or creating summaries…
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Updates to Digital Accessibility Regulations

You may have heard that recently, there have been updates to regulations implementing Title II of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). These updates impact almost…
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Online Teaching and Learning Definitions

You may hear different terminology as you begin online teaching. The following are some working definitions from the University of Michigan Registrar to help differentiate the…
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Extended Reality and Accessibility

Extended Reality (XR) Extended Reality (XR) allows learners to reach beyond the classroom into another setting through 360 videos and other simulations that can be used…
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Current Events: Online Proctoring

The rapid shift to emergency remote instruction during COVID-19 left many instructors questioning how best to assess students, even well after classes resumed. Concerns about academic…
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Roundup on Research: Community of Inquiry

The Roundup on Research series is intended for faculty and staff who are interested in learning more about the theories, frameworks, and research in online and…
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NameCoach – A New Tool for Canvas

A Tool for Building Community in the Classroom NameCoach is a new tool introduced in Canvas in Fall 2021. It allows students and instructors to record…
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Online Course Planning Blueprint

If you do any search for “online course design” or read any book on online design, just about every resource emphasizes the importance of planning for…
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Inclusive teaching

The basics Promoting inclusion and supporting a diverse student body is a core responsibility of instructors. The fulfillment  of that responsibility is dependent on an instructor’s…
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Creating Authentic Assessments

Multiple choice questions often can’t tell an instructor everything they want to know about students’ learning. Thinking about what you, as an instructor, want to measure…
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Using Collaborative Reading Tools

We know students may struggle to engage with assigned readings. To help remedy this, social annotation tools offer collaborative opportunities for reading, highlighting, and discussing texts…
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A woman takes notes while watching an online lecture
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Inclusive Teaching

For many students, higher education has placed significant barriers and challenges to their academic achievement. Underrepresented students, particularly students of color, international students, students with physical…
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Giving Good Online Feedback

When you teach a face-to-face course, many instructors develop some kind of relationship with the class as well as individual learners. You may come to associate…
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Copyright

The copyright law exceptions for teaching are different for teaching online than they are for teaching face-to-face courses. Assumptions about copyright that you may have about…
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Basic Resources for Recording

Recording lecture content can be on a spectrum from incredibly simple (and cheap) to an investment in time and materials that could produce re-usable materials for…
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Half-Life Your Message

If you are accustomed to teaching in a face-to-face class, you’ve probably lectured at some point. If you are teaching online, It’s very tempting to try…
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Exams and Quizzes Online

You may be comfortable with giving exams or tests in your residential classroom, but what about now in your online class? You may be wondering if…
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Discipline-Specific Resources

Arts Business Engineering Foreign Languages Humanities Physical Sciences Social Sciences Writing Medicine/Nursing
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Creating Engaging Online Lectures

Although there are many skills used in delivering face-to-face lectures that are equally important in an online context, there are important unique features of teaching and…
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Getting Comfortable On Screen

You’ve probably heard the comments about public speaking being a common fear, speaking on camera (and knowing that it is going to be recorded) brings out…
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FAQ's About Online Learning

Many faculty have questions and concerns about teaching online and the process of getting ready to teach online. Here are some of the questions we have…
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Effective Office Hours

Online office hours can be an excellent way to interact with students, provide direct feedback, answer questions, and create community among a group of learners. Office…
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Creating Your Syllabus for an Online Class

Syllabi are highly personal — some are very short, some are very comprehensive. How you choose to describe your course and assignments is unique to you.…
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Formative Assessments

Face-to-face teaching frequently involves visual observation of students “understanding” a course. Faculty frequently use informal methods for what we call “formative assessment” but may not be…
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Facilitating Asynchronous Online Discussions

Group dynamics are a key part of facilitating meaningful discussions with students, both face to face and online. For this collaborative space to exist online, the…
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Successful Peer Review

You may have participated in or assigned a peer review assignment prior to this module. Regardless of your level of experience, you may have already formed…
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Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Most of the time, when setting out on a journey, you know where you are headed and have a sense of how you’ll know when you’ve…
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Introduction to Communication Tools

Within all disciplines, we develop and utilize tools that can make our lives easier. Some tools can allow tasks to be completed more efficiently, while others…
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Finding Open Educational Resources

The cost of textbooks and other learning materials can be a major barrier for students who cannot afford required or supplemental resources. Luckily, as the online…
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Asynchronous Tools and How to Use Them

The nature of online learning is for education to be accessible and flexible for learners across any distance. With the use of asynchronous tools, participants can…
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Synchronous Tools and How to Use Them

Many faculty transitioning to online teaching are concerned with a disconnect between them and their students. With the help of synchronous tools, this issue can be…
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Time Management in Course Facilitation

Face-to-face classes have a certain rhythm. For example, you may be accustomed to a schedule that is similar to this: Sunday night, prepare or refresh your…
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How is online teaching really different?

The basics The first step in learning the differences between online and face-to-face teaching is understanding that one is not necessarily ‘better’ than the other. There…
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Using Online Exams and Quizzes

You may be comfortable with giving exams or tests in your residential classroom, but what about now in your online class? You may be wondering if…