Educational Continuity for Faculty/Instructors

While there are currently no disruptions to instruction at UC Merced, we understand you may be here due to concerns on the continually evolving COVID-19 outbreak. For information on our campus's response to the COVID-19 outbreak, please visit the Emergency Preparedness website.

Overview

This page outlines methods that allow for teaching and learning to continue in the event that instructors, teaching assistants, or students are unable to physically attend class.

Here we provide strategies, tools, and resources to facilitate remote instruction and learning. These strategies and tools can be used to help prepare for unexpected emergencies such as a campus closure that directly affects instruction. Each link will take you to resources to help you get set up with that particular activity or tool.

Information and resources listed here will continue to be updated as the campus works to provide additional tools, resources, and strategies. Last update: March 5, 2020 9:00 am

Getting Started

  • Identify plans for your classes proactively: You may consider adding language to your syllabus to alert students to your plans on handling unseen campus closures or class cancellations. This allows students to know ahead of time what to expect before situations arise.
  • Sign up for emergency alerts: Stay appraised of the situation and sign up to receive alerts from Emergency Management via text message and email: Signing Up for UCM Alert Emergency Notifications.
  • Check with your school's curriculum staff and department leads: Curriculum teams and your department leads may have specific information on the procedures and expectations in your area.
  • Communicate frequently to your classes: Let your students know what's happening and keep them informed. Consider utilizing the Announcements feature in CatCourses to send messages to your class or individual sections. Look to inform them not only of changes to instruction or assignments, but also how they contact you with questions or concerns. If you have TAs or Readers, make sure to include them on changes to instruction or expectations.
  • Set realistic timelines and expectations for continuing instruction: You may need to consider changing due dates to allow additional time for completing coursework and to accommodate changing how instruction and work is delivered. You may also want to review your learning objectives for your course to see if students will be able to meet those objectives with these different methods of delivering teaching and facilitating learning.
  • Be ready to make exceptions: Moving coursework online assumes students have an internet connection and cell phone or laptop. Some students may be unable to meet these requirements. Be ready to respond to students who need additional accommodations. Familiarize yourself with the resources available for Student Accommodations and Assigning an Incomplete Grade
  • Familiarize yourself with the technologies and resources available: There are three primary technologies that can be utilized to facilitate online instruction. In Stategies and Digital Tools below, you will links to guides on the various suggested activites. In the Getting Help section at the end of this page, you will find vendor training, online help, and consulations available from UC Merced staff on these technolgies and pedagogy.
    • CatCourses is the primary center for sharing course content and communicating with students online.
    • Zoom is a videoconferencing service that enables synchronous online meetings for classes, discussion sections, and office hours.
    • Kaltura is a video platform that provides prerecorded lectures or supplementary course videos to students.

Strategies and Digital Tools

Utilize CatCourses to Provide Course Content

Every course is automatically created in CatCourses for the term and students, TAs, and instructors are automatically enrolled. Adding your course content into this site allows for easy distribution of course materials to students.

Communicate through Announcements

Announcements is the primary method through which to easily communicate to all students in your class or particular sections. Students see all Announcements within CatCourses and can choose to receive them via email or mobile phone notifications as well. You can also create announcements ahead of time and specify when they are released. This can help you plan out communication in advance.

Hold Class Virtually Using Zoom

Zoom is a videoconferencing platform that allows for synchronous audio and video communication. Instructors can schedule meetings for students to attend to class online and facilitate instruction virtually. Zoom meetings can be used to have conversations, mimic face-to-face instruction with webcams, share content such as PowerPoint presentations, and even annotate as one might use a whiteboard. Instructors and TAs need to first request a Zoom Pro account to hold Zoom meetings. Students can join meetings without a Zoom account.

Pre-Record Lectures

You may also consider offering asynchronous lectures that allow students to view pre-recorded lectures on their own time. Instructors and TAs can utilize Zoom to record themselves with a web camera and/or microphone, and content such as PowerPoint presentations. Instructors and TAs must first request a Zoom Pro account to hold Zoom meetings. Those recordings can then be uploaded to our Kaltura video management platform, which allows students to view the videos within CatCourses.

Set Up Assignments & Grading

Instructors can set up assignments in CatCourses that allow student to submit homework or coursework online. Students can upload documents, files, and text responses. Instructors and TAs can provide feedback and grades.

Utilize Discussion Boards to Facilitate Discussion

Discussion boards can help facilitate course and group-wide conversations asynchronously.

Getting Help

  • Utilize the OIT Knowledge Base to find step-by-step guides for using learning technologies: OIT Knowledge Base
  • Attend vendor-led webinars and training: Zoom, CatCourses (Canvas), Kaltura
  • Get 24/7 CatCourses help using the chat tool or hotline: Getting Help in CatCourses
  • Schedule a consultation with the Academic & Emerging Technologies team: AET Consults
  • Reach out to the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) for strategies on implementing research-based pedagogy in online instruction: CETL