Ten recommendations for instructors for Winter 2021

Welcome back! As classes begin we wanted to help you get the semester off on the right foot by offering a list of ten recommendations that can help you have a successful semester teaching.

1. Review important documents, such as the Guidelines for Instructors and Students on Remote Teaching, Learning, and Assessment for Winter 2021

• The Guidelines for Instructors and Students on Remote Teaching, Learning, and Assessment contain updated and important information about teaching this semester. A section on Resources to Support the Implementation of the Guidelines has been added.
• The Teaching and Learning Remotely Guide addresses 14 frequently asked questions about teaching remotely at McGill.
• The Adapting Your Course for Remote Teaching resource document offers more in-depth information on course planning.

2. Watch a Webinar on preparing for remote teaching

TLS has a series of nine webinars that you can attend (register here), or view via video recording. See the complete list of offerings on the TLS Webinars page. Topics include:

• Designing assessments for remote delivery
• Promoting student interaction and engagement for remote learning
• Engaging students online with Zoom: Taking Zoom to the next level
• Designing and implementing effective teamwork assignments
• and many more

3. Prepare your course in myCourses

Check the documentation for preparing your course in myCourses, which includes topics such as:

• Ensuring Zoom and Lecture Recordings links are on your navigation bar
• Scheduling your Zoom sessions
• Uploading course content
• Organizing and setting up discussions
• Creating assignments
• Creating quizzes
• Setting up your gradebook

All instructors are also registered for myCourses Essentials, a self-paced module in myCourses which provides an introduction to key myCourses features, recommended practices for using myCourses, and tutorials on some of the most commonly used myCourses tools.

4. Curate (find and select) appropriate online learning materials for your course

The McGill Library is here for you! Contact your liaison librarian, who can help you access online materials in the McGill Library collection; identify Open Educational Resources (OER) in your discipline; and more!

Also check TLS’ Preparing course content webinar recording, where you will find links to many resources that address adding content to your course.

5. Plan strategies for promoting engagement and well-being

• Check out these guidelines on how to promote engagement in remote coursework.
• See four examples of how classes can be adapted to Zoom sessions so that students remain active and interested during fixed (live) sessions. 
• Consider implementing these tips for enhancing student wellness.

6. Plan assessments

The Adapting your Assessment Strategies for Remote Teaching resource document offers guidelines to help you plan assessments that link to learning; allow students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways; foster a climate for academic integrity; and provide opportunities for practice and feedback.

If you plan to create multiple versions of an exam, check out these instructions for randomizing questions and creating question sections in myCourses.

7. Address academic integrity

New this semester! Urkund/Ouriginal is a text-matching tool connected to the Assignments tool in myCourses that is designed to support academic integrity. Use text-matching to compare students’ submissions against multiple sources (e.g., Internet, scholarly journals and publications, and student submissions) and obtain analysis reports. See the documentation on Text-Matching in myCourses (Urkund/Ouriginal) for details on how to enable and use the tool.

8. Get ready to use Zoom

• Make sure you have the equipment you need.
• Consult the Remote Teaching Checklist — a quick reference for teaching with Zoom that addresses important considerations for before, during, and after.
• Check the Zoom for Remote Teaching page, which has everything you need to know about using Zoom for teaching at McGill.

9. Request IT support

For any IT questions, go to the IT Support Portal. You can browse the IT Knowledge Base or submit a support request directly to IT.

10. Request a consultation with TLS

Remember that TLS is here to support McGill instructors. Book a one-on-one consultation to learn more about teaching and assessment strategies that are appropriate for your course, and the tools to implement them.

Keep things simple, interactive, and engaging. Have a great semester!