A variety of circumstances might require you to temporarily take your class online with minimal notice: a campus closure, increased absenteeism during a flu outbreak, a family emergency requiring your presence elsewhere, etc.
This guide will provide you with some actions to take when making that shift quickly. It is also very wise to plan ahead, and your college's Instructional Technology Consultant is glad to help you with proactive preparation and skills.
Use AsULearn as a central meeting point
AsULearn is Appalachian State University's learning management system. AsULearn can be used for a number of tasks, such as announcements, assignments, quizzes, discussions, content delivery, media management, online class meetings, and more.
Support material for using AsULearn is available in the AsULearn Faculty Support pages and the AsULearn Student Support pages.
- To notify your students that you will not be holding class in person, post an announcement in your course's Announcement forum.
- To provide a procedure for your students to inform you that they will be unable to attend class in person, consider adding a Discussion Forum in your course where they can post their intention.
Create accessible online content
Moving a course online naturally increases the importance of accessibility. There are a few steps you can take to enhance the accessibility of your online content.
- Enable auto-captioning and/or transcripts for audio and video content.
- Make sure documents have text that is selectable with a cursor.
- Add alternative text to any images.
For courses with students who need accommodations, please consult with the Office of Disability Resources.
Enable live online class meetings using Zoom in your AsULearn course
Add a Zoom meeting to your AsULearn course to meet your class online from your computer. You can also meet with your class face-to-face and use a Zoom session to allow students who are ill to attend virtually.
Meeting options include audio/video conferencing, screen sharing, and record-to-cloud for later sharing. This tool is adaptable from individual online office hours through full class sessions, up to 300 users in a meeting.
- First, log in to Zoom to obtain your Pro license.
- Then, go to your AsULearn course and add a Zoom meeting to it.
Share messages and documents with your students
- Send emails to every student on your roster via the Announcements Forum in your AsULearn course. Post an Announcement in AsULearn
- Distribute files for students using AsULearn. Uploading files to AsULearn
Make a pre-recorded presentation available to your students
Record a presentation outside of class and make the recording available to students in AsULearn.
Record a presentation in the Belk Library Video Recording Room located in the lower level of Belk Library. Directions for making a recording are included in the room. This option requires a reservation for access.
- Check studio availability and reserve a session. Go to the desk on the lower level of Belk Library and state you have a Video Recording Room reservation.
Record your live classroom session for online delivery outside of class time
Record your voice, webcam, and/or computer screen.
Administer assessments remotely
Design an AsULearn quiz with options for many question types, availability, time limit, and point values.
Administer a live oral assessment via Zoom web conferencing, or use the session video to 'proctor' online quizzes.
- Log in to Zoom to schedule a meeting and generate a meeting invitation to send to individual students
- Add a Zoom meeting to your AsULearn course
More information
Faculty who would like additional assistance using these techniques to accomplish their course objectives are encouraged to contact the CAE support team.