Strategies for when you need to shift your course modality, whether for a weather-related emergency, illness, or other interruption in the normal course of the semester.
We’ve assembled this page with tips that can be mobilized at a moment’s notice, practical ways to plan for the unpredictable, and how to create routines that will help your students pivot well. Remember that you don’t need to create an entirely new workflow to shift to remote learning. Find the things that work for you!
🌨️ 🤧 🚨 Need to Pivot at the Last Minute?
During an “emergency” situation (weather, etc.), the decision on whether to hold a class synchronously on Zoom or asynchronously is up to the instructor.
Situations like severe weather affect people differently — some lose power or internet access — so requiring a synchronous session may be impossible for certain instructors. Pedagogical needs also vary widely across courses, including cases where a live, online lab would not be possible from a home environment, but using an asynchronous lab simulation from an online resource could be a perfect fit.
While this page equips you with all the information you need to prepare for a shift, you don’t always have the time you need. Here are some strategies for getting through it:
- As soon as you know you won’t meet in person, send your students an announcement in
Canvas. See: How do I post an announcement in my Canvas course? - If the reason you’re pivoting to remote instruction might also be impacting students’ safety and/or mental health and wellbeing, acknowledge that and offer your support in whatever way feels appropriate to you. This could mean letting them know that you’re flexible around requirements, reminding them about campus resources that can help, or just offering some kind words.
- Provide them instructions for what they should do. If you’re giving them an asynchronous assignment, be sure to indicate when it’s due, submission guidelines, and detailed instructions, particularly if you’re using this as an opportunity to do something outside your norm.
- If you’re planning a synchronous Zoom class meeting with your students, provide them with the Zoom meeting information. Zoom is integrated into Canvas for easy access.
Our Zoom environment offers additional tools such as screen sharing, chat, whiteboards, and polling that can enhance the experience. Breakout rooms can foster discussion among smaller groups of students. You may also use a tool such as Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, Slido, or Microsoft Forms. Of those tools, only Microsoft Forms is officially supported at Quinnipiac. For support with Forms, contact QU IT →
Zoom Tips:
- Be prepared for hiccups! You and your students can test your internet connection for Zoom here. Reassure your students if they’re having technological issues, and direct them to the QU IT help desk for support if needed.
- Check in with students by name as they enter the Zoom meeting. If it’s early in the semester and you haven’t gotten all the names down yet, a pivot like this is a surprise opportunity to see faces and names linked so you can practice!
- Keep your normal pace. Delivering your content online does not mean you should speed up!
- If you are screen sharing, stop sharing every few slides to connect with students and have a discussion. It may also be a good idea to remind students they can come off mute, type a message in the chat, or use the “Raise Hand” feature if they have a question or comment. Close any applications you won’t be using (like personal e-mail) prior to screen sharing.
- It may be difficult for students to understand when you have shifted between discussion topics, so be sure to state clean, well-defined transitions.
- Zoom’s gallery view lets you see thumbnails of your students, the amount you see at once depends on your screen size. Don’t forget to navigate between the rest of the thumbnail pages if available.
Example announcement:
Hi everyone. Our class today will meet on Zoom at our regularly scheduled time. Please use this link to join: (link)
We will adopt the same rules and norms as in our physical classroom (take notes, participate by asking and answering questions, and wear classroom-ready clothing). For everyone’s benefit, please join the Zoom today in a quiet place and, if possible, turn on your video. Also, make sure to mute your microphone when you enter and when you are not speaking. In class, I will walk you through some important items I’ve added to our Canvas course.
I know this form of learning may be new to some of us, and success will depend on the same commitment we all bring to the physical classroom. Please reach out to me if you have any questions, and I will see you on Zoom today!
Throughout this pivot, be honest and human with your students. Acknowledge the unexpected, laugh together about the hiccups, and know that the little blips won’t ruin the whole semester. Our Teaching in Turbulent Times resource may provide some additional helpful information. Be kind to your students and to yourself! As always, if you need guidance, reach out to us. We’re here for you!
For official guidance from the university, click here or see “Policy Manual, Section 3.04” below under University Guidance.
University Guidance
Refer to the policies below that outline university guidance on modality shifts in your courses.
If a faculty member is unable to attend class or must change the modality due to illness or other reasons, the faculty member must inform their department chair, program director, and students in the course as soon as possible. It is the department’s (chair/program director) responsibility to ensure appropriate coverage of the content. If the absence or modality change exceeds 3 consecutive business days or if it impacts more than 3 hours of class time per course section within a semester, the chair must notify the dean’s office.
The University strives to remain open under adverse weather conditions, such as snowstorms, so that the University may meet its responsibilities to all its students, many of whom reside on campus. However, on rare occasions, classes may be canceled or postponed because of weather conditions and, even more rarely, the entire University may temporarily close.
It is ultimately the responsibility of each employee to determine whether they believe it is safe to travel to and from the campus as a result of weather conditions. Employees who choose not to come to work because of inclement weather may use vacation or personal when the University remains open. Staff members are always required to notify their supervisors if they plan to use vacation or personal time.
Faculty members are expected to meet all on campus and online classes when the University is open, and students are expected to attend them. If a faculty member is unable to attend class or must change the modality due to illness or other reasons, the faculty member must inform their department chair, program director, and students in the course as soon as possible. It is the department’s (chair/program director) responsibility to ensure appropriate coverage of the content. If the absence or modality change exceeds 3 consecutive business days or if it impacts more than 3 hours of class time per course section within a semester, the chair must notify the dean’s office.
Class Meetings: Each faculty member is expected to meet their classes as regularly scheduled and in the assigned modality. If a faculty member is unable to attend class due to illness or other reasons, the faculty member must inform their department chair or program director and students in the course in advance, if possible. This allows for arrangements to be made for alternative assignments or a substitute instructor.
Tech Habits That Help
Use Canvas
Make regular use of Canvas even if your course is on-ground. This can include simple things like:
Using the Modules area to create an organized repository of your handouts, slides, and other files/materials.
Managing assignments through Canvas, either giving students an online submission option or marking the assignment as an “On Paper” submission.
Opening discussion boards on topics discussed in class for further engagement, or a Q&A discussion that students can post their course questions to at any time.
Doing this helps students get into the routine of checking Canvas regularly, ensuring that they’ll see your messages about changes to modality. It also helps you learn the platform, too! If you need help with Canvas, remember there are 24/7/365 phone and chat support options in the Canvas Help menu.
You can also check out our comprehensive collection of guides and resources for instructors →
Get to Know Zoom
Quinnipiac offers Zoom as a video conferencing platform; faculty, students, and staff all have access. Zoom is integrated into Canvas for easy access but you and your students can also access Zoom through the Zoom app.
Our Zoom environment offers additional tools such as screen sharing, chat, whiteboards, and polling that can enhance the experience. Breakout rooms can foster discussion among smaller groups of students. You may also use a tool such as Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, Slido, or Microsoft Forms. Of those tools, only Microsoft Forms is officially supported at Quinnipiac. For support with Forms, contact QU IT →
QILT does not provide support for Zoom, Zoom Carts, or Zoom Rooms; however, we can advise on using Zoom as part of the course design process. With Zoom technical support questions or issues, submit a QU IT ticket.
Considerations for Moving to Online-Synchronous
A pivot to an online-synchronous format may not work for all courses and students, including those who live off-campus and lack reliable internet access, have busy home dynamics with roommates or families, or, in the case of weather-related emergencies, may face other priorities that take precedence over a synchronous class. If they miss your session, need to be camera-off, or are less engaged than normal, be patient and flexible.
You may want to consider asynchronous elements. Watching recorded lectures, reading a case, playing certain simulations, and responding to discussion questions do not need to happen for the group all at once.
While knowing how to use the technology mentioned here is helpful, it’s important to keep your focus on the pedagogy, too. The attributes of a physical classroom do not guarantee that a class is effective or engaging, and the same is true for online environments. Time spent in advance thinking about how you want to teach using technology will be time well spent!
Plan Ahead: Create a Go-To Activity Resource Bank
In a switch to remote teaching, depending on the circumstances, creating an asynchronous exercise can be a great alternative to lecturing over Zoom, especially given the technology challenges you and your students might encounter in unexpected situations. But it can also be a lift to create something totally new on the fly. Think about which of your classroom-teaching strategies may translate well to an online setting, which do not, and what new approaches you might incorporate.
Below are some ideas for creating a set of exercises and activities ahead of time that you can go to in a pinch.
Using tools like recording in PowerPoint, YuJa Capture, and Zoom, you can record short micro-lectures to post to Canvas. If you aren’t familiar with micro-lectures, check out this article on Faculty Focus. The big thing to keep in mind is to break long lectures into shorter segments, around 5 to 8 minutes each. Speak to your students and insert yourself - a personal story, humor, or other commentary - into the lecture. Don’t mention any due dates, so you can use these videos at any time!
Have a set of these micro-lectures banked for when you need them, and keep in mind they don’t have to be perfect or professionally produced! Consider pairing the recording with:
- A short discussion board with guided questions
- A brief reflection assignment or “exit ticket”
- A YuJa video quiz
- A related reading, podcast, or video
Another option would be to only record part of a lecture, such as material you want students to reflect on before class, as homework, and leave the rest for an in-class or online synchronous session.
We’re here to help you explore ways video can enhance the learning experiences in your course. Schedule a consultation with us via Calendly →
Have students watch a film, whether a documentary or a feature, on a topic related to the class. For those of us not teaching film, we often have many ideas for things we’d like to show our students don’t have time for. To set up a film analysis in your course:
- Write down a list of films relevant to your courses that students can easily access online or from the library’s databases (QU subscribes to Kanopy and the PBS Video Collection, and offers links to YouTube, Pluto, Tubi, and other platforms students can access for free).
- Create a reusable assignment prompt that can apply to any film you assign, such as:
- Apply a course concept to a conflict in the film
- Analyze a key decision rom the film using frameworks from our course
- Reflect on how the film deepened your understanding of a course topic
Using a film analysis assignment is an easy way to ensure your students meet contact hours and have an interesting learning experience.
Online resources and virtual tools might help replicate the experience of some labs (e.g., virtual dissection, night-sky apps, simulations). The availability and options vary widely by discipline. Textbook publishers may offer supplementary material, and/or open educational resources (OER) might provide options, too.
Learn more about OER →
In cases where the lab includes both the collection of data and its analysis, you might consider showing how the data can be collected using tools like recording in PowerPoint, YuJa Capture, or Zoom, and then providing some raw sets of data to analyze using Microsoft Office applications (like Excel) or SPSS via Citrix.
Lab spaces might be equipped with Zoom Room functionality, which gives you access to cameras and microphones right in the space.
Last-Minute Active Learning
Here are a few ideas for last-minute active learning:
- Have your students explore a database or other tool relevant to your course to get exposed to some research resources. Sometimes letting students explore with the mission of finding something interesting to them and reflecting on the experience can foster investment in learning, agency, and metacognition. A few guiding search terms and database instructions can set them on the right path.
- If the weather isn’t the cause of the pivot, have your students go outside for something. This could be related to nature and science, engineering, architecture, history, or anything else you come up with. Asking students to walk around campus or their neighborhoods and identify, analyze, and reflect on things can be a great way to apply something they’ve learned in your course.
- Have them connect with each other to complete a reading or exercise and generate a collaborative list of questions they’d like to address with you upon return. If students are already working in groups, you can have them connect with their established group. If not, you can assign them groups using Canvas and have them connect virtually if they’re not able to do so in person. An exercise like this can bridge the gap between what might feel like homework and a normal class session, giving them an opportunity to interact even if you’re not there to guide them.
Assessments and Remote Learning
Canvas can be used to administer electronic exams and collect papers.
Administer Exams in Canvas
Canvas can be used to administer electronic exams with a variety of question types, including multiple-choice, short-answer, essay, and more. You can assign point values to each question, and when a student completes the exam, question types with the correct answer indicated are automatically graded. Questions that require manual grading will be marked and can be graded later in SpeedGrader. See: How do I create a quiz in my Canvas course?
LockDown Browser is compatible with Canvas.
In an online environment, however, you might consider rethinking how you assess student learning. Do not rush to try to replicate assessments remotely using the same methods used in class. Perhaps try new techniques, such as asking students to reflect on what they learned in class or to give a short recorded presentation in lieu of an exam.
Consider these questions:
- Do you want to assess your students’ acquisition of specific content knowledge, or their ability to apply that knowledge to new situations? Or both?
- Do you want to assess a product that students produce or the process they went through to produce it? Or both?
- Do you want to assess any of the following?
- Writing ability
- Speaking skills
- Creativity skills
- Use of technology
- Is a visual component to the assessment necessary or desirable?
- Is the ability for students to work in a group an important component of the assessment?
- Is it important for the assessment to be time-constrained?
Alternative Assessments: Creativity
- Advertisement
- Development of a product or proposal (perhaps to be judged by external judges)
- Diary entry for a real or fictional character
- Letter to a friend explaining a problem or concept
- Brochure
- Performance: e.g., a presentation to the class or a debate
- Poem, play, or dialogue
- Web page
- Digital Story
- Video presentation
- Work of art, music, architecture, sculpture, etc.
- Newspaper article or editorial
Alternative Assessments: Analysis or Evolution
- Analysis and response to a case study
- Analysis of data or a graph
- Analysis of an event, performance, or work of art
- Chart, graph, infographic, concept map or diagram with explanation
- Debate
- Review of a book, play, performance, etc.
- Literature review
- Policy memo or executive summary
- Diagram, table, chart, or visual aid
Alternative Assessments: Similar to a Final Paper
- Annotated bibliography
- Introduction to a research paper or essay (rather than the full paper)
- Literature review
- Executive summary
- Research proposal addressed to a granting agency
- Scientific abstract
- Policy memo or executive summary
- Start of a term paper (the thesis statement and a detailed outline)
- Groupwork where students work together to submit a shared written analysis or
presentation
Alternative Assessments: Course Material
- Explanation of a multiple-choice answer (students must explain why the answer they
chose to a multiple-choice question is correct, or why the alternative answers are
wrong)
- Meaningful paragraph (given a list of specific terms, students must use the terms in a
paragraph that demonstrates they understand the terms and their interconnections)
- Short-answer exam (rather than asking multiple-choice questions, make some questions
short-answer, to require students to show their understanding of key concepts)
Alternative Assessments: Integration of Skills and Knowledge
- Poster (which could be presented to the class or to a larger audience using Zoom or
YuJa)
- ePortfolio to demonstrate improvement or evolution of work and thinking over time
- Recorded presentation using tools like recording in PowerPoint, YuJa Capture, or Zoom
- Personal reflection on what they learned from the course or experience
Canvas can collect these assessments through an assignment. If students are submitting a document, the student’s submission will be viewable in SpeedGrader, where you can annotate, comment, and grade. You can also use rubrics in SpeedGrader. You have the option to enable Turnitin to check submitted papers for plagiarism.
If students submit a link to a video recording or other media, it will be viewable in SpeedGrader.
Setting Remote Learning Up for Success
With any of these exercises, reflection is key! You can assess what they learn by having them submit a short, informal metacognitive reflection or discussion post:
- How did you approach the assignment?
- What challenges or surprises did you encounter along the way?
- What did you learn?
Quickly applying the Transparency in Teaching and Learning (TILT) framework to your instructions can minimize student follow-up questions, which is helpful if you expect to be unavailable.
Be careful not to overload students with work. This is surprisingly easy to do when using remote modes of instruction. Rice University has a workload estimator calculator that might be helpful.
Final Thoughts
Don’t be afraid to experiment in these moments. It’s a great opportunity to try something new! It might not go perfectly, and that's okay. Your students will still learn, and so will you! And lastly, if you don’t like anything here, asking colleagues in your discipline for interesting things they’ve done in these moments can be a great way to connect about teaching.
Have questions or need help? We’re here!
If you need help with Canvas, remember there are 24/7/365 phone, e-mail, and chat support options in the Canvas Help menu.
Additional Resources
