Course Design for Rapidly Moving Your Course Online
Latest Updates
Western is offering a variety of options to help faculty and teaching assistants as they move courses online.
New: Pop Up Pedagogy: A study break event for instructors
Invite us to your Departmental meetings or include us in your Professional Development schedule! The CTL eLearning Team offers 30-minute sessions for department and group bookings. Each session offers practical ways to create better online learning experiences for students. Departments wishing to address questions related to the session are welcome to add on an additional 15-30 minute Q&A.
Book a Departmental Pop Up Pedagogy session now using our booking form!
No sessions planned for your department yet? Attend one of our open sessions, currently scheduled during study break. Registration is open for staff/facutly on Western Connect.
Current Pop Up Pedagogy sessions include:
- Leading Engaging Synchronous Sessions
- Creating Better Discussion Forums
- Re-engaging your Online Students
- Planning Effective Instructional Videos
- Q&A with eLearning Specialists from CTL and WTS
Learn more about Pop Up Pedagogy here.
New: Academic Integrity Tutorial for Students
The CTL's new Academic Integrity Tutorial is now available for students. Faculty are invited to direct students to complete the 90-minute tutorial in OWL.
The tutorial is designed to increase students' understanding of the key principles of academic integrity and provide strategies to help students avoid academic offences in common scenarios. We suggest it be used in combination with discipline-specific academic integrity learning opportunities. Students who successfully complete this tutorial will earn a certificate.
To include the Academic Integrity Tutorial in your course, share this link to the Academic Integrity Tutorial OWL site with your students.
New: Weekly Drop-in Q&As for instructors
If you still have questions after reviewing the videos on Online Course Design, join us at our weekly Drop-in Q&As for instructors.
At each Q&A, an eLearning Specialist from the Centre for Teaching and Learning and an eLearning Technology Specialist from Western Technology Services join together to field your questions. Instructors and staff can register for the Q&As at the links below any time leading up to or during the sessions.
- Learn more and register: Consultations and Drop-In Q&As
Now Available: Online & Alternative Assessments Ideas
This page covers assessments that could provide an alternative to your face-to-face final exam. When selecting an alternative assessment, consider if it allows students to demonstrate the core learning outcomes of your course. (Read More about Online & Alternative Assessment Ideas here)
Available for Instructors: Online Learning Modules
Open Instructional Skills Workshop Online:
Due to popular demand we have launched a compressed, self-guided version of our Instructional Skills Workshop Online called Open ISW-O.
Join the site and complete the lessons at your own pace. Lessons include Building Community, Building Lessons, and Putting Theory into Practice.
- Log into OWL using the course link: Open ISW-O-Joinable
- After login, click "Yes, please add me" to join the site
ABC Online Course Design Workshop:
The ABC Online Course Design Workshop will help you with rapid online course development. This workshop is suitable for instructors looking to shift an in-person course to online. Leave the workshop with a course storyboard and plans for next steps.
There are two parts: Part 1: Pre-workshop Activities and Part 2: Independent Story Boarding
Online Course Design:
The Online Course Design section provides a series of resources that moves beyond using OWL tools to focus on key considerations, techniques, and approaches for online teaching and learning.
Six pathways for online course design are covered, including:
Available for Graduate Teaching Assistants: TA eLearning Series
TA eLearning Series
The Asynchronous TA Training Modules were designed by the CTL specifically to equip participants with strategies for being effective teaching assistants in blended and online classrooms. All registered participants will gain access to 5 asynchronous modules, which cover a range of topics from grading to building community. Each module will take one hour to complete. Registrants will have two weeks to access and complete the modules that interest them.
Registering for the Asynchronous TA Training Modules gives participants access to the following modules:
- Humanizing Your Virtual Classroom
- Grading Using OWL
- Facilitating Discussions Online
- Explaining Difficult Concepts in Science
- Fostering Respectful and Inclusive Online Environments
Learn more about the TA eLearning Series and how to regsiter here.
On This Site
This site features the following sections:
- ABC Online Course Design Workshop: This workshop is suitable for instructors looking to shift an in-person course to online. There are two parts: Part 1: Pre-workshop Activities and Part 2: Independent Story Boarding (Asynchronous Option or Synchronous Option)
- Online Course Design: The six pathways covered are: How Online Learners Learn, Designing to Meet Course Learning Outcomes, Organizing Course Content, Facilitating Online Learning, Accessibility, and Choosing and Providing Access to Course Readings
- Student Assessment: This section covers Planning for successful student assessments (including final assessments), possible Digital Assessment Formats, Online & Alternative Assessment Ideas, and a note on Accessible Assessments.
- Choose an eLearning Tool: This is an external link to the "Achieve Specific Outcomes" section of the eLearning toolkit. The elearning toolkit is a resource that allows you to find eLearning tools that fit with your intended outcomes as well as compare tools on several different measures.
- One-on-One consultations: Information on how to contact the Instructional Technology Resource Centre for individualized help putting your course online.
- FAQs: Frequently asked questions about rapidly putting your course online, including questions about accessibility for tests and assignments in OWL.
- eLearning in the CTL: The former elearning section of the CTL site before the focus turned to putting courses online rapidly.
Instructor Recommendations
- Keep your course site simple.
- Avoid livestreaming lectures. These are globally shared services that will be experiencing increased demand across institutions and this may result in decreased performance.
- Focus on sharing pre-created course content (e.g., Documents, pre-recorded lectures PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, weblinks) instead of live content.
Finding Help
This site has been reorganized, Where can I find ...
Where should instructors go for help?
- Virtual and online consultations with Instructional Teaching Resource Centre and Centre for Teaching and Learning staff are available for help moving a course online.
- The Helpdesk will answer specific questions about a feature or function in an institutionally-supported tool. Helpdesk hours have been extended.
- Western Libraries will continue to support online courses in OWL in a number of ways. More information is available in their March 16, 2020 Post
Where should students go for help?
- Student Experience has a developed a set of resources to help students transition to remote learning. Please visit their website.
