Items for Action
- All who are teaching online in the fall will need to have completed an appropriate training. You can find training from TIDES to support online learning success and further resources in the Online/Blended Course Planning Commons.
Seeking something more? Submit ideas to be included in these trainings by emailing tidesinstruct@cns.utexas.edu Begin preparing your Canvas presence for fall courses. Templates will be available in mid-July. In the meantime visit this page, which includes a schedule of workshops and information about one-on-one consultations.
General Resources
UT Online Education Task Force has a Canvas page for the sharing of ideas and best practices relating to online teaching.
There is also a Canvas course that provides faculty the basics and TIDES has resources on a page about Preparing for Fall.- The College's Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science (TIDES) has assembled resources and a list of contact people in CNS who can support faculty teaching online. You can also request a consultation: tidesinstruct@cns.utexas.edu. These and other planning resources for faculty who teach are here.
- TIDES has a checklist for faculty teaching online courses.
- The Provost's Office has posted FAQs specific to Fall teaching at the FAQ site related to COVID-19 for faculty.
- The Faculty Innovation Center has a new Online/Blended Course Planning Commons, as well as resources especially for grad student instructors and TAs.
Accommodations for Instructors and for Students
- Instructors at high risk can make requests for accommodations. Additionally, those who do not wish to teach in person because they have members of their household who are at high risk can may request a flexible teaching arrangement.
- Online instruction may require additional accommodations for students with disabilities to ensure their equitable access.
- Faculty with students in the military in their classes need to be familiar with the University’s policy on military absences and policy on withdrawal for military service. Students who are veterans may be deployed and require accommodations. Learn more here.
- Many students are coping with extra challenges at home or in their mental health. Learn more here.
Zoom and Panopto
- Access Zoom at UT: https://utexas.zoom.us
- Read "How to Use Zoom to Hold Class and/or Office Hours" by MBS Professor Janice Fischer.
- View short, recorded webinars from Zoom support.
- Learn about teaching synchronously with Zoom.
- See a Panopto how-to from the iSchool.
- Provide a first-run Zoom checklist for students.
Zoom Security
- Stay on top of Zoom updates and the need for multi-factor authentication.
- Ensure you are using the utexas.zoom.us domain (https://utexas.zoom.us/) for your Zoom calls to take advantage of increased security measures.
- Do not publish your Zoom meeting links in public forums such as Twitter. Share your links through more secure means such as email, calendar invites, and closed groups.
- Review the entire list of Zoom security features for both private and public events, including generating a unique meeting ID, requiring a password, muting video and audio of participants, and enabling waiting rooms.
- Anyone using free Zoom accounts (not Zoom at UT) will find Zoom made recent changes. The Waiting Room feature is enabled, and, on all personal meetings, additional password settings are required.
Fall Instruction
The University has created Protect Texas Together, which contains the University’s plans and guidelines about how to mitigate various risks this fall. Planning for contingencies and developing a plan to deliver courses requires knowing which classes students are registering for. Students can find information about registration processes at Texas One Stop.
