Marisa Yerace

Helping teachers teach online

Helpful practices

Accessibility practices

Consider layout from a different perspective. Remember that not everyone has perfect eyesight or hearing. Try to make layouts as legible and neat as possible and be aware of color contrast. Make sure that Alt text is available for the visually impaired (Alt text is required for non-text images) and captions for the hard-of-hearing and or Deaf. Learn how to embed images here.

W3.org has options for alternative text. If an image is simply decorative you should still indicate that. Learn more here.

Captions should also be made available on any audio inclusions or videos. This is required to remain accessible to all students.

  • Youtube can make captions for you and editing and revisions are possible. It is recommended to go back and read the captions that Youtube provides as there are often errors.
  • Kaltura is another tool that you can use to do captioning.
  • Otter.AI makes transcripts as well as captioning.

PDFs need to be accessible and screen reader friendly. We suggest including a link to the website that you got the PDF from and the PDF with OCR (optical character recognition) and image descriptions on all images within the PDF.

Crafting pre-designed courses for instructors to customize

To support sudden staffing or modality changes in your writing program, consider having pre-designed courses (PDCs) in your Learning Management System (LMS: Brightspace, Canvas, etc) for a couple of modalities ready to go for your instructors! [More text maybe on why that’s helpful; maybe some external literature like , if I think people will actually read it. Having a back up plan is always a good idea. That way you are not scrambling if a crisis were to arise.

First, decide:

  • How many PDCs do you need?
    • One for each modality (online, hyflex, face-to-face)? One for Fall and Spring semesters and one for Summer courses? PDCs for each “course theme?”
  • How many and what kinds of activities would you populate in an online/distance course versus a face-to-face course? For example, a fully-online course may rely more on discussion boards than a face-to-face course.
    • Do you have instructors that would be willing to share activities they’ve used for the PDC?
  • How much personalization should instructors expect to be doing when they copy over the PDC?
    • Some programs allow for more personalization, while others use PDCs to standardize (especially online) course offerings.
    • Be sure to let them know in your Instructor’s Guide (below).

Checklist for setting up your PDC:

  • Have you created content modules and sub-modules that make sense to students and instructors?

One common LMS course format is to have unit-based modules with week-based submodules, so that students may find relevant content quickly and know their place in the course easily.

  • Have you populated assignments, assignment sheets, and rubrics?

If you allow for instructor customization on these, what can you have ready (such as a starter rubric) to reduce the workload of instructors when they use their own assignments?

  • Do you have a syllabus template?

This may be hosted outside the shell, but every instructor likely has to have their own syllabus, even if the course sections have standardized curriculum. Make sure there’s a spot for instructors to upload their syllabus in the PDC!

  • Have you set up the gradebook?

If you standardize assignment grade weights across sections, can you easily set that up for instructors? If not, what can you have ready to go in the LMS gradebook?

  • Are external learning tools prepared?

For example, if you are using embedded course videos in these PDCs for content delivery, do you have them already embedded? Are course readings delivered as files attached in the right places? If you are embedding a digital textbook, can you have that embedded into its own module and ready to go (and if not, can you have some stand-in instructions so your instructors can easily do so)?

  • Are LMS activities prepared?

Are activities like discussion boards and peer review already set up, and are the settings ready for students to post?

  • Have you triple-checked for accessibility and repetition? For example…
    • Are course videos captioned?
    • Is information, like rubrics and assignment sheets, easy-to-find and repeated in multiple places? (Think about how students can find information with as few clicks as possible.)
    • If your LMS has one, have you performed an accessibility check on your course?
    • If you have quizzes in the course, are they set up for students who may need accommodations for extra time? (The same goes for other content that may close after certain days/times.)

And finally… have you made your instructor’s guide?

The instructor’s guide doesn’t have to be lengthy–but it should give your instructors an idea of what work you’ve already done in the PDC versus what they have left to do. This can appear in the course (as a “hidden” feature just for instructors) or as a document you send to instructors.

There are likely always going to be some things you cannot set up for all your instructors: the PDC probably won’t have due dates if you re-use it across semesters, for example. Make note of those things.

Here’s example text from an instructor’s guide:

Summer/ Early Start Instructors Info.

Here are some things you can do after you import this shell into your course:

1. Upload your syllabus– the templates is not in this shell.

2. Fill out your “About the instructor” section!

3. Check that the rubrics are to your liking. (the major assignment rubrics are a bit over detailed to save time on writing feedback– simplify to your preference).

4. Check assignments for submission times and such– especially peer reviews. Right now, peer reviews have a submission box, but you may decide to not use that for in-person peer review.

5. Check the portfolio assignment sheet and rubric in the shell, especially, and if you prefer to customize, do so accordingly based off the iCaP copy.

6. Check the OER readings per weekly module. The main rhetorics are included, but optional/ additional readings from the draft schedule are not.

7. Customize the front page and course header image to your liking.

8. Tip: if you like to remind your students of due dates (like peer review drafts due in class), consider seeing up some scheduled announcements now to save yourself time later.

BONUS: Have an easy way to solicit feedback!

On the example PDC above–which instructors copied into their own shells–we included an instructors-only discussion board for feedback on how the course was going. This may be one easy way to get notes on small improvements that can be made in the PDC.

Further reading

Resources