Online teaching best practices checklist
This page provides an online teaching checklist with strategies and best practices in teaching your asynchronous online course. It is intended to be used as a self-check, enabling you to implement and reflect on research based-best practices prior to, during, and after the semester.
Before the semester begins
- What is it? Preparing to teach by rolling your previously taught course site into the new semester and updating all course material, dates, and other information.
- When should I do it? At your earliest possible convenience. The more time you give yourself to roll and update your course, the less issues you will experience during the semester.
- How do I do it? See the Canvas Guide’s “How do I copy content from another Canvas course using the Course Import tool?”. Please see the Preparing to Teach and WebCampus FAQ webpages if you have further questions.
- What is it? Clicking through your entire course site to double check links, dates, and ensure that all material is presented and linked properly.
- When should I do it? A week or so before students have access to the course.
- Why should I do it? To prevent confusion and last-minute troubleshooting during the semester and ensure that your course is properly prepared.
- What is it? An email sent to all students on your class roster.
- When should I do it? About two weeks before class begins.
- Why should I do it? To welcome students to the course, reinforce that it is an online course, explain the type of lectures they will encounter, direct them to information about what technology they will need, and provide them with course information such as the textbook to purchase and how to access Canvas tutorials.
- How do I do it? Locate your roster in MyNevada and then select Notify to email your entire course.
Beginning of the semester
- What is it? An announcement that welcomes students to the course.
- When should I do it? On or before the first day of your course.
- Why should I do it? To set the tone and expectations for the course and, additionally, remind students that their online course has begun.
- How do I do it? Craft a concise announcement that gives students a good idea of what they can expect from the course, including total number of hours per week they’ll spend in the course, interaction requirements, how to reach out with questions, etc. Consider ways to create a positive, motivating, welcoming tone that lets students know that they can succeed in the course.
- What is it? An announcement that reminds students where to go for technology help and reiterates that Canvas is most compatible with Firefox and Chrome—remind them that some programs within Canvas may be incompatible with the Canvas Student App.
- When should I do it? Day 1/the first week of class.
- Why should I do it? To reinforce for students that you are not the Help Desk, but to remind them that they have 24/7 support available, and to preemptively address issues that might arise with using the wrong browser, etc.
- How do I do it? Refer them to Contacts and Help on the homepage, and/or provide the UNR Help Desk’s direct phone number (775) 682-5000. In the announcement, include any additional contact information your students might need depending on the programs you use in class (e.g. MyLab, Connect, etc.). Your students should know who to reach out to for what issues, as explained in the Contacts and Help page.
- What is it? Emails/messages to individual students who have not accessed the course or submitted any assignments in the first few days.
- When should I do it? Day 3/midway through the first week of class
- Why should I do it? To see if they are having problems logging in and need help, to reinforce that they must log in to the course several times a week, and to establish a connection with students who may be struggling.
- How do I do it? Use the “Message Students Who” feature in the gradebook or the People page in Canvas, and/or MyNevada email option to send direct emails. Ask if they are having issues logging in, or if there is anything you can do to help. Ask them to either log in to the course or respond to you by a given date.
- What is it? An announcement reminding students when you are available for live office hours and how they can contact you. You can also consider holding topic-specific office hours, such as for a big assignment or complex topics, where students can email questions ahead of time.
- Why should I do it? To remind students that you are available to answer questions or provide more information at any time.
- How do I do it? Post an announcement with your stated “live” office hours and let students know how they can contact you. For special sessions, take questions ahead of time (and create some of your own to address), and hold and record the session in Zoom. Then, post the session in your course for any students that missed it and wish to view it.
- What is it? An announcement reminding students of the due date and time of their first assignment. You might also attach the course schedule of assignments and due dates, or remind students where to locate this information in the course.
- Why should I do it? To provide the same reminders you do in face-to-face classes, to help students develop a schedule, and to prevent procrastination.
- How do I do it? Post an announcement with the assignment in the subject line and let students know when it is due. Remind them where the assignment information/prompt/rubric is, and what tool they will be using. You might also let them know when they can expect feedback and post an additional announcement when they have grades and feedback to view. Include a note that they should be using the Canvas Calendar and Syllabus for more information.
During the semester
- What is it? A webcam video, audio recording, or text-based post that provides more information on concepts that students (through their questions or work) seem to be confused about. You can create “Clarification Point” videos to clarify topics, post additional resources, address misconceptions, answer questions within the module, respond to questions in an open Q&A discussion forum, and/or use the Chat feature.
- Why should I do it? To provide students with additional information or explication for difficult or complex course topics or problems.
- How do I do it? Create a webcam or screencast in WebCampus or create an audio file or text post. Post as an announcement or add an item within the relevant module and let students know, via an announcement, that you’ve added information.
- What is it? Summary announcements can be used to summarize the main ideas from a module that is ending, or to provide summary feedback to the whole class that highlights good ideas contributed, etc. They can also be used to connect the topics together that students are learning in the course or connect the topics to real-world scenarios.
- Why should I do it? To help students focus on the main takeaways from a module or discussion, highlight the major points for a reading, and/or provide closure and connection from one module to the next. Summary feedback can also highlight for students what an exemplary assignment includes and give greater insight into your expectations.
- How do I do it? Post an announcement indicating you’re providing either a summary/takeaway of a module or providing summary/overall feedback on an assignment. For the former, also consider connecting the past module to what students will be learning next. For the latter, consider posting a webcam video, screencast, or audio file, so that students can gain encouragement and insight from the tone of your voice.
- What is it? An announcement reminding students to look ahead to their identity verification assessment/proctored exam and start preparing for it in advance of when it is due.
- Why should I do it? To provide the same reminders you do in face-to-face classes, to help students develop a schedule, and to prevent procrastination. Remind them that they will need to plan ahead for the assignment—especially if your course uses a remote online proctoring service.
- How do I do it? Post an announcement with the assignment in the subject line and let students know how to prepare for it. Remind them where the assignment information is, and what requirements or additional information they will need for the tool they will be using. You might also let them know who to reach out to for technical help. Include a note about the importance of completing the assessment.
- What is it? Feedback on activities and assessments provided within 5–7 days for weekly assignments and 7–10 days for larger assignments from when students complete the assignment.
- Why should I do it? To guide students’ learning, and to provide them with feedback in time for them to use that guidance on their next assignment.
- How do I do it? For auto-graded quizzes and tests, consider including feedback for both correct and incorrect answers. For other assignments, provide feedback using SpeedGrader annotation tools to highlight and add comments, download an MS Word doc and use track changes, and/or create audio, webcam video, or screencast feedback. Also, make an announcement to let students know they have feedback and let them know how to access feedback for the first one or two assignments within the Comments box.
- What is it? An anonymous survey or evaluation given mid-way through the semester.
- Why should I do it? To use student feedback for insight and review of your course, teaching, organization, material, and more. Allows instructor to gauge student understandings and misunderstandings and make adjustments before course completion.
- How do I do it? Use the Canvas Quizzes tool Survey feature to post an anonymous evaluation. Keep it brief and connected to the following: content delivery, course organization, teaching and communication, and always provide a space for students to share anything they are still confused about and why. Reassure your students that it is completely anonymous, you welcome their feedback, and/or offer extra credit to encourage participation.
End of semester
- What is it? Entering zero grades for all missing graded assignments in the Canvas Gradebook.
- Why should I do it? It provides the most accurate overall grade for the student. When not entered, the grades in the Total column become skewed.
- How do I do it? Go to your course Gradebook and replace all (--) with (0) grades for any missed assignments. Please note that Extra Credit assignments do not need the zero grade added.
- What is it? Checking to see that every student in your course has had their identity verified by the end of the semester.
- Why should I do it? It meets University Policies, Federal Guidelines, and Accreditation Standards.
- How do I do it? Go to your course Gradebook and make sure that all students completed the identity verification assessment for your course. If they did not, reach out to students individually to verify identity in some manner, and/or discuss the issue with your academic chair.
- What is it? Standard University-wide Course Evaluation linked in your course menu.
- Why should I do it? It is one of the best methods for evaluating your course. The University aims for 80% response rates, and rates are higher when instructors encourage their students to complete them reminding them that they are 100% anonymous.
- How do I do it? You will receive an email from the Provost’s Office when evaluations are ready in your course. Create a webcam or screencast in WebCampus or create an audio file or text post with a reminder. Post as an announcement or add an item on the homepage or in the last module and remind students that you welcome and value their feedback.
- What is it? A way to bring the course “full circle” with summary thoughts on main takeaways, notes for outstanding items, reminders to complete any feedback surveys, and closing thoughts from you.
- Why should I do it? To provide students with a sense of closure for the course.
- How do I do it? Create a webcam or screencast in WebCampus or create an audio file or text post. Post an announcement or item in the last module, and let students know that you have added it. You could also create a course wrap up discussion where students can discuss what they liked best and/or learned the most about, etc.
- What is it? Posting final student grades in MyNevada.
- Why should I do it? So that the student receives credit for completing the course; it is University policy.
- How do I do it? Using the UNR Academic Calendar, make a note on your personal calendar as to when Final Grades are due for the semester. When grade rosters are available, log into MyNevada and assign final grades or sync WebCampus with MyNevada. If you have any questions about posting final grades, please reach out to Admissions & Records.
After the semester has ended
- What is it? Tidying up and removing any old or unused materials from your course site.
- Why should I do it? UNR’s servers have limited capacity and cannot hold materials indefinitely. Additionally, the less materials you have in your course, the less work you must do to ensure that all materials are accessible.
- How do I do it? See the Data Maintenance webpage for more information on how to tidy up your course site at the end of the semester.