If you are returning to online teaching after a year or more away, you may be startled to see how our Discussion interface has changed in your absence. Here are some resources to help you get up to speed with all these changes.
Review the Teaching Online Training Course
The Teaching Online training course has been revised to reflect the system upgrades. I have set up a special section of the course for returning online instructors. You can review the modules at your convenience, post questions in the discussion, and practice with the new interface. I'll be monitoring the class and will be available to answer your questions. (Remember that the Academy compensates part-time instructors for their training time. Learn more: Reporting your hours in Workday)
If you would like to be enrolled in the training, please get in touch with me (jmichael@academyart.edu).
Attend an Online Workshop
Online Education staff offer several workshops at the start of the semester to help new instructors — and continuing instructors who have not worked in the new interface — get up to speed. You are welcome to attend. In addition to open Q&A sessions, there are workshops on Teaching in your Online Office. Check out the schedule here: Teacher Training Workshops.
Get familiar with the Academy's new Online Teaching Standards
In Spring 2017, the Academy established a new set of standards for online teaching, to ensure that our students have the best possible educational experience. It's crucial that you familiarize yourself with these standards before you teach online again. Learn more: Standards for Online Instructors.
Additional Resources
Prefer to go it alone? Here are some materials that will help:
The Discussion Navigation page includes tutorials and cheat sheets that provide an overview of how the new discussion interface works.
You will need to know about Setting Up Your Topics.
You'll also want to take a look at the Grading/Critiquing Tutorial, which walks you through the new process for reviewing and grading assignments.
Is your class using The Gradebook? Review these training materials to get up to speed.
Don't miss the information about Tools for Online Critiques, including the new "Notes" tool, which lets you critique from your mobile device.
And check out the page on Assessing Online Participation to learn about these tools.
I also recommend that you take a look the Online Teaching Blog, where you'll find many posts describing the new interface and changes that have been made over the past year. (See these posts for quick summaries: New for Fall 2016 in your Online Classes | New for Spring 2017 | What's new for Summer 2017? | New for Fall 2017 in the online learning system | New online for Spring 2018 | Online updates for Summer 2018)
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