What's happening in the world of FASE EdTech this month? When we're not thinking about the start-of-term (and updating our technical help guides), we're thinking about the upcoming development on the Economics and Finance course (an online course that is part of the Mining Industry Management Program (MIMP)). We're also working on new videos for the ePUMP project and producing a few one-off video assets for use in courses this fall (see Prof. Chong in action later in this newsletter). If you have any questions about your course, book your 1-1 consultation! Talking 1-1 is hands down our preferred way to offer support. It is also the best bang for your buck; we can get into the details and offer tangible ways to improve your course (and how you run your course).
What's happening over the next few months? We're this close to launching a new version of the ETO website. Moving from Drupal to Wordpress has been...a challenge. While the focus of this project was migration (our current site's platform is at its technical end-of-life) and not feature improvement, we're really happy about some changes we've been able to make. Look for the full account in the November newsletter, right before we launch the new site in December.
If you do one thing after reading this newsletter, review the Quercus Start-of-Term checklist! This checklist isn't about course design (which can be more time consuming and requires more thought) because it is focused on practical course elements that we recommend you consider before your course launches next week. |
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ENGAGE
1. Prepare your Quercus course for the start-of-term
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This checklist aims to help you to quickly but effectively configure and publish your Quercus course. (For a more in-depth Course Design checklist, please review the Remote/Online Course Design Checklist before publishing your course.)
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Access Quercus
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Organize your courses
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Import content or course template into your course
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Organize course content with modules
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Create a course homepage
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Use checklists
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Customize your course navigation
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Set up Assessments and Gradebook
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Add course staff (e.g. Teaching Assistants)
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Publish your course
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Send a "Welcome!" announcement
We would, in particular, draw your attention to item 10 - remember to publish your course. Without publishing, you'll be able to see it but your students will not.
If you have additional questions about start-of-term tasks for your Quercus course, email us at fase.edtech@utoronto.ca or schedule a consultation.
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Not seeing your Quercus course?
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ACCOMODATE
2. Enable auto-recording of your course (using OpenCast content capturing)
Whether or not you plan to release recordings of your class sessions to your students, we always recommend enabling OpenCast (see if your classroom has this built-in content capturing tool using LSM's Instructor Portal). For more information, see our overview of OpenCast's features.
Why use OpenCast?
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It makes it easier to support an accommodation request. You might get an unexpected request during the term and this is one way to ensure that you can respond to that request in a timely fashion.
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It provides a mechanism for you if you want to review your own teaching practice (during or after the term). Recordings can be a helpful tool for self-reflection and professional development.
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It enables students to self-review on their own time. You can choose when/if you release the recordings openly to your class via your Quercus course. For example, you might choose to publish them to students before your higher stakes assessments (e.g., mid-term or final exams) instead of right after each class. Students anecdotally report that recordings released for review reduce overall performance stress.
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Who supports Opencast (OCCS)?
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IMPORT
3. Import the FASE Quercus Course Template
This template course (preview the course) is a starting point for course building and is intended to save you some time when building your Quercus course. The template is fully customizable and editable and is structured using modules. We've included sample components and it's suitable for in person and online courses (as a starting point; you'll likely want to add specific elements as per your course goals). Each element also includes instructor guidelines/information/suggestions for using and modifying the example.
Major elements included are:
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Modules. We've also set up some examples of prerequisites and requirements.
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Pages. We've included pages that we recommend are included for consistency across courses (e.g., Home Page options, academic support resources, module overview, teaching team information).
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Assessments. We've built some basic rubrics (for assignment, quiz, discussions) to get you started.
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Announcements. We've included a few common announcements; you can specific your course details and schedule these to send as needed.
How to use the FASE Quercus Course Template
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Preview the FASE ETO Quercus Template Course
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Download the course template package
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Import the course package into your existing Quercus course Tip: You can select to include all elements or select specific elements to import.
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QUICK TECH TIP
Use MS Stream chapters for easy video navigation
You can add chapters to your videos to break videos down into smaller, digestible sections and help viewers navigate through the content and find what they want to view more easily. Chapters also make it easier for people in your organization to find your videos, because they can search chapter titles with Microsoft Search.
How to add chapters to a video:
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Select and open a video in your MS Stream account.
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Select the Video settings icon from the menu in the upper-right corner of the video, and then turn on the Chapters toggle.
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After chapters are enabled, select + New chapter to create a chapter.
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To add a chapter title, enter the text you want in the Title field and select the check mark button next to the Timecode field to save your changes.
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To edit chapters later, select the Edit icon next to the chapter.
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REUSE
4. Book time to record an instructional video with the ETO
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In this photo, the ETO's Media Specialists, Marisa Curmi (front) and James Zhan (middle) record Professor Alan Chong (ISTEP) (back) in front of a green screen. Prof. Chong approached the ETO to create a quick video on giving better conference presentations. He plans to use it as a preview to his longer, in-person workshops that dive deeper into this topic. To light Alan, we used two softboxes, one as the key light and one as the fill light, and a rim light. We also opted for booming a microphone instead of using a lavalier mic for better audio quality. |
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We mention our larger-scale projects more often than our smaller-scale (or even one-off) projects - you might not know that we also do smaller video projects alongside the big ones. While a large part of our work is online courses (or even online programs!), a not inconsiderable part is the stand alone video asset.
Why make a video? We get this type of request most often when an instructor knows they have a tricky concept that they want to make a bit stickier - perhaps they want to present it in another way, share additional examples or applications, or connect it to something in real life. A video or other digital asset takes some time to record, but it is re-usable year over year and provides flexibility to students in that they can watch on their own time, at the right time.
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REGISTER
5. Sign up for one of CTSI's Tune into Teaching sessions
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CTSI’s Tune into Teaching series is for instructors preparing to teach in the upcoming academic year. These sessions, open to all new and returning faculty and librarians, cover topics such as teaching with technology (e.g., Quickstart Quercus and an introduction to the Academic Toolbox), working with teaching assistant teams, active learning, and so much more. |
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EXPLORE
Faculty Questions of the Week
Each week we answer a real question that we've received about Quercus and other Academic Toolbox tools, keeping the questions timely and relevant to you. You can select on the question to read the full inquiry and response or see all previous faculty questions of the week.
Read the Faculty Questions of the Week
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New (or updated) ETO Technical Guides
We usually update our technical guides as questions come in, changes are made to systems, or as we come up to certain dates in the academic calendar.
Here's what we've been up to over the past month:
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How can I create sections in a Quercus course? This new guide helps instructors create sections in their course, whether by cross-listing (combining) sections, using the U of T Advanced Group Tool (UTAGT), or creating them manually. The guide aims to enhance instructors’ understanding of how courses sync from ROSI and assist in organizing their student lists in a way that best suits their needs.
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How can I use sections in a Quercus course? This new guide offers instructors ideas on how to use sections once they've been created. Each idea is linked to detailed instructions with step-by-step guidance on implementation.
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CLICK
Worthwhile clicks from the Web
Looking for something to read/watch/listen to? Each month we round up things that we've interacted with that we think are worth sharing:
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12 ideas to refresh your teaching in less than 10 minutes | The Educationalist. From the article: These activities don’t take more than 5 to 10 minutes to implement, work in classroom, online and hybrid environments and require minimal (if at all) prior preparation.
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7 Things you should know about a Lightboard | ELI. From the article: A number of colleges and universities are implementing lecture-recording tools in their video studios that allow instructors to face the camera while also writing on a transparent surface. (Including FASE! We'd love to film a lightboard video with you.)
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Feminist Pedagogy for Teaching Online: A Digital Guide. From the guide: This guide provides resources about integrating feminist pedagogy and technology into online, hybrid, and traditional undergraduate courses.
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The Unexpected Benefits of Play | Faculty Focus. From the article: At times, our students may feel that their college classes are repetitive and dull and find themselves just as detached as my family and I had become on our journey. So, I recommend we adopt this antique shop’s method of operations – let us be unexpected in our approach to what we do!
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Curious about the photos in the banner?
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This month's banner images are a few photos taken by the ETO team (and friends) during the past month:
Row 01: Left: Hibiscus (Guest photographer: Cora McCloy )
Row 01: Right: Yellow Dahlia (Allison Van Beek)
Row 02: Left: Day Lilies (Maggie Laidlaw)
Row 02: Right: Pink Dahlia (Anna Limanni)
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