Online Teaching Resources

Welcome to the CTL’s Resource Home for Supporting Online TeachingÌý
at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder!Ìý

Online Teaching

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The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL), along with the Office of Information Technology (OIT), the Learning Design Group (LDG) at Continuing Education (CE), and the Office of Academic and Learning Innovation (ALI), have partnered to provide guidance and resources to aid instructors in navigating the online education ecosystem. If you have any questions, please reach out to any of the support offices, and we will be happy to assist!

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Welcome to teaching online effectively!Ìý
We are excited you are here! Ready to get started? Let's go!

Online teaching continues to grow as an educational option to meet learners' needs for flexibility and completing their educational goals. Online teaching is an effective way to reach learners from across the globe and is inherently necessary to begin with inclusive design and teaching practices. Also, good online teaching begins with a well-structured course that is welcoming and supporting learners. Online teaching, whether asynchronous, synchronous, or a combination thereof, does not mean replicating an in-person course, but rather, modifying and adapting both content and strategies for learner success. If you are setting up or teaching an online course for the first time, start early as the first time requires much more time to prepare. Online teaching is an iterative process and can be extremely rewarding!

¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä-Boulder has various offices across campus that are happy to share their expertise and resources to help you prepare for online teaching and learning. If you are new to ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä, you will want to make sure you have yourÌý to begin. If you are new to online teaching, visit the resources below and/or contact the specific office to meet your needs and schedule a free consultation.

Resources:

While the online course design process may look very familiar to the process for an in-person course, the steps require different considerations to set both you and your learner up for success.ÌýBackwards Design (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) focuses on the alignment of assessments and grading criteria, content and instructional materials, and learning activities to the learning goals and objectives. This process includes reflecting on who your audience or targeted learners are and the following four steps:

  • Developing learning goals and objectives
  • Determining evidence of learning (and evaluating that evidence of learning)
  • Designing learning activities/learning experiences
  • Choosing and creating instructional materials/content

In terms of online teaching, consider the following questions (these are not exhaustive):

  • How do you structure/sequence the course, welcome learners, and provide support for learners in the online environment?
  • How do you plan to communicate with learners and provide feedback for them?
  • How does equity in teaching show up online?
    • What does this look like in terms of the technology being used?
    • What does this look like in terms of an even-playing field (i.e., access, participation, types of assessments, etc.)?
    • How will you create aÌý (Garrison & Arbaugh, 2007)?
  • Learning Design Group’s Faculty Resources

Teaching online requires creating and adapting different kinds of digital resources for your course content. Instructors should make all their digital content as accessible as possible to remove any barriers that prevent their students from fully engaging with their materials. Learning about and incorporating accessible digital practices is an ongoing practice. Use the resources below to get started and reach out to theÌýDigital Accessibility Office for further guidance.

is the Learning Management System (LMS) provided through the Office of Information Technology for use with academic courses taught through ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder main campus or Continuing Education. Canvas provides a platform for communicating with students, posting course content and assessments, and giving students grades and feedback on their submissions. Guidance on how to set up your Canvas course is provided through theÌý team in the Office of Information Technology, as well as through theÌýLearning Design Group in Continuing Education. Additionally, you can make use of theÌý¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Canvas Template to make building your course easier.

Interested in building your own Coursera course? ALI would love to hear fromÌýyou!

The Office of Academic and Learning Innovation (ALI) will assist you in the creation of your courses from start to finish. You will have the support of our Program Development team to help you kick off your project and meet your goals, our Learning Experience Designers to help you plan and design your content—including student outcomes, assessments, learning items, and more—and our Video Editors and Course Production Assistants to help you record and edit your videos and build your program on the Coursera platform. We’re here with you every step of the way.Ìý

Connect with ALI on your course ideas

You have considered the design questions to develop your online course, you have incorporated accessibility standards within your course, and you have built the course within the appropriate learning management system (LMS)/platform. Now you are ready to facilitate! Being an online facilitator requires being prepared/organized, being flexible, and being good at managing your time well throughout the semester. Most importantly, provide yourself with designated days or blocks of time to check on your course and learners.

If you are new to teaching online, visit the Time Management Tips for Online Teaching to get started.ÌýÌý

Support Offices for Online Teaching

Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL)

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Our work through the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) aims to cultivate attitudes toward teaching that areÌýopen, curious, and innovative. As a Center, we invite educators to an open,Ìýcommon space where all are welcome to explore teaching practices, pose questions, have brave conversations, take creative risks, and embrace intellectual humility.Ìý

ÌýAdditionally, we support all ranks of instructors who teach online, throughÌýfreeÌýconsultations,Ìýteaching resources,Ìýprograms,Ìýseminars, workshops, and other events! The CTL professional development staff can assist you in improving your online course design, facilitating learning in an online environment, and creating equitable assessments for the online modality.Ìý

Each month we publish a newsletter that includes timely teaching strategies and resources, CTL updates, and upcoming events of interest to the campus teaching community.Ìý

Learning Design Group (Continuing Education)

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The Learning Design Group (LDG) of Continuing Education partners with faculty at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder to create impactful, learner-centered courses across all modalities. Whether you’re launching a new program, revising an existing course, or looking for fresh ways to engage students, we’re here to help.

We’re a team of instructional designers with over 90 years of combined experience. We support every stage of course planning and delivery includingÌýsolving specific issues, brainstorming ways to better engage students and ensure student success. We alsoÌýdesign and revise academic programs, courses, and other learning experiences to ensure alignment between content and outcomes, whether developing new offerings or refreshing existing ones.

We spend the time with each instructor to help them accomplish their course goals and strategize ways to improve the quality of the student learning experience.

Explore our resources on theÌýLearning Design Group website including tutorials, resources on teaching, webinars and micro-credential courses.

Academic Technology Consulting (Office of Information Technology)

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are dedicated to helping instructors and teaching assistants effectively use campus-supported teaching and learning technologies. The consultants help orient instructors to the selection of academic technology tools supported at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder and assist them in selecting the tools that best meet their teaching goals.Ìý

ATCs offerÌý andÌý on a wide variety of topics, including core Canvas and Zoom functionalities as well as more specialized tools like the Canvas Studio video platform and Cidi Labs Design Tools. In addition to providing a breadth of technical knowledge, many ATCs have taught at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder as graduate student instructors and have an intimate knowledge of how technology can be used to facilitate teaching and learning. ATC services are available to any individual instructor, teaching assistant, or department at ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder.

Office of Academic & Learning Innovation (ALI)

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The , a unit of , provides centralized support for instructors developing large-scale, innovation-driven programs and partnerships. ALI collaborates with campus stakeholders on program design, staffing, management, and funding strategies for both non-credit and for-credit offerings delivered through the Coursera platform.

Instructors receive end-to-end support from ALI’s team of Learning Experience Designers (LXDs), who partner with instructors to create engaging content, develop effective assessments, and ensure a high-quality, cohesive online learning experience. Course development is further supported by video editors and course production assistants who streamline the production process. After launch, ALI evaluates course performance and provides data-informed recommendations for improvement.

¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder students, faculty, instructors, and staff can access the university’s portfolio of over 300 non-credit courses at no cost through ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä on Coursera.

In addition to non-credit course development, ALI supports the creation of scalable, for-credit with performance-based admissions. Our program development team partners with academic units throughout the entire process—from program design and policy development to student support planning and marketing strategy.

Office of Digital Accessibility (DAO)

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The Digital Accessibility Office (DAO)'s mission is to improve the accessibility of the digital campus environment and increase participation in the digital life of the university for individuals with disabilities.

To accomplish our mission, the Digital Accessibility Office:

  • Supports faculty and staff delivering digital services and content to individuals with disabilities. Services include
  • Educates campus community members about their responsibilities under theÌýcampus digital accessibility policy and standards.
  • Supports specific individuals with digital technology in collaboration with the Disability Services and the ADA offices.

For more information on digital accessibility resources and support, please visitÌýthe DAO website.