Summer 2020 Update

The Academic Technology Center has been hard at work throughout this Spring and Summer to anticipate the needs of the WPI community during these uncertain times. While we all had to pivot quickly for D-Term, we can now take the Summer to fully explore the tools, resources, and training available to help make the upcoming TechFlex term successful. 

Recording Your Lectures 

Echo360 FAQs 

Each classroom at WPI is now equipped with Echo360 Lecture Capture thanks to our amazing AV Services team. But is Echo360 the tool you need? How does it differ from Zoom? Do I have to be in a classroom to record? Start here with our “Recording Videos in a Pandemic” blog post. 

Storing Videos & Lectures 

Are you maxing out your Canvas storage? Learn more about the options we have for streaming your lectures and uploading video or other media that connect into Canvas for a seamless experience for you and your students.  

Engagement with Remote Students 

Have you considered how to engage with your remote students? While students in the classroom can easily participate, how can you best include those who are remote? 

  • Active Instructor presence in online classes 
  • Host weekly synchronous sessions where possible 
  • Incorporate peer-to-peer interaction and community building activities 
  • Connect course material to students’ personal and daily experiences, societal issues, outside interests, and goals to promote engagement and motivation 
  • Interim deadlines throughout the course week to keep students on track 
  • Provide timely feedback and grades  
  • Be sensitive to access and technology challenges of remote students 
  • Foster an environment of caring and inclusion 
  • Connect with an Instructional Designer for assistance with the design or development of your online course 

Want to learn more? See the Faculty Online Learning Community and Online Pedagogy Workshop resources below. 

Canvas Basics – Create, Engage, Learn 

Thanks to all the faculty who attended our Canvas basic training sessions in the Spring. We wanted to review 3 basic housekeeping tips that might be helpful as you prepare your Fall course sites.  

  1. ATC can assist with adding TAs/PLAs, merging class sections so you only need to post materials once, and copying previous course content into your upcoming course. Please fill out our form to request these services: https://www.wpi.edu/+canvasrequest  
  2. Your Canvas course site and individual content items must be published for students to see it. Course content and Canvas e-mail will not be available before the official start of the term unless you set a custom start date.  
  3. Canvas offers 24/7 tech support for faculty, staff, and students. Simply click on the Help button in the left-hand menu to chat, call, or email Canvas. 

Need a Canvas, Echo360, or Zoom “Basics” refresher? We recorded our sessions from D-Term: On-Demand & Micro Trainings. Want to learn more? Advanced sessions will be offered beginning in August, schedule is available below or on our Workshops page. 

Best Practices for Remote & Blended Teaching 

Engage with your Peers 

Join the new Faculty Online Learning Community Teams site, a forum for sharing information, ideas, TechFlex plans and models, and for asking questions about online and blended teaching. This new resource is supported by WPI Faculty Online Champions, the Morgan Center, and the Technology for Teaching and Learning team.   

Infographic on Best Practices for Online and Hybrid Teaching 

Summer Workshop Schedule 

Looking for one-on-one or departmental (virtual) training? Email us at atc-ttl@wpi.edu and we’d be happy to schedule a one-on-one Zoom call with you or your team. Workshops will be recorded if you cannot make one of the times below. 

August 4th 

Advanced Zoom Training: Interactive Tools (Registration Link)
11:00am-12:00pm
This training focuses on Annotation, Breakout Rooms, and Polling. Registration is required. 

 

August 6th 

Canvas Assignments and Quizzes (Registration Link)
10:00am-11:00am
Zoom Link

Course Building and Organization (Registration Link)
2:00pm-3:00pm
Zoom Link

 

August 10th 

Advanced Zoom Training: Advanced Options (Registration Link)
11:00am-12:00pm
This training focuses on Zoom meeting settings, registration options, and reports. Registration is required.

Echo360 – Overview
1:00pm-2:00pm
Zoom Link 

   

August 12th 

Course Building and Organization (Registration Link)
10:00am-11:00am
Zoom Link

Advanced Zoom Training: Interactive Tools (Registration Link)
11:00am-12:00pm
This training focuses on Annotation, Breakout Rooms, and Polling. Registration is required.

Echo360 – Overview
1:00pm-2:00pm
Zoom Link 

Using Canvas Gradebook Effectively (Registration Link)
2:00pm-3:00pm
Zoom Link

 

August 13th 

Echo360 – Advanced Topics
11:00am-12:00pm
Zoom link 

 

August 14th

Advanced Zoom Training: Advanced Options (Registration Link)
11:00am-12:00pm
This training focuses on Zoom meeting settings, registration options, and reports. Registration is required.

   

August 17th 

Echo360 – Overview
1:00pm – 2:00pm
Zoom Link 

 

August 18th 

Using Canvas Gradebook Effectively (Registration Link)
10:00am-11:00am
Zoom Link

Canvas Assignments and Quizzes (Registration Link)
2:00pm-3:00pm
Zoom Link

  

August 19th 

Echo360 – Advanced Topics
10:00am – 11:00am
Zoom Link

 

August 20th 

Echo360 – Overview
10:00am – 11:00pm
Zoom link 

 

August 24th 

Canvas Assignments and Quizzes (Registration Link)
10:00am-11:00am
Zoom Link

Course Building and Organization (Registration Link)
2:00pm-3:00pm
Zoom Link

  

August 25th 

Using Canvas Gradebook Effectively (Registration Link)
2:00pm-3:00pm
Zoom Link

 

Technology Support 

 

Additional Resources 

ATC’s Online in a Hurry – an open Canvas site developed by our team to get your course going remotely even when short on time 

Online Pedagogy Workshop – an open Canvas site developed by our Instructional Design team focusing on resources for best practices of online pedagogy  

Faculty Online Learning Community – As a follow-on to the OPW, this Microsoft Teams site will be a space for us all to connect and share our course plans and ideas, respond to questions and challenges, and exchange information and resources. Since Zoom is integrated in the Teams platform, we will also try some informal gatherings. 

Online Faculty Champions – In collaboration with the Morgan Teaching & Learning Center, we’d like to recognize 18 online faculty champions (listed below) who are serving as points of contact and community builders across campus. Some are department-based and others are cross-cutting. Many have reached out to their department colleagues already, and you are welcome to contact them. 

Technology for Teaching and Learning blog – How-to’s, tips and tricks, and more helpful info on the supported Academic Technology tools at WPI 

Virtual Student Support – As faculty engage students in the online space, there can be a need for additional support for reaching out to students who are unresponsive and/or not engaging. The Virtual team, led by Debra Boucher, Katie Elmes, and Aprile Mero of Undergraduate Studies, is able to collaborate with faculty and take on these additional outreach initiatives to allow faculty to focus on teaching and learning. The team is available for consultations this summer. Additional ways of collaborating with the team will be shared before A term begins. 

Canvas @ WPI blog – Find out more about updates to Canvas, how-to’s and tips and tricks 

 

 

ONLINE FACULTY CHAMPIONS 

  • Sarah Stanlick (Cross-Cutting Project-Based Learning)
  • John Sullivan and Sarah Wodin-Schwartz (Cross-Cutting Labs and ME)
  • Zoe Reidinger (BME)
  • Anita Mattson (CBC)
  • Laila Abu-Lail and John Bergendahl (CEE)
  • Aaron Deskins (CHE)
  • Joshua Cuneo and George Heineman (CS)
  • Maqsood Mughal (ECE)
  • Brent French (WBS)
  • Laura Roberts (IGSD/GS)
  • Marcel Blais and Mike Johnson (MA)
  • Ralph Sutter (IMGD)
  • Nick Bertozzi and Greg Lewin (RBE)
  • Gbeton Somasse (SSPS)