How is it possible to take a regular (physical) course and conduct it over an online space, with the least amount of extra effort?

The main components that you have to address are ways to transmit learning materials to students, and effective ways to interact with students – this is the principle element that will be compromised.

 

1. Upload relevant materials to the course site

This can include presentations, recordings from previous years, and links to reading lists - in an orderly manner. The most important thing is that the material be available to students, enough time before the lesson. Links to instructions for basic use of Moodle and organizing material on the course page can be found on the bottom of the Teaching and Learning Center distance learning page.  

For instructors who choose to use presentations, we strongly recommend that you upload a spoken version (see here how to do this easily) or to record the first lectures in advance with Panopto and upload them to the site (record lecture without clicking on broadcast; at the end of recording, it will upload automatically to the course site on Moodle).

 

2. Think about the ways to transmit the material to the students

Transmitting a full lecture in a live broadcast – Enables you to deliver a lecture and to interact with your students in real time, using designated software.

You can read more about this on the page: Tips for Transmitting a Live Broadcast/Synchronous Lecture

Uploading material to Moodle for Online Learning -

Since transmitting an entire class in a live broadcast requires a great deal of skill and experience, while conducting an online discussion is easier, we suggest that you integrate both methods as much as possible:  

We strongly recommended that you upload materials for reading/viewing before class, and that during the time assigned for the class (according to the coursebook), you conduct a structured discussion with your students.

We recommend that you plan the discussion so that it is clear and structured, and prepare the questions in advance.

Regardless of which method you choose, it is important that you plan ways to communicate with students pertaining to the material being studied. We suggest that you divide the learning activities into short segments (10-20 minutes), and to allow for interaction after each section, in the form of questions to the audience. For those who are advanced, you can also consider integrating questionnaires or short tasks during the online lesson.

 

3. Instruct the students before the beginning of the course

Your contact with the students is the main thing that they will miss. Therefore, you must inform the students about the new teaching methods in the course and about the expectations of them. Use the bulletin board on the course site on Moodle. Detail how you are planning to teach your students, how you suggest that they learn, what your expectations are, and how they can contact you and the teaching assistants. We recommend that you plan online office hours using Zoom, during which you can answer questions. Your students will appreciate this very much. You can certainly share with the students that there is uncertainty about some of the issues, and explain that there will be updates as the semester progresses.

 

4. Coordinate with teaching assistants

If there are teaching assistants for your course, or if you able to obtain teaching assistants, think about what would be the most effective way to use their help: assistance in grading assignments, responding more effectively to students, etc. It is important to contact the teaching assistants immediately to ascertain their level of   availability, and to ascertain the elements that they can support.

 

5. Consider course evaluation methods

It is likely that due to the new format, evaluation components will be added to your course (such as answering questionnaires, peer assessment, etc.).  Take this into account. You can inform the students that there could be changes during the first two weeks (subject to the limits of the regulations).