Resources for Disruptions

This week has been really stressful for the staff, faculty and administration at many institutions of higher education. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many colleges and universities are choosing to suspend face-to-face classes and abruptly switch to remote delivery. While this has been a chaotic week (to say the least), one of the really pleasant outcomes has been the wealth of information and resources that are being shared online. With my role on campus, I’ve been sharing a lot of these resources through email but I figured some of you avid 8 Blog readers might want access to that stuff, too. So, here’s a rare second post for the week.

Making the Online Transition Abruptly
Going Online in a Hurry: What to Do and Where to Start
This is a really accessible starting point published by The Chronicle of Higher Education. While it doesn’t get into the technical details of going online like Teaching Effectively During Times of Disruption, it does provide step-by-step instructions for moving online.

An Emergency Guide (of sorts) to Getting This Week’s Class Online in About an Hour (or so)
This is kind of lengthy post from the Edugeek Journal, but it covers a lot of territory. From finding and creating content to fostering engagement to planning for accessibility, this is a great primer for folks who may be stressed about where to begin.

You Have To Put Your Class Online: Simple Things to Think About
This is collaborative Google Document created by a whole host of different online instructors. The advice is straight-forward and supportive, which is what a lot of our colleagues need right now.

So You Want to Temporarily Teach Online
Published on the Inside Higher Education website, this resource offers some basic starting points to consider. I really appreciate that it focuses on instructor’s and students’ needs as guiding principles. In this chaotic time, I think it’s more important than ever to Lead with Empathy.

Are You Ready to be an Online or Remote Learning Facilitator?
This is a short list of considerations that faculty who are transitioning to online or remote delivery need to consider. The page is a creation of Dr. Bob DuBois, Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Keep Teaching During Prolonged Campus or Building Closures
Developed at Indiana University, this site is a direct response to the coronavirus pandemic. The site breaks supports into three categories: Getting started, Strategies and Resources. All three will get your creative juices flowing.

Remote Teaching Resources for Business Continuity
This is the motherlode of resources. Curated by Daniel Stanford, the director of faculty development and technology innovation at the DePaul University Center for Teaching and Learning, the Google Document houses links to resources from all of the colleges and universities who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Please do a bad job of putting your courses online
This is from a blog by Rebecca Barrett-Fox, a sociology professor at Arkansas State University. While I don’t agree with all of her sentiments, I think her attention to student well-being is critical during this time of need.

Moving your Science Lab Online

As I was sharing resources to faculty, some science colleagues asked whether I had any advice for moving their labs online. If you’re in that position, definitely check out the following links:

POD Network List of Remote Labs
MERLOT Virtual Labs
Exploring Virtual Science Labs
Making Science Labs Available to Online Students
13 Must Have Virtual Lab Apps
Labxchange
Journal of Visualized Experiments Archive

Remember that you’re probably not going to find something that provides the exact same experience that a face-to-face lab experience does. That’s not the goal. Instead, try to find something that meets your learning objectives and provides as rich of a learning experience as possible considering the constraints of an unexpected need to remote teaching.

Premium Stuff for Free
A bunch of companies are responding to the disruption by offering their premium services for free.

Kahoot!
In response to COVID-19 closures, Kahoot! is offering free access to all features to support distance learning in schools affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Education institutions can get free access to Kahoot! Premium to empower distance and online learning and engage students anywhere, anytime.

TechSmith
For those institutions transitioning to remote learning, TechSmith is providing their help by offering free access and expanded usage of tools that help enable educational continuity. Definitely check out their SnagIt and Video Review tools.

High-quality Sites and Apps That Are Supporting School Closures With Free Resources
Again, I’m just so impressed by the people who are working to support their colleagues and the educational community during this disruption. Padlet user Krisinzf created the Padlet to keep track of all of the free resources that companies are offering to navigate school closures. Lots of great stuff there.

I’ll try to update this page as I come across new stuff.