Tips for Teaching Remotely

Owned by Beth Woods (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Feb 05, 2021 by Jeremy Lopez
5 min read

Overview

This document is intended to serve as a quick reference guide for Franklin College faculty and staff who need to teach remotely while ensuring business continuity.

Campus Documentation

The Office of Instruction has published a guide with information aimed at preparing faculty for transitioning from a face-to-face to an online delivery format. Please be sure to visit this website.

Technology for Teaching and Learning Continuity: https://ovpi.uga.edu/initiatives/teaching_learning_continuity/

Connecting to services and devices remotely

Connecting to the VPN and ArchPass Duo are pre-requisites to connecting to many campus services. If you are working remotely and find you are unable to connect to a service, you may need to first connect to the campus VPN. Additionally, if your ArchPass Duo is set up for your office phone, you may need to set up a backup or alternative device to work remotely.

Please be aware: there are a limited number of VPN connections available for use. Consider alternative options for accessing services in the event VPN usage is saturated or not available (e.g., access services via vLab, working during off-peak hours, consider saving a copy of your files locally on your computer or to OneDrive for off-campus use, etc.).

Available Learning Technologies

eLearning Commons (eLC)

eLC is the University of Georgia's supported learning management system. All UGA course sections listed in Athena have a corresponding eLC course created named by course prefix, course number, semester, and CRN (e.g., ANTH 1000 Spring 2020 12345).

Primary uses of eLC

eLC can be used to:

  • distribute course content (e.g., documents, links, streaming media)
  • facilitate asynchronous discussion
  • link to video conferencing sessions (e.g., Zoom)
  • collect student assignments
  • distribute student grades in compliance with FERPA

eLC Support Resources

Office 365 ProPlus

Office 365 ProPlus is a productivity suite of software that includes Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. Current students, faculty and staff are permitted to use the software on up to 5 computers (Windows or iOS) and on their mobile devices (Android, iOS or Windows). Office 365 ProPlus Includes:

For MacOS and Windows computers: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook

For Mobile Devices (available at the Android, Apple, & Microsoft App Store):

  • Android:  Microsoft Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint & Word
  • iOS:  Microsoft Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint & Word
  • Microsoft:  Microsoft Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint & Word

Primary uses of Office 365

  • Email
  • Calendar
  • OneDrive for Business
  • Office 365 Applications – primarily web-based versions of Microsoft Office applications which are stored in OneDrive and can be shared with others

Office 365 Support Resources

Zoom

Zoom is the primary web conferencing tool for UGA faculty, staff, and students. Zoom allows for video and audio conferencing as well as chat services from computers and mobile devices through a web-based interface.

Primary uses of Zoom

  • Video and/or Audio conferencing 
  • Desktop sharing and collaboration
  • Recordable session for upload to Kaltura for asynchronous streaming
  • 300-participant limit
  • Chat service

Zoom Support Resources

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is an alternative to Zoom, providing web-based conferencing that can be used in eLC or as a stand-alone application.

Primary uses of Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

  • Video or Audio Conferencing 
  • Desktop sharing and collaboration
  • Recordable session for future reference
  • 250-participant limit

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra Support Resources

Kaltura

Kaltura is a media storage and streaming service for the University of Georgia campus.

Primary uses of Kaltura

  • Create or upload recorded audio or video content for streaming
  • Closed captioning for videos 
  • Share media inside or outside eLC

Kaltura Support Resources

YouTube

YouTube is a video streaming and sharing service.

Please note: YouTube is not currently a UGA service. Faculty who use YouTube are responsible for following all relevant federal, state, and institutional laws, policies, and guidelines.

Primary uses of YouTube in the classroom

  • Upload and publish video content for streaming
  • Closed captioning for videos
  • Share media inside or outside eLC

YouTube Support Resources

Qualtrics

Qualtrics is a web-based survey tool that is free for UGA faculty, staff and student use.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Creative Cloud is a software bundle available to Franklin College faculty and staff that supports graphic design, video editing, audio editing, among other creative tasks. 

Primary uses of Adobe Creative Cloud

  • Create, read, and edit PDF files
  • Create and edit graphics, vector art, and illustrations
  • Create and edit videos or audio files

Adobe Creative Cloud Support Resources

Installing software

Captioning and Equitable Alternatives

For ADA purposes, there are two kinds of media:

  1. media produced by members of the UGA community, and 
  2. media produced outside of UGA

The UGA Disability Resource Center (DRC) can caption media produced outside of UGA, but for anything produced by members of the UGA community, the responsibility for captioning or providing an equitable alternative lies with the creator and their department.

Here are a number of resources to assist you in making sure the media in your course(s) meet the captioning requirement:

If captioning is not the chosen form of providing accessible media there are other Equitable Alternatives that can be considered. An equitable alternative means any course material used can be accessed by as many learners as possible regardless of ability. Some options are listed below.

Questions about captioning media can be directed to DRC: ccap@uga.edu.

Course Delivery Considerations

In addition to the recommendations outlined in the Campus Documentation, consider preparing alternative options for course content delivery in case you or your students encounter technical challenges. Here are some examples:

  • Provide students call-in information for audio-only participation in Zoom class sessions
  • Record Zoom class sessions and upload recordings to Kaltura for later viewing in eLC
  • Consider incorporating pre-recorded lessons for later viewing in eLC as an alternative to synchronous Zoom class sessions
  • Use the captioning features in Kaltura to generate editable closed captions and downloadable transcripts
  • Provide text-based content for download prior to live classes or in parallel to pre-recorded lessons (e.g., PDFs or PowerPoints of lessons/lectures, caption file transcripts, etc.) 
  • When creating online tests for your students consider them all to be open books tests.

Resources

Student Access Considerations

The following resources may be relevant for some students who encounter internet access challenges:

Additionally, the following resources are available to students as they transition to an online learning model:

FERPA Information

Excerpted from the UGA Registrar's Office: FERPA | General Information page under "What is allowable?" section:

[FERPA] information can only be released directly to the student in person, on ELC, or through UGAMail.  Posting confidential information to other websites, email addresses, blogs, etc. is not allowed.

Resources

Copyright and Fair Use

In addition to the resources and suggestions listed on the Campus Documentation, the following resources outline differences between face-to-face and online teaching that many faculty find useful when planning their courses:

Resources

Requesting Support

Franklin OIT Help Desk

Ticket: https://helpdesk.franklin.uga.edu
Email: helpdesk@franklin.uga.edu
Phone: 706-542-9900

System Status Information