Quick Guide for Continuity Planning
The Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation (CTSI) has prepared this resource to help you deliver your course in the event of a disruption. To ensure the ongoing success of your courses, you can use Quercus, powered by Canvas, and a selection of supported educational technology tools in the U of T Academic Toolbox to address various teaching and learning scenarios during a disruption. Contents include:
- Ensuring Course Delivery
- Teaching and Learning Scenarios
- Support Contacts
Ensuring Course Delivery
Communicate with Students and Other Course Staff
| Task | Teaching Resources |
|---|---|
| Contact my students | Quercus - Announcements - Conversations/Inbox - Customize Course Notifications - Export Group Roster for email |
| Contact my TAs | Quercus - Conversations/Inbox - Unpublished discussion board - University email |
| Hold online office hours | - MS Teams Video - VoIP Services Guides and Tips - Online Office Hourswith Barb Murck |
| Schedule course tasks and assignments | Quercus - Calendar |
| Plan the mid-term and final assessments | Quercus - How to Hold a Vote to Modify Methods of Evaluation - Classic Quizzes (recommended for mid-term and final examinations) - Administer Take-home Exams Using the Assignments Tool on Quercus (video 8.47 min) - Using Quercus Quizzes Tool for Automated Online Test (video 8.58 min) Guides - Review of U of T University Assessment and Grading Practices Policy |
| Receive student work online | Quercus - Classic Quizzes - Assignments |
| Check for textual similarities in assignments | Assignments Using Plagiarism Detection |
Post Course Content on Quercus
| Task | Teaching Resource |
|---|---|
| Post course materials (e.g., syllabus, readings, slides) | Quercus - Modules and Pages |
| Host course related multimedia audio and video files | Quercus - Rich Media Files (Videos and Images) - Create hyperlinks to external URLs MyMedia Guides and Tips - OLS Video Strategies - Creating a Course Tour with Prof. Avi J. Cohen, Professor (video 2.24 min) - Be aware that quota in Quercus is limited |
Deliver Lectures
| Task | Teaching Resource |
|---|---|
| Recorded lectures | Screen Recording - TechSmith Snagit Microsoft PowerPoint audio recording option for slide-by-slide narration |
| Conduct live lectures online | Webinars/Web-Conferencing Tool - Zoom Guides and Tips - Review real-time teaching and learning online with webinars tip sheet - Flexible Learning: Webinar Lectures with Prof. Don Boyes (video 2.33 min) |
| Share recordings | Upload recordings to: - MyMedia - MS Stream Post links to recordings in Quercus - Create hyperlinks to external urls Guides and Tips - Review streaming tools comparison chart |
Deliver Tutorials and Seminars
| Task | Teaching Resources |
|---|---|
| Recorded lectures | Screen Recording - TechSmith Snagit - Microsoft PowerPoint audio recording option for slide-by-slide narration |
| Conduct live lectures online | Enterprise Video-conferencing & Video Meeting Resources |
| Offer enhanced office hours/just-in-time sessions | MS Teams Video |
| Share recordings | Upload recordings to: - MyMedia - MS Stream Post links to recordings in Quercus - Create hyperlinks to external URLs Guides and Tips - Review streaming tools comparison chart |
Online Storage for Course Materials
| Task | Teaching Resource |
|---|---|
| Store files and assignments within Quercus | Quercus - Files Instructors can: - upload one or multiple files - view all details about the files - preview files - publish and unpublish files - set usage rights - restrict access to files |
| Store personal files in one place and for easy sharing | Microsoft Office 365 - OneDrive - Use share link option |
Manage Assignments
| Task | Teaching Resource |
|---|---|
| Receive students’ assignments online | Quercus - Assignments |
| Provide feedback on students’ assignments | Quercus - Rubrics - SpeedGrader |
| Manage students’ grades | Quercus - Gradebook |
Online Quizzes and Surveys
| Task | Teaching Resource |
|---|---|
| Receive students’ assignments online | Quercus - Classic Quizzes - New Quizzes |
| Provide feedback on students’ assignments | Quercus - Rubrics - SpeedGrader |
| Assignments using plagiarism detection | Assignments Using Plagiarism Detection |
Managing Grades
| Task | Teaching Resource |
|---|---|
| Manage students’ Grades | Quercus - Gradebook Guides - Review U of T University Assessment and Grading Practices Policy Using eMarks - Contact Divisional Educational Technology Staff |
Teaching and Learning Scenarios
Facilitate Interaction
| Scenario | Teaching Resource |
|---|---|
| Discussion during a live, online session of my class (e.g., lecture, seminar, guest speaker) | Enterprise Video-conferencing & Video Meeting Resources |
| Create an online discussion forum to give students a place to post questions, respond to each other’s questions and clarify main points asynchronously | Quercus - Discussions - PeppeR Guides and Tips - Engaging Students in an Online Environment Active Learning methods that engage students in the learning process: - Give One – Get One: Helps students access prior knowledge to give and get feedback - Ticket Out the Door: students post low risk written feedback - 3-2-1: Students respond to question prompts in Discussion post (e.g., 3 – Important points from today’s lecture. 2 – Limitations of this perspective. 1 – Question I still have is…? Or 1 point that was unclear was…? |
| Help students collaborate on group work | Quercus - Groups - Pages Wiki option Microsoft Office 365 - OneDrive |
SUPPORT CONTACTS
Divisional Educational Technology Staff
If you have questions or need support with Quercus, contact your divisional support team. They may have additional plans, resources, tools, and recommendations. Please check with them first.
Quercus Get Help Form
If you do not know who your divisional educational technology representative is, email q.help@utoronto.ca.