Important Information for Instructors

This page provides resources for instructors to support the transition to online course delivery.

Instructors in need of assistance can access TLE Support through the following channels:

TLE support is available:

  • Monday to Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (if you would like to prearrange support for your class that falls outside of these hours, please contact us)

We encourage you to check out some available resources below that may help you find the solution to your request while you are waiting for one of our team members to contact you.

 

Teaching Continuity

It is important that learners and faculty are prepared with a contingency plan should the college need to close the campus and offer classes remotely.  With this planning in mind, the Teaching and Learning Enhancement department of Research and Innovation suggests the following actions be taken:
  • Plan to deliver your class remotely at the same day and time online that it was scheduled previous to the campus closure.
  • Communicate with your students before a campus closure happens. Make sure they know what the plan is for your course, in the event of a closure, and the best way for you to contact each other. Be clear about the channels of contact and stay regular and consistent in using them. 
  • Most courses offered at the college have an online shell in Brightspace (by D2L). Make this online shell the main point of contact with your students. Ensure that you and your students are familiar with the course shell and key communications tools of News, Email, and Discussions within it.  ITS is currently working on a contingency plan to have all course offerings available through MS Teams if that is a platform you would like to use. Adobe Connect licensure is limited and not all faculty will have access to this platform.
  • Ensure access to technology at home. To transfer your class online, you will need to have access to reliable Internet connection, computer, headset, your files and documents, college applications such as email, Brightspace, Office365 (including OneDrive, Teams, etc.), any other application that you need on regular basis for teaching.
  • If you rely on network drives (e.g., H or P drives) to hold your working documents, make sure to transfer them to your personal space on OneDrive, which is web based and you can access from anywhere with Internet access.
  • Install the BVC CampusAlert app on your mobile device if you have not done so already. Direct your learners to do the same. This way you can focus on your course and teaching and students can get the rest of situation-related information and campus strategies and plans from the CampusAlert or College website.
  • Determine how you are going to stay in touch with your School, leadership and teaching colleagues for consistency and strategic decisions that need to be made (such as assessment strategies or time to return to campus) on later dates. 
Asynchronous teaching and communication do not happen in real time. You and your students interact with each other at different times using tools such as messaging, email, discussion board, recorded video, etc.
  • We use Brightspace (by D2L) for asynchronous teaching and learning. Refer to our Brightspace Resources page for tutorials and instructions on how to navigate and use different features in Brightspace.
  • Brightspace has all the features required to become the hub of your communication with students, platform for sharing of content and administering assessments and assignments.

Good practices

  • Inform your students what would be the main channel of communication (email, news, or a combination of both) between you and them; then stay consistent and regular with that channel.
  • The course home page is the Establish your presence – Learn how to post news and communicate with learners.
  • Create a Discussion topic where students can post their questions and respond to each other's questions.
  • The Course Home page is the front face of your class. Post News to introduce a lesson, guide the learners on what they need to be working on, and what learning activities are coming up. You can use the Video Note option to record yourself (3 minutes) instead of typing a News.
  • Include clear expectations for assignments and quizzes.
  • Create a welcoming environment in your course shell, use your students’ names in your posts to refer to them, and engage them in discussions and collaboration.
Synchronous teaching or communication takes place live, which means students log in to a webinar-type environment at the same time as you and can interact with you and each other in real time.
  • Bow Valley College is recommending Microsoft Teams to conduct live meetings or classes. Refer to MS Teams - Meetings Guide for instructions and resources on how to use the features of MS Teams meeting tools.
  • If you already have an Adobe Connect account and are familiar with using it, you may continue to use Adobe Connect for synchronous communication and teaching.

In holding synchronous classes consider the following good practices:

  • Do you need to meet online for as long as you met face-to-face? It is difficult to keep learners engaged in a 2-hour online session. Consider reducing the length of synchronous sessions and use that time for interaction, answering questions and activities that your learners can engage in. Use Brightspace to share content with your learners and avoid long lectures as much as possible.
  • Do they need to attend a live class to listen to you explain a concept? Can you record voice over PowerPoint and share it with them on Brightspace, so they can watch the lesson on their own time?
  • If you are meeting synchronously, try to keep it at the same time as you would have met face-to-face to mitigate scheduling conflicts for you and for students.
Resources available through other Post-secondary Institutions

Teaching Resources

Teaching Online - Technology Resources

Learner Resources

Your cart is currently empty.

Browse Available Courses

Close

  • If you are currently studying in a post-secondary program at BVC, please register for your courses via mybvc to ensure your enrolments and fees are processed appropriately.
  • Cart total based on domestic tuition rates. For information about International Tuition rates please see Additional Fees Apply
  • If you anticipate applying for a student loan, your payment will be refunded to you based on your loan award once your funding has been received by BVC.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Learn more in our privacy policy