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Things Faculty Can Do To Prepare For The Fall Semester
Posted July 10, 2024
by IDLT
Things Faculty Can Do to Prepare for the Fall Semester
As faculty prepare for the Fall semester, summer is a great time to review parts of the course for updating, improving, and just looking at the course with fresh eyes.
Syllabus
The syllabus is the first introduction and road map for what students can expect from your course. Take this summer to review and update your syllabus. IDLT provides a syllabus template to make it easier for you to include all the necessary information and policies. A recent update will help shorten your syllabus. The University Policies no longer need to be displayed individually. The paragraph in the updated syllabus template contains a link to a webpage that will be regularly updated so your syllabus will automatically be current on the University Policies.
Accessibility
Check the accessibility in your documents and videos. Accessibility is not just for the visually or hearing impaired. Accessible documents can assist those with learning challenges as well.
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Videos: YuJa will auto caption your videos, however it is a best practice to check the captions.
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Word Documents: Use Microsoft’s Accessibility Check to locate and repair barriers.
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PowerPoint: Best Practices for Making PowerPoint Presentations Accessible .
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PDF Files: Create and verify PDF Accessibility using Acrobat Pro.
IDLT offers more information about Accessibility in the Teaching Toolkit .
Aligning Objectives with Assessments
Courses are fluid. They change with time, new information, and new ideas. Do your course assessments still align with your course objectives? Are all course objectives represented in the course materials and assessments? IDLT’s Teaching Toolkit includes a Course Planning Grid that will help you determine if all your course objectives are assessed. This tool enables you to visually organize your course, identifying potential imbalances such as over-reliance on assessments for a single objective or gaps in meeting certain objectives.
Including Regular and Substantive Interactions
Regular and Substantive Interactions are instructor-led interactions that separate distance education (online learning) from correspondence education. Some examples are individualized emails, instructor facilitated discussions, weekly summaries, personalized feedback on assessments, etc. See more information in this ITSpotlight article, “How Can I Ensure Regular and Substantive Interaction in Distance Education Courses?”
For additional help with reviewing your syllabi and courses, contact the Instructional Design and Learning Technology team by filling out the Course Consultation Form .
