Faculty Resources

These resources and documents are designed to help you develop and design courses for online instruction.

These resources and documents are designed to help you develop and design courses for online instruction. Check out Effective Online Teaching: Foundations and Strategies for Student Success by Tina Stavredes from the Cowles Library in hard copy or e-book.

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Starting in Fall 2021, all courses will be offered in Blackboard Learn Ultra. Use the “ULTRA” resources to help prepare for the transition.

ULTRA Resources (Go Live date: Fall 2021)

Bb Ultra Faculty Guide_Build Course with Template - Build a Course in Ultra with the Applied Course Format Template (updated 7/19/2021)
Online Checklist (updated 7/19/2021)
Blackboard Learn Ultra Training (Knowledge Base Article)
Course Copy Handout
Learning Modules and Folders Handout

ULTRA Online Design Dialogue Recordings

Online Course Delivery and Facilitation Skills

OSCQR Course Design Review: A great example of a Course Review scorecard available from the Online Learning Consortium via SUNY OSCQR and Creative Commons Licensing. This is one way to review your online course for content and pedagogical use.

Fostering Engagement: Facilitating Online Courses in Higher Education: From University of Waterloo, Canada, this is an excellent resource providing practical online facilitation skills and strategies that are relevant, effective, and authentic.

How to Be a Better Online Teacher: Advice Guide

Setting Up a Course

Course Map A course map, also referred to as a design or planning document, helps the instructor map out a course before building it in Blackboard. This pre-work provides a framework for designing the course with a focus on how the course components align.

Course Development Timeline (based on a 16-week cycle) This document provides key milestones for creating a course for Drake University Online Programs. This is intended to be a guide.

Learning Technology Resources
A list of commonly used technology for teaching and learning from Information Technology Services.

Services and Resources from Cowles Library
Cowles Library presents several ways to include readings, videos, recordings, photographs, etc. from Cowles Library in the Blackboard page for your online class.

Getting Organized

Tips for organizing documents used in your course. A little work upfront saves time.

Upload Files to the Content Collection Getting started with the Content Collection.

Maintain the Content Collection Tips for cleaning up loose files in the Content Collection.

Update Syllabus and Schedule A one-page checklist with key information from other Content Collection tutorials.

Communicating With Students

Use Announcements

Re-Offering a Course

Returning Courses Instructor Notes A User-friendly checklist for preparing your course for a repeat offering.

Managing Dates

Availability Dates and Adaptive Release

Create and Edit Due Dates How to change dates for assignments, tests, discussions, and other course tools.

Using Video In Your Course

Best Practices for Making Videos Refer to this one-page summary of best practices to consider when making videos, particularly mini lectures.

Use HotKeys in Panopto If you are recording with one screen, HotKeys help you avoid sharing a tunnel of repeated screens.

Using Panopto to Create or Share a Recording Use to instruct students how to share a recording they created.

Convert a Voiceover

Using Videoconferencing In Your Course

General:

Best Practices Audio & Video Trouble Shooting

Video Conferencing Comparison Chart

Zoom:

NEW ONE-TIME STEP: If you have not logged into Zoom with your Drake credentials, sign in here with your Drake credentials now. This will create your account. You only need to do this one time.

After your account has been created, then you can use Zoom licensed through Drake University.

Getting Started with Zoom