Teaching/Technology Innovation Center

Hello, Faculty Community! 

We had have had two great days of learning as we transition to remote instruction next Monday! We are ready for a Wednesday filled with plenty of support from our fellow faculty members with both 1-1 help and a full slate of workshops running continuously throughout the day. 

We hope to see you in Zoom. 🙂 

9 – 10 AM – Virtual Coffee Hour

Join colleagues for socializing, brainstorming, Q&A, demonstrations, and Zoom practice.

10am – 12pm – Canvas Basics: Announcements, Modules, Assignments, Messages, and Grades with James Garcia, Sean Davis, and Billy Gunn

This workshop is designed to give an overview of the basic tools to move classroom activities online using Canvas – announcements, class roster, your profile, messages, assignments, and grades.

12pm – 1pm – Student Services Update with Alketa Wojcik

The changing nature of going remotely is stressful and students and faculty will have many questions on student support available during this time. All student support will be available remotely and this webinar will provide some information on how we will meet the needs of the students and go over some of the FAQs that we have received from our campus community.  

1pm – 2pm – Tech check, Content Check, Audience Check: Strategies for Effective Online Instruction with Nadia Khan

This webinar will focus on recommendations related to online teaching and provide tips and strategies to ensure effective online instruction so that instructors feel confident before and during online instruction. Furthermore, tools and checklists will be shared to support online course development and delivery.

2pm – 3pm – Content Creation for Online Instruction with Nadia Khan

This webinar will provide tools, techniques, and tips on content creation for online or remote learning. Participants will be able to understand key aspects of content creation for online audiences and look at ways of recycling existing content for online use, such as through instructional videos, screen-casts, and podcasts. 

3pm – 4pm – Online Testing in Canvas with Angela Senigaglia

This workshop will cover the “quizzes” feature in Canvas and provide participants with a walkthrough tutorial on how to set up quizzes and tests in Canvas. 

4 – 5 PM – Virtual Happy Hour

Join colleagues for socializing, brainstorming, Q&A, demonstrations, and Zoom practice.

Also today, 1-1 support is available in Zoom from 10 am – 4 pm and 7 – 10 pm – connect with volunteer colleagues to help you think through your technological and pedagogical shifts!

Remember also:

• You can view the full schedule of this week’s workshops and collegial support, and find colleagues who will provide phone support if Zoom isn’t your thing. At this link you’ll also find on the workshop schedule links to recordings of all workshops from yesterday!
• You can also contact a colleague from your discipline who is available for support
• The Remote Instruction FAQs are an important reference if you have questions about the shift to Remote Instruction
• The Canvas module on Instructional Continuity contains lots of practical advice and links to tutorials to help you through your transitional process
• There’s an open Google doc for MiraCosta faculty to share remote instruction resources and ideas

We have you have another great day of transitional prep! 

– Sean and Jim

Good morning, MiraCosta faculty! Welcome to day 2 of the rest of our lives (or maybe just the rest of spring semester) –

Today (Tuesday), in our Zoom meeting for online workshops (same Zoom link for all workshops, all day, all week!) 

9 – 10 AM – Virtual Coffee Hour

Join colleagues for socializing, brainstorming, Q&A, demonstrations, and Zoom practice.

10 AM – 12 PM – Basic Strategies for Incorporating Active Learning in the Online Classroom – Dominique Ingato

Feeling overwhelmed about the quick transition to teaching fully online? Unsure how you can keep your students interactive in the learning process? This workshop will go over some simple methods of infusing active learning into your online classes. We will be going over the basics of Zoom and Canvas. We will also explore free online tools like Kahoot, Mentimeter and Poll Everywhere. This workshop has been designed for faculty with little to no experience teaching online.

12 – 2 PM A Walkthrough of Options for Moving Classroom Activities Online – Liezl Madrona, Sean Davis, and Jim Julius

With the rapid transition of face-to-face classes into the online environment, many faculty have questions about how to translate on-ground curriculum into Canvas for instructional continuity. Learn how you can translate your activities into Canvas and online activities. For instance, if in class you would have conducted a lecture, held a structured class discussion or an open-ended Q&A session, divided students into groups for activities, given a quiz, assigned peer work, had students present – how can you achieve any of these in Canvas? This session will provide an overview of Canvas activity setup, and provide resources to assist with rapid course development, focused on the needs and questions of those in attendance.

2 – 3 PM Teaching with Zoom – Rick Cassoni

CSIT Department faculty member Rick Cassoni will show techniques that faculty can potentially use for distant (remote) instruction. The session will include the following topics:

• How to Get / Obtain Zoom
• Updating Profile Pix, Cloud Recordings, and Personal Meeting ID (PMI) settings
• Launching / Starting Zoom
• Creating Weekly Intro Videos that kicks off and summarizes the week of instruction
• Tips and Thoughts for (Synchronous) Instruction Techniques
• Tips and Thoughts for Student (Office) Hours including screen sharing and gaining remote access to a student’s computer

3 – 4 PM Connecting with Students in Zoom – curry mitchell

curry will share a few simple activities and methods for scaffolding an interactive, collaborative Zoom workshop. Then we will spend some time in small groups discussing how Zoom might help us support our students through the remainder of the semester. At the end of the meeting, we will discuss flexible and compassionate practices–such as attendance policies and creating asynchronous means for participation–to ensure we’re using Zoom to help each other (faculty and students) cross the finish line.

***Note: We will assume you are familiar with Zoom’s basic tools, so if you are brand new to Zoom, please attend Rick Cassoni’s workshop prior to this one or please watch these brief tutorials on using Zoom before the workshop begins: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206618765-Zoom-Video-Tutorials

4 – 5 PM – Virtual Happy Hour

Join colleagues for socializing, brainstorming, Q&A, demonstrations, and Zoom practice.

Also today, 1-1 support is available in Zoom from 10 am – 4 pm and 7 – 10 pm – connect with volunteer colleagues to help you think through your technological and pedagogical shifts!

Remember also:

• You can view the full schedule of this week’s workshops and collegial support, and find colleagues who will provide phone support if Zoom isn’t your thing. At this link you’ll also find on the workshop schedule links to recordings of all workshops from yesterday!
• You can also contact a colleague from your discipline who is available for support
• The Remote Instruction FAQs are an important reference if you have questions about the shift to Remote Instruction
• The Canvas module on Instructional Continuity contains lots of practical advice and links to tutorials to help you through your transitional process
• There’s an open Google doc for MiraCosta faculty to share remote instruction resources and ideas

Best wishes for a great day,

Jim & Sean

Hello, Faculty Community! 

Are you ready for Remote Instruction? Button-ups and sweatpants are the new normal for Zoom-based class sessions…

Click here to access the full schedule of events throughout the week.

And click here to enter the Zoom meeting for online workshops (it’s the same Zoom meeting for all workshops, all day, all week!) 

Okay, so here is the full schedule for Monday, March 23:

10 to 11 am – Jim and Sean: Overview of Support Resources and the Plan for the Week, Q&A
Jim Julius and Sean Davis will walk you through the various resources available to faculty to support your transition to remote instruction. There will be time to address your burning questions as we launch into this unprecedented effort!

11 am to 1 pm – Liezl Madrona: Canvas Basics 

Learn the basics of creating and developing a course in Canvas. Participants will get an overview of Canvas’ layout and navigation. In addition, participants will learn how to add materials to a course, use Discussions, create and grade Assignments, and create a FrontPage. This workshop will serve as an introduction to, and a general overview of, the Canvas system. We will learn:

• The basic navigational links/course menu items in a blank course shell 
• How to create a Front Page
• How to make a course published to students
• How to create a Discussion
• How to create an Assignment

Participants will have access to free adaptable and accessible Canvas course layouts for rapid course development. Student support pages are included to orient and provide technical support for various tools that may be used in Canvas (such as Studio, Zoom, Assignments, and Quizzes.) Ensure you have all of the essential information students should know and adapt your own Canvas course layout today!

1 to 2 pm – curry mitchell: Connecting with Students in Canvas 

A session on using Canvas tools to connect, collaborate, and sustain community with students

curry will share a few simple activities and methods for scaffolding assignments using various Canvas tools:  discussions, Google docs shared in Canvas, screencast/videos embedded in announcements, and even quizzes. Then we will spend some time in small groups discussing what Canvas tools might help you deliver your basic collaborative activities to your students remotely.  

2 to 3 pm – Liezl Madrona & MiraCosta CE Faculty: Course Demos & Online Teaching Discussion

Are you curious about how other MiraCosta faculty organize and present their Canvas courses? Join some of our great faculty who will showcase their courses that they designed and developed with our 2019-20 CE instructional designer. Find some new ideas about student navigation and leveraging Canvas’s built-in tools for rapid course development!

3 to 4 pm – Liezl Madrona: Canvas & Video Accessibility Basics
Many faculty have questions about how to address accessibility requirements for instructional materials in order to support students of disability. When using Canvas to support online teaching, following best practices can help deliver an accessible and usable online class for all students. Learn the top five easy things you can do in Canvas to help all of your students be successful. Participants will be able to:

• Determine the best format/strategy for delivering content, whether it should remain as a PDF, in a Word Doc, or a Canvas page.
• Explain how formatting impacts assistive technologies’ ability to access and interpret information.
• Utilize the Rich Content Editor to properly format content pages using the acronym ‘LIST’.
• Run the Canvas’ Page Accessibility Checker UDOIT and interpret its results to remediate inaccessible instructional materials. 
• Determine a workflow to caption videos based on authorship

***ALL WORKSHOPS WILL BE RECORDED AND MADE AVAILABLE BY THE END OF EACH DAY***

1-1 Drop-in Canvas and Course Design Support via Zoom (Click here to enter the 1-1 support at ANY TIME)

This support is available from 10:00am to 3:00pm AND 7:00pm to 10:00pm

Virtual Happy Hour is from 4:00pm and 5:00pm today. This session will focus on Brainstorming, Sharing, Q&A, Zoom Practicing, and Course Tours.

Click here to enter the Virtual Happy Hour starting at 4:00 pm

See you online! 

-Sean and Jim

Dear Faculty,

Thanks to an outpouring of support from our colleagues who are willing to volunteer their time, effort, and expertise, we are pleased to present you with the schedule of events for the Instructional Continuity Professional Development Week. We have a full slate of online workshops, one-on-one (1-1) support, external offerings, and additional resources for you to review here.  

Online Workshops via Zoom

Our week of training and faculty support starts tomorrow – Monday, March 23. There is a full schedule of workshops Monday through Friday that runs from 10:00am to 4:00pm, featuring sessions focusing on Canvas, Zoom, Equity in Remote Instruction, the Library, Student Services, Academic Support, and much more. 

Please review the first schedule on the MiraCosta Faculty Support for Instructional Continuity training schedule for all the details. 

You can enter the online sessions at any time during each day. We have one Zoom meeting that will be used for all of the online sessions. Each workshop will be recorded and made available on the schedule by the end of each day. 

You can enter the online workshops at any time using this link – MiraCosta Online Workshop Meeting.

Each day in this meeting will begin with a Virtual Coffee Hour (Tuesday through Friday) from 9 to 10 am and end with a Virtual Happy Hour (Monday through Friday) from 4 to 5 pm. The purpose of these sessions is for brainstorming, sharing, Q&A, Zoom practicing, and course tours. 

1-1 Drop-in Canvas and Course Design via Zoom

We have a fantastic group of MiraCostans who have volunteered their time to serve with one-on-one (1-1) support. The week is filled with willing contributors, and we hope you take advantage of the assistance these folks are willing to provide. The 1-1 support schedule is intended for MiraCosta faculty looking for guidance in the use of Canvas, preparing for remote instruction, and teaching online. Those planning to be online during any given hour are listed on the schedule. The Zoom meeting includes breakout rooms so that help-seekers can go into their own online space with the person providing support. 

Please review the second schedule on the MiraCosta Faculty Support for Instructional Continuity training schedule for all the details on 1-1 support. 

You can enter the drop-in support sessions at any time by entering the 1-1 Drop-in Canvas and Course Design Support Zoom meeting. Support sessions are being offered from 10 am – 4 pm and 7 pm – 10 pm daily, with additional sessions on Saturday and Sunday.

*Phone 1-1 support is also being offered by several faculty members. Scroll below the 1-1 schedule for names, phone numbers, and availability* 

External Webinars and Other Support

We have begun to compile a schedule of external support for the transition to remote instruction. While these webinars run concurrent with our local support offerings, we want to provide a breadth of options so folks can get the appropriate training that is most pertinent to their situation. We will post the recordings of these workshops when/if they become available. 

Please review the third schedule on the MiraCosta Faculty Support for Instructional Continuity training schedule for all the details (scroll way down!). 

Faculty Support – By Department 

Please review the MiraCosta Faculty Support for Instructional Continuity spreadsheet if you’re looking to connect with a departmental colleague for support. If you’re willing to provide such support but don’t appear on the sheet, please let us know so we can add you!

FAQs for Faculty

We want to make sure you are aware of the Remote Instruction FAQs for Faculty document. Here you will find answers to questions on schedule changes, support for the transition to remote instruction, student support services/resources, and facilities/technology access. 

If you have a question that does not appear here, please submit your inquiry to the Questions About Instructional Continuity at MiraCosta College form.

Canvas Site with Guidance and Resources

Please remember to review the Canvas site on Instructional Continuity and Taking Classroom Activities Online (be sure to click the “Next” button at the bottom of the page for more information and resources – including the Primary Online Support Resources). 

Open-ended Sharing Opportunity

Finally, if you want a space to share resources, vent, connect, and get some ideas, please visit and contribute to the Open-ended Instructional Continuity Sharing for MiraCosta Faculty document. 

We are looking forward to connecting with you during this busy week of transition. We will be sending a daily early-morning email with a breakdown of the day’s events and links to the previous day’s recorded sessions. 

With appreciation,

Jim and Sean