OTL Fall Resources

Resources for Preparing for Fall

As you prepare and teach your fall classes, the OTL and IT have tips and friendly reminders to share. Don’t forget that you can also reach out to us with questions or schedule a consultation by contacting OTL staff directly or booking 1:1 time with the OTL Instructional Designers.

General Information

Visit the OTL Sample Syllabus Statements web page for course policies language you can copy, adapt, and edit.
Learn more about the new MyDU Portal, which has replaced PioneerWeb, and log-in to find your course rosters and schedules. Join IT for a MyDU Show & Tell on September 15 at 1:00 p.m. where you can see a complete walkthrough of all the new features of the portal and provide feedback.

Canvas

Access your fall courses and add them to your Canvas Dashboard.
To promote a standardized look across all Canvas courses, please import the OTL Canvas template or a template approved by your department.
Import Canvas course content if you have content from a previous course that you would like to use again this term.
Edit your course navigation menu to make sure the organization is clear for your students.
Ensure that all Canvas course materials are accessible.
Visit our OTL Canvas web page for resources, our Canvas Knowledge Base and the Canvas Help guides for step-by-step instructions, and contact Canvas Help for 24/7 support.
Don’t forget to publish your course to ensure your students have access!

Zoom

Visit our Knowledge Base to learn Zoom tips, including how to use Zoom within Canvas. All Zoom cloud recordings are now saved in your Canvas My Media account.
Please update your Zoom client software to the latest version
Make sure that you and your students sign into Zoom using Single Sign On (SSO).
As the host, please enable Live Transcript and Closed Captions to make the meeting more accessible for all participants.
Review the Zoom accessibility checklist before you start teaching with Zoom.

Kaltura

Create a welcome video for your students using Kaltura.
Upload video content into Kaltura (DU MediaSpace or Canvas) in order for video content to have closed captions and transcripts. Please note, the default Canvas video player does not generate closed captions and is not Section 508 compliant.
Videos uploaded into Kaltura MyMedia will not use up valuable Canvas storage.
When producing your own instructional video, ensure you incorporate techniques to improve the accessibility of video.

Universal Design for Learning and Accessibility Support for Your Students

Course Reserves

The Course Reserves team in the Library’s Access Unit helps DU students access materials assigned by instructors.

At the request of instructors, we compile lists of course readings and make them available to students (typically via the Leganto module in Canvas). We source material from library databases, public websites, and physical material held by the library. We can also scan chapters of books or articles as PDFs to copyright restrictions (up to 20% of a given volume). All of the PDFs that we post in a course are processed for accessibility by screen readers, with the exception of alt text on images. We are also able to update or replace instructors’ existing PDFs so that they meet accessibility standards. By using Course Reserves, the library is able to ensure that copyright permissions are obtained and fair use doctrine applied. Course Reserves can lower costs to students by reducing the texts they need to purchase—we will purchase ebook texts for classes where possible, or we can place a text on physical reserve where it is available for limited check out.

This process can be started simply by emailing a syllabus or list of needed resources to [email protected].Visit the Course Reserves webpage for more information!

Inclusive Teaching Practice Programs

FIIT and FIIT Cohorts

The Faculty Institute for Inclusive Teaching (FIIT) has been revised to a five-module format. Please note that FIIT has moved from Canvas to Pioneer@Work. Please review the FIIT website for instructions on accessing any of the modules. All faculty are welcome to fill out an application to join a FIIT Cohort, which entails the completion of the curriculum while meeting weekly with a supportive community of peers for engaged discussion on inclusive teaching practices. If interested, faculty can apply their work with the FIIT Cohort towards earning a "Teaching for Inclusion and Equity" Foundational badge.

Teaching for Inclusion and Equity Micro-credential Program

The Office of Teaching and Learning is now offering the Teaching for Inclusion and Equity (TIE) Micro-credential Program, which provides faculty with research-based strategies to design and support a culture of equity and inclusion in their classroom. Participants in the TIE Program will learn how to assess and respond to bias and microaggression in the classroom, engage in communication about race and equity issues in the classroom with their peers, and design inclusive classroom practices that address differentiated support for a wide diversity of learners. Please review the TIE website for the program requirements or attend a TIE introduction session (September 9th or September 22nd). Applications are open for the Foundational and Intermediate badges until December 1st, 2022.

Any questions about these ITP programs can be directed to Dr. Becca Ciancanelli at [email protected].

Upcoming Events

We are hosting several events throughout this term. Join us to learn more about teaching strategies and academic technology, and visit the OTL Events Calendar to discover other upcoming events!

Teaching with Video (Zoom and Kaltura)

Tuesday, September 6, 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Online

UDL Your Course Series- Accessible Course Materials

Tuesday, September 6, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

Online

Canvas Basics Webinar

Thursday, September 8, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Online

Tips and Tricks for Part Time Faculty

Friday, September 9, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

Online