Welcome to the Virginia Western GOLF Guide: Getting Online Fast. We have declared this to be a calm and helpful space. We are betting that some of you have arrived here with high degrees of anxiety. Not to worry, we are here to help.
We have collected a wealth of support materials in this guide to help you through this process. We are prepared to help you (person-to-person if needed) as much as is necessary to get this done. We understand how important your students' success is to you.
Our primary approach to moving courses online quickly will be to use the Canvas LMS to organize course content, deliver instruction, and communicate with students. The Zoom web-conferencing tool can be used for holding online office hours and live instruction sessions. The Panopto lecture capture system or Canvas Studio can be used to record and edit video content to be delivered online. With just this small handful of instructional technologies, you can deliver high-quality learning experiences to your students.
Now there are many performance-based courses, such as labs, that will not easily translate into the online world. These will require more creative solutions and you should work closely with your department heads and school deans to make appropriate plans. But for those lecture-based courses: let's get rolling.
"As we prepare for Virginia Western’s response to COVID-19, please know that the safety of our faculty, staff, and students is of utmost importance and will be at the center of any decision-making process.
It is the goal of the college that all currently enrolled students will be able to complete their classes for this semester. This may take a variety of forms, including many classes going online and some classes that require hands-on participation being extended beyond the traditional semester dates in order to complete the class. Clinicals will be handled on an individual basis with students still able to attend as long as the clinical site is accepting students. Students will not be allowed in isolation rooms. Please work with your Program Head and Dean to determine the best course of action for your classes.
It is important that we maintain the confidence of our students and, to the best of our ability, the academic integrity of our classes. That being said, the delivery of classes does not have to be perfect, but should establish regular communication with students and keep them progressing toward meeting the learning outcomes of the course. Tools may range from technologies such as Canvas, Panopto, and Zoom to more simple methods such as email. However, the use of announcements in Canvas and emails to students should be utilized to let students know what to expect and to keep them progressing through a closure."
Chris Porter
Dean of Learning Resources & Online Learning
Email: cporter@virginiawestern.edu
Phone: (540) 857-6697
Carrie Halpin
Instructional Designer & Technologist
Email: chalpin@virginiawestern.edu
Phone: (540) 857-6636
Erin Leftwich
Instructional Technologist & Canvas Administrator
Email: eleftwich@virginiawestern.edu
Phone: (540) 857-6687
Brown Library
3095 Colonial Ave. SW
Phone: 540.857.7303
