Supporting Your Students
Many of your summer students will have little experience with online and hybrid courses. Some will be new to virtual courses as well. By setting up some resources in the course, and taking some early actions as an instructor, you can help them get started on the right foot.
The Checklist
Share important information
- Add information about your office hours, and how you'll be holding those hours (in person, Zoom, immediate email, etc.) in an easy-to-find location of your course.
- Add a description of your communication practices for the course, e.g. requirements for checking Canvas and email, best communication methods, and expected response time.
- Add your syllabus in an easy-to-find location, and make sure it is screen reader accessible.
- Make sure the College Services and Policies information is clearly visible.
- Add an opening activity or assignment to make sure students are logging in and engaging with material.
Address common challenges
- Add recommendations for study and time management practices to the class information
- Import the student Canvas orientation in your course, and put the different how-to guides near the first time students will need that skill.
How do I support my students?
Open a channel
Since you won’t be in a classroom on the first day (or any day, for that matter), make sure your students know how to reach you. Post your office hours (or student hours, which is a bit friendlier) in the Start Here module, so students know right up front when you can meet. Let them know how those office hours will be held: will you be in a Zoom room? Available by phone? Standing by on Email?
Include information about how students can reach you when you don’t have office hours as well. Do you prefer email? Phone messages? Messages sent through Canvas? Also, be clear about how fast they can expect a response.
Highlight important information
Post your syllabus in the course. A good place to put it is the Start Here module. The Syllabus module in the Advanced Canvas course includes several different options for adding that to the course.
- Make sure your syllabus is accessible to students with disabilities. See the accessibility page to learn more about verifying whether your syllabus is accessible.
Every Canvas course at Highline includes two documents. Once includes College Policies, and the other is a list of Resources for Students. These are the official college documents, with the latest information for both of these topics. You can take those blurbs out of your syllabus, and just refer students to these.
That last item -- an opening activity -- accomplishes several goals. Students learn how to use the Canvas tool you’ve used to create the assignment. It’s also a measure of attendance for the first day of class, which Financial Aid will require. And, it’s a chance to get to know students, to build your familiarity with them.
- See The First Week Assignment from Advanced Canvas for some samples.
It’s best to make this due a few days into the quarter, like the first Wednesday. Then, reach out by phone and email to students who haven’t completed it, and help them get rolling.
Help students with skills
Two key skills are a challenge for students in remote, hybrid, and online courses. The first is managing the lack of a structured schedule. The second is the technical skills to use Canvas. The strategies below can help.
Study Habits and Time Management
We’ll cover some techniques you can use for organizing your class to help students manage schedules during the “Effective Course Organization” session. Managing study habits is a learned skill - help students get a good start, and include discipline-specific guidance.
You can start with a handout created by Highline. Also, check in with students -- ask them when they plan on working on the class materials. (This also helps you figure out when to schedule office hours).
Canvas Student Orientation
In the Canvas Orientation, you may have downloaded the Student Orientation to Canvas. We highly recommend including this in your class, with a twist. Pull it apart. Delete the items that you won’t use in your class. Then, link the instructions for tools you do use in your class right next to the first time students see it. For example, when you have a discussion assignment, put the how-to page right before that in the list of modules.