Resources for Educators
Teaching Tip
From the Teacher’s Aide Newsletter
2020 April
Tips and Resources for Putting Courses Online
We know many of you have had to scramble to move some or all of your coursework online. If you are still considering that process, here are some tips for setting things up to begin delivering your course(s) online:
- You will need a Learning Management System (LMS) or some sort of plan for delivering the content securely to your students. Some LMS options are quite expensive, so you may need to start with something free like Google Drive to store your files.
- Upload PDF files of your syllabus, course outline, and any other general course documentation that your students may need to reference (even if you already distributed these items earlier).
- Organize your coursework (or remaining coursework) into sections or modules, rather than by week or by date as you would in a live course, especially since the time frames for completion published on your current syllabus may change.
- For each section or module, create a simple list of the assignments and activities they need to complete for the module. This might be what you would normally write on the board in your live classroom. For example:
- Read Chapter 3 in The Ethics of Touch, 2nd edition.
- Complete the activities on pages 64 and 70, Identifying Dual Relationships and To Dual or Not To Dual?.
- Speak to at least one licensed practitioner about their thoughts and experiences with dual relationships.
- Be prepared to discuss the above in our next video conferencing session.
- Upload relevant slide decks for chapters you assign, sample quizzes for your students to practice, and other resources you may have shared in your live classroom (i.e., TedTalks, YouTube videos, book recommendations, articles in trade publications, etc.)
- Prepare and practice to facilitate live video conferencing sessions. If you can do it, this may be the most rewarding for you and your students, in light of the limited interactions we are all experiencing. Zoom is free for sessions lasting no longer than 40 minutes, so that might be a great place to start.
Webinar Links
Here are the links to access 2 recent webinars on setting up online courses that may be helpful in your efforts:
- AFMTE free webinar recording “Ideas and Strategies for Massage Education: COVID-19”
- Whitney Lowe and Ruth Werner free webinar recording “Move your courses online- Rapidly!” (And here’s a link to the resources page they talk about in the video.)
Teachers’ Library Links
If you require our books in your curriculum, here are the links to our Teachers Libraries, where you can download the teacher’s manual, and presentation slides and test banks for each chapter. We give you permission to download, edit, and then upload the presentation slides to your learning site in whatever format you need. (If you are considering adopting one or both of our texts and need temporary access to the library, please give us a call.)
Here’s a link to our SMA YouTube channel where you are welcome to share any of our practice-building video tips with your students, where appropriate.
Digital Books
Our books are available in digital format, in case you and your students need digital access. You can purchase redemption codes for the Vitalsource site from us directly (at a discount). So, give us a call at 520-743-3936 or email us if you need to switch to digital format, even temporarily.