We want to assure you that we are here to support your needs as you move to online learning. This page offers resources to help you through this uncertain time and, hopefully makes your transition to online learning an engaging and successful learning experience for you.
This page is a starting point for your online course. We want you to be able to choose the platform and tools that will work for you. We can talk you through some of the important considerations around teaching online if you contact us for teaching support.
Have a look at some of the Video and other Resources we have gathered for more information around how you can use PeppeR, Quercus and Zoom and visit our Wellness page. Have a look at some of the most commonly asked questions by our community when it comes to teaching online here. If you haven’t already, please fill this Questionnaire and we will follow up with you for personalized help for your upcoming online course.
For courses offered at OISE, please use the course template linked here, which has a lot of important additions to it. The new information includes COVID 19 information, equity and diversity statements, learning outcomes relating to assignments, and other important information.
If you have any questions or queries, contact us here.
With the change from face to face to online learning, we have to consider accessibility and inclusion for our students and make appropriate efforts to find reasonable solutions. Here are a few resources from the University of Toronto that you might find helpful as you navigate through this process.
Learning should be universal for all. Read Here a chapter on Accessibility from the E-Learning Handbook for some ideas around differentiation and universal design practices which are a key component in online learning.
See the guidance from the U of T’s EDI office on Creating an Inclusive Online Environment.
Here is a great research guide with some important resources on anti-racism, accessibility and international students in Digital Pedagogy and Learning. The course outline template linked above also includes information on equity and diversity statements that can be used as a reference while designing an online course.
Here is another important webinar on Responding to Racial Bias and Microaggressions in Online Environments by professors J. Luke Wood III and Frank Harris
This webinar may prove useful as many of us quickly transition to online instruction and are in situations where we have to address new forms of racial bias and microaggressions occurring in virtual classroom environments.
The University Libraries’ Syllabus Service is the key support for course reading lists. UTL librarians will make best efforts to acquire any digital content needed, such as e-books, streaming audio and video through purchase and other vendor agreements.Please note that:
•The Syllabus Service team at Robarts will review your course materials for coverage by the University of Toronto’s Fair Dealing Guidelines or an existing license and negotiate copyright clearance for any items that exceed our current licenses.
•Publishers do not always make e-books available for purchase by libraries(including many textbooks).
•We regret that some services, such as retrieval and scanning of print books, are not possible under current COVID-19 restrictions.
OISE librarians can support your students in your online courses as well. Please contact us if you would like to discuss:•
Embedding librarians and library resources in your Quercus courseshell
•Online instruction sessions in your courses (eg. via Zoom)
•Customized library research guides for your course
If new sessional instructors are delayed in gaining university credentials, we can help by providing online library access. Please get in touch with reader.reg@utoronto.ca
The OISE library can provide individual help to anyone teaching a course to put together their readings in an online format and provide weblinks to those materials—they can make suggestions too and are very familiar with putting courses online. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact:
Jenaya Webb, Acting Director of the OISE Library,
by email at jenaya.webb@utoronto.ca or phone 416-978-1905.
We will also be updating the OISE Library online support page regularly:
OISE students and faculty are welcome to:
•Request a consultation with an OISE librarian (via Zoom, Skype, phone, etc.)
•Use the Ask Chat Service to connect quickly
•Email or call any of theOISE librarians(see the OISE Library staff directory)
Still haven’t found what you are looking for? Visit the video resources page here
As part of the University of Toronto Covid-19 Student Engagement Grant, I was awarded, with two colleagues, a grant to facilitate an online panel discussion. This discussion is centered on
Videos are a great way to mimic classroom activities. You normally ask students to tell/show/demonstrate in your classroom, why not the same now that they are at home? A great thing about online digital submissions, is that they can be any format – pictures, sounds, video, let students be creative.
I recently read a LinkedIn post by Dr. Steve Joordens. Steve is a Professor at the University of Toronto, Scarborough. His posts are always relevant, timely and a quick read,
Creating and sticking to a bedtime routine can help with energy levels and positive mental health. Read this blog to learn more about my bedtime routine and how to create your own!
Take pride in your reading! It doesn’t matter what you read or what form, the fact that you’re reading matters. Check out this blog post to hear about Alyse’s experience creating a “books read” list.
A Universal Design for Learning approach can increase student engagement and academic success and more importantly, make all your students feel included.
