Remote Teaching and Learning

A first choice is whether you’d like to teach in real-time (synchronously) or not (asynchronously). The latter often works better, so consider whether synchronous activities are really necessary.

You are mostly only teaching one or two courses, but your students are taking more than just your course. They need your support and they need clarity: what do you expect of them and how they can achieve that expectation?

• Provide clear instructions to guide students in what to do and when.
• You can use announcements in Brightspace and/or use the Brightspace classlist for email.

Online does not necessarily mean synchronous and it is not always a lecture. Your lessons can consist of various activities that can be done online by your students at different times. You can instruct your students to do a combination, e.g.:

• Watch a video or listen to a podcast.
• Read an article.
• Complete an assignment with interactive tools.
• Discuss/ask questions/give feedback on the discussion board in Brightspace. Use specific, structured questions, and let students know expectations for their responses.
• If really needed you can add a chat or short online live video conference for office hours.
• Stuck for ideas? Check out: https://www.gillysalmon.com/e-tivities.html

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If content is already available, then reuse it! Share it via your Brightspace course. Some websites you can consult:

• Tips from the Library: resources for your course
• Collegerama
• TU Delft Open Courseware, MIT Open CourseWare, OpenLearn
• MOOCs (edX; Coursera)
• Library for articles and ebooks
• Openly Available Sources Integrated Search (OASIS)

• Keep videos short (8 minutes maximum). It is better to create several short videos than one long video. Consider what type of video suits your course best. See Tools to create and upload video.
• Audio is important: test the audio first and consider using a headset with an external microphone.
• Upload the video to a streaming server (at TU Delft we use Kaltura) so your students don’t have to download very large files. You can share the link or embed it in Brightspace. More info
• Add interaction with a quiz, discussion forum, chat.
• Refer to the Video factsheets on the Online Learning Hub for more information. They can be found under 'Resources' on the right side of the page.

• Check the overview Compare Online Meeting Tools, to decide which tools are most suited to your situation.
• Stick to the core; online education can be very intense. Try to limit the duration of your teaching session and stick to the essentials.
• Structure your slides in a way that is easy to follow. Add chapter slides in a bright color, add slides to indicate that students can ask questions, and add breaks. Make sure that students know how long the break is and when you will continue. For more tips see this webinar or look at this factsheet.
• Add interactivity to your session. Use polling (YouSeeU, Teams, Zoom) to ask questions, ask students to ask questions in the chat, or use breakout rooms so students can discuss in small groups.
• Open the session at least 10 minutes before it starts
• Mute all the participants at the beginning of your session. Background noises (such as coughs, washing machines, etc.) can be distracting.
• When you are recording online lectures, be extra aware of the privacy of students. Ask students to turn off their cameras before initiating a recorded lecture and if it is necessary to include the student(s) images in the recording, make sure to clearly explain it in advance to the class.

• Visit our Quickstart guide to Brightspace.
• You can also use more advanced Brightspace options, such as quizzes, assignments, checklists, discussion forums, or self assessments.
• If you need more functionalities, please take a look at the TU Delft tool overview.

• Get your colleagues and/or TAs to help you out when trying out a new tool (e.g. get together in Virtual Classroom (Bongo) and try out all its functionalities from a student’s perspective).
• Trust your students to help you out: ask what they prefer.
• Ask all questions you have (see Support below).