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Best Practices For Online Instruction

These best practices are organized for planning your course. For specific teaching strategies please see Quality Online Practices.

  • Email a welcome note to students before the semester begins to introduce yourself and provide information about the course, required course materials, and instructions for getting started. Use a personal and conversational tone to communicate to students that you are a real person. Let them know what to expect on the first day of class (are you meeting on campus, online in Zoom, etc). 
  • Publish your Canvas course site and include a welcome Announcement and short introductory video.
  • If you plan to use Zoom, download the Zoom software to your computer and remind your class to download the Zoom software. 
  • Email or post the Zoom Participant Guide and Guide to Joining a Meeting for students to access. Share Participation rules for live Zoom sessions. 
  • Find a trusted colleague with whom you can practice recording live Zoom sessions. Also, be sure that you are comfortable uploading Zoom recordings to your Canvas course site or a cloud-based repository so that you can share them with students. 
  • Download your class rosters from Canvas so that you have a copy on your computer. This will be handy if you are temporarily unable to connect to Canvas. 
  • The best-laid plans have backup plans. To ensure that you have a backup, create a list of student emails in your course, create an email distribution list, and download your Gradebook so you have access to it outside of Canvas. Learn details about the process on the OIT website. 

  • Follow this OIT advice on structuring your Canvas course site to support your students and content.  
  • Plan for adequate regular and substantive interaction (RSI) between you and your students. 
  • Ensure your course materials are accessible by following the OIT guidelines for Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). For example, ensure that your PDFs are screen-reader accessible by scanning them using one of the Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanners on campus.  
  • Post content materials on your Canvas course site as early as possible, but at least one week prior to when students will need to access and consume them. This practice provides time for students to request any necessary adjustments to the materials by Student Disability Services.  
  • Provide captions for all video content you post in Canvas, using one of the Captioning Options described.  
  • Use the UT accessible Online Syllabus Template to produce your course syllabus.  
  • Follow Zoom’s suggestions for preventing “zoom bombing” during any synchronous class sessions.  
  • Provide students with clear guidelines and expectations for group work.  
  • Consider the before-the-semester measures recommended by UT’s Teaching & Learning Innovation (TLI) on their Adjunct Quick-Start Kit before-the-semester page. (Most of these measures apply to full-time instructors, as well!) 
  • Specify minimal technical requirements for successfully participating in the course, and provide guidance and resources for resolving technical issues, including the phone number and website for the helpdesk. (865-974-9900 and help.utk.edu) 
  • Create course content for your Canvas site that engages students and provides them with options. Check out these OIT-supported resources for creating your own course content
  • Some students may be unfamiliar with online learning environments. Provide students with an orientation to your Canvas course that explains the course organization, the tools to be used, and the location of key course materials.  
  • Provide students with guidelines for how to succeed in your asynchronous, online course, including tips on arranging a non-distracting study location, and how to set up their Canvas notifications.  

  • Inform your students at the beginning of the semester about the communication tools and procedures that will be used, as well as your expectations for how students should communicate as part of the course. For example, outline the rules for participation in your syllabus, and inform students of how and how quickly you will respond to their inquiries.  
  • Use Canvas features that support asynchronous strategies, including Canvas discussions, assignments, pages, announcements and inbox communications.  
  • Monitor and facilitate successful asynchronous online discussions to keep students on topic and engaged, following this OIT advice.  
  • Use best practices for managing online courses by following this OIT advice.  
  • Observe the OIT FERPA recommendations and UT FERPA guidelines.   
  • Follow Zoom’s suggestions for preventing “zoom bombing” during synchronous class sessions.  
  • Encourage students to share any points of confusion or content that is unclear and consider posting the answer in a Canvas announcement for the benefit of all students.  
  • Consider the during-the-semester measures recommended by UT’s Teaching & Learning Innovation (TLI) on their Adjunct Quick-Start Kit during-semester page. (Most of these measures apply to full-time instructors, as well!) 
  • Communicate for the purpose of creating an environment of dialogue, openness, and respect, modeling these characteristics and setting expectations for what safe and authentic communication should look like.  
  • Carefully plan for and manage student group work, providing recommended group norms and collaboration expectations, and taking advantage of Canvas Groups to provide a convenient, asynchronous meeting place where student groups can communicate and collaborate. 

  • NOTE: In an asynchronous course, “after class” refers to actions the instructor takes after significant student participation and engagement with the course content and in course activities and discussion board posts.  
  • Track student progress using observation and Canvas learning analytics, and follow up to support at-risk students.  
  • Reply to discussion board posts in a timely manner, with observations to prompt increased reflection and to correct misconceptions. (This can also be done with a feedback video that highlights key points and/or reframes the discussion.)  
  • Provide robust and timely feedback on student assignments to provide support, remedial help, and to direct students to challenge or extension materials, when necessary and appropriate.   
  • Make note of what worked well and what did not work for future course improvements. 

Providing students with resources for learning supports their success. The University has a variety of campus offices that are here to support students whose primary mode of learning is online.

  • UT’s Student Disability Services is committed to assisting students and faculty in ensuring the continued provision of disability-related accommodations. Visit their FAQ page for more information.
  • The Academic Success Center offers resources and strategies to help students succeed in online courses. Share this information with students through your syllabus and your Canvas course site.
  • OIT’s Just for Students page provides important details about technology, access and online training.
  • From the Dean of Students Office, the 974-HELP referral line was developed to help distressed or distressing students reach their academic goals.
  • Texas Instruments is providing free software to allow students to simulate graphing calculators on their laptops and tablets.
  • Access participation rules for live Zoom sessions.