Preparing for disruption before it happens allows for a smooth transition to online teaching.
The spring of 2020 pandemic challenged educators everywhere to adapt quickly to new ways of teaching and learning. Through that experience, we learned a great deal about teaching online and supporting students when courses need to change format unexpectedly. The resources on these pages build on those lessons and are designed to help you adapt to your course if you need to move some or all of your teaching online.
While we don’t know what the next disruption will be - severe weather, illness or contagion, power outages, transportation challenges – we can prepare as best we can to minimize our own stress and continue teaching.
About This Site
You’ll find practical, manageable steps that can help maintain continuity for students during a disruption in the semester. Even small adjustments – such as organizing course materials clearly in Brightspace, making use of your Microsoft Teams class space, and communicating regularly with students – can make a meaningful difference.
These resources range from basic course setup and communication strategies to guidance on using Brightspace and Teams to support learning activities. Whether you’re making a short-term adjustment or planning for a longer period of online teaching, they can help you identify approaches to fit your course and your students’ needs.
We hope these pages help you feel prepared and supported should the need to teach online arise.
Plan for Flexibility
Building flexibility into your course not only helps you be prepared for disruption, it also helps to create a more inclusive learning environment for students.
Communicate with Students
Clear, regular communication helps students to feel supported during what might be a sudden shift to remote teaching. This page offers a few simple ideas for keeping students informed and connected. The more you can reduce their confusion and questions, the easier it will be for all of you.
Revise Your Syllabus
Your syllabus is the primary course document for describing your course goals, assignments, and expectations. Revising it to reflect the moment and changing circumstances is your first step in remote teaching.
Consider Different Ways to Assess Learning
"High Stakes" exams can be challenging to administer in online environments. Consider ways you can lower stakes and still support student learning. View Consider Different Ways to Assess Learning
Day-to-Day Teaching
Teaching online requires different strategies to understand what students know and keep them engaged with the content and each other.
Organize and Share Course Content
Creating a well-organized course reduces students' "cognitive load" and helps them to concentrate on learning, not finding things.
Brightspace Tools to Help Students Stay Organized
Brightspace has tools and features to help your students (and you!) stay on top of what is due and when to submit it.
Collect, Grade, and Track Student Work
The Brightspace Assignment tool is the primary way to collect papers, projects, presentations, private reflections, and multimedia assignments (in a variety of file types). You can then grade those assignments in the Grade Center with rubrics and provide personalized feedback. Brightspace also has tools for tracking submissions so that both you and use students are up to date. View Collect, Grade, and Track Student Work
Synchronous Teaching with MS Teams
MS Teams offers ways for you to connect with your students in real-time to support connection and learning.
Get Support
CTL is here to support you successfully move to remote teaching in times of disruption.
Additional Resources
For additional perspective on the human side of disruption, Elon University’s Teaching in Times of Disruption resources also focus on trauma-informed teaching and design principles for resilient teaching.