Get the term off to a successful start!
Preparing for the term and setting the tone in the first few weeks of the course are important to both the instructor and students. Below are strategies from considering a welcoming syllabus, to setting up your Canvas course site with your students in mind, to getting to know the OSU Media Hub. These will help ensure a successful start to the winter term!
Build an Engaging Syllabus
Have you finalized your course syllabus? See Creating a Syllabus That Students Want to Read. Check the OSU syllabus requirements and templates for various types of courses. In addition, the Basic Needs Center provides sample language for a Basic Needs Syllabus Statement and the Center for Teaching and Learning offers guidance for writing a warm-toned syllabus.
Canvas Course Checklist
Seeking more effective ways to use Canvas to support student learning? Now is a great time for a quick check to see you have the basics covered on your Canvas course sites. The Canvas Course Checklist will help you simplify your course navigation menu, organize your weekly modules, align the gradebook with your syllabus, and much more.
Canvas Course Calendar
Getting ready for winter term? As you work on your Canvas site, utilize the calendar feature for your course. Assignments created in Canvas will automatically be added to a student’s calendar of due dates for all of their classes. Once your Canvas site is ready, be sure to publish it in a timely manner for students to access.
Integrating Media
Integrating Media: Need to brush up on creating and using media to augment your teaching before the term begins? See Using Media from Learn@OregonState. Do your students need media equipment or training to complete assignments? Check out the OSU Media Hub, the new one-stop shop for multimedia support and resources for students, staff and faculty.
Additional Timely Events & Resources!
This is just the tip of the resources available to teaching faculty! Join us in a Spring term professional development event.
Browse the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) website.
Request a one-on-one consultation with a CTL faculty or one-on-one help from a technology expert.
In addition, CTL Fellows in participating colleges are ready to engage in pedagogical conversations.
Timely Teaching Tips Series
Find these tips useful? There are more! In this series of blog posts, useful tips roll out every two to three weeks of the term. These tips draw from the short, just-in-time tips that have appeared in the OSU Today since 2020. They are a result of the collaborative efforts between the Center for Teaching and Learning and Academic Technologies, along with the support from Ecampus, the Academic Success Center, OSU Libraries, University Relations and Marketing, and others.
Subscribe to this blog to follow these highlighted tips.
