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The time to communicate with students about how the class will continue in case of an emergency is before the emergency. Early and frequent communication can ease student anxiety, and save you dealing with individual questions.

Set expectations: Create a contingency plan and let students know how you plan to communicate.Tell students both how often you expect them to check their email, and how quickly they can expect your response. 

Use in Canvas to broadcast a message to your class. 

The main challenge during a campus disruption is whether students have access to computers, as anyone needing a campus computer lab may be unable to access necessary technologies. Some students will undoubtedly have difficulties meeting deadlines. Make expectations clear, but be ready to provide more flexibility than you normally would in your class.

If you are new to collecting student work in Canvas, creating an is the simplest route. You can also use or to collect student work.

Make sure students know when new material is posted. Use to upload and store materials. Use or to organize your files for your students. Use or to communicate the organization of the materials to your students.

One way to deliver a lecture at a distance is to record yourself.

MiVideo is University of Michigan's branded version of Kaltura Capture, providing video storage and playback options in ÂÜÀòÉç-Dearborn's Canvas.

The first time you use Kaltura Capture you will need to install the software. Kaltura Capture is available for both Windows and Mac, and includes several options for recording: your voice, with or without webcam video; your computer screen.

The Academic Video page provides help with Kaltura Captura. There are also available.

Or consider some of these other . 

If you need to record yourself writing and explaining calculations, here are three easy techniques (, , ). If you would like some guidance about the best way to record something at home, email Greg Taylor, [email protected], to set up a virtual consultation.

The  shows which services are most accurate on the features that matter to you, such as punctuation.  

Fostering communication among students is important because it maintains a sense of community that can help keep students motivated to participate and learn. 

Instructors and students may meet in a virtual classroom equipped with audio and/or video connections, screen sharing, and chat. Synchronous virtual meetings could be held with , including which is a tool already in Canvas. Be sure to record and post the session for students who might not have reliable internet at the specific time.

Also consider asynchronous tools when possible, like which allow students to participate on their own schedules. In addition, bandwidth requirements for discussion boards are far lower than for live video tools.

One of the biggest challenges of teaching during a building or campus closure is sustaining the lab components of classes. Since many labs require specific equipment, they are hard to reproduce outside of that physical space.

The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning has tips for remote labs, including links to online resources, organized by the lab's focus:

• learning techniques and their application to specific experimental situations
• interpreting experimental data 
• project-based lab research

Faculty are encouraged to consider the alternative . Faculty will be expected to provide an opportunity for a make-up exam to any student encountering technical or other types of difficulties. 

If you do hold a synchronous or timed exam, you might work with the Hub to design a comparable, make-up asynchronous assessment for those of your students who cannot complete the exam, such as students working extra hours in pharmacies or who have technology issues. This might keep your grading load manageable while still supporting students who are essential workers.

Rutgers'  has special advice for open-book assessment in quantitative courses.