Preparing your courses for possible shifts in COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights)
The context of 2022 is likely to be similar to the context of 2021 with respect to COVID-19 impacts. Being prepared, designing your courses well and making a back-up plan enables learning to continue even in times of disruption.
The guidance and resources below will help you to ensure that your courses are well prepared and able to adapt to COVID-19 traffic light shifts as required.
The guidance and resources below will help you to ensure that your courses are well prepared and able to adapt to COVID-19 traffic light shifts as required.
ORANGE setting of the COVID-19 Protection Framework
- Find out what the orange setting means for Te Herenga Waka
- Check out the resources below for support with preparing your courses.
- We are also running regular drop-in sessions for immediate teaching and learning support. See the home page for further information.
- For further support, contact your Faculty Learning Designer.
Teaching in dual-mode
In 2022, most courses are being offered in dual-mode delivery. This means that courses are delivered in a way that supports both in-person and remote learning. This can be tricky to execute, so our best advice is to keep it simple. Focus on empathising first, empowering second, and engaging third. The guidance and resources below are intended to help with this.
Note: VUW staff can access the university's academic policy provisions for 2022 via the staff intranet.
Being prepared in 2022
Prepare your course using the Course Preparation Checklist
The COURSE PREPARATION CHECKLIST outlines some simple and practical ways you can help students navigate and engage with your blackboard courses.
Your Faculty Toiere Blackboard course provides further details, as well as guidance and resources to help with the set up of your course. If you are struggling to access your Faculty Toiere Blackboard course, contact your Faculty Learning Designer.
Use video for teaching
Manage teaching in-person and remote students concurrently
Note: if you're having trouble viewing the video, you can view the Mixed Mode Classroom Teaching Session on Panopto.
For specific advice about how to manage dual delivery in your course, contact your Faculty Learning Designer.
Making a plan and informing your students
Plan for potential disruption
The most likely disruptions to teaching in 2022 will be changes as a result of the COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights), with staff and students potentially needing to self-isolate due to MoH requirements and/or due to possible illness.
Having resilient courses means being prepared for all kinds of disruptions, including natural disasters, staffing changes and unforeseeable personal circumstances. Having a plan is central to teaching resilience.
The most likely disruptions to teaching in 2022 will be changes as a result of the COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic lights), with staff and students potentially needing to self-isolate due to MoH requirements and/or due to possible illness.
Having resilient courses means being prepared for all kinds of disruptions, including natural disasters, staffing changes and unforeseeable personal circumstances. Having a plan is central to teaching resilience.
Create a course level "COVID-19 Contingency" teaching plan
Ensuring students are well informed of how a course will be delivered at each COVID-19 traffic light is critical to support their academic planning and overall wellbeing. You can achieve this by creating a "COVID-19 Contingency" teaching plan in your Blackboard course to let students know what to expect in your course if there is a shift in alert level.
Course level information provided to students must only include information that is directly relevant to the delivery of courses in which they are currently enrolled. For information on wider university Covid plans and communications, students should be directed to the central student COVID-19 information site on the university website - https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/covid-19
Key information to provide students includes a course level plan for:
Ensuring students are well informed of how a course will be delivered at each COVID-19 traffic light is critical to support their academic planning and overall wellbeing. You can achieve this by creating a "COVID-19 Contingency" teaching plan in your Blackboard course to let students know what to expect in your course if there is a shift in alert level.
Course level information provided to students must only include information that is directly relevant to the delivery of courses in which they are currently enrolled. For information on wider university Covid plans and communications, students should be directed to the central student COVID-19 information site on the university website - https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/covid-19
Key information to provide students includes a course level plan for:
- Physical or virtual lectures / teaching sessions
- The delivery of science labs, computer labs or field trips (where applicable)
- Tutorial delivery
- Office hours or drop-in support
- Assessment delivery, feedback and grading
An example of how a COVID-19 Teaching Plan alert might look in a Blackboard course. A template table can be downloaded below.
Add your COVID-19 teaching plan to Blackboard
The 'package' below can be downloaded and imported to any course to add a COVID-19 teaching plan section to your course. This will download a table for you to fill in with course specific information about how you will teach the course at each COVID traffic light.
Once loaded into your course you will need to read the instructions, refer to university COVID-19 site for updated information, amend the required text in the COVID-19 plan table for this course and then delete the instructions.
To load the COVID-19 teaching plan package to your course:
The 'package' below can be downloaded and imported to any course to add a COVID-19 teaching plan section to your course. This will download a table for you to fill in with course specific information about how you will teach the course at each COVID traffic light.
Once loaded into your course you will need to read the instructions, refer to university COVID-19 site for updated information, amend the required text in the COVID-19 plan table for this course and then delete the instructions.
To load the COVID-19 teaching plan package to your course:
- Download the COVID-19 course plan package below
- Open your Blackboard course
- Go to Control Panel > Packages and Utilities > Import Package / View Logs
- Import Package
- Select a package: Browse for the package file you downloaded from here (file name above)
- Under Select Course Materials, tick the following boxes: Content Areas, Navigation Settings (this will also tick the Settings box, that's fine, just let it do that)
- Submit
- You will get an email when the package has successfully loaded to your course.
- You may then want to move this item up in the menu to the course Information section of your course menu.
- Update the items with information relevant to your course and remove the 'How to create a course level COVID plan for students' instructions.
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The COVID-19 course plan package:
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Teaching online (or being ready to move fully online)
In 2022, many courses are being taught fully online. For some courses, this mode of teaching was planned in advance. But some courses are being required to move online last minute.
Additionally, due to the constantly changing and unpredictable circumstances we are currently facing, it is important to be ready to move your course online quickly if required.
Additionally, due to the constantly changing and unpredictable circumstances we are currently facing, it is important to be ready to move your course online quickly if required.
Preparing to Work Remotely
Have you thought through and tested your work from home set up?
Consider:
Consider:
- where will you be?
- what devices, information and connection will you have?
- what systems are you going to need to access?
- how are you going to carry out tasks and responsibilities when not on campus or face to face?
Go through the work and teach from home checklist to see if there are things you might need to do to be fully prepared. This can be a useful starting point to understand if you are ready to continue working from home.
Talk to your Head of School/Manager if you identify gaps in your checklist.
Talk to your Head of School/Manager if you identify gaps in your checklist.