Addressing Compassion Fatigue

Addressing Compassion Fatigue

As a result of hardships related to COVID-19 and many other stresses in present-day life for us and our students, many of us may be feeling compassion fatigue. This can lead to distress or burnout. In the article, “Are you experiencing compassion fatigue?” (2022),...

Building a Wiki Page in Canvas

Building a Wiki Page in Canvas

by Rebecca Borowski, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, WWU Getting bored with Discussion boards? Consider having students post to a wiki! A wiki is a website that can be edited by multiple users. Rather than discussion boards, where students reply...

Building Accountability During Breakout Rooms

Building Accountability During Breakout Rooms

by Rebecca Borowski, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, WWU Have you ever popped into a breakout room to check on your students, only to find cameras off, everyone muted, apparently using the time for their own purposes, rather than engaging with each...

Building Classroom Community Guidelines

Building Classroom Community Guidelines

Contributed to the TLCo-op by Alina Holmes, Graduate Research Assistant of the Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, 2020. As teachers, we all know that it is important to set expectations at the start of the quarter for all students. One way to consider...

Building Community Using Flip

Building Community Using Flip

Contributed to the TLCo-op by Alina Holmes, Graduate Research Assistant of the Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, 2020.   If you are looking for a safe, inclusive, and free virtual space to create classroom groups and discussions, Flip is the tool for...

Building Trust in an Online Environment

Building Trust in an Online Environment

  Contributed to the TLCo-op by Alina Holmes, Graduate Research Assistant of the Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, 2020. One of the many reasons that people decide to go into teaching is because they like working with learners who are often young...

Creating a WordPress Site With WordPress for Your Class

Creating a WordPress Site With WordPress for Your Class

Interested in using WordPress to create your own class site, personal site, or portfolio site? Visit https://wp.wwu.edu to get started on creating your personalized website. Simply select which type of WordPress website you're interested in creating and enter your...

Fostering Health and Wellbeing in Classes

Fostering Health and Wellbeing in Classes

Teachers have an important opportunity to create a space for students that is centered on health, the environment, and the community.  Possible Actions Make Your Course Accessible Practice Universal Design of Instruction. Ensure all pages, documents, and PDFs are...

Google Docs as a Tool for Class Discussions

Google Docs as a Tool for Class Discussions

  Google Docs is a great tool to allow multiple students to work on the same shared document. Students can share their thoughts through text, photo collages, word clouds, and drawings in individual breakout rooms and come then come together as a class on a single...

Google Slides as a Tool for Classroom Discussion

Google Slides as a Tool for Classroom Discussion

Google Slides is a great tool for promoting students to work together in breakout rooms on a document that is easy to access after coming together as a complete class. For more information on this strategy see Utilizing Breakout Rooms and Online Tools for Student...

Making Group Assignments Manageable

Making Group Assignments Manageable

by Rebecca Borowski, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics, WWU Group assignments offer one way for students to engage with course content and demonstrate their learning. Collaboration offers an opportunity to students to refine their ideas and receive...

Netiquette and Best Practices for Online Learning

Netiquette and Best Practices for Online Learning

Incorporating the suggested etiquette for online learning can help everyone be more successful in online courses, in Zoom or Teams video conferencing, or with online collaborative work. DOs & DON’Ts for Online Learning - Suggestions for online learners, compiled...

OneNote as a Tool for Student Engagement

OneNote as a Tool for Student Engagement

OneNote is a great tool for encouraging students to work together in breakout rooms on a single document that is easy to access after coming together as a class. For more information on this strategy see Utilizing Breakout Rooms and Online Tools for Student...

Rethinking Workshop Models: The “Ikebana” Workshop Method

Rethinking Workshop Models: The “Ikebana” Workshop Method

by Brenda Miller, Professor, English Department, WWU Why "Ikebana"? This model stems from what I experienced as a student in an Ikebana class here in Bellingham. Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging; the compositions follow formal guidelines, but they also...

Top Tips for Online Student Engagement

Top Tips for Online Student Engagement

by Meg Weber, Director of Community Engagement and Executive Education, Head Instructor, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, WWU As faculty members, so often we can feel like our connection with students is less than it was in the past. We recall bustling days of...

Trauma-Informed Teaching

Trauma-Informed Teaching

All students enter a classroom with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Their experiences could possibly include trauma which the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines as: “an event, series of events, or set of circumstances...

Using Microsoft Teams in your Online or Hybrid Course

Using Microsoft Teams in your Online or Hybrid Course

Explore the ATUS page, Using Microsoft Teams in your Online or Hybrid Course, to learn how to use Microsoft Teams educators to schedule and conduct online class discussions and course lectures, conduct online office hours, securely record student presentations, and...

Using the Canvas Chat Tool

Using the Canvas Chat Tool

This video from WWU's Instructional Design Video Library provides an overview of adding the Canvas (simple) chat menu item and using it in your class.   For assistance with Canvas, see: Canvas Help at WWU.

Utilizing Breakout Rooms and Online Tools for Student Engagement

Utilizing Breakout Rooms and Online Tools for Student Engagement

Reconstructing a successful class that was meant to be in-person to fit the new online format can be challenging and intimidating. Someone who has tackled this task and found great success, according to his students, is Dr. Charles Patterson, Professor of Spanish at...

WesternOnline: Student Engagement

WesternOnline: Student Engagement

WesternOnline is a resource created by WWU's Outreach and Continuing Education to help build online courses effectively. Learn more about strategies and methods that can help you increase student engagement in online courses--and with any course modality using online...

Workshop Recording: Planning for Flexible and Fantastic Courses

Workshop Recording: Planning for Flexible and Fantastic Courses

This recording of Planning for Flexible and Fantastic Courses by Justina Brown and Kevin Dixey was part of the 2021 WWU Summer Workshop Series. Session description: What do you do if your class suddenly needs to change modality this Fall? Kevin Dixey and Justina Brown...