Pivot to F2F Virtual
Assessment
First priority was to address F2F programs. It was clear that there simply wasn't enough time to effectively transition these programs to fully online, so we had to assess whether it was feasible to transition them to a hybrid modality with a virtual sycnhronous component.
We began by calling an emergency "round table" meeting with all instructors by program. For these discussions, we identified three major qualifiers as to whether the program would transition:
Instructor willingness and confidence that the program could be effectively taught virtually
Technology and LMS competency of instructors
Student buy-in of continuing program virtually
Of all 12 programs, only one program was identified as ineligible due to its heavy reliance on in-person application, demos, and lab work. Programs were temprarily put on pause while our team began collaborating with instructors and designing their courses.
Canvas Buildout
Historically, these F2F programs had little to no online presence, meaning no asynchronous activities let alone course pages existed to build upon to facilitate virtual instruction.
With the LMS transition to Canvas in mind, it made no sense to develop new courses in the outgoing LMS. So, I began building Canvas course templates specifically for F2F Virtual Programs to streamline the development process.
With this in place, I trained all IDs, Program Managers, and Program Support staff on the new LMS blueprint, as well as developed training materials for instructors and staff on how to work in the new environment and students.
Me and other IDs then began one-on-one consultations with instructors to develop new courses. This included Zoom training and best practices, developing synchronous and asynchronous activities, course design and multimedia development. Course evaluations were modified to include questions related to virtual instruction.
IDs and LXDs sat in for the first synchronous zoom lecture for each course to monitor, answer questions, and troubleshoot.
Evaluation and Next Steps
Course evaluations were closely reviewed, and instructor meetings held at the end of each cohort to review their experience and go over evaluations. We would continue to iterate and improve each course as they were offered.
Finally, I trained our student support team on the essentials of Canvas including basic troubleshooting, how to modify simple elements of a course, and most importantly how to transfer and setup courses. This meant future offerings could be supported solely by our program support team and open bandwidth on other key projects.