In-Person Courses:
Students are expected to attend all class sessions in person. All college health and safety protocols must be observed while on campus.
- Faculty can create and implement participation policies as appropriate.
- Students unable to attend a class due to COVID-19 related complications should not be penalized and alternate arrangements should be made when assessments/content is missed.
- Interested faculty can explore use of FLEX technology in their classroom .
Online Courses (ONL):
Courses designated as Online (ONL) are held entirely online and do not meet at a scheduled time. Students will meet all expected deadlines outlined by the professor and complete work on their own time.
- Faculty may not offer synchronous sessions to deliver required course content
- Optional synchronous sessions focused around extra help, exam review, etc. are acceptable provided they are recorded, captioned, and posted as appropriate
- Students should be expected to complete some form of weekly activity for the purposes of attendance tracking. Simply logging in does not count as online attendance
- Academically related activities that count towards attendance can include, but are not limited to:
- physically attending a class where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students
- submitting an academic assignment
- taking an exam, an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction
- attending a study group that is assigned by the school
- participating in an online discussion about academic matters, and
- initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course.
- All real-time virtual sessions must be recorded and made available for students with captions. See Accessibility Guidelines Section for more information on closed captioning expectations
- While proctored exams are not required for online courses, students can be required to come to campus, or an approved testing center, for certain assessments as specified in the syllabus
- These requirements should be clear in the syllabus
- The Testing Center does not have capacity to provide testing for entire online or Structured Remote courses
- Due to limited capacity the testing center can only support exams for:
- Accommodated FCC Course Exam
- Students registered with Disability Access Services who require testing accommodations listed on the Student Success Plan (SSP)
- Pre-Approved Make-Up Testing Students without access to a personal device for testing or students who do not meet the technology/device requirements for online proctoring services enrolled in Online, Structured Remote, Hybrid sections
- Other circumstances with prior approval from the Testing Center Director to arrange a make-up exam in a proctored environment
- Submit your test using the Exam Form on the Testing Center page under Faculty and Staff
- Faculty can work with their AOM to schedule regular classroom time through 25 live to hold proctored exams on campus. Faculty are responsible for proctoring these exams when the Testing Center cannot accommodate the request
- Faculty can use Honorlock online proctoring services through Blackboard. Faculty can find more information around the Honorlock tool at https://guides.frederick.edu/honorlock or contact the Testing Center
- Set a consistent method for identifying both the start and end dates for the modules and/or sections of your course
- A best practice is to provide an easily-identifiable course orientation that uses multiple methods to orient students to the course and establish expectations
Structured Remote Courses (SR):
Structured Remote Courses (SR) meet online during scheduled class times, as listed in the schedule and syllabus. These sessions may include lecture, group discussions, review, or skills demonstrations. All sessions should be recorded and made available to students unable to attend.
- Real-time virtual instruction must be offered during all scheduled class time
- All SR classes should utilize the entirety of the scheduled class period
- Real-time virtual instruction can include:
- Lecture
- Discussion of readings and concepts
- Review of course material
- Demonstration or practice of classroom skills
- All real-time virtual sessions must be recorded and made available for students with captions. See Accessibility Guidelines Section for more information on closed captioning expectations
- FERPA guidelines should be read prior to recording (these pop up automatically in ZOOM)
- Students are expected to attend SR sessions, and are accountable for all information and material covered in a recorded SR session
- If a course has grant or certification related requirements for attendance, those guidelines must be followed
- Faculty can assign graded assessments or provide points for participation in class activities, but should allow for alternatives or make up dates due to COVID related absences
- Students can be encouraged but not required to utilize a web camera or microphone with the exception noted below for proctored exams
- Camera use cannot be positively incentivize through extra credit
- Students cannot be penalized for not turning on a camera
- Students have many reasons for not turning on a camera:
- They may not own one
- There may be technology/bandwidth barriers
- The student may not be comfortable inviting people into their home
- Web cameras can be required during proctored exams. Students who do not own or are unable to access a web camera should work with their professor ahead of the exam to come up with alternate arrangement
- Students may be required to come to campus, or an approved testing center, for certain assessments as specified in the syllabus
- These requirements should be clear in the syllabus
- The Testing Center does not have capacity to provide testing for entire online or Structured Remote courses
- Due to limited capacity the testing center can only support exams for:
- Accommodated FCC Course Exam
- Students registered with Disability Access Services who require testing accommodations listed on the Student Success Plan (SSP)
- Pre-Approved Make-Up Testing Students without access to a personal device for testing or students who do not meet the technology/device requirements for online proctoring services enrolled in Online, Structured Remote, Hybrid sections
- Other circumstances with prior approval from the Testing Center Director to arrange a make-up exam in a proctored environment
- Submit your test using the Exam Form on the Testing Center page under Faculty and Staff
- Faculty can work with their AOM to schedule regular classroom time through 25 live to hold proctored exams on campus. Faculty are responsible for proctoring these exams when the Testing Center cannot accommodate the request
- Faculty can use Honorlock online proctoring services through Blackboard. Faculty can find more information around the Honorlock tool at https://guides.frederick.edu/honorlock or contact the Testing Center
- A best practice is to provide an easily-identifiable course orientation that uses multiple methods to orient students to the course and establish expectations
Hybrid Courses (HYB):
Hybrid Courses (HYB) require in-person and virtual participation. In addition to participating in online or real-time virtual sessions, students will be expected to come to main campus, clinical sites, or the Monroe Center for in-person class sessions during the scheduled time. In-person and real-time virtual session meeting dates will be designated on the syllabus. Students are expected to attend all in-person and real-time virtual sessions. Virtual sessions will be recorded and made available to students unable to attend.
- Face to face and real-time virtual class sessions should be held during the scheduled class meeting time and communicated to students on the first day of class and in the syllabus
- HYB classes are expected to have at least one on-campus meeting per week, lasting the full scheduled class time
- If a class has multiple meeting times per week, any session not used for on-campus instruction should be a real-time virtual session. Course content that is not taught on-campus or through real-time virtual sessions should be delivered asynchronously
- Notify students in the syllabus and through Blackboard at the beginning of the term which sessions will be real-time virtual and which will meet on campus
- A best practice is to provide an easily-identifiable course orientation that uses multiple methods to orient students to the course and establish expectations
Flex Options
Flex classes utilize the streaming and recording capabilities embedded in select classrooms to allow faculty to provide access to course instruction in one or more of the following ways:
- Record a class
- Live stream a class for passive real time viewing
- Structure a class so that students can participate remotely or on campus
There are several reasons to adopt FLEX technology:
- To record classes so students can review In-Person or Structured Remote instruction later
- To enable students unable to attend a class session to stay current on course content
- To provide students with the opportunity to attend the class in person or virtually to provide maximum flexibility
Some important things to know about FLEX options:
- Not all disciplines and courses may be suitable for FLEX classes due to their content and structure. Use this tool only when it is appropriate
- Faculty can choose to not use these options at all. FLEX instruction is voluntary and at the faculty’s discretion, though if a faculty member commits it should be utilized throughout the semester in accordance with the guidance below
- FLEX instruction will be available starting Fall 22
- HY-FLEX and course capture courses should be identified as soon as possible. The ability to offer this option is contingent on available space and technology
Faculty may choose to adopt one of the following FLEX categories: Course Capture or HY-FLEX. FLEX categories will be listed in Peoplesoft notes, course attributes, and the course schedule so students can sign up for course sections that best serve their needs, like how low/no cost textbook sections are indicated.
FCC will be offering two types of FLEX classes. Each type will be identified by a different student facing indicator.
Course Capture: Faculty will record all lecture and class discussions, to be posted on an unlisted YouTube channel, STREAM or to be hosted by ZOOM for viewing for 30 days after class. Classes are recorded so students can revisit content, and students unable to attend can stay current. Course capture is not intended to replace in person attendance.
- Course Capture applies to In-Person classes, in-person and structured remote sessions components of Hybrid, classes or Structured Remote classes
- Recordings can be audio, video, or audio/visual
- Please note that all real-time session recordings posted online must be closed captioned even if there are no students in the class requiring accommodations. For more information about these compliance guidelines refer to the Accessibility Section of the Faculty Guide
- All students registered in the course are allowed to access the recording. Instructor permission is not required
- Course Capture recordings should not be made public or shared outside of the class. More information on how to appropriately upload recordings can be found in the Accessibility Section of the Faculty Guide
- Recordings should be made available for at least thirty days. Course capture recordings are not intended for use across multiple sections
- Course capture applies to lecture and discussion components of classes. Lab/Studio/Applied activities can be recorded at the discretion of the faculty or program as appropriate
- Class participation and in-class assessments can still be required, and missing/making up participation/assessment would still require the approval of the instructor
HY-FLEX: MHEC defines a HyFlex course format as “an instructional approach that combines in-person and remote learning in a way that students can choose the learning format at their discretion throughout the semester. Each class session and learning activity is offered in-person, synchronously online, and asynchronously online, and students can decide how to participate and alter their participation in that course throughout the term; students can change their mode of attendance weekly or by topic, according to need or preference.”
- Hy-FLEX applies to In-Person classes or In-Person components of Hybrid classes only
- Students can choose to attend in person, remotely, or asynchronously without prior approval
- All classes should be recorded
- Please note that all real-time session recordings posted online must be closed captioned even if there are no students in the class requiring accommodations. For more information about these compliance guidelines refer to the Accessibility Section
- Faculty cannot require students to turn on cameras or utilize a microphone
- Recordings should not be made public to help ensure student privacy. More information on how to appropriately upload recordings can be found in the Accessibility Section of the Faculty Guide.
- Recordings should be made available for at least thirty days
- HY-FLEX may not be appropriate for all classes. Course capture recordings are not intended for use across multiple sections
- In the HY-FLEX model faculty should still be teaching from their designated classroom, even if all students are attending remotely. The HY-FLEX option does not alter the basic course format (In-Person or Hybrid).
Faculty should ensure that there are ways to assess the last date of participation for Financial Aid purposes whether the student is in-person, synchronously online, or asynchronously online.
Course Design & Blackboard Support:
If you need assistance from OLII, please submit a support request here: https://servicedesk.frederick.edu.
Course Design Expectations and Tips
A number of resources have been curated and created from the Faculty Professional Course: Essentials Guide: a direct link to those resources can be found here: https://guides.frederick.edu/facultyresource/howto
- Design the course and activities with a focus on core learning outcomes and the total amount of time student should engage in learning [Refer to Federal Credit Hour Guidelines and use the Time on Task Calculator.]
- Ensure that each core learning outcome is aligned to an appropriate assessment strategy. Information on crafting appropriate assessments can be found under Assessment Resources here.
- Facilitate communication of course requirements and student progress through use of the college’s learning management system.
- Do not alter the standard navigation
- Set up Gradebook and examine it in “student view” to make sure extra columns have been removed
- Please ensure your Syllabus and Grade Center match- course copying can lead to inconsistencies between the two if you do not modify Grade Center to match syllabus changes.
- One week prior to the start of a course ensure:
- The Blackboard shell is open and visible to students
- An updated syllabus is posted (in the Syllabus Tab). Please be sure syllabi from prior semesters are removed if you utilized the Course Copy function
- A welcome message and introduction is posted in Announcements
- Ensure content is accessible. Please note that all video and real-time session recordings posted online must be closed captioned even if there are no students in the class requiring accommodations. For more information about these compliance guidelines refer to the Accessibility Section
Communication and Interactivity
- Respond to student inquiries within 48 hours for courses that are designated In-Person or Hybrid (in accordance with the Faculty Addendum in the Employee Handbook)
- Respond to student inquiries within 24-36 hours for courses that are designated Online or Structured Remote in accordance with the Faculty Addendum in the Employee Handbook)
- Faculty are expected to hold office hours as per the Faculty Addendum of the Employee Handbook. Faculty can choose to identify preset hours or make themselves available by appointment. A mixed approach is recommended.
- Establish and communicate a clear schedule for posting course assignments and due dates
- Have a robust teaching presence in the course multiple times throughout the week. Examples of teaching presence can include:
- Be available during the scheduled course time
- Post announcements
- Participate in asynchronous sessions Respond to and interact in discussion boards
- Provide timely student feedback and post grades in Grade Center
- Conduct individual and small group interactions
- Create and post (and caption) lecture video clips
- Conduct office hours (virtual/email/in-person) appropriate for the course format and student need
- Create or use existing brief how-to videos for assignments
- Use FCC email, rather than personal e-mail accounts, to communicate with students
- Faculty should not use personal web conferencing platforms or course shells.
- Please be mindful of technology issues, limited Internet access, and limited student experience with technology when creating assessments and assignments
- Send Student Success Alerts when students are struggling academically to support student learning in accordance with the new Student Success Alert Guidebook
- Create a culturally-responsive and inclusive learning environment and accommodate students with disabilities with Success Plans
- As a best practice consider collecting ongoing student feedback as the course progresses (e.g., using a midterm course evaluation)
- It is strongly recommended that students change their Blackboard notification preferences to alert them when a new Announcement is posted in the course. When you create an Announcement, select the box to have the announcement emailed to your students. Remind students to check their myFCC email regularly.
- Develop assessments appropriate to remote structured learning, using multiple assessment types that align with course objectives and support academic integrity. [Refer to the Faculty Essentials: Assessment Lib Guide]
- On campus assessments can be scheduled for hybrid remote classes when a face-to-face exam is related to accreditation or licensing requirements, or where face to face interaction is integral to the assessment
- Proctored course exams are generally unavailable in the Testing Center. Any exception to this, based on a student’s disability accommodations, will be specifically noted on a Student Success Plan (student accommodation plan). Standard accommodations of extra testing time can be offered remotely and do not require specific proctoring. See the Testing Center webpage for details about services and operations
- Because attendance cannot be required, it is generally recommended that graded assessments not be a regular feature of SR sessions. When graded assessments (including participation points) are provided during a structured remote session, students not in attendance should be provided an opportunity to either make up work or be provided with a comparable alternative assessment without penalty. For concerns and guidance regarding alternative assessments due to class absence, consult your departmental leadership.
Learning Technologies
Blackboard LMS allows you to administer and teach your courses online by providing students with access to course materials and the ability to interact with their peers / you through the LMS. Please review the Blackboard technology requirements and help resources.
FCC Alert - Sign up for the College emergency and closing alerts: FCC Alerts.
Bb Faculty and Student Apps Blackboard Mobile Apps: Instructor and Student Mobile apps are available for you and your students to communicate with each other.
FCC Office 365 has a range of tools available for instructors and students for teaching, learning, and collaborations including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and Stream.
FCC Supports the use of video conferencing using Blackboard Collaborate and ZOOM. Blackboard Collaborate and ZOOM are suggested for instructional synchronous sessions.
Video Conferencing tools help you to:
- Record your lecture and post it for students to view later.
- Set up student groups for online collaborations.
- Meet with students individually for office hour sessions
A series of guides and video tutorials to help you use Blackboard Collaborate more effectively:
A guide to use of ZOOM for synchronous sessions can be found at the links below:
IT has document cameras in about 70 classrooms on main campus and at Monroe. They are in most buildings with the exception of Linganore. The document cameras have built in microphones and can be used to record video and audio files or be used as a web camera for Zoom or Collaborate. If you are interested in using document cameras for this function or if you need one in a room that might not already be equipped with one, please let IT know through a help desk ticket. Requestors should go to servicedesk.frederick.edu and click on +New Request at the top, right of the page and scroll down to Classroom camera help. Please submit at least 24 hours in advance
Formative Assessments and Review Tools
edpuzzle
Choose a video from YouTube, Khan Academy, Crash Course and more. Embed your own voice narration and questions, and track your students' comprehension. Check if students are watching your videos, how many times they're watching each section, and if they're understanding the content. Get more information here. FCC has a pro account.
Formative
A tool for embedding questions directly into the documents you distribute electronically to your students. Get more information here.
Socrative A classroom app for student engagement and on-the-fly assessments. Find answers and advice about using Socrative here.
Kahoot
Quizizz
Quizlet
Everything you need to know and a comparison of review tools can be found here: Kahoot!, Quizizz, Quizlet Live. Which Should I Use?
Lesson Creation and Resources
TED-Ed
Browse hundreds of TED-Ed Animations and TED Talks - designed to spark the curiosity of your learners. You'll also find thousands of other video-based lessons organized by the subjects you teach.
Accessibility Guidelines
FCC is committed to ensuring access to all courses and course-related materials in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and amendments that covers technology, online training, and websites.
By the start of the fall 2020 semester, all courses with an online delivery component, meaning a space within Blackboard, will be compliant with current laws. Meeting these standards benefits students with disabilities, and helps all students to access and use the content in online courses. FCC will use the standards set forth in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to achieve ADA compliance. UDL is a set of principles for curriculum development that gives all individuals ‐ all learning styles and all ability levels ‐ equal opportunities to learn.
Closed Captions and Transcripts: Course videos must have time‐synced closed captions to be ADA compliant. This includes any video recording used in the course from the recording of a Real-Time Virtual session to professional recordings of content. Closed captioning provides a critical link to individual who are deaf or hard of hearing. For individuals whose native language is not English, captions improve comprehension and fluency. Having the option of using closed captions also helps people who may not have audio available to them on their device or who are in a setting that is noise restrictive. Transcripts for all videos, while not required, are encouraged. Additionally, transcripts for videos do not replace the need for time synced closed captions.
Note: For audio-only files, a transcript is required, and it is recommended that they be provided in PDF format for ease of use.
Faculty are asked to review captioning for basic accuracy as time permits. More careful attention is needed when a deaf/hard of hearing student is a regular caption user.
FCC Endorses 3 methods for generating closed captions/ transcript development:
- YouTube (for video captioning and hosting after recording in Bb Collaborate): To address video accessibility requirements
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- Microsoft Stream (for video captioning and hosting after recording in Bb Collaborate– Use only for synchronous recordings that do not have student images or identifiable voices)
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- ZOOM (for video captioning and hosting after recording in ZOOM cloud recording)
TIPS TO IMPROVE THE CLOSED CAPTIONING EXPERIENCE
When recording:
- Control the audio: For a cleaner caption, control the audio during the meeting. Have students use the “raise hand” feature or type in the chat that they have a question or comment. Have all students on mute during the recording unless called on
- Record shorter videos: For multiple lecture hours – record an hour at a time so you have a shorter video upload. The upload time may be improved
After the recording:
- Download the video and post to Blackboard immediately: you can post to Bb right away while you are working on the editing process. The same link is used and is updated automatically as you edit. Just notify students the captions are corrected,
- Edit for major errors: Remember that the editing is to correct major errors. There is no need to edit to perfection. Spoken word is not as a grammatically correct as the written word so there is not expectation to correct the captions for all grammatical errors, ums, uh huhs, etc……….
- Scan the captions to find where corrections are needed: You may save time by scanning the captions and mark the time stamp of corrections needed. They go back to those time stamps to fix them
- Invite students to identify confusing sections of captions: Once you have scanned and done edits to the captions given the time you could devote to it, let students know they can bring confusing caption errors to your attention to fix.
- Stop the recording at the end of the meeting: Some processing delays in Zoom may occur if you leave the meeting without stopping the recording
Using video’s previously shown in a face to face class
- Try to use Professional videos that already have closed captioning.
- You could consult with CTL for video content topics that match videos without captions that you may have been using in a face to face format.
- You could also check YouTube for videos on the topic with captions included.
- You could play the video on one of the platforms in screen sharing mode and record. Be sure you are sharing computer audio. The captions can be generated from this recording.
Practice: If captioning is a new skill for you we recommend you practice with a short recording (not during class) - 5 mins or less to get the captioning process down.
Prior to recording a synchronous session we ask that faculty read the FERPA guidelines to all students. If you are recording using ZOOM, the FERPA statement will appear in a window that must be acknowledged by all students before proceeding.
The FCC FERPA statement reads as follows:All student records are protected by the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). Portions of this course may be audio-visually recorded so students who cannot attend a particular session or who wish to review material can access the full content. Students who participate orally, visually, or via chat agree to be recorded. The content of this recording may not be shared with anyone who is not registered in this class without written permission, as it is an educational record.
Posting Recorded Videos of Synchronous Sessions and FERPA Compliance
The simple rule of thumb is that videos links can only be accessible to the students actively enrolled in the class if they contain identifiable student video image and audio capture or name in chat. The following are the methods available to you to make a video link only accessible to students in your class:
- Complete the recording and closed captioning in ZOOM. The link you post is password protected and is only available only to those with the link/ password.
- Complete the recording in Blackboard Collaborate and close caption in YouTube to create and “unlisted” link. The link is only available to those with the link.
- Complete the recording in Blackboard Collaborate and close caption in Microsoft Stream but you must set permissions so that only the active class roster can access via the link. If your class roster changes due to adds/drops, you must reset these permissions.
Ally: The Ally tool is part of all Blackboard courses. The tool icon next to documents in your courses provides alternative formats for your students to access depending on their preferred learning style.
FCC’s Web Accessibility Guide provides additional information and resources.
Additional resources related to accessibility, Universal Design practices, and technology standards:
Disability Access Services (DAS)) at FCCassists and supports eligible students with disabilities. Please contact DAS in advance if you have questions regarding how to best accommodate students with disabilities while ensuring continuity of teaching and learning.
Accommodation Plans will be sent via email by students or the DAS office. Additional instructions pertaining to Deaf students utilizing Interpreting Services will be emailed as student enrollment is known to the DAS office. A comprehensive faculty guide related to ZOOM use is available for SR and HYB classes in which Deaf students are enrolled (insert link to Zoom Guide created by Interpreting Services here).
To promote access, ensure course materials and accessible videos are available to students as long as is possible based on the platform being used. Establishing this availability timeframe and notifying all students of this is strongly encouraged.
Faculty Links for Additional Guidance
Trainings and Individual Consultations
Trainings
Below is a list of trainings provided by Online Learning and Instructional Innovation and IT to support the transition of courses online using specific Blackboard tools, as well as TEAMS.
Getting Help with Your Course
Copyright and Finding Course Content Help
- The Copyright Resource Guide provides an introduction and guidelines on copyright. Specific copyright questions can be directed to the Director of Library Services, Colleen McKnight.
- Organized by subject, the Content Resources for Remote Teaching Guide pulls together resources the Library and the web that can be added to your online course.
Blackboard and Course Design Help
Student Academic and Support Resources
Be Mindful of Students’ Experiences
- Despite starting the semester remotely, students may still have issues accessing essential technology, variable and uncertain work and/or childcare schedules, and health concerns that make participation challenging. Faculty should show as much empathy and demonstrate as much flexibility as possible.
- At the beginning of the course, ask students to proactively consider what challenges they may face in terms of time management, access to the Internet or technology, etc. In some instances, FCC may be able to provide resources or support. The chart below provides the main emails and phone numbers for Student Support services.
- See “Student Resources for information on other student support
Academic Support Services/Helping Students Learn Online
- Library Services
The Library is available online to support you and your students, and all resources can be accessed at www.frederick.edu/library. In addition, the link to the Library page is automatically embedded in your Blackboard Courses under the “Library Resources” button. The most relevant resources include:
- Remote Teaching and Learning Resource Guides
- Web Resources and Articles