1. Utilize the Course Template for Your Lessons

All 2020-21 courses were created from a course template to create consistency. Teachers have 2 options for organizing courses: 1. Itslearning folders and pages or 2. Itslearning plans. Review the templates (video, slides), how to edit the course template pages, and copy content from course to course if needed.

2. Organize Content & Access to Past Lessons

Be sure to use one of the course template options to organize your course in a clear, consistent manner. For optimum course experience, include dates on content resources and links to folders for current and past lessons. Access to past lessons is helpful for students to review content and manage their to-do list.

3. Communicate Goal, Instructions, Contact Info.

Be sure to include lesson goals and instructions in your course via the course template. A video recording of yourself is a helpful way to make sure students have another option to understand expectations. Students will also need to know how to contact you-be sure to share your email and scheduled “live” video conferences.

4. Make it Personal

Make sure your course has teacher presence to create a welcoming, inviting environment. Add a short welcome video to your course and try to include instructional videos to accompany written instructions whenever possible. Consider sending students an itslearning message- you can send individual or mass messages.

5. Champion Accessibility and UDL

Make sure your pages, assignments, folders, and content are accessible by implementing the Universal Design for Learning guidelines-include pictures, audio, and video as an additional option to text. Check out these simple ways to implement UDL in your itslearning course and provide options to students in a virtual learning environment.

6. Add Digital Resources and Test Links

Make sure all of your digital resources are readily available. Test your links before the lesson to ensure that they are functioning correctly. If you link to an item in your itslearning course, double check that the item is active, or turned on, for students. Otherwise, students will receive an error message when trying to use the link.

7. Share Tech Help Resources 

Direct students to helpful resources if they get stuck. Use the itslearning student help guides in your itslearning course to help students submit assignments, participate in discussions, send messages, and more. If students need technical assistance, including internet assistance, share the eLearning hotline number: 812-418-0252.

8. Simplify and Deactivate Content

By deactivating (hiding) folders and items, you can reduce confusion for your students, simplify navigation, and keep them focused on the relevant, timely course materials. If you have added many folders for the whole school year, simplify navigation by keeping the current units active and deactivating future content.

9. Leverage Student View and Give a Tour

Review your course content from “student view” to experience your course from a student perspective. Student view can help you put yourself in the student’s shoes. Include a short screencast video tour of your course so students understand where to go (all staff have Screencastify premium).

10. Connect and Collaborate

Collaborate with colleagues! View each other’s courses, test each other’s links, build content, and share with one another. Check out the BCSC Connect itslearning course for itslearning ideas, examples, and tutorials as well as the Fresh BCSC Tech blog for itslearning advice.