Getting Ready
Welcome to ReFocus Online
Setting up for ReFocus Online
To prepare for ReFocus Online, we encourage you to complete four tasks before engaging with the website or joining virtual sessions:
- Set 1-2 professional goals for your ReFocus Online experience
Identify 1-2 goals you hope to achieve by engaging with ReFocus Online. To get started, take some time to reflect on your move to remote teaching this spring:
- What lessons did you learn about yourself, teaching, and learning during Spring 2020?
- Where did you have successes supporting students and their learning? Why?
- What do you wish you had known more about to better support teaching and learning in online platforms? Why?
- How would you like to reimagine and refocus your practice in the fall and beyond?
- Identify a focus course
To get the most out of ReFocus Online, select one course you will be teaching this fall to serve as a ‘home base’ for playing with new ideas and strategies.
Review your course outcomes and objectives. We will talk a lot about aligning your course design decisions to the broader outcomes you want students to achieve.
- Set up a Canvas 'sandbox course'
ReFocus Online demonstrates how faculty can use UMW-supported technology tools to meet their course design needs. Canvas serves as the university’s learning management system (LMS) and will be the platform most utilized in our sessions. All faculty can set up a ‘sandbox course’ to play and learn about the platform’s features without impacting an existing course shell.
To set up your own ‘sandbox course’, follow these simple directions for starting a new course and get ready to play!
- Become familiar with trauma-informed teaching principles
We are teaching in unusual times. We and our students are experiencing and responding to current events in different ways, but it is all informing how we approach our shared work in classes. Trauma-Informed Teaching Practices (via Syracuse University) shares how safety, choice, collaboration, trustworthiness, and empowerment incorporated in course design supports students—these principles will be echoed throughout ReFocus Online.
Participating in ReFocus Online
ReFocus Online offers three opportunities for participation:
- Website resources for self-directed learning
- Weekly, 90-minute interactive workshops
- Weekly hour-long Q&A sessions
You can find a list of upcoming events on our calendar.
Website Structure
| Welcome | A video introduction and overview of the weekly topic and its relevance to online course design |
| Framing | Background information about the topic, including strategies for online course design |
| Faculty Models | Videos, screencast tours, and other resources from UMW faculty showcasing their online course design strategies |
| Take a Shot! | Links to ‘how-to’ resources for building an online class using UMW-supported technology tools |
| Workshop | Links to all Interactive Workshop recordings and materials |
| Resources | A summary reference list containing all citations and online resources provided on the page |
Interactive Workshops
Note: Attending interactive workshops or viewing the recordings meets the professional development requirement for online teaching approval for Fall 2020.
90-minute interactive workshops will be held weekly and recorded for later viewing on the ReFocus Online website. Interactive workshops are scheduled for the following dates:
| Session 1 (2:00pm-3:30pm) | Session 2 (10:00-11:30am) | |
|---|---|---|
| Course Structure and Communication | Monday, June 15th | Tuesday, July 14th |
| Assignments and Feedback | Monday, June 22nd | Tuesday, July 21st |
| Content Creation and Curation | Monday, June 29th | Tuesday, July 28th |
| Student and Instructor Engagement | Monday, July 6th | Tuesday, August 4th |
Interactive workshops require prior registration. Please see the Registration page for more information.
Q&A Sessions
Weekly Q&A sessions will last one hour and give faculty an opportunity to brainstorm ideas with the larger campus community. The only agenda is your questions. Q&A session links will be sent out in the ReFocus Online News update each week. Registration is not required.
Q&A sessions will be held during the following days/tiems during Session 2:
- July 16th, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
- July 23rd, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
- July 30th, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
- August 6th, 2:00-3:00 p.m.