Create a backup plan for ‘live’ class activities

If you are planning any live/real–time teaching, remember to do it during your scheduled class time. (Office hours or other optional activities and check-ins can happen as needed.) Of course, for these live sessions, there are bound to be miscues, issues with technology, and inequities in access to stable Internet connections. We’re all learning and will get better and better at this. 

Having simple backup activities planned can support students’ persistence in the course and can save you time and worry when inevitable glitches occur for you and your students. 

Here are some common scenarios and back-up plans. Please share your own in the comments. 

I’m planning on live (synchronous) lectures.

Two possible backup plans:  

• Record your class session to make it available later in Canvas. 

• Upload lecture notes or slides paired with specific reflective questions for students. For example, “Please review my slides and note what you learned and what is the most unclear.” TEP offers some ideas to deepen engagement with readings here. 

I’m planning on live class discussions.

Two possible backup plans: 

• Record the class discussion in Zoom and/or record the “notes.” (Zoom also allows you to save in-meeting chat text or save a whiteboard.)  

• Share recordings with students and ask them to synthesize key points as an assignment or for their own notes. 

• Spend a few minutes at the end of the discussion having students summarize key points on a Canvas Discussion board. Then ask students who couldn’t attend to respond or write a synthesis. 

I’m planning a synchronous performance-based class (music, dance, etc.)

Three possible backup plans:  

• Allow students to send or upload a video or voice recording.  
• Have students analyze a publicly available performance. Contact your subject librarian for help finding resources.   
• Have students submit a journal entry, series of sketches, or other process notes to capture reflections about their practice.

Remember, too, that you don’t necessarily need to teach in real time. You might decide to do only, say, optional topical chats or group office hours live. Rather than you delivering content live, you can ask students to watch film clips, read articles, examine case studies, etc. and engage across the week through required discussion forum posts, quizzes, journal entries, etc.