Pedagogical support and instructions in exceptional situation

The Moodle content can constitute for example of:

• Your power point slides – consider recording your audio on slides (the power point programme allows this)
• Already existing teaching videos (search for videos available in YouTube, material banks, etc.)
• E-books, e-articles
• Other online material (that students can e.g. analyze)
• Live streaming of your teaching
  (especially if the reserved lecture hall contains streaming facilities)*
• Zoom or other rather simple tools that, in addition to distributing audio and slides, enable interaction with students*

  *the technical capacity of the University may not survive all teaching being delivered via live streaming, Zoom etc. More information will be provided.

• Define questions and assignments that support students to address the most relevant content – again in relation to the intended learning outcomes.
• Encourage students to work through the studied topics through their own experiences, observations and thoughts. You can ask students to write down their own experiences and then ask them to focus on the key aspects to be learnt during the course.
• Students should work with the topics by producing and elaborating something, e.g. writing and commenting short written texts which they post to the Moodle discussion area (please see the following stage).

• Divide students into small groups. Make assigned groups visible on Moodle and reserve a discussion area for each group.
• Request students to work online about their experiences, observations, and thoughts in small groups. The Moodle discussion areas can be used for this. The small groups should start their own discussion threads and discuss in their own thread.
• Provide explicit advice: how many posts each student must read, how many comments write etc – including the schedule and deadline for activities.
• Request students to raise issues that remain unclear to them. Join their online discussions and address unclear issues.

• Structure a logical Moodle site that, for example, proceeds along the timeline and themes of the course. Relate your own power point slides and materials (e.g. videos, articles, etc.) to the timeline and themes of the course.
• Relate all instructions to the corresponding materials. Finding instructions and material should be easy for students.
• Provide instructions for each assignment.
• Provide a schedule for each assignment, including deadlines.

• Inform students on dates and times during which you will be present on Moodle. Follow and join their online discussions. You can e.g. be present on Moodle during the original course times and during the times when students return their assignments.
• Do you have other options for online interaction with students?

• Check that the assessment plan and assessment criteria of your course match the modified teaching and learning on your course. Is your assessment logically aligned to the key objectives that students were supposed to achieve in your teaching (ie. the key intended learning outcomes)?
• Think about what kind of final assignments or final exam questions will enable students to demonstrate their learning in meaningful ways.

• Follow University's updates: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/coronavirus-situation-at-the-university-...
• Follow Instructions for Teaching -page: questions and answers concerning the COVID-19 disease will be collected especially from the perspective of teaching and teachers’ work https://teaching.helsinki.fi/en/article/effect-coronavirus-teaching
• Find more information about distance teaching in Instruction for Teaching (ex. alternative ways of taking an examination and written assignments): https://teaching.helsinki.fi/en/article/how-can-i-modify-existing-course...

• Ask a colleague to check through and comment briefly on your changed course plans to make sure that they are clear enough to be presented for students.
• You can also contact staff members at the Centre for University Teaching and Learning (Senior Lecturers and Professors) and ask for help. https://www.helsinki.fi/en/centre-for-university-teaching-and-learning-hype/staff

At the Faculty of Social Sciences: Ph.D., Senior Lecturer Leena Ripatti-Torniainen:
leena.ripatti-torniainen@helsinki.fi
Twitter: @LeenaRipatti

Moodle: Get started: https://docs.moodle.org/38/en/Main_page

Moodle: pikaopas opettajille: https://docs.moodle.org/3x/fi/Pikaopas_opettajalle

Moodle: työkalutaulukko erilaisista Moodlen aktiviteeteista, joiden avulla on mahdollista ohjeistaa ja teettää tehtäviä sekä vastaanottaa ja arvioida palautuksia: https://docs.moodle.org/3x/fi/Tehtävien_teettäminen_opiskelijoilla