YCCC: Academic Affairs: Instructional Strategies

Past Workshops

Get Your Brightspace Course Ready for Fall '24
Review this slide deck to get your course (online, in-person, or hy-flex) ready for Fall. Originally shared at the '24 Faculty Workshop.
Snazzy New Brightspace Tools
Review this slidedeck to get a brief introduction to Creator+, CopyLeaks, and the Instructor Profile Widget, all new for Fall '24. This workshop was originally presented at the Faculty PD Training in August '24.

Rubrics
Your assessment is only as great as it’s evaluation method; learn to create and use rubrics to objectively evaluate student learning.
AI Resistant Assessments
AI is here to stay. Learn how to level-up your assessments to be AI resistant.
Edpuzzle
Learn how to add more engagement and collect helpful learning data by leveraging Edpuzzle, an eLearning video tool connected to Brightspace.
Engaging Students Online
Apply strategies to your instruction that increase student engagement online, no bells and whistles needed!
Full-Staff Workshops
Review key criteria for self-assessing your own course.
Nearpod
Strengthen your slide decks and lectures with Nearpod, an interactive learning tool that can be used synchronously or asynchronously.
Retrieval Practice and Spaced Learning
Learn how leveraging basic neuroscience principles can strengthen student knowledge and skill retention to make learning last a lifetime.
Universal Design for Learning
While you can’t make each student their own individualized course, you can apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to make them feel like you did, vastly improving student learning outcomes and engagement. Learn more about UDL from this workshop deck.

Exploring Best Practices

Incorporating best practices and research-based strategies into your instructional practices is what helps students learn and develop the intended knowledge and skills. Find actionable tips and techniques to incorporate best practices into your courses below.

Optimizing High-Quality Digital Learning Experiences: A Playbook for Faculty
Explore this playbook from the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) designed for online instructors which covers equitable course design, digital learning tools, OERs, assessment, and so much more!
5 Ways to Incorporate UDL into Your Online Course
The easy to implement strategies covered in this article can benefit online, in-person, and hy-flex courses.
Using Backwards Design to Plan Your Course
Courses should all be designed so that students can successfully meet the defined outcomes. But how can instructors ensure this happens? Read this article to apply Backwards Design principles to your course design.
Federal Plain Language Guidelines
Help learners better understand what is being expressed in lectures, directions, announcements, and other communications using Plain Language practices.
Accessibility Toolkit
Accessibility helps ensure everyone has what they need to succeed. Use this toolkit to ensure popular means of communication in coursework meet technical accessibility guidelines.

Assessment and Rubrics

Evaluation and Assessment: Measure What Matters Webinar Recording
You worked hard to create your course, but how do you know it was effective? In this session from Learning Guild you'll learn the difference between assessment and evaluation, and techniques to measure what matters in learner abilities and course effectiveness.
COMING SOON: Rubric Example: Summative Assessment (PLO)
Rubric Example: Formative Assignment (non-PLO)
Review this generic discussion board rubric alongside reasons it’s a great example.
Rubric Example: Discussion Boards
Review this generic discussion board rubric alongside reasons it’s a great example.
COMING SOON: Rubric Writing Guidelines
Read this document to quickly upskill on rubric creation, the most effective assessment method for non-quiz activities.
COMING SOON: Assessment Plan Rubric Requirements
If your course includes a summative assessment assignment used to collect Program Learning Outcome Data (PLO data) you will need to make sure you have an appropriately setup rubric to assess student learning. Review this document to learn more.
COMING SOON: Assessment Plan Quiz Requirements
If your course includes a summative assessment quiz used to used to collect Program Learning Outcome Data (PLO data) you will need to make sure you have an appropriately setup rubric to assess student learning. Review this document to learn more.

Faculty Toolbox

Qwickly Attendance
Select Qwickly Attendance and D2L Brightspace to view helpful training videos on how to use the Qwuickly Attendance tool to track student attendance.
LockDown Browser - Resources - Respondus
Explore product documentation to learn about Respondus Lockdown Browser, a tool that can be connected to your Brightspace Quizzes to virtually proctor student assessment.
Panopto
Access training videos on how to use Panopto, a tool that allows for screen recording, video storage, minor editing, and quizzing of instructor-created content.
ReadSpeaker webReader - Online Web Reading
Learn about ReadSpeaker web reader and how it supports accessibility best practices, as well as how to check your course content for screen readability.
YCCC Accessibility Services: Academic Tools and Resources
Explore tools recommended by YC Accessibility Services to support all students in learning.
WAVE Accessibility Extension
Add the free WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) extension to your browser to quickly evaluate a resource’s accessibility.
*No information is stored, ensuring privacy and security.
Labster
Access Labster’s, a virtual lab tool, training materials including guides and webinars alongside industry research and case studies.
LMS Closed-Response Quiz Question Generator
Have a long exam to create in Brightspace quizzes? Use this tool to expedite the quiz-creation process.
Office 365
Access Office365, free to students and instructors at YC.
*Please note that YC supports Office365; while you can use the Google suite, it is not the preferred/supported cloud service for the college.
Adobe Creative Cloud
Access Adobe Creative Cloud, which has a suite of tools available for students and instructors.
YC Bookstore
Access the YC bookstore to review course materials.

Academic Affairs: Instructional Strategies

Overview

Past Workshops

Exploring Best Practices

Assessment and Rubrics

Faculty Toolbox