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Faculty Resources for Transitioning Online

Video Recorders for Lectures or Presentations

All of these tools will produce videos that can be uploaded directly into to Canvas course pages. However, Canvas automatically lowers the quality of videos to a more manageable size. If this is a concern, you can upload the videos directly to your YouTube channel and then share the links on your Canvas shell. If you are concerned about privacy or discoverability within the YouTube platform, you can set videos to "Private" or "Unlisted" to limit who has access to them. There is additional information available on YouTube privacy settings.

The following tools all have varying degrees of difficulty and features. Selecting one really depends on what works best for you. The library can help you decide or troubleshoot any of these tools.

There are many other video production or narration programs out there. Before deciding on one, think about what your needs and your students' need will be in addition to the learning curve for any of the software. If you have questions or need help, you can always contact a librarian.

Online Discussion Tools

Dr. Thomas Bullington offers this about online discussions: "Asynchronous discussions would involve mechanisms such as the discussion boards on Canvas. While this format is easily implemented, it tends to produce clunky and formulaic responses. A well-crafted discussion prompt is key for this approach. [...] Synchronous discussions [could] rely on external programs such as Slack or Zoom. Barring technical difficulties, this format would allow for instructors to appoint a class time for everyone to log on."

Audio Recorders

If you are concerned with students having access to the internet during this period, one recommendation would be to record only your audio lecture and verbally direct them to posted slides. Audio files take up less bandwidth than video files.

Video Editing Software

Quiz Tools

Streaming Databases

Virtual Labs

Miscellaneous Tools


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