{"id":12463,"date":"2018-08-06T14:08:26","date_gmt":"2018-08-06T19:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/?p=12463"},"modified":"2018-08-06T15:05:12","modified_gmt":"2018-08-06T20:05:12","slug":"how-do-you-know-when-your-course-is-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/how-do-you-know-when-your-course-is-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Know When Your Course Is Ready?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer, I'm on the verge of accomplishing something I've never accomplished before: having all my classes completely planned and plugged into the LMS before the semester even begins.<\/p>\n

\"A
The inspiration for Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is a big step for me. Usually, I don't get any further than a pretty thorough syllabus with a schedule that lists the major due dates and all the reading assignments. This semester, for my three classes (XCOR 1000, The College Experience; ENGL 2200, Modern English Grammars; and ENGL 3160, Survey of American Literature I), the syllabi are done (according to these best practices<\/a>), the schedules are done, the assignment sheets for all major assignments and grade items are complete (according to these best practices<\/a>).<\/p>\n

But more than that, thanks in part to Brightspace (which really does make the process so much easier), I'm getting it all set up online, as well. Using the backwards design approach<\/a>, for each class, I'm doing all this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Set up the Grades tool with every major and minor assignment;<\/li>\n
  2. Make Submission Folders for anything the students will submit;<\/li>\n
  3. Create all the Discussion Topics for the assignments;<\/li>\n
  4. Create any worksheets or other handouts;<\/li>\n
  5. Create all quizzes;<\/li>\n
  6. Organize everything and add the appropriate links to the Content page; and<\/li>\n
  7. Upload the syllabus.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Most of that's done. This week, I'll be working on #5 \u2014 the quizzes, but those are mostly for my grammar class (which I'm gamifying (so stayed tuned for some reports on that down the road).\u00a0So it seems that at least for two of my classes, XCOR 1000 and ENGL 3160, I'm mostly done.<\/em><\/p>\n

    And therein lies the question: When do I know that my classes are done? When can I set them aside and feel confident that I'm ready\u00a0\u2014 not just for the first day or the first week, but for the whole semester?<\/p>\n

    Is the answer really never? There are always variables or surprises \u2014 something will change \u2014 but is absolute readiness possible? Or have I just inched closer to an ever moving finish line? And if I am as ready as I can be, why does it feel like I'm forgetting something?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This summer, I'm on the verge of accomplishing something I've never accomplished before: having all my classes completely planned and plugged into the LMS before the semester even begins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[402,432],"class_list":{"0":"post-12463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-faculty-development","7":"tag-brightspace","8":"tag-class-prep","9":"h-entry","10":"hentry","11":"h-as-article"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p82MQk-3f1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11276,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/how-to-find-the-information-to-request-a-course-migration\/","url_meta":{"origin":12463,"position":0},"title":"How to Find the Information to Request a Course Migration","author":"Jason S. Todd","date":"October 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By now, Xavier faculty have received an email from ITC asking them to identify the courses they have in Blackboard that they want to have migrated over to Brightspace. Brightspace's parent company, D2L, will be doing the actual migration for us, but we need to tell them which classes we\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"This is a screenshot of the homepage within Blackboard.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Step1-1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Step1-1.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Step1-1.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Step1-1.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17842,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/brightspace-tip-290-using-zoom-for-class-meetings\/","url_meta":{"origin":12463,"position":1},"title":"Brightspace Tip #290: Using Zoom for Class Meetings","author":"Janice Florent","date":"January 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Due to the surge of the COVID-19 omicron variant, the university announced plans to start the semester with in-person classes shifting to meeting remotely. This unplanned semester start may force you to rethink how you will approach teaching and learning during this disruption. When classes start next week, many faculty\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Brightspace Small Plates"","block_context":{"text":"Brightspace Small Plates","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/brightspace\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Zoom link identified in NavBar","src":"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Zoom-NavBar.png\"","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Zoom-NavBar.png\" 1x, http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Zoom-NavBar.png\" 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10363,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/on-innovation-and-procrastination\/","url_meta":{"origin":12463,"position":2},"title":"On Innovation and Procrastination","author":"Jason S. Todd","date":"November 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"By J. Todd When I first started teaching, as a graduate student, I would would plan my classes in excruciating detail. These classes were largely lectures, interspersed with the occasional individual or group work. Often, I would even write out a joke or some irrelevant comment I wanted to start\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pedagogical Tidbits"","block_context":{"text":"Pedagogical Tidbits","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/teaching\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Post-It Notes saying, Do it!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/19a561a1-2635-4d49-b050-6aaddf9a5444-1209-000007f0bfad328d_tmp.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15554,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/to-merge-or-not-to-merge\/","url_meta":{"origin":12463,"position":3},"title":"To Merge or Not to Merge","author":"Jason S. Todd","date":"June 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A lot of faculty at Xavier have found, when they are teaching multiple sections of the same class, that it is helpful to merge those sections on Brightspace. Janice recently posted about the process to get your courses merged, so I won't go into those details. Instead, this post is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Brightspace\"","block_context":{"text":"Brightspace","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/tag\/brightspace\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An old black and white photograph of the actor Edwin Booth in costume as Hamlet looking pensive.","src":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/a5\/Edwin_Booth_Hamlet.jpg\/256px-Edwin_Booth_Hamlet.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20873,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/take-control-of-your-course-evaluations\/","url_meta":{"origin":12463,"position":4},"title":"Take Control of Your Course Evaluations","author":"Jason S. Todd","date":"October 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s only mid-October, but many of us are already thinking ahead to the end of the semester. Students may be anticipating Final Exams and tickets home, but I\u2019m thinking about something a little different\u2014course evaluations.","rel":"","context":"In "Director's Corner"","block_context":{"text":"Director's Corner","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/directors-corner\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/chart1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/chart1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/chart1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17389,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/rebooting-the-semester\/","url_meta":{"origin":12463,"position":5},"title":"Rebooting the Semester","author":"Bart Everson","date":"September 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Well. Here we are. Again. 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At least, she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Transformative Banquet"","block_context":{"text":"Transformative Banquet","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/integrative\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Meditation Room","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7397\/10968968306_b891e9db44.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12463"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12471,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12463\/revisions\/12471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}