Getting Ready-- Classroom Setup
Introduction to the Classroom Preparation Process
Whether you are teaching an existing course or developing a course from scratch, it will be helpful for you to understand the general process of making a course ready for student enrollment, and the work that must be completed from the time you complete your Orientation until your course goes "live."
Below is a summary of general procedures that apply to faculty members preparing to teach a course.
1. As part of your New Faculty Orientation (NFO) you are provided access to a Practice Classroom. The Practice Classroom allows you to practice Blackboard skills.After the NFO is completed you will not use the Practice Classroom any further unless you wish to continue reviewing materials or wish to practice Blackboard skills-- the Practice Classroom will not be used to enroll students.
2. The Master copy of the course you will teach is maintained by your program. Program Leadership continuously monitors any additions, changes, and updates; they also work to ensure that any links in the course are viable. When a Master course is completely updated for each term, sections are created and faculty members are enrolled in the appropriate course section/s.
3. When your new classroom becomes available to you each term: At least one
week prior to the start of each term classrooms are available in Blackboard. To gain access, login in to the Faculty Portal, click on the "Faculty Blackboard Home" link on the right side of the screen. When accessing and personalizing your new classroom please make sure to read over the syllabus and course materials.
4. Students typically gain access Thursday morning the week prior to the start of the term. Please make sure to have your classroom set up prior to students gaining access. Therefore at least four days prior to your course starting you should enter the classroom to personalize and perform the tasks that welcome your students and make materials available to them.
Please watch your Walden email for any late-breaking, school-specific classroom preparation instructions. Some schools may ask that course instructors personalize their classrooms in a specific manner.
5. You can find a list of students in your course by going to the Grade Center, please note that there may be some fluctutation due to drops and late
enrollments, so please check frequently. Once your classroom is set up you may want to set up a Discussion Board Response Log so you can monitor your responses to students and make notes. To download a copy of the log please click here. Please note this is a general template, you will need to edit based on specific course requirments.
Review and know all Course Content, Contacts, and Procedures
One of your responsibilities includes becoming familiar with all course materials and content. The course content has already been fully developed and is standardized for each course, so you should carefully read all student documentation in your actual classroom.
Before your course begins you should view any course videos, lecture notes, textbook and online course materials and content that may be included as part of the course experience; review all additional reading and online self-assessments; and complete assignments yourself, ready to explain them or issues related to them.
In particular please read over the syllabus, the grading rubrics, and any schedule of assignments in the Course Home area. In the weekly or module areas, please carefully read each week or module's materials, including each discussion topic.
You will also want to be familiar with the various course support services available to you and to your students. These will be posted in the Student Supportand Walden
Linkstabs in the classroom.
Summary of Classroom Preparation Tasks
Be sure to complete the following prior to students gaining access to your classroom, or as directed by your Program Leadership:
• Post a brief announcement welcoming your students to the classroom
Be sure to post a welcoming announcement in the Announcements area.
A course geography or similar announcement will already be visible in your classroom*. This announcement will include initial directions for proceeding, such as identifying where the syllabus is posted, where to access content items, and where students should introduce themselves. However, you will want to add your own personal welcoming message in this area to personalize your classroom.
• Post your contact information in the "Contact the Instructor" area in the classroom
There is a generic Contact the Instructor post in every classroom. Click on it and then select “edit” to replace the information with your name, email address, etc. You may want to upload a small photo of yourself as a way to further personalize your presence in the course.
• Introduce Yourself in the Class Cafe discussion in your Classroom
Please add your own introduction in the Class Cafe before your students gain access to the course. You can include more personal information in this area and provide a prompt that helps students get started with their own self-introductions. You might ask them a question about their reasons for taking the course, whether they have ever taken an online course, etc. For a list of icebreaker ideas please click here to view the Getting Off to a Great First Week Resources.
• Place any required items in the Document Sharing area
If you are uploading any initial explanatory or illustrating documents to the Document Sharing area, make sure that they have been uploaded and labeled for clarity.
Just a Final Reminder . . .
IMPORTANT: Students may be entering your classrooms 4 days
before the course starts.
Students will be enrolled in your online classroom 4 days before the start of your course, so be sure that all of the above classroom preparation tasks have been completed by this time.
You do not need to answer any questions posted in the classroom before the course start date, but you should have your contact information, any announcements, and Class Cafe welcome set up before the course start date.
As you know, first impressions are important in an online classroom-- if your course is welcoming and students can easily find their way around, they will be less
uncomfortable about the whole process of learning online. If students send you email messages about technical problems they are having you should provide them with information to contact the Student Support Team, [email protected], whose contact information is located in every classroom.
The Student Support Team will make sure your students complete the New Student Orientation in which your students will become familiar with the course structure and classroom layout, learning to post and reply to messages in the discussion forums, taking an online quiz, and sending email using the Walden platform. All of these tasks are conducted by the Student Support Team and will take place in an online Orientation classroom (not your classroom)..
Verify the Grade Center if your course has been set up
Important! If you discover there is a Grade Center item missing from your classroom that you know should be present, do not attempt to add it, instead reach out to your Program Leadership.
Walden Support Member Enrolled as a User
You may notice that your school may have a Walden Support member enrolled in your course. These roles are for the convenience of your College, School and Program Director or other university personnel as a means to ensure quality and timely support of student needs. Other than Walden University and the faculty and student support staff, no auditors will be admitted to your course without first securing your permission.
Review Your Own Performance as the Course Progresses
As educators, we know ensuring our students are learning is of primary importance. We do this through formal means, such as graded assessments, and informal means, such as classroom discussions. In a face-to-face situation we are also able to talk to students before and after class, and are available for immediate answers to questions students may have. We are also able to see students' faces during class and are thus able to judge whether or not they are "getting" it.
In the online classroom, the situation is a bit different. Thus, keeping track of your students' progress requires some additional diligence on your part. You should, through attention to the Discussions and by careful tracking of assignments, be monitoring the reaction and performance of students to uncover weaknesses or insufficiencies in the online course design that require attention and can be flagged for future revision, as well as assessing student problems that need immediate intervention or referral. The following is a list of questions you might ask yourself each week of your course as part of a self-review process:
1. How are my students doing at this stage of the course? Does the pace of the course seem about right for them?
2. Have I identified any students who are having problems, who are unhappy with the course, or who are having technical problems? Are any students more than a week behind or so far behind they may never catch up?
3. Have I found an approach to help those having problems? Has the approach worked out? Are any of these problems numerous enough or serious enough to suggest that changes or clarifications should be made to all students in the class?
4. Do I need to refer any students having technical or administrative issues to the Student Support Team? Do I need to contact my Program Director, Associate Dean, Academic Director, student Academic Advisors or other support staff to assist me with the identification or resolution of the problems?
Responding to students' concerns about quiz/test questions or
course content
In those courses that include quizzes, students occasionally send requests to review quiz items they feel are worded in a confusing manner or are incorrectly scored. For these and other questions about the course materials, please feel free to respond directly to your students about their interpretations- you have the authority to grade on the merit of these types of questions after your own review of the materials.
If you feel that the quiz item needs to be rephrased or corrected for future semesters, please contact the appropriate person in your program who collects course
maintenance requests. This will likely be your lead faculty or program director.
Walden grade-submission procedures:
Towards the end of your course Walden will email you the procedure for submitting grades via Blackboard, which must be done within five days after the end date of your course. Please make sure to enter a grade for all students, even if granding an
Faculty Support and Help
For student behavior or university policy issues please contact your Lead Faculty, Program Director, or Dean. Academic Advisor contact information is in the Course Support area of each classroom.
That is it -- you are ready!
Once you have performed the general tasks listed above and any specified by your school, you will be ready to greet your students. Do not forget to have fun and enjoy your class!
