Regardless of the reason why your on-Grounds teaching is interrupted, it’s always best to be prepared by taking a few simple steps ahead of time. We suggest you work through the steps below to ensure that you have access to and know how to use the technology you’ll need. 

Before an emergency

• Verify that your internet connection is reliable enough for your needs. Will you be live streaming video or just periodically accessing text-based webpages?
• Create a course site in the Learning Management System (LMS)* your School uses and be sure that important documents, such as your course syllabus, are uploaded
  Creating a new course site in UVACollab
• Identify the computer you will use to access your LMS and other technology if you cannot come to Grounds; be sure that the course materials you need are accessible from that computer
• Test things out by posting an announcement or sending an initial email
  Posting an announcement in UVACollab
  Sending an email in UVACollab
• Activate Zoom Online Meetings in your course site
  Adding Zoom Online Meetings to your UVACollab course site 
• Test Zoom Online Meetings from your office, home or other remote location
• Develop a plan for how you will use your course site to run your course remotely
  Sharing documents and resources 
  Facilitating student communication with you and each other 
  Using the gradebook for student assignments and grading 
• Add a contingency plan to your syllabus so that students know what to do if teaching is disrupted 
• Consider alternatives for activities and assessments that rely on in-person presence 
• Determine how you will hold remote office hours
   

Once an emergency occurs:

• Stay informed about University updates
• Post an announcement in your LMS* course site and send an email notifying students of your plan for continuing teaching
• Conduct synchronous classes using Zoom Online Meetings
• Use tools in your LMS course site for asynchronous activities 
• Convey to students any changes to assessments/grading caused by the teaching disruption in writing
• Communicate regularly with students to help ease concerns and ensure they understand your expectations

*If your School uses a Learning Management System (LMS) other than UVACollab, contact your School-level support found under Getting Help.