Snow Day Guide

Learning Experience Design

Date

January 2, 2021

Preparing for the inevitability of inclement weather or other unexpected closings is an important component of course logistics.

Minimize the impact of lost class time by having a plan for how you will maintain contact with your students and readjust scheduling. To ensure academic continuity, we recommend that you perform the following preparedness activities:

Be informed of how to get Institute and technology alerts
Practice making clear and effective online communications
Familiarize yourself with communication and online teaching technologies
Make schedule adjustments, as needed
Back on campus, evaluate impact and reconnect with your students
Be informed of how to get support

Institute Closing Announcements
Connect-Ed announcements will be made to faculty, staff and students to announce school closings. Connect-Ed will use your contact information in IOnline, so please make sure to keep this information updated.

Communication Plan
The most critical component of preparing for changes to your course is to have a communication plan in place that is communicated to students at the start of the semester. For most instructors email is the primary method of communication for such matters and may be preferable to D2L for time sensitive announcements. Be as prompt as possible in communicating class cancellations, changes to deadlines, or other adjustments that your students need to be aware of. Be prepared for some flexibility and accommodations for students during a time of disruption. Depending on the circumstances, some students may be without electricity for a prolonged period of time while others may have limited or no access to technology, D2L, or other online resources. In the event of widespread disruptions, you may want to ask for a response from each student to ensure they’ve received your messages.

Snow Day Preparation Checklist

Before the semester starts, plan for an unplanned class cancellation:

Establish a communication plan to notify students of any major change. Relevant Tools: Email, Phone/Text Messaging, D2L Announcements
Make your Syllabus available digitally to students. Relevant Tools: D2L Content, Email
All class documents posted in D2L. Relevant Tools: D2L Content
Make sure that all your important documents exist in cloud storage. As an MGB employee, you have access to both OneDrive and Dropbox solutions. To access these, go to www.office.com or www.dropbox.com respectively and log in with your MGB credentials.
You can also access your computer and its files via VPN or GoToMyPC, though we recommend using cloud storage if possible. Please note that it may take a couple of weeks for accounts to be requested and approved. Relevant Tools: VPN: Windows Guide, Mac Guide. GoToMyPC: Open a ticket to request an account
Review planned material and activities and consider what is “must know”, what is “important to know” and what is “nice to know.” Relevant Tools: D2L Content
Evaluate what activities and material require in class time vs. could potentially be accomplished though out of class or online activities. Relevant Tools: D2L Content, D2L Capture, D2L Assessments, D2L Discussions, Online Rooms in D2L
Reprioritize the course based on these decisions so that you and your students are able to successfully meet the course goals. Relevant Tools: D2L Content
Notify students of any changes to Syllabus and update Syllabus in D2L. Relevant Tools: D2L Announcements, D2L Content, Email
Adjust any deadline or due date in D2L for quizzes, assignment folders, discussions etc as needed. Relevant Tools: D2L, D2L Assessments and D2L Discussions

Adjusting Plans - Technology Solutions
As you adjust your plans in reaction to unexpected cancellations, there are a variety of technology tools you might leverage to move classroom activities online. These might include tasks you’d undertake on a snow day, or in the days and weeks following to make up lost time.

Distribute notes, slides, handouts, or any other materials via PDF or link out to Library materials. Relevant Tools: D2L Content, Linking to Library Articles, Instructional Videos and Images, Presentation Voice-Overs
Collect student work electronically. Relevant Tools: D2L Assignment Folder
Conduct class discussions online asynchronously. Relevant Tools: D2L Discussion Board
Move an in-class quiz online. Relevant Tools: D2L Quiz: Creating a Quiz, Creating Quiz Questions, Respondus Lockdown Browser with Respondus Monitor
Request a customized LibGuide to help your students with their library research assignment. Relevant Tools: Customized LibGuide on Faculty Resources Guide
Post grades and feedback for students. Relevant Tools: Email, D2L Assignment Folder, D2L Gradebook, D2L Discussions
Hold online office hours for students in D2L. Relevant Tools: Online Rooms in D2L (Adobe Connect; synchronous), D2L Discussions (asynchronous)
Facilitate a “Webinar” style synchronous online class meeting. Relevant Tools: Online Rooms in D2L (Adobe Connect; synchronous)
Record a narrated lecture of key points or review material. Relevant Tools: D2L Capture. Adobe Connect: Recording Online Rooms (Adobe Connect, asynchronous), Online Rooms Best Practices (Adobe Connect; synchronous). Lecture Capture Decision Chart

Adjusting Plans – Room Reservations
If you have learning objectives that cannot be met by moving activities online, rescheduling your class for an additional future date may be necessary. When doing so, you will need to follow the same protocol you normally would when requesting additional academic space after the start of a semester.

You will need to log-in to Virtual EMS. Once logged into Virtual EMS you will need to create and submit a reservation request for an Academic Space. Please make sure you select the “Request Academic Space” option to ensure that your request is received by the Registrar’s Office.

During weather emergencies, the Registrar’s Office will continue to check room reservation requests at regular intervals to assist with faculty planning

Closing the Loop
As you return to campus it can be important to take a moment to evaluate the impact of lost class time on the “big picture” plan for the course:

Review activities and assignment for alignment with course goals to make sure course goals are met
Make use of Classroom Assessment Techniques to check in with students, particularly on content areas that were condensed or removed.
Review assignments, quizzes, and exams for alignment with any adjustments to course content

Contact Information

For general technical support, or help with a specific instructional technology, please submit a help desk ticket. To plan and discuss any of the tips within the context of your own course, contact the learning experience designers.

Help Desk