Teaching Resources

Teaching Resources

Teaching Resources Academic Innovation works in partnership with faculty and students to deliver a world-class education. The Academic Innovation team has prepared the following resources for faculty and students to create unique teaching and learning experiences for all modes of course delivery.

Embrace Flexible Learning

Classes at UTSA can have different modes of instruction. Our team can assist you to adopt a flexible course design to deliver your teaching in all modalities.

1
Flexible Course Design

Learn about 5 flexible teaching and learning activities you can facilitate in your course.

2
Flexible Teaching Consultation Content

Schedule a one-on-one appointment with one of our Teaching, Learning & Digital Transformation Consultants to discuss strategies for your course design.

3
Best Practices for Student Cameras in Virtual Spaces

A quick guide to set expectations for use of cameras in virtual spaces.

4
On-Demand Video Tutorials

1-5 minute video tutorials that cover the basics and best practices for using digital tools like Zoom, Canvas, Adobe, and more.

5
FERPA

If you plan on recording any of your classes or other educational events, review the Student Privacy in Virtual Classrooms policy and the decision tree to help determine whether you need your students’ to fill out a student consent form, as once you capture any student names, voice, image, it's most likely a FERPA record.


Create Accessible Learning

Being able to access all content is a key component for student success. Consider the following resources to make sure your course is accessible despite the mode of delivery of your class.

1
Digital Accommodations in an Online Learning Environment

Quick information on meeting learner accommodations.

2
Syllabus Schedule Accessibility Checklist

Checklist for basic readability, colors, tables, and hyperlinks.

3
Accessibility Quick Tips Guide

Quick guidelines to create accessible content.

4
Caption Support Services

Request a caption support service for your course.

5
Personalized Consultations

The Digital Accessibility team is available for personalized consultations to provide a solution for your or your students’ needs.


Improved Course Design

The course design process involves intentional and deliberate planning in order to create a course that best supports student learning. The following resources help in that process.

1
Teaching Support Hours

Office hours with our team of Instructional Designers to cover different topics, from Canvas essentials to strategies for gamification and more in Canvas.

2
Course Syllabi Instructions and Templates

A syllabi template for each of the class modalities offered.

3
OER at UTSA

The UTSA Libraries offers no-cost and low-cost course materials to help your students succeed in online or hybrid modalities.

4
Workshops

List of workshops for faculty professional development focused on effective teaching practices, educational innovation and digital fluency.


Support

Visit the System Alerts page to find out the latest on system status and maintenance.

24/7 Canvas Support

  • Phone: Call 210-458-4520 and press Ext. 1 for 24/7 Canvas Support.
  • Email: Canvas Support can be emailed directly at Support@instructure.com. Note: You must use your UTSA email account if possible.
  • Self Help Portal: The Self-Help portal is located within Canvas. Once logged in, look for the Help button on the bottom left of the window. 

Faculty Champions and Faculty Mentoring

Reach out to:

  • Faculty Champions - faculty who are experienced with teaching online and are willing to help their fellow faculty
  • Faculty Mentoring - UTSA Faculty Success champions several initiatives and programs to support faculty at all stages and prepare excellent mentors to ensure that all faculty benefit from their peers.

Tools & Resources

Check Your Tech

Make sure that your computer is kept up to date and that your browser is compatible with Canvas. To learn more about Canvas browser and computer requirements, click here

If you use a UTSA issued laptop or tablet, please bring it on campus and connect to our network so it can be updated. It should be noted that this process may take a few hours depending on the number of updates that need to be installed. If you require assistance, contact University Technology Solutions at 210-458-5555 or techcafe@utsa.edu 

Video Conferencing Tools

Zoom

Support / User Guide

Zoom is a video meeting platform that is now available for free to all UTSA faculty, staff and students.

Content Creation Tools

Canvas

Support / User Guide

UTSA’s Learning Management System (LMS) and your primary tool for teaching and sharing your course content online

Qwickly

Support 

Qwickly is available on the Canvas landing page, requires no installation or setup to get started, and makes it easier for you to manage the Canvas courses. Post announcements, send email, create content, and more to multiple courses at one time.

Panopto

Easy-to-use software for recording, editing, and captioning asynchronous videos that integrates with Canvas.

Video Production

Offers instructional and informational video production

Adobe Creative Cloud

Support / User Guide

This set of applications and services provides access to a suite of graphic design, video editing, web development and photography software. Creative Cloud Express is a great one to start with. It's an easy to use design app that allows users to easily create interactive and engaging content with minimal time and effort.

Interactive Tools

PlayPosit

Support

Interactive video solution in Canvas that allows students to learn at their own pace, while allowing for tracking, embedded quizzes, and engagement that can by synced to your gradebook.

Padlet

Support 

Visually appealing, interactive discussion board solution in Canvas that allows students to respond to their peers and collaborate beyond words/text.

SoftChalk Cloud

Support

The latest version of SoftChalk is a web-based application which allows you to easily create existing course materials into interactive and engaging e-learning content with minimal time, effort, and resources.

iClicker Cloud

Support / User Guide

A polling Student Response System (SRS) that enables instructors to ask questions, gather student responses, display those responses in real-time, grade responses and sync them to your gradebook.

Assessment Tools

Respondus

Support / User Guide

An exam solution for PC users that allows for the creation and management of exams using a familiar Windows environment, to publish into Canvas.

Honorlock

Support / Honorlock with Canvas / Honorlock for: Faculty, Students / User Guide

An academic integrity software solution in Canvas with state-of-the-art facial detection technology and a robust suite of fully automated software. Its remote monitoring platform ensures end-to-end learning integrity before, during, and after the assessment.

Unicheck

Support 

A plagiarism detection software solution in Canvas used to prevent dishonest formatting and character substitutions.

Resources