Digital Learning & Design

Brown Resources for Teaching Online

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Image of SciLiHave questions about designing and teaching your online or remote course? Digital Learning & Design, the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Library have created resources to assist you. From templates to help format your online course to intensive seminars on online pedagogy, these resources are intended to help you realize your course goals as seamlessly as possible.

Because we understand each area of study has unique needs, we have compiled the most important resources below according to division. Please visit our respective websites for additional guidance and resources. And make sure to check out our Peer-to-Peer Tips page, where you can find teaching tips that worked for faculty.

Course Design:

Teaching Online:

Assessment:

Student Engagement and Community Building:

Resources for Students:

Performing and Studio Arts:

Languages:

Helpful Tips from Instructors:

“I think pre-recording and editing video tutorials and lectures were a very effective way to teach my design students how to use drafting programs and to do hand crafted projects. I think the students appreciated that they could move through these weekly projects asynchronously, at their own pace; we still met once a week during our scheduled class time to share and critique work, and for me to introduce new concepts/ projects and answer questions.” -- Renée S. Fitzgerald, visiting Lecturer, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies  

Interesting in finding more instructor tips? See our Peer-to-Peer tips page.  

Course Design:

Teaching Online:

Assessment:

Student Engagement and Community Building:

Resources for Students:

Course Design:

Teaching Online:

Assessment:

Student Engagement and Community Building:

Resources for Students:

Helpful Tips from Instructors

“I think having some guest lecturers (e.g., Brown grads who now work at NASA) was useful, as well as more informal 'debate days'. This broke things up a bit so that it wasn't just one lecture after another week after week. It also provided a way for students to be more engaged, even when in different time zones (e.g., providing questions for guests ahead of time and then having those questions answered in the recorded guest lecturer Q&A session).” -- Ralph Milliken, Associate Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences

Interesting in finding more instructor tips? See our Peer-to-Peer tips page.  

Course Design:

Teaching Online:

Assessment:

Student Engagement and Community Building:

Problem Solving Based Courses:

Resources for Students:

Helpful Tips from Instructors

“By having the students engage with each other both synchronously (via Zoom discussion) and asynchronously (via Canvas discussion board), there were opportunities for students with different learning styles/ competencies to thrive. This was a good reminder that the kinds of high-stakes interactions of a once-a-week in-person seminar meeting do not engage all students equally.” --  Seth Rockman, Associate Professor of History

“I think having students record asynchronous video presentations worked very well. They were very engaged in text-based commenting on them, which I had assigned them to do, and I think it really helps course engagement given that I had moved to only limited synchronous meetings so as to be inclusive of students in diverse circumstances and avoid Zoom fatigue.” -- Scott AnderBois, Associate Professor of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences

Interesting in finding more instructor tips? See our Peer-to-Peer tips page.  

Course Design:

Teaching Online:

Assessment:

Student Engagement and Community Building:

Resources for Students:

Helpful Tips from Instructors

“I've enjoyed the effective use of a virtual whiteboard. This is a huge plus if compared to chalkboard teaching. And, I've enjoyed smooth transfers between teaching platforms: iPad, PowerPoint and web-based movie tutorials. It was not as smooth in an in-class teaching setting.”  -- Indrek Kulaots, Senior Lecturer in Engineering

Interesting in finding more instructor tips? See our Peer-to-Peer tips page.  

Course Design:

Teaching Online:

Assessment:

Student Engagement and Community Building:

Resources for Students:

Helpful Tips from Instructors

“Group projects offered students an important way to build community and stay connected to each other.” -- Mark Johnson, Royce Family Associate Professor of Teaching Excellence and Associate Professor of Biology, Graduate Program Director for the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry Graduate Program

Interesting in finding more instructor tips? See our Peer-to-Peer tips page.  

Course Design:

Teaching Online:

Assessment:

Student Engagement and Community Building:

Resources for Students:

Still have questions? The following resources are available to you:

  • Schedule a consultation about online pedagogy and learning tools or media by visiting the Digital Learning & Design appointment calendar.
  • If you have questions about how to make pedagogical shifts to your course content or assignments, or for questions about teaching writing online, contact the Sheridan Center by emailing Sheridan_Center@brown.edu.
  • Reach out to the Library by emailing digprod@brown.edu to digitize materials that currently are not electronic.
  • We will be planning for all course reserve material to be online in Canvas in the fall, so we encourage you to add your requests to OCRA, the course reserves system, as soon as possible. 
  • Information about reserves and other ways the Library can assist you are included in this online guide to teaching support. 
  • If you have questions or would like additional support for your courses please email rock@brown.edu.
  • Contact the College by emailing college@brown.edu if you have questions regarding academic policies.

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