5 Things You Can Do Now to Prepare for Going Online This Fall Ready or not, the Fall 2020 semester is here! You may or may not know what that looks like yet for your courses. Will you be back to face to face or be online in some capacity? Either way, here are five things you should be doing now to be ready for whatever curveball the Fall 2020 semester throws at you! Preparing for the start of a new semester is always filled with so many emotions — excitement, motivation to try new ideas, nervousness, and probably a little stress in there too. However, no matter what field of education you are in, this start of the semester is probably bringing a whole new set of emotions — uncertainty, concern, stress. To help minimize those heavy emotions and bring back some of the excitement and motivation, we have created this simple list of five things you can do over the next few weeks to help prepare you for the start of the semester. Don’t miss out on the FREE Course Map Planning Sheet Download below! Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I could earn a small commission at no additional cost to you should you make a purchase using them. All recommendations are based on my personal experience. Table of Contents Mapping Out Your Semester Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan Margaret Thatcher We all know that lesson plans, curriculums, and program standards are what make the education-world go round, but have you mapped out your semester yet? Mapping or planning out your semester is one great way to ensure a couple of important things happen in your course: Students learn and achieve what you need them to throughout the semester. You have an inkling of an idea of what topic or concept you are supposed to be lecturing on today. Your instruction is focused and doesn’t veer off on too many tangents. You are able to easily track you and your students’ progress throughout the semester.  Planning out your course is not specific to one style or format, of course. It can be done for all courses across all formats or learning environments (online, F2F, hybrid). Need a FREE Course Map to Help You Plan Your Online Course? Be sure to snag our Course Planning Map above to help you start planning out your semester. We encourage you to use this map to plan out all of your courses.  If you are mapping out a face to face course, we also want to challenge you to think about how the different components you are planning would transfer to online learning. We hope all your face to face courses are able to stay in the classroom, but it won’t hurt to keep the idea of going online in the back of your mind as you are planning.  Our Course Planning Map will prompt you to think about and plan for all the important aspects of instruction, such as; learning objectives, learning materials, and assessments.  Be sure to get the FREE file above!  Think Project-Based Learning Assessments As learning is shifting to the online environment, your focus does not have to turn away from your students and to the computer screen. Instead, be creative and find new ways for your students to take charge of their learning even though you may be at a distance! Project-based learning can be an extremely powerful and engaging way to learn even in the online environment.  “Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge.”  PBLworks.org    Project-based learning is meant to be student-centered and student-driven, so think outside of the box and find new opportunities for your students to really control and engage in their own learning. Give them all the tools and supports they need and then let them learn! You probably will be surprised at what they can do.  Please do keep in mind that this may not always be appropriate for all ages of students. However, we do believe that given the correct supports and tools, even our youngest students can do amazing things online.  ePortfolios are an amazing online tool for project-based learning! We would recommend checking out Digication as an excellent platform designed to be used in any education setting. ePortfolios can be an outstanding digital platform for students to demonstrate their learning creatively.  Here are a few ideas of project-based learning assessments that could be showcased in an ePortfolio: Create a website for a service or product (business, accounting, media, trades) Record a podcast (communications, media, leadership) Document a creation process (art, culinary, trades) Create an ebook (writing, language studies) Design and develop a training program (kinesiology, nursing, health care) Develop a personal ePortfolio of a skill (resume building, leadership, graduating students)  SO MUCH MORE! Please comment below or share any additional ideas you might have on our Facebook page! Introduction to Online Teaching Masterclass Do not miss out on this one time offer to pre-enroll in our Introduction to Online Teaching Master Course! This course is designed to provide online instructions with a strong foundation in online teaching best practices. Offer ends 3/22/2021 Claim Your Seat Now! S A L E ! Record Lectures After you’ve planned out your course, you can now start recording some of your lectures! Having your lectures pre-recorded will save you so much time as you begin delivering your course.  You might be asking, “Why would I pre-record my lectures if I teach face to face?” There are so many ways you can use recorded lectures in person. One of the biggest is that it frees you up to do other things!  If you teach K-12, imagine creating stations that your students can rotate through. At one station, students can watch your lecture(s); at another, they