When you find yourself unable to teach in a regular face-to-face setting, consider the following factors and strategies:

Determine schedule changes: If the situation that leads to the need for rapid online teaching will last a while, such as an outbreak of a pandemic disease that may keep the campus closed for weeks, check with the Provost’s Office whether the university will extend school days.  This should help you decide whether to simply cancel classes or to move your teaching online.

Communicate effectively: Students will need to learn from you what to do in situations that have led to campus closure. Ask your students to keep communication channels open. In addition to receiving alerts from the university, you should inform students to make sure that they do NOT turn off instant notifications in Canvas for announcements and email (which is called “inbox” or “conversations” in Canvas), which you will use to communicate about your plan for the course.

Balance synchronous/asynchronous teaching: You have many tools to teach online, and most of these tools are in Canvas. These tools can be synchronous and asynchronous. While synchronous tools can help you easily replicate what you do in the regular classroom, there might be content or activities that are better left in an asynchronous format, such as readings and discussions.