Remote Best Practices

Be Resilient in the Face of Disruptions

Join Teach-net

Teach-Net is a moderated email forum open to Berkeley faculty and staff to share ideas and resources, and communicate about teaching.

To subscribe: email teach-net+subscribe@lists.berkeley.edu

Remote Instruction Guide

The Remote Instruction Guide is available via bCourses and includes information on how to design, set-up, and teach a remote instruction course.

Checklist for students

Undergraduates and graduate students can use their checklist to prepare for and react quickly to disruptions.

Holding remote examinations

The Academic Senate has a collection of best practices for holding exams and quizzes with students remotely, with some in alternate time zones, using methods that improve academic integrity. For departments interested in remote proctoring, we refer you to the Spring 2021 Remote Proctoring Pilot - registration request process, and also reference the Remote Proctoring Policy for Summer Sessions and Fall Semester and Remote Proctoring FAQ.

Flipping the remote classroom

In a flipped remote classroom, students first explore new course content outside of class by, for example, viewing a pre-recorded lecture video or completing a reading. In-class time is organized around student engagement, inquiry, and assessment. Flipping your class is one way to introduce both asynchronous and synchronous components.

Remote labs, studios, and other non-classroom spaces

Berkeley has a variety of approved educational formats that make use of specialized non-classroom spaces: most commonly laboratory and studio sections. Clinic and fieldwork sections may experience similar difficulties with spaces on and off campus. An evolving set of best practices for remote teaching in these contexts is available here.

Remote attendance & participation

We recognize that attendance and participation are, for many faculty, fundamental elements of their classes. Many faculty may have students who, due to circumstances beyond their control, find it difficult to consistently engage in synchronous remote instruction. The following are examples of alternatives to synchronous attendance and participation

Creating a healthy virtual environment

The Division of Equity & Inclusion has created a toolkit to aid faculty in establishing a virtual classroom culture and responding to hostile behavior online, and the Multicultural Education Program maintains a list of classroom tools from Berkeley and from our peer institutions.

Supporting DSP students remotely

DSP has produced a guide to remote accommodations that includes exams, video captioning, note taking, and alternative accessible formats for course handouts.

Other resources for remote instruction

Schedule a one-on-one consultation

Both the Center for Teaching & Learning and Digital Learning Services offer one-on-one consultations.

CTL: bit.ly/CTL-Consult or email teaching@berkeley.edu

DLS: bit.ly/DLSconsultations or email digitallearning@berkeley.edu