Before Your Course Begins
6 Prepare Your Course for the New Term
An essential step in preparing for the start of the new term is reviewing your course shell. The action items below will help you identify potential issues, including broken links to learning material, gaps in the content, such as outdated information, missing resources or conflicting information. Addressing these action items before the course begins, helps to ensure that the course runs smoothly and provide a quality learning experience.
Action Items
1. Announcements
- Update the “Welcome to [Name of Course]” announcement
- Add a personalized Video Note
- Review existing announcements and change dates where needed
- Delete posts that are not needed
For instructions, visit Welcome Announcement.
2. Detailed Course Schedule
- Navigate to the About the Course module and download the Detailed Course Schedule file
- Update course schedule with new term dates (zoom sessions, discussion dates, quizzes, assignment deadlines, other due dates, etc.). Save your document.
- Select Change file/Upload the updated document
For instructions, visit Update the Detailed Course Schedule.
3. Assignments
- Update the assignment folder due dates
For instructions, visit Updating Assignments.
4. Turnitin
- Enable (if needed, resolve the “Error enabling Turnitin” ) and check if active on the selected assignments
- From the assignment folder, ensure Similarity Report and Online Grading is On
For instructions, visit Enabling Turnitin and Correcting Error.
5. Quizzes
- Unhide quizzes
- Update end dates,
- Update the submission view dates
- Preview quizzes to review content
For instructions, visit Updating Quizzes and Previewing Quizzes
6. Discussions
- update dates
For instructions, visit Updating Discussions.
7. Groups
- review group set-up, maintenance, restrictions, links to discussions/groups (if applicable)
For instructions, visit Managing Groups.
8. Grades
- review grade book, ensure weighting is accurate and linked appropriately to assignments, quizzes etc.
9. Contact Information
- Update the instructor name and email.
For instructions on updating the Contact Information page, take the steps outlined below or as demonstrated in the video:
Read More
- Select Content in the navbar
- Select About the Course in the Table of Contents
- Select Contact Information
- Scroll down and click the Edit HTML button (the Edit HTML File screen appears)
- In the table, select and replace the instructor first and last name with your own
- Select the instructor email address to place the mouse cursor within it (or select it)
- Select the Insert Quicklink – – button on the toolbar
- In the URL field (top), after “mailto:”, replace the instructor email address with your own (e.g., “mailto:yourname@avenue.cllmcmaster.ca”)
- Replace the Title field (bottom) with your Avenue email address
- Leave the Target option set to Same Frame
- Scroll down and click the Update button
- Select Update on the Edit HTML File screen to save your changes
- Test the link
View Video
10. Course Calendar
- Review the course calendar to ensure all coursework items are present and align with the current course terms Detailed Course Schedule.
11. Module Content and Links
- review that all content copied over correctly (from Master)
- Check that all links throughout the site are working
- Record broken links and their replacements on the Standard Updates Tracking Sheet and submit this to the Program Manager to ensure your updates carry over to the next course offering. For more information about tracking sheets, visit Master to Term Shell System.
For instructions, visit Module Content and Links.
Additional Considerations
Instructor Biography
- McMasters Continuing Education website only allows linking to the general Instructor page. Students have to enter your name in search to review the pop up. We cannot link to your individual profile in this section as it appears as a pop up.
Course Outline
- The Program Associate will update the course outline on McMaster Continuing Education website and will post a link in Avenue to Learn. If you see any discrepancies please notify the Program Associate.
Questions, Concerns, or Need Assistance? Email our Web Content and Course Developer ccecrsdv@mcmaster.ca