Instructional Continuity
Last Updated: 4/9/25
This Instructional Continuity page is maintained by OIT's Instructional Design and Technology team for any future campus closures or significant operational adjustments (e.g., due to hurricanes).
Since the ways in which we effectively deliver instruction, promote student interactivity, and assess learning may differ in the online environment, our team of instructional designers (IDs) and instructional learning technologists (LTAs) offers several types of support for faculty and students to ensure a smooth transition from face-to-face classes to web-based instruction and learning.
OIT Support Center (Faculty, Staff, and Students)
All UHCL faculty, students, and staff are encouraged to contact OIT's Support center to report any instructional technology issues or to request technology assistance. If the Support Center's Tier I staff are unable to answer your question or resolve your issue, they will gather all pertinent information and create a help ticket that will be routed to the Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team (or other OIT business unit, as appropriate). A staff member from that area will then be in touch with as soon as resources permit. You may contact the Support Center remotely via either telephone (281-283-2828) or email (SupportCenter@uhcl.edu).
Virtual Office Hours (Faculty/Staff)
Faculty and staff are invited to join the ID/LTA team for drop-in web conference sessions in Zoom, specifically to address faculty questions about using Canvas, Echo360, and other technologies to support online teaching and learning. Each session will be hosted by one or more members of the ID team. No reservations or appointments are required for these sessions. The schedule is as follows:
- Monday: 10 - 11 a.m.
- Tuesday: 1 - 2 p.m.
- Wednesday: 6 - 7 p.m.
- Thursday: 10 - 11 a.m.
Join Virtual Office Hours teams Meeting
One-on-One Appointments (Faculty/Staff)
Faculty are always welcome to request a personal web conference/virtual appointment with their designated instructional designer. Please contact the Support Center via email at supportcenter@uhcl.edu or by telephone at 281.283.2828 to do so. A member of the Support Center staff will enter your request into our help ticketing system and your instructional designer will be in touch with you shortly to schedule your appointment.
- Continuity Plan Checklist
- Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Online Teaching Toolkit - provides a good beginning site for transitioning to online instruction
- [Recorded Webinar] Preparing to Scale Online Teaching and Learning During Coronavirus
- Chronicle of Higher Education - downloadable set of articles for quick transition to an online environment
NOTE: UHCL Faculty/Staff can access vendor-provided 24/7/365 Canvas technical support via the Help icon/menu within Canvas.
- Canvas Instructor Getting Started Guide: Course Basics
- Canvas Instructor Videos
- Canvas Instructor Guide
- Video Playlist: Set Up Your Canvas Course in 30 Minutes NOTE: Please skip the Course Creation video.
- How Do I Add an Announcement in a Course?
- How Do I Upload/Add a File to a Course?
- How Do I Use the Canvas Inbox (Messages/Email) as an Instructor?
- How Do I Create a Discussion?
- How Do I Create an Assignment?
- Video: Gradebook Overview [9:06]
- Video: Quizzes (Exams) Overview [4:36]
- EchoVideo Account Activation (Faculty/Staff) – The quickest way to activate a faculty/staff EchoVideo account is to log into a Canvas shell to which they have Instructor role access and click the Echo360 link on the course menu. If you want students to use Echo360, please ensure that the Echo360 link in your course is not hidden.
- EchoVideo Use (Faculty/Staff) – The following vendor-hosted resource is a recommended starting point for all faculty/staff users: Getting Started with Echo360.
- Zoom Account Activation (All Users) – Zoom accounts for all UHCL users should be automatically generated the first time they log into Zoom via go.uhcl.edu.
- Zoom Meetings (Faculty/Staff) - The following vendor- and UHCL-hosted resources are highly recommended.
- Student Checklist for Online Technology Readiness
- Online Proctoring Information (ProctorU and Respondus LockDown Browser/Monitor)
- EchoVideo Use (Students) – The following vendor-hosted resource is a recommended starting point for all student users: EchoVideo: Getting Students Started.
- Zoom Account Activation (All Users) – Zoom accounts for all UHCL users should be automatically generated the first time they log into Zoom via go.uhcl.edu.
- Zoom Meetings (Students) - The following vendor-hosted resources are highly recommended.