Short Term Teaching Continuity

Overview & Default Guidance

Keep things simple: don't try to recreate Canvas outside Canvas. Utilize Gmail, MCommunity, and Zoom for operations. Your SIS course roster will be central to continuity.

Default Operating Position

Please use UM email for course communication and pause high-stakes Canvas-dependent activities until access returns. That includes quizzes, exams, timed assignments, grading, discussion boards, module requirements, and Canvas-based submissions. You will be able to access student email addresses via SIS rosters.

For low-stakes continuity, you can use:

• UM email for announcements.
• Google Drive for readings, slides, or files they already have outside Canvas.
• Zoom or Google Meet for scheduled synchronous class sessions or to record messages/lectures for students.
• Email submission only for urgent assignments that can't reasonably wait.

Retrieving Student Emails in SIS

Follow these steps to find and email your roster in SIS:

1. Go to SIS.
2. Click Courses.
3. Click Faculty Drop Roster.
4. Select the appropriate course.
5. Click the Export button in the top right corner.
6. Click Export again on the pop-up window to download a spreadsheet with the roster information which includes email addresses.

Creating an MCommunity Group

1. Go to MCommunity and log in with your uniqname and UMICH Level-1 password.
2. Click My Groups.
3. Click Create a Group.
4. Enter a group name. Choose carefully: You cannot change the group name after creating the group.
5. Enter a group email address (can include letters, numbers, dashes, and periods).
6. Enter a group description.
7. Add members and owners by clicking Add Members to add people or groups. For U-M members, enter their uniqnames.

   Tip: If you downloaded the roster information as detailed in the Retrieving Student Emails in SIS section, you can highlight and copy all of the email addresses from the spreadsheet and paste them directly into the Add Members box.

8. Click Save.

Using Zoom

Use Zoom for classes and to relay information directly to students.

Schedule and Host a Live Zoom Meeting

Create your meeting in the Zoom interface as normal. In the Invitees field, use the email address for the MCommunity group you created above to quickly invite the entire class.

Record a Zoom Video to Send to Students

1. Start a Meeting: Go to Zoom and start a new meeting.
2. Start Recording: Click the Record button in the bottom toolbar. If not visible, click More and select Record.
3. Choose Location: Select Record to the Cloud or Record on this Computer.
4. Pause/Stop: Use the controls at the top left or bottom toolbar to pause or stop the recording as needed.
5. Save the File: End the meeting. Zoom will convert the recording and save it.
   • Local Recording: Saved in your Documents folder under a "Zoom" subfolder.
   • Cloud Recording: Accessible in your Zoom web portal under "Recordings".

Sending a Message to Your Course

1. Go to Gmail.
2. Click the Compose button.
3. In the To: field, type the name of the Mcommunity group you created.
4. Compose and send your message.

Sharing Materials via Google Drive

This section provides step-by-step instructions to organize, upload, and share course materials with your students using Google Drive and MCommunity Contact Groups.

Step 1: Create a Course Folder

Organizing your files into a dedicated folder ensures that students can find all relevant materials in one central location.

1. Open Google Drive.
2. In the top left corner, click the + New button.
3. Select New folder from the dropdown menu.
4. Type a name for your folder (e.g., "English 101 - Spring 2026") and click Create.

Step 2: Upload Course Files

Once your folder is created, you can add syllabi, presentations, and lecture notes.

• Method 1 (Drag and Drop): Open your new folder by double-clicking it. Simply drag files from your computer's desktop or file explorer directly into the Drive window.
• Method 2 (Menu Upload):
  • Inside the folder, click + New.
  • Select File upload.
  • Choose the files you wish to share and click Open.

Step 3: Share the Folder with a Contact Group

Instead of typing every student's email individually, you can share the entire folder with an MCommunity group.

1. In Google Drive, right-click on your Course Folder.
2. Select Share.
3. In the "Add people and groups" box, start typing the name of your MCommunity group (e.g., "NSC-373").
4. Select the group when it appears in the suggestions.
5. Set the permission level:

   Permission	Best For...
   Viewer	Students should read or download files, but not change them.
   Commenter	Students can leave feedback or questions on the documents.
   Editor	Collaborative projects where students need to add or delete files.

6. Click Send. Students will receive an email notification with a link to the folder.