Dear teaching staff,

As you have probably already been informed, the senior management team has decided that all teaching activities will take place online up to and including Easter. I would like to add a few comments.

Continue to follow the timetable

There are (at least) two very important reasons why you should not change the time and date of the planned teaching activities. The students are the most important reason. They expect all teaching to take place according to their timetable. Furthermore, we must avoid overlaps between the various courses, and the students may already have other activities planned when there is no scheduled teaching. Secondly, there is a possibility that the restrictions will be reduced later this semester, which means that we need to ensure that all the pieces of the timetable puzzle, which you made a huge effort to help us put together last semester, will fall into place. This is only possible if we do not make any major changes to the timetable. According to the senior management team, we will be able to reinstate on-site activities already in March if the situation changes and if we deem it reasonable locally.

Centre for Educational Development (CED) provides assistance

Just like last semester, our good colleagues from the former CUDiM, which is now part of the joint AU centre CED, are ready to assist in making the best of the current situation. I have gathered some links for you.

Workshops in online teaching

It is possible to participate in small focused workshops:

• Online classroom teaching – with a special focus on collaboration and interaction with the students
• Online lecture – with a special focus on structure, organisation and dialogue

Selected links about online teaching at AU Educate and AU Studypedia

Our online resource for teachers AU Educate contains guides and instructions on online teaching, which are updated on a regular basis. Here are some examples of information that you will find:

• Suggestions for online teaching activities
• Suggestions for how to motivate students online
• Guide to online lectures
• Ideas for how to use IT in the teaching 

In addition, we have developed material about online study activities, which you can share with the students:

• Resource for students on online study activities

Contact an educational consultant

Just like in the other semesters affected by the coronavirus, you are welcome to contact the employees at CED if you are in doubt about or need to discuss something, or you can send an email to ced@au.dk.

Preparing for exams in a time of coronavirus

In the same way as in the autumn semester, we aim to have a plan B for conducting exams ready in good time, so that the students will know at an early stage what will happen if we cannot conduct on-site exams. In a number of cases, this requires the implementation of emergency academic regulations, and the degree programme boards must take swift action to find proper solutions. SNUK is in the process of drawing up a process plan, which you will hear more about soon.

Finally, on behalf of the faculty management team, I would like to thank you for making every effort to continue your teaching to the extent possible under the increasingly difficult circumstances.

Look out for each other!
Niels

Niels Lehmann, Vice-dean for education