What is the module and how do I use it?
Get ahead of emergencies by taking proactive action. The FAU Emergency Module is the best way to get your course updated with information and content to manage your students in the case of an emergency. Importing the module into your course (Emergency Module can be found at this link) takes 5 minutes and will save you time and headaches managing your course during the difficult times surrounding emergencies.
What's in the module?
- Instructor Overview: How to use this module
This page is intended for instructor view only and contains links to all our emergency preparedness and post-emergency recovery resources so that you have easy access to these items from directly within your course. It also contains some easily adaptable sample messaging to make quick communication with your students regarding the emergency module items easier.
- Emergency Resources Page
This page contains specific FAU emergency resources for all campuses, as well as local, state, and national emergency resources. This page should be published at the start of the semester and can be used as is, though we encourage you as the instructor to add your own thoughts about managing emergencies.
- Pre-Emergency Survey: Contact Information
This survey can be used as is and is intended to give you alternate methods to check in with your students after a disaster if the student does not fill out the Post-Emergency Check-in Survey (below). At a minimum, having your students fill out this survey will allow you to download an Excel file of their responses for easy access to their FAU webmail addresses all in one place. We recommend having students complete this survey during the second week of classes once drop/add has ended. Here are some example Canvas Announcements that you can use.
- Post-Emergency Check-in Survey
This survey is intended to be published only after a disaster has been announced. The survey includes questions to help you determine the level of impact the disaster has had on your students' ability to finish the course and to encourage students to reach out to you regarding any concerns they may have about completing coursework.
- Post-Emergency Discussion Prompt
This Canvas Discussion item is intended to be published after the disaster has passed to allow students a space to build community together by processing the emergency event and reaching out to each other for support. We recommend keeping participation in this discussion an optional activity for your students.
How do I use the FAU Emergency Module items?
When the Semester Starts
Import the module into your course. Upon importing, the Emergency Resources Page will already be published. For instructions on how to import the module click the link below:
Second Week of Classes
Publish the Pre-Emergency Survey and have your students complete it. With drop/add over, you will be collecting contact information only for the students who are in your class. Here are some example Canvas Announcements that you can use.
After an Emergency Campus Closure
- Publish Emergency Module items
Publish the Post-Emergency Check-in Survey and Post-Emergency Discussion Prompt.
- Send out an announcement
Notify students that the Post-Emergency Check-in Survey is now available and ask them to complete it as a mandatory "check in." Also let students know that the Discussion prompt is available as an optional activity. Here are some example Canvas Announcements that you can use.
- Review check-in responses
Use SpeedGrader to view individual student responses to the Post-Emergency Check-in Survey, and use Canvas Quiz Statistics to get an overview of how your students are doing in the immediate aftermath of the emergency. This will give an at-a-glance view of how many students may need an alternative way to reach you, such as a phone number.
- Try to contact students you have not heard from
If you wish, you can use any alternate contact information your students provided in their original Pre-Emergency Survey responses to check in with them if they have not completed the Post-Emergency Check-in Survey within 48 hours after the emergency has passed.
Whether you wish to use the FAU Emergency Module in its entirety or only use parts of it, we strongly recommend sharing with your students your plan for managing emergencies. Adding this plan and your expectations into your course syllabus will help students to more easily navigate post-emergency communications in your course and may reduce confusion in the wake of a natural disaster or another emergency that causes a campus closure.
Additional Resources
Need assistance importing the module or managing its content? Send us a help request or use our appointments scheduler to talk to one of our Canvas experts one-on-one.