Teaching with CourseWorks

The CTL has developed the videos below to support instructors using CourseWorks to teach online. We also provide support for CourseWorks with technical issues.

The CTL is here to help!

Seeking additional support with using CourseWorks? Email ColumbiaCTL@columbia.edu or join our virtual office hours.

Interested in inviting the CTL to facilitate a session on this topic for your school, department, or program? Visit our Workshops To Go page for more information.

Cite this resource: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2020). Teaching with CourseWorks. Columbia University. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/teaching-with-technology/teaching-online/courseworks/

Tools for Community Building in CourseWorks

How do I build community online? This video focuses on various strategies to foster community using CourseWorks tools. We cover syllabi, announcements, the mail tool, Zoom class sessions, and the calendar.

Tools for Promoting Engagement in CourseWorks

How do I engage my students online? This video looks at student engagement with course material, peers, and instructors. It also covers essential CourseWorks tools you can use to support engagement, such as files, modules, discussions, Panopto recordings, and how to modify your course site navigation.

Tools for Assessment in CourseWorks

How can I assess student learning using CourseWorks? This video looks at the tools CourseWorks provides to assess student learning and provide grades, such as the gradebook, Speedgrader, assignments, and quizzes.

Set Up Discussions in CourseWorks

View Tips and Strategies for Online Discussions

CourseWorks provides an integrated discussion tool that allows for interactive communication between instructors and students, focused discussions, and graded assignments.

Learn how to Create a Discussion Board in CourseWorks.
Review Discussion Board Best Practices and additional options for using discussion boards in CourseWorks.

Create and Grade Assignments (Setting up Homework and Take-Home Exams) in CourseWorks

Instructors can create assignments in CourseWorks and students can submit them electronically. Once students have submitted assignments, the CourseWorks Gradebook allows instructors to enter grades, track students and their progress, calculate grades, and submit final grades to SSOL.

Learn how to Create an Assignment in CourseWorks.
Review the CTL’s quick video tutorial on Using the Gradebook in CourseWorks.
Engage in a full overview of creating and grading assignments in CourseWorks in the CTL’s self-paced course: Assessment and Grading in CourseWorks.

Create Online Quizzes and Exams

The CourseWorks Quiz tool is best for assessments with questions that list a limited number of answers or options (i.e. multiple choice, true and false, and fill-in-the-blank). Turn on automatic grading to provide immediate feedback to students and to save time.

The CourseWorks Assignment tool is best for more complex responses, such as essays, presentations, videos, or multiple files. This tool allows students to submit multiple files as part of their response. It is also a good option if you intend to have students complete paper-based exams at home and they need to upload pictures of their work as part of the submission.

For more information on the variety of CourseWorks tools, options, and settings that can help implement online exams efficiently and fairly, as well as recommendations on academic integrity, please visit our Creating Online Exams page.

Additional Tools

The following resources offer additional options to facilitate and support remote classes.

Host a video conference with BigBlueButton (built into CourseWorks).
Use collaborative tools freely available through Lionmail Drive such as Docs, Sheets, Slides, Hangouts, and more:
- Learn more about Lionmail Drive at Columbia.

The CTL researches and experiments.

The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning provides an array of resources and tools for instructional activities.

Overview