Instructor Training Templates

Instructor Training Templates

Info
This article will be most useful for Concourse admins, faculty trainers, and professional development staff.

Overview

Training end users is an important part of optimizing any edtech experience, but deciding how to get started with assembling training resources can be daunting. When it comes to training instructors at your institution on using Concourse, we’ve got you covered. In this article, you’ll find downloadable training templates (and instructions for use) that can be customized and used as the foundation for training instructors.

Training Template Organization and Format

The instructor training templates (instructor’s guides) include instructions for using all instructor-facing features and processes in Concourse, as well as instructions on how to add or edit every item in Concourse. The resulting files are, by necessity, lengthy. It is crucial that you review the materials carefully and delete any content that does not apply to your instructors’ processes or your institution’s Concourse implementation prior to sharing them with end users.

The instructor training templates are available in two formats–slide deck and document–to support synchronous and asynchronous training initiatives. The content is equivalent in both versions for each topic. A summary of each instructor’s guide topic follows:

Instructor’s Guide to Concourse (slide deck and document)

  1. System overview
  2. Accessing Concourse
  3. Orientation to the platform (navigation menus)
  4. Completing a user profile
  5. Searching for syllabi
  6. Adding and editing items
  7. Differentiating items and sub-items
  8. Adding files and media to syllabi
  9. Copying content
  10. Updating audit status
  11. Viewing student access
  12. Getting help with Concourse

Instructor’s Guide to Concourse Items (slide deck and document)

  1. Overview of each default item category
  2. Adding items to a syllabus (all default items included)
  3. Editing items that already exist on a syllabus (all default items included)
  4. Adding sub-items to a syllabus (all default items included)
  5. Editing sub-items that already exist on a syllabus (all default items included)
You may choose to combine the Instructor’s Guide and Instructor’s Guide to Concourse Items files if that will be more beneficial for your instructors.

Before You Begin

Before you download the training templates and start sharing them with users, we’d like to draw your attention to some important points:
  1. To make the training materials as useful as possible to instructors, be sure to follow the instructions at the beginning of each file for customization.
  2. Keep in mind that every institution uses Concourse differently, from the way instructors access the platform to the names of items and the color scheme. You might find some processes, features, or items in the templates that are unfamiliar to you, and that’s okay. The templates are comprehensive by nature and are meant to be pared down and edited to fit your needs.
  3. After customizing the templates, you should decide how to share the edited files with instructors. Are these materials going to serve as guides for your faculty trainers? Will they be shared directly with faculty? Use the materials in whatever way best suits your needs.
  4. Whenever a new instructor-facing feature is available in Concourse, these materials will be updated so that you can access new guidance. It would be a good idea to bookmark this page to return to it and access updated templates in the future.

How to Customize Training Templates for Your Instructors

Carefully review and customize all training files to fit your institution’s Concourse environment before sharing with instructors. To use the files, follow these steps:
  1. Review your Concourse settings:
    1. How do instructors access Concourse? What does their experience look like?
    2. What permissions do instructors have? For example, can they view the Users list on a syllabus? Can they copy content from previous syllabi?
    3. What features are enabled in your system? For example: Files, CV, and Audit.
    4. What syllabus items appear in your Concourse environment and what are they called?
    5. What syllabus content is populated for instructors?
    6. What items are instructors able to edit, and what are the expectations for those items?
  2. Review the files in full and edit them to fit your implementation and needs:
    1. Delete any slides or sections that do not apply. For example, instructions are included for adding and editing every default item and sub-item; if instructors at your institution do not add/edit Institutional Policies, delete those slides/sections from the files.
    2. Reorder the slides/sections to match the order in which instructors will engage with Concourse.
    3. Words highlighted in yellow may not match your Concourse instance (e.g., “Description” might be called “Course Description” in your environment.). Change highlighted words as needed to match your Concourse environment and remove all highlighting from the files before sharing.
    4. Replace images as needed to orient instructors within your environment. Many images are consistent regardless of your Concourse environment, but images that include item language should be updated to reflect your actual implementation.
    5. You may also adjust the font, text color, and logos on the files as needed to fit your institutional branding.
  3. Delete instructions from the slide deck and/or document before presenting or sharing the deck.

Best Practices and Recommendations

These training templates are meant to provide structure and support for your internal training program and can be used in whatever manner best suits your needs. However you decide to engage with these files, keep the following best practices in mind:
  1. Update instructor training files regularly as part of your maintenance routine and anytime changes are made to your Concourse implementation.
  2. Include your institution’s Concourse admin and other personnel as needed in customizing and updating the training files.
  3. If you opt to share files directly with instructors as reference materials or asynchronous guides, we recommend sharing them as PDF files to preserve their integrity and formatting.

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