Category Archives: News

Canvas Start of Semester Checklist

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Clipboard with checkmarks and Canvas logoWelcome back!   Here are a few things to check as you set your courses up in Canvas for the semester. The Canvas Community is a great resource if you have questions about using Canvas. You’ll also find answers to many questions on the new Office of Information Technology Support site.

 

 

checkbox_no  Make your course available to students

  • Publish your course by clicking on the Publish button in the upper right menu of the Home page
  • Check the Start and End Dates for your classes. By default, students cannot view classes outside of those dates, even if the course is published.  Make sure to set the course end date so that students can use it to study for final and to check their final Canvas grades. Go to the Course Settings to check and change the dates. Click on the Update Course Details button to save the changes.

checkbox_no Rename your course to add the semester and year

checkbox_no Import Content from another Canvas course

  • Go to Course Settings for your Fall 2016 course and click on the button to Import Content into Course
  • Under Content Type select Copy a Canvas Course
  • Search for the course name
  • Choose All Content unless you want to only copy over specific content or want to exclude Announcements created in your prior class.  Note that Announcements from the prior semester are automatically included in an All Content import.  These announcements will be available to students in the current course unless you delete them from Announcements. If you have announcements we recommend choosing “Select Specific Content” and not importing announcements.
  • If you want Canvas to try and adjust your Due Dates on Assignments, also select Adjust Events and Due Dates
  • Click on Import
  • Complete instructions with screenshots are available in the Canvas Community

checkbox_no Check for Broken Links in Your Class

  • If you have imported a lot of material from Blackboard or another Canvas class, it’s a good idea to check for broken links before publishing your course.
  • Go to Settings and click on the last button on the right for Validate Links in Content

checkbox_no Combine multiple sections of a course

  • If you teach more than one section of the same course, you can combine these into one Canvas course. Please be aware of potential FERPA issues if you combine course sections that do not meet together.  You can take some steps to protect students’ privacy by removing People from the menu, and not combining discussions. Instructions for combining courses are available from the Canvas Training Center.

Check box Add your Syllabus

  • Upload your Syllabus and link to it from the Syllabus tool in Canvas
  • You can also copy sections of the Syllabus into the Syllabus Description or a Page in Canvas.

Check box Add Assignments

  • When you add an assignment  it is also automatically added to Assignments, Calendar, Syllabus and Grades
  • Turnitin Assignments are created by selecting the Submission Type External Tool

checkbox_no Add TA’s or additional instructors

  • Go to the People link in the course menu and select +People.  Enter the TA(s) email address, change the role to TA and click on Next. Verify the correct person is being added and click on Add.

checkbox_no Send a message to your students

Check box Meet with Instructional Technology

  • We’re available to help you design your Canvas course, setup your grades, learn how to use new tools such as web conferencing or lecture capture, and to answer questions.  Contact us at instcom@stedwards.edu.

 

End of Semester Tasks in Canvas

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CanvasChecking the Course End Date

The course end date in Canvas restricts students from participating in courses after that date. Make sure your course end date is set to be the last date you want students to view or submit course materials.  By default, the course end date in Canvas is set to be the same as the last course meeting as defined in Banner.  If students need to submit final papers, exams, projects or review course materials after that date, you will need to change the course end date. To change the course end date:

  • Go to Settings in your course menu
  • Go to Ends and extend the date
  • Click Update Course Details to save the changes

Grading Tip – Hiding or Holding Release of Student Assignment Grades

Would you like to release all of your grades for an assignment together so that students don’t see their grade until you are done grading all of the assignments?  Did you know you could “mute” an assignment? A muted assignment will not send out grade change notifications or any new instructor comments until the assignment is unmuted. A muted assignment displays a “mute” icon on the student grades page so students know the assignment is muted. Students will be unable to view their grade, including grade and score changes or submission comments for the assignment until the assignment is unmuted. Instructions for muting an assignment are found in the Canvas Community.

For additional assistance in using Canvas contact Instructional Technology at support@stedwards.edu.

What’s the Best Web Browser to Use with Canvas?

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web-browsersAlthough Canvas officially works on all of the latest releases of Chrome, Safari, Firefox and IE, there are a couple of instances in which Safari or Firefox may not be the best choice. Which browsers does Canvas support? in the Canvas Community is regularly updated with the latest browsers supported.  We recommend having the latest version of at least two browsers installed on your computer. For Canvas, Chrome should be one of those browsers.

Below are two known issues with Safari and Firefox.

Safari Issue with Student Turnitin Submissions

If students attempting to submit a Turnitin assignment are prompted to enter their login and password, they should switch browsers from Safari to Chrome or Firefox.  Turnitin requires the use of browser cookies and some versions of Safari may not be set up correctly.  If students want to continue using Safari, they should

1. Click on the “Safari” menu and select “Preferences.”
2. Click on the “Privacy” tab.
3. Set “Block Cookies and other website data” to “Never”

Note: You may need to close and then re-open your browser window, clear your browser cache, and/or log out and back into Canvas for these settings to take affect. After you are finished using Turnitin, you may revert your privacy settings.

Firefox Issue with Online Grading Using Speedgrader and Crocodoc

If an instructor is using the online commenting tools with Canvas’ Speedgrader (Crocodoc), there is a known issue that Firefox may not save the last comment.  Since comments are automatically saved, you may not notice that the last comment entered is not saved when you navigate to the next student’s assignment submission.  We recommend using Chrome when grading online.

General Faculty Meeting 2016 Technology Update

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Global Learning Ecosystem--now without Blackboard

Global Learning Ecosystem–now without Blackboard

Rebecca Frost Davis, Director of Instructional and Emerging Technology gave an update to faculty at the general faculty meeting on Tuesday, August 23, 2016.  Since she was one in a long parade of speakers, this blog posts shares that update in written form, as well as links to items covered.

Global Learning Ecosystem

We think of ourselves as part of a global learning ecosystem—students learn in and out of the classroom, on and off campus, locally, globally, face-to-face and online. The same is true of us–faculty, staff, and administrators at St. Edward’s University. And the real kicker, the ecosystem is constantly changing. Some changes we drive, like discontinuing use of Blackboard, and some change is thrust upon us. Both our graduates and our colleagues need resilience to deal with all of this change. In the Office of Information Technology, we’ve been focusing on developing internal processes of adapting to that change by experimenting, gathering data, and iterating. In other words, we are using research to drive change. So, what do we know from that experience, and what changes can you expect when you enter the classroom next week? Continue reading →

Canvas Start of Semester Checklist

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Clipboard with checkmarks and Canvas logoWelcome back!   Here are a few things to check as you set your courses up in Canvas for the semester. The Canvas Community is a great resource if you have questions about using Canvas. You’ll also find answers to many questions on the new Office of Information Technology Support site.

 

checkbox_no  Make your course available to students

  • Publish your course by clicking on the Publish button in the upper right menu of the Home page
  • Check the Start and End Dates for your classes. By default, students cannot view classes outside of those dates, even if the course is published.  Make sure to set the course end date so that students can use it to study for final and to check their final Canvas grades. Go to the Course Settings to check and change the dates. Click on the Update Course Details button to save the changes.

checkbox_no Rename your course to add the semester and year

checkbox_no Import Content from another Canvas course

  • Go to Course Settings for your Fall 2016 course and click on the button to Import Content into Course
  • Under Content Type select Copy a Canvas Course
  • Search for the course name
  • Choose All Content unless you want to only copy over specific content or want to exclude Announcements created in your prior class.  Note that Announcements from the prior semester are automatically included in an All Content import.  These announcements will be available to students in the current course unless you delete them from Announcements. If you have announcements we recommend choosing “Select Specific Content” and not importing announcements.
  • If you want Canvas to try and adjust your Due Dates on Assignments, also select Adjust Events and Due Dates
  • Click on Import
  • Complete instructions with screenshots are available in the Canvas Community

Check box Add your Syllabus

  • Upload your Syllabus and link to it from the Syllabus tool in Canvas
  • You can also copy sections of the Syllabus into the Syllabus Description or a Page in Canvas.

Check box Add Assignments

  • When you add an assignment  it is also automatically added to Assignments, Calendar, Syllabus and Grades
  • Turnitin Assignments are created by selecting the Submission Type External Tool

checkbox_no Add TA’s or additional instructors

  • Go to the People link in the course menu and select +People.  Enter the TA(s) email address, change the role to TA and click on Next. Verify the correct person is being added and click on Add.

checkbox_no Send a message to your students

checkbox_no Combine multiple sections of a course

  • If you teach more than one section of the same course, you can combine these into one Canvas course. Please be aware of potential FERPA issues if you combine course sections that do not meet together.  You can take some steps to protect students’ privacy by removing People from the menu, and not combining discussions. Instructions for combining courses are available from the Canvas Training Center.

Check box Meet with Instructional Technology

  • We’re available to help you design your Canvas course, setup your grades, learn how to use new tools such as web conferencing or lecture capture, and to answer questions.  Contact us at instcom@stedwards.edu.

We have several Canvas trainings scheduled.  Sign up at bit.ly/SEUITTraining .

Export Blackboard Course Materials Before August 15th

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Blackboard in a circle with a line through itAs the countdown clock on the Blackboard log-in page should tell you, we have now completed our conversion to Canvas for our Learning Management System. While the Office of Information Technology (OIT) will have access to Blackboard for grade challenges until the end of the Spring 2017 semester, regular access for faculty, staff, and students will end on August 15, 2016.

Please save any course materials you might have in Blackboard before that date. As a reminder, we began use of this version of Blackboard with courses in Summer 2011, so you may have content as old as that to extract from Blackboard. These materials can be exported, then saved in Box and later imported into Canvas. Directions are available online: https://stedwards.instructure.com/courses/5655/pages/exporting-copies-of-your-course-to-box

We know it’s the summer, so if you haven’t exported your course materials and can’t before August 15, 2016, all is not lost. It will just require an extra step to access your materials. If you need to retrieve course materials in Blackboard after August 15, please contact OIT Support:

512-448-8443
support@stedwards.edu
http://support.stedwards.edu

Qualtrics Changes

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Qualtrics

 

On June 28th, Qualtrics, the survey application, will change in two ways, both designed to make the system easier to use. These changes will not affect existing surveys or access to existing surveys you already have distributed.  The changes will only affect the way you log in to Qualtrics and its user interface.

 

  1. The Office of Information Technology will be adding Qualtrics as a single sign-on application, which means you’ll be able to use your St. Edward’s username and password to log in, just as you do for myHilltop, Box and Canvas.
  2.  The look and feel of Qualtrics will be updated to the new “Insight Platform,” featuring a new layout and design. You can try out the new interface immediately by clicking “Experience the Qualtrics Insight Platform” in the user menu or wait until it goes live June 28. Please note: Most of the changes are cosmetic, and functionality will not be affected. For more details on the changes see our post on the new Qualtrics interface.

For more information about Qualtrics, contact OIT Support at support@stedwards.edu.

Explore the New Qualtrics Interface

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Qualtrics
On June 28th Qualtrics’ interface will be updated to the new Insight Platform featuring a new layout and design. You can try out the new interface immediately by clicking on “Experience the Qualtrics Insight Platform” or wait until it goes live on the 28th. While it looks different, most of the changes are cosmetic and you will still access your surveys under the new landing page. The new user interface organizes surveys into “My Projects”, surveys you created,  and “Shared with Me”, surveys shared with you. Qualtrics also added a few new features. We will focus on the interface changes and basic use in this post.


What are the Changes?

The new landing page interface:

1.) My Surveys: The new My Projects landing page replaced the My Surveys page. You will see Projects, Contacts, and Libraries on the top navigation, which will be visible for you on every screen.

2.) Moved survey tasks to the Project Options dropdown. WD-My-Surveys-2

Continue reading →

Migrating Classes from Blackboard to Canvas

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Migrating from Blackboard to CanvasBlackboard will no longer be used for classes starting with Summer 2016 classes.  That doesn’t mean Blackboard will disappear completely.  It will be available for grade challenges and for access to content until the end of the Spring 2017 semester.

We highly recommend exporting course content from Blackboard as soon as possible.  When you export course content it is saved in a zipped file that you can store on your computer or in Box.  That zipped file can then be used to import content into Canvas. You should go ahead and export all of the Blackboard courses that you might teach in the future.  Saving the exported file in Box will allow you to access the file for import into Canvas in future semesters.  You can only import files into courses that already exist in Canvas (i.e. Summer and Fall 2016 classes).

You can find instructions for exporting your Blackboard courses in the Canvas Training Course.  You will also find instructions there for importing content into Canvas.

If you need assistance exporting your content or importing it into Canvas please contact OIT Support at support@stedwards.edu.

We have lots of Canvas trainings coming up in the next two months.  You may also schedule a one-on-one appointment with Instructional Technology by emailing us at instcom@stedwards.edu.

 

Technology for Innovative Learning & Teaching Pilot Project Grants 2016

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iphone-logo2

The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable (TLTR) congratulates the winners of Technology for Innovative Learning & Teaching Pilot Project Grants for 2016. These grants fund faculty who wish to pursue innovative and technologically-sophisticated teaching. All proposals are evaluated by the TLTR Grants Selection sub-committee, comprised of at least 3 faculty members, 1 instructional technology staff member, and the TLTR co-chairs.

This year’s projects include a focus on technology support for student research, flipping the classroom, and adaptive learning.  Abstracts of the projects are available on the 2016 Pilot Projects Webpage.   The winners for 2016 are: Continue reading →