Canvas Spring 2022 semester wrap-up

Canvas instructors,

 

Hope the Spring semester has gone well. To wrap it up for Canvas and prepare for the next semester, please note the following:

1. Here's how course access at the end of a semester works in Canvas:
1. You will have full access to your course until June 10 at 11:59 p.m. After that, you will only have read-only access. However, you will be able to export your course. At that point, get to the course by clicking Courses – All Courses. It will be listed under Past Enrollments.
2. Students will have full access to your course until the term end date of May 27 at 11:59 p.m. (unless you have changed the Course end date and time). After the Term end date and time passes, students will have read-only access. They can get to the course by clicking Courses – All Courses. The course will show under Past Enrollments.
3. If you want students to have full access after the Term end date and time, go into Settings, and for Participation, choose Course. Then increase the End date and time, and click Update Course Details at the bottom.
4. If you don't want students to have any access to the course after the Term end date and time, go to Settings, make sure Term is selected for Participation, and check the box that says: Restrict students from viewing course after term end date. Then click Update Course Details at the bottom.
   
   View a video on course availability.
2. For each class, check the accuracy of your grades, then DOWNLOAD YOUR GRADEBOOK AND COURSE SEPARATELY!
1. For students who do not complete assignments by the deadline dates, manually give them zeros in the gradebook. If you leave their grade cells blank, those missing assignments won't count against them in Totals when they check grades.
2. Make sure you don't have any grade columns that show as hidden when they shouldn't be hidden.
3. If you incorrectly gave a student extra attempts on quizzes by adding that student's name under Assign To in the quiz settings while removing Everyone, you will need to add Everyone back in. You'd notice this in the gradebook if you have a quiz column with only one student's score while the rest of the students have no scores. Once you add Everyone back in and click Save, all of the scores will show.
4. When you are finished with grading, download your Gradebook by clicking Actions - Export. Keep your exported Gradebook on your computer and/or external/online drive.
5. To archive your course and save it for safekeeping (in case anything bad happens to Canvas…and it has happened!), go to Settings – Export Course Content – make sure Course is chosen under Export Type, then click Create Export. Once the process is finished, click New Export to download the file to your computer and/or external/online drive. Note that you cannot open the resulting .imscc file on your computer.
   
   Exporting, downloading, and saving your Gradebooks and courses are critical! We have had incidents in the recent past where entire courses and class grades were lost. Don't get caught without backups.

 

3. When moving from one semester to another, you can either copy a previous semester's course content or export the previous course and import it into the new course. You can do either of these by going to Settings and choosing Import Course Content. If you then select Copy a Canvas Course, you might have to check the box to "Include completed courses."
1. Learn how to copy a course.
2. Learn how to export a course.
3. Learn how to import a course.
   
   If you use the Hypothesis annotation tool, be sure to read Canvas Course Import and Hypothesis for special instructions. Also, do not install the Hypothesis app in your new course; it is already there. If you do, problems will ensue with student submissions.
   
   
4. Also when moving from one semester to another, do not remove assignments from within the Calendar. If you need to remove assignments, do this from the Assignments area. If you need to remove quizzes or discussions, do those from their respective areas, too. This pertains to both the course from which you are copying and the course into which you are copying.
   
   
5. Students have already been inputted into their Summer classes. They will be inputted into their Fall classes August 3.
   
   
6. If you are teaching online during the Summer or Fall, you should send a welcome letter to your students a week or so prior to the first day of classes. We offer a welcome letter template for your optional use, along with an online syllabus template, and an entire model course template.
1. Access the welcome letter template
2. Access the syllabus template
3. If you are interested in previewing or using the model course template, view instructions on accessing it.
   
   
7. If you are teaching a HyFlex course in the Summer or Fall, you can use the HyFlex Course Template, along with the HyFlex welcome letter and syllabus. View instructions on accessing these templates.
   
   
8. If you want to merge next semester's sections in Canvas and have not already done so, read the Merging Sections in Canvas page, and follow the instructions carefully. Read the other important info on that page, too, particularly about FERPA. Also, if you are teaching a HyFlex class, it is recommended that you not merge that class with another other course or section in Canvas. There are issues, such as attendance accounting, that are affected by merging.
   
   
9. If you want to see what is upcoming in Canvas, go to the Canvas Release Notes page.
   
   
10. During the Summer, Wanda Butterly and I will be working Mondays through Thursdays due to campus closures on Fridays. Wanda will be on vacation June 1-13. I'll be taking some time off in July, dates TBD. If you have vacation ideas for a boring, middle-aged (and somewhat cheap) man, let me know. 😆
    
    

Scott