Canvas dropped students update

The issue with the dropped students still in Canvas courses appears to be resolved. If you have students lingering in your Canvas courses who are not on your Class Web rosters, let me know their names, W numbers, and courses, and I’ll forward that info to District ITS. Thanks again for your patience.

 

Scott

 

Canvas Fall 2019 semester wrap-up

Canvas instructors,

 

Hope your semester went well. To wrap it up and prepare for 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 Jan. 10 at 11:59 p.m. After that, you will only have read-only access. However, you will be able to export your course.
   2. Students will have full access to your course until Dec. 21 at 11:59 p.m. (unless you have changed the Term 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, increase the Term end date and time, then check the box that says: Students can only participate in the course between these dates.  
   4. If you don’t want students to have any access to the course after the Term end date and time, scroll down in Settings, and check the box that says: Restrict students from viewing course after end date.
2. 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. Canvas has a feature in the old gradebook called Treat Ungraded as 0, but this does not automatically convert dashes to zeros; it only changes the Totals column. Students won’t see zeros or any changes 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. For those of you still using the old gradebook: When you are finished with Fall grades, download your Gradebook by clicking Export – CSV File. Keep your exported Gradebook on your computer or backup drive for safekeeping.
   5. For those using the New Gradebook: When you are finished with Fall grades, download your Gradebook by clicking Actions - Export. Keep your exported Gradebook on your computer or backup drive for safekeeping.
   6. To archive your course and save it for safekeeping (in case anything happens to the Canvas server), 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 or external/online drive.

 

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.
      
      
4. On Jan. 9, the following Canvas changes will be implemented: VeriCite will be removed, and the New Gradebook, New Analytics, and the Microsoft Immersive Reader will be enabled for everyone.
   
   
5. Students are scheduled to be inputted into their Spring classes in the early morning hours of Jan. 3.
   
   
6. If you are teaching a Distance Education course next term, you should send a welcome letter to your students a week or so prior to the first day of classes. A template is attached. I have also attached a syllabus template for your optional use. I even have an entire course template, and if you’re interested in that, let me know.
   
   
7. Canvas now offers a Training Services Portal that is available from the Help icon in the global navigation menu. Resources include live webinar trainings, recorded videos, and actual courses.
   
   
8. For those of you who teach DE courses and completed the DE Faculty Survey, I want to thank you. Your answers are extremely beneficial as we strive to continually offer a quality DE program. Among those respondents who chose to enter the raffle for a $25 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory restaurant, only one could win. And the big winner was Business instructor Mary Lauffer! Mary graciously donated the gift card to CalWORKs.
   
   
9. The campus will be closed Dec. 24-Jan. 1. I will be off Jan. 2-3. Wanda Butterly will be working Jan. 2. Canvas provides nighttime and weekend support at 1-833-300-3467.
   
   

Enjoy your holidays!

Scott

 

Spring 2020 Canvas courses are ready

Canvas instructors,

 

Your Spring 2020 Canvas courses have been automatically created for you. If you do not see your course, it’s most likely because your name hasn’t gone through the official channels to become the instructor of record yet. At this early date, there are many of these. Once you become official, Banner will process you into the Canvas course. Students will be imported into their courses in early January.

 

Some notes:

 

1. If you plan to merge courses or sections, you will do that in Canvas, not in Class Web. Please read Merging Sections in Canvas, and follow the instructions.

2. When moving from one semester to another in Canvas, 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 all of these by going to Settings in a course. While in Settings, DO NOT click the Copy this Course button on the right side; this tool creates a new course that your students will not be able to access.

1. Learn how to copy a course.
2. Learn how to export a course.
3. Learn how to import a course.

3. If you are teaching an online course, you have the option to use the Canvas model course template as a starting point. The course is based on the Academic Senate-approved OEI’s Course Design Rubric and provides organization and structure for your course. If you want to view the model course, let me know. If you already have access to it and want to use it, complete this form.

4. The OEI’s Quest for Online Success tutorial is the student readiness tool used for DE courses at LPC. There is a Canvas version to which you can have students self-enroll. You can even have students complete assignments based on the tutorial. Learn more about Quest.

5. Remember that everything in your course must be made accessible to students with disabilities. To learn how to do this, you can either come to a workshop, make an appointment, or complete the Canvas tutorial called Web Accessibility Course.

6. The New Gradebook in Canvas will be turned on by default Jan. 9. You can enable it now in your Spring course by going to Settings - Feature Options and clicking the button for New Gradebook. Learn how to use the New Gradebook.

 

Scott

Spring Canvas courses

LPC Faculty,

 

Just wanted to let you know that all Spring 2020 courses are scheduled to be automatically set up in Canvas on Wednesday.

 

Scott

Canvas error messages Wednesday

For almost a half-hour Wednesday just after 5 pm, Canvas users were getting error messages while attempting to access Canvas. This problem was corrected prior to 5:30, and Canvas is now working normally.

 

Scott

Heads-up: Canvas navigation changes

Those of you using Canvas will notice cosmetic changes in the course navigation menu of your courses beginning Saturday. For web accessibility reasons, Canvas will indicate menu items not visible to students with an icon. Currently, they are grayed out. The current page will be depicted in black with a vertical line in front of it. No functionality has been changed.

 

 

View more information about this change.

 

Scott

 

Regular effective contact reminder

[Apologies if you got this twice]

Online instructors,

In an effort to ensure that the state- and federally mandated regular effective contact regulations are being met in online and hybrid courses, the LPC Distance Education Committee has asked me to send a Mid-Semester Regular Effective Contact Checklist to you. These mandates include instructor-initiated contact with students and fostering student-to-student contact.

Links to more information are included at the bottom of the checklist.

If you have any questions, let me know.
Scott