• Canvas,  Educational Tools,  Teaching & Learning

    Canvas Update: Grade by Question in SpeedGrader

    Reading Time: 2 minutes With the update releasing April 15, Canvas is adjusting how instructors can review and grade New Quiz questions in SpeedGrader.   Previously when scoring questions that needed manual grading, instructors could only view results organized by student. Now, Canvas will allow instructors to flip between students to grade by question. This is controlled by a setting in the “options” menu when you’re in SpeedGrader for a New Quiz.   Turning on grade by question  When in SpeedGrader for a New Quiz, click the settings gear at the top left, then click “options” in the menu.   In the window that pops up, check the box for “grade by question,”…

  • Canvas,  Educational Tools,  Teaching & Learning

    Canvas Update: Instructors Can Upload Files to Assignments for Students 

    Reading Time: 2 minutes Canvas has recently added a feature to allow instructors to upload files to assignments for students. To use this feature, you need to start in the gradebook. Click on the student’s cell for the assignment you want to upload, then click the arrow.   Canvas will slide out a panel from the right side of your screen. Click the “Submit for Student” link.   Drag and drop or use the file picker to add the assignment file(s), then click “submit.” If you upload multiple files, they will be added as one submission.   The file is now available to be graded in SpeedGrader! Any files uploaded using this method…

  • Canvas,  Educational Tools,  Teaching & Learning

    Canvas Updates: Rich Content Editor 

    Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s been a bit since we last wrote about Canvas updates, but some cool things have been happening. Canvas is always working on tweaking or adding things (you can keep up with them in the Canvas Release Notes!), but today we’re focusing on what’s changed in the Rich Content Editor (RCE) over the past few months.   Access to detailed word/character count statistics  The RCE displays word count at the bottom of the editor, but it’s expanded that functionality a bit. Now when you click on that word count, Canvas will pop a window and show you detailed word and character count.   Dragging-and-dropping/pasting of content  Previously, to…

  • Canvas

    Using Rubrics for Grading in Canvas 

    Reading Time: 2 minutes With finals just over a month away, it’s the perfect time to revisit how Canvas rubrics can make your grading life easier. We’ve talked before about some aspects of adding and using rubrics in courses. As a brief refresher, Canvas has excellent resources on creating and adding rubrics to assignments as well as creating and adding rubrics to discussions. We’ve also talked about how to add existing (already created in Canvas) rubrics to an assignment or discussion.   Today we’re turning our attention to a setting that’ll make your grading life easier – using a rubric for assignment grading. You may think that you’re doing that by…

  • Canvas

    Canvas Updates: Inbox Improvements and Scheduling Page Publishing 

    Reading Time: 3 minutes Canvas is updating two different areas across the coming months. On October 15, you’ll also be able to specify dates and times to publish pages. And later this year, you’ll see some minor changes to the Canvas inbox. Schedule Page Publish Dates/Times  Canvas is also adding a “publish at” setting for pages. When you use this setting, students will not be able to see publish-delayed pages until the set publish date and time.   To set a date/time, go to a Canvas page. Below the textbox is an “options” heading where you can choose who can edit the page (an existing feature) and also choose a “publish…

  • Canvas

    The Four Types of Assignment Comments in SpeedGrader

    Reading Time: 2 minutes The Four Types of Assignment Comments in SpeedGrader  Canvas SpeedGrader allows you to annotate student submissions to provide feedback. You can use a variety of tools (including a highlighter, text annotation, and a pen tool) directly on the document to thoroughly explain your comments to a student. For more information about using those tools, check out Canvas’ information on adding annotated comments in SpeedGrader.  But did you know that you have options for how you leave overall feedback comments to students in the “Assignment Comments” section? You have four options on the comments you leave there: text comments, file comments, media comments, and text comments via…

  • Teaching & Learning

    Three Tips for Writing Clear Content 

    Reading Time: 2 minutes Now that we’re a few weeks into the semester, let’s revisit a topic that fits into just about every aspect of a course – creating clear content. Whether you’re writing a quick note for your students or a longer piece to use in your course, you’ll need your message to be easily understood. Including just enough information to be clear without over-explaining can be a fine line to walk. Let’s look at some tips for writing content that will keep students focused on the concepts and not slowed down because of word choice or structure.   1. Write with a clear purpose.  Know what your goal is…

  • Canvas,  Educational Tools,  Teaching & Learning

    How Can My Students Do Presentations in an Online Course?  

    Reading Time: 2 minutes Having students give presentations is easy enough in a face-to-face class – everyone is present and there’s few technology considerations that have to be made. But once you swap to an online format, a once-simple assignment gets more complex. How can students record presentations that include sharing a screen, video of themselves, and audio? How can students submit their videos so that just the professor can watch them? How can they submit videos so that their peers can view and comment? We’re going to walk through all the options so you can choose what is right for your course, and then we’ll also provide resources for…

  • Canvas,  Educational Tools

    Kaltura Resources Roundup 

    Reading Time: 2 minutes We’ve recently published several posts running through everything you need to know to start using Kaltura. Today, we’ll be reviewing that info and pulling it together for easy access!   Introduction and Important Terms  Kaltura can be accessed through both a website and your Canvas course! Some tasks can only be completed in one place or the other, so make sure you’re familiar with the different locations. Check out “Kaltura: Introduction and Important Terms” for details.   Adding Videos to your Library  Whether you’re uploading Teams Meeting recordings or other videos you’ve created, you’ll need to know how to bring those files into Kaltura. “Kaltura: Adding…

  • Teaching & Learning

    Accessibility Best Practices: Color and Text

    Reading Time: 3 minutes Last post, we talked about the importance of captions, best practices for graphics, and tips for writing good alt text. Today, we’re looking at two other aspects of accessibility and usability – using color properly and working with text.   Color  Using color can be a powerful way to accentuate the information you’re presenting.   But color shouldn’t be used as the only way to draw attention to or distinguish items. It’s easy to put warnings or urgent information in red, but that kind of visual indicator just doesn’t work for everyone. People who are red/green colorblind, for example, can have trouble distinguishing between and identifying those colors…