Reading Time: 4 minutesCanvas has brought a new and highly useful update to discussions – instructors are now able to set separate due dates for initial responses and additional responses. This update released January 18, and the change isn’t limited to just due dates. Instructors can also set separate point values for initial responses and additional responses. Does this feature work with EVERYTHING in Canvas? Before we jump into the “how,” there’s a couple of restrictions for where, when, and how this new feature can be used. Setting up discussion checkpoints Using discussion checkpoints is simple – you only need to toggle on one setting, then add the…
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Transform Your Teaching: Approaching Ethical Usage of AI Thoughtfully and Without Fear
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhat is at stake when making decisions about using GAI? What kind of questions need to be asked and answered before using AI in higher education? Join Dr. Rob McDole as he chats with Dr. David Slade, Provost and Professor of Spanish at Berry College. Transform Your Teaching wants to hear from you! Please take our survey to let us know how we can make the podcast even better. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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Transform Your Teaching: Defining Ethical Usage of GAI in Higher Education
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWe’re starting the new year with a miniseries on the ethical usage of GAI in higher education. In this first episode, Dr. Rob McDole and Dr. Jared Pyles discuss a definition with Dr. David Mulder from Dordt University. Transform Your Teaching wants to hear from you! Please take our survey to let us know how we can make the podcast even better. Podcast links Resources Chat with us!
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2024 AECT Reflection: Student Usage of GAI, Part 2
Reading Time: 2 minutesA big concern among educators and practitioners is that students are using Generative AI to cheat, and this is a legitimate concern. With the vast amount of data that the LLMs have access to, students could easily type in “What is the name of the rabid dog that Atticus shoots in the street?” and get an answer in a split second. However, based on the presentations I have seen thus far, the presumption that students are using GAI to cheat is unfounded. In a previous post, I discussed what I learned from a session about student ethics in using ChatGPT for writing assignments. Another session I attended…
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2024 AECT Reflection: Student Usage of GAI, Part 1
Reading Time: 2 minutesDr. Jared Pyles recently attended the Association for Educational Communications and Technology conference and has prepared some reflections and takeaways for us. Join us for this mini-series on the hottest topics discussed at the conference! As expected, there are a lot of research presentations on Generative AI at AECT. Shocking, right? One presentation was on a study coming out of a public higher education institution in the US. They studied undergraduate students’ perceptions of using ChatGPT in higher education coursework and the ethical dilemmas associated with it. In this study, 365 undergraduate students filled out an online survey that contained demographics and presented six ethical scenarios of…
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Canvas New Quizzes Update: Results Visibility & Adding Time During an Attempt
Reading Time: 2 minutesCanvas is bringing new and updated features to New Quizzes on October 19. In this update, instructors can now define how and when students can view quiz results as well as add time to a student’s ongoing quiz attempt. Quiz results Previously, you could still restrict students from viewing quiz results and feedback in New Quizzes – but it was a permanent restriction (unless you would go and change the setting again). With this update, you can schedule exactly when you want students to be able to view results. You can see all the new options in the New Quiz “Settings” tab under “Hide results from students.”…
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Canvas Update: SpeedGrader Comment Formatting Options
Reading Time: < 1 minuteCanvas is making leaving clear comments in SpeedGrader even easier with the update going live on September 11. In this update, some of the Rich Content Editor formatting options will be available in SpeedGrader. Previously, you could only leave plain text comments as submission comments in SpeedGrader. With this update, you’ll be able to organize your feedback to students better with headings, bulleted or numbered lists, bold/italic/underlined text, and even live links (some formatting options are under the “three dots” menu at the right of the ribbon). Additionally, Canvas will now let you edit draft comments! If you type out a comment and then…
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Transform Your Teaching: Education in the Age of AI – One Year Later
Reading Time: < 1 minuteLast summer, the Transform Your Teaching hosts talked a lot about AI and its role in education. What has changed in the world of AI since that summer 2023 series? Were Rob and Jared’s ideas on the trajectory of AI and its uses on point or totally off base? Listen as Rob McDole and Jared Pyles revisit some of their takes and give an update on the current climate. Podcast links Resources FOCUS Blog from the Cedarville University CTL Chat with us!
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Canvas Update to the Update: “Assign To” Feature Is Getting Simplified
Reading Time: < 1 minutePreviously, we talked about how Canvas has added new ways to update the dates for assignments, quizzes, and discussions. This week, we’re going to be talking about that same topic – but about another change that’s coming Wednesday, August 28. After releasing this feature, Canvas realized that there was one factor they missed accounting for across their design process – the ability to quickly view the due dates on the settings pages for assignments, quizzes, and discussions. So they’re fixing that and reverting the settings pages to their previous design. This doesn’t negate any of the other updates they brought with the original “Assign To” update!…
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Canvas Update: Rubric Enhancements
Reading Time: 4 minutesCanvas has recently released some new updates to make creating and using rubrics easier. These changes can be seen in the “Rubrics” page in a course, the rubric builder, and SpeedGrader for any assignment that includes a rubric. Note: At this time, rubric rating descriptions will appear to be missing when an instructor views them through the student view. Students, however, can still see the rubrics and all information in them, including the descriptions for each rating. Rubrics page Previously, the rubrics page in a course was very simple – any rubrics in the course would be listed on the left, and there was also an “Add…