Reading Time: 2 minutesHave you gotten all set up and ready to host a Zoom meeting or record a lecture only to realize that the background of your video is not what you want? Or maybe you didn’t get that far – you’ve spent time contemplating what room of your house or angle in your office not only provides good light but also a pleasant backdrop. Zoom has a feature that can take away some of those considerations: virtual backgrounds. They provide a few default options, and you can also upload your own backgrounds. And this is where the good news gets better. Cedarville has created backgrounds featuring views of…
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Scheduling a Zoom Meeting through Google Calendar
Reading Time: < 1 minuteScheduling a Zoom meeting through Canvas is an excellent way to meet with all the students in your course. However, what’s the best way to meet with a single student when you want to ensure nobody else can join the call? Enter scheduling your Zoom meetings through Google Calendar. With a simple add-on, you can create a meeting through Google Calendar and set it to launch a Zoom meeting. Installing the add-on You’ll see a message letting you know that the add-on has been installed. Scheduling a Zoom meeting Joining the meeting When it’s time to join the meeting, you and your student would just go…
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Everything has changed…again
Reading Time: 2 minutes“And the days went by like paper in the windEverything changed then changed again” – Tom Petty, “To Find A Friend” So, you’ve been teaching remotely for a week because of COVID-19. You thought you were halfway through, and then you got the latest news: We’re doing this for the rest of the semester. (And if you’re hearing this for the first time…surprise?) Whether you’re excited or apprehensive about the rest of the semester, know that you’re not alone. The CTL is here for you, and we’re going to help however we can. We’ll be adding to the Getting Started with Remote Learning course, and we’ll keep…
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Remote Learning: The Next Level
Reading Time: 2 minutesOnce you’ve worked through the tools we talked about in Remote Learning: The Basics, you’re ready for the next step. These items will enhance your course – they make content easier to find for students, grading easier for you, and improve accessibility in your videos. Linking Canvas content together We’re going to start off with one of the coolest features in Canvas: linking to items within the course from a page, discussion, announcement, or anywhere else that the Rich Content Editor is used. This is especially helpful if you’re sending an announcement out to students where you reference a page or assignment – you can link directly to…
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Best Practices for Conducting a Synchronous Session
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhile synchronous sessions can function similar to class sessions (you get to verbally communicate with all your students at once), there are some considerations you should make. From coming into the session with a plan to developing a method for student interaction, these items will help your sessions run smoothly. Prepare and plan ahead Are you planning on going through a presentation? Showing some other program or document via screen share? Have all of those items ready so it’s a simple toggle to the resource. You won’t have to sort through files for folders to find what you need. Consider also having an outline on what you…
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Remote Learning: The Basics
Reading Time: 3 minutesYou’ve survived the first couple days of teaching remotely because of COVID-19 – congratulations! We’re going to use this post to take a pause and review some of the methods that are most helpful for transitioning online. These are the things that will make your course functional. Your course will survive. And later in this transitioning online series, we’ll be covering items that will slowly take you from surviving to thriving. But for now, we’re starting small. If you haven’t checked out the Getting Started with Remote Learning course in Canvas, please do so. We walk through these tips plus best practices, FAQs, and ways to get…
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Using Google Forms for Proctor Registration
Reading Time: 3 minutesWith our sudden pivot to online learning, you may have an upcoming exam where you want to assign proctors. You’ll need to collect some information (e.g., email addresses so you can send proctoring information), and Google Forms is an easy and organized way to collect that data. Dr. McClain created a Google form for this purpose and shared it with the CTL. We’re going to look at how to create the form, add items, preview the form, share the form with your students, view responses, and send information to proctors. Creating the form and adding items This form is simple to create – it’s four short-answer questions…
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Canvas Fellow Interview: Megan Brown
Reading Time: 9 minutesToday we’re debuting the second installment in our Canvas Fellow interview series. We joined Dr. Megan Brown from the School of Education for this chat. Check out the recording or read the transcript below. Lauren Eissler: Today I’m talking with Megan Brown from the School of Education and one of our Canvas Fellows. Megan, thank you so much for chatting today. Megan Brown: Of course. Lauren: So to start off, can you please briefly describe your role here at Cedarville? Megan: So I’m an assistant professor of education, I specifically teach the literacy courses, children’s literature, the methods courses. I also teach some special education courses as…
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Canvas Fellow Interview: Aleda Chen
Reading Time: 7 minutesToday we’re introducing a new feature for Focus – interviews with our Canvas Fellows. We joined Dr. Aleda Chen from the School of Pharmacy for our first chat. Check out the recording or read the transcript below. Lauren Eissler: Today I’m talking with Aleda Chen from the School of Pharmacy and one of our Canvas Fellows. Aleda, thank you so much for chatting with me today. Aleda Chen: I’m happy to chat with you. Lauren: So first of all, can you please describe your role here at Cedarville. Aleda: Yes, so I am the assistant dean in the School of Pharmacy, and within the School of Pharmacy…
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How to Use Google Drive More Efficiently with Drive Priority
Reading Time: 3 minutesIf you’re anything like me, you use Google Drive pretty extensively to keep your work organized. Drive is so easy and convenient to use – it doesn’t matter where I am or what device I use. I can always access my files. The tricky part about using a system that extensively is it eventually can take more time to find the file you need. With Drive, the search feature does work well to help you find what you need. But Google has introduced two features that make using Drive even easier: Quick Access and Priority. Quick Access Google Drive now shows a banner of files at the…