Reading Time: 2 minutesLet’s make sure we all start on the same page by defining our terms. When talking about “accessibility” related to the web or course materials, it’s easy to think about it in a context of screen readers and disability accommodations. But it’s more than that. According to the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, accessibility means that products are not only designed in a way that people with disabilities can use them but also people who have “situational limitations” (being in a location where they cannot use their device as they typically would) or “temporary disabilities” (an injury that affects how they handle their devices). Today we’re going to…
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Three Tips to Quickly Build a Course in Canvas
Reading Time: 3 minutesIt may seem like it’s early, but next semester is quickly approaching. Now is the perfect time to start thinking about your courses if you don’t want to spend time during break to pull them together. If you’ve already set up the course in Canvas, it’s a simple process to import the content and change the dates. But if you need to start from scratch (or a Moodle backup), here are three tips to help you speed up the process. 1. Make a game plan and template Take the time upfront and look over your course. Identify which pieces are consistent across it to make a template.…
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The Future of Education: Mobile Learning in Higher Ed
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen I started working on this post, I downloaded a PDF to my MacBook. I read a bit of it in my office before heading over to an event. I AirDropped the PDF to my iPad to continue reading and start doing some annotating using GoodNotes. On my way home, I asked Siri to record some notes that I wanted to include in this post. The next morning, I AirDropped my notes to the MacBook, pulled up the annotated PDF on my iPad, and began typing. Then I stopped and thought: I did all of this without thinking. Like it was normal. I was so overwhelmed with…
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TurnItIn: Three Tips for Accurate Similarity Report Assessment
Reading Time: 2 minutesCedarville University (CU) provides all faculty and students access to TurnItIn to help improve writing and prevent plagiarism. TurnItIn accepts user documents and compares them to material located on the Internet and in TurnItIn’s document repository. After the documents are compared, TurnItIn produces the Similarity Report which shows the parts of a student’s paper that are similar to other sources. Here are three tips to help you read the Similarity Report. Tip 1: Familiarize yourself with what Canvas and TurnItIn can do Get up to speed with all of the functionality the Canvas and TurnItIn integration has to offer by viewing or downloading the Canvas Plagiarism Framework…
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Canvas Release Update: Course Navigation Visual Changes
Reading Time: 3 minutesCanvas is implementing visual updates to course navigation on October 19, 2019. But don’t worry – this change will not affect how the navigation functions. This update will improve accessibility and clarity, especially regarding hidden menu items. So, what are the changes? Currently, course navigation displays items visible to students in black, items hidden to students in a light grey, and the current page with a blue highlight. When you hover over an item, it displays a light grey background. These style elements did not meet accessibility guidelines. The contrast between hidden and visible items was too low, and the hidden/visible status was only defined by color.…
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Sandy Yang: Kudos for Canvas Chat
Reading Time: 2 minutesOver the summer I taught three sections of Introduction to Humanities (85 students) in order to get a better grasp on Canvas, knowing that I would be coaching instructors new to the Canvas environment in the fall. My favorite part of the process was frequent—sometimes daily—encounters with my friends at Canvas Chat. Left navigation bar, last icon down, circle with a question mark. That was my go-to place for immediate help. Chat with Canvas Support (Faculty). Yes. Start Chat. Yes. Autofill my contact information. Choose severity: I can’t get things done until I hear back from you. Start Chat. Hello, _____, How can I help you today?…
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Adding External Tools to Your Course
Reading Time: 3 minutesWe’ve previously talked about how to use Ensemble for screen capture and webcam recording. We’ve also talked about how to add annotations, edit, and upload your video. But once you’ve uploaded your video, how do you get it into Canvas? Ensemble is integrated with Canvas as an external tool, so it’s a simple process to add media to your course. We’re going to use Ensemble as an example here, but you’ll follow the same initial process to add any external tool to your course. Add an external tool to a module If you want your video or other item from an external tool to be available directly…
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Best Practices for Online Quizzes
Reading Time: 2 minutesMoving from paper-and-pencil quizzes to online quizzes brings many benefits to students, instructors, and the institution. However, instructors may be concerned about offering online exams for fears of test security, especially for high-stakes quizzes. Some fear a scenario in which students are no longer using the information provided by the instructor to enhance their learning but rather online sources, such as Quizlet, to achieve the high marks they desire. An Inside Higher Education article (McKenzie, 2018) quoted a student’s tweet, “Today I graduated and I couldn’t have done it without God and Quizlet.” In this post, we will talk about some strategies that can be used to…
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Best Practices for Webcam Recording
Reading Time: < 1 minuteLet’s set the scene. It’s the early evening, and there was a concept in class today that your students need a little more help with. You decide to record a short webcam video using Ensemble Anthem for them. As you prepare to make this video, there are a few things to keep in mind to make the video a good experience for your students. Check out this video for examples! Video by Jared Pyles Want to never miss a post? Subscribe here!
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Canvas Transition: Canvas Tips Roundup
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe beginning of the semester is quickly approaching, so we’re all in the thick of learning Canvas and setting up courses. You may be excited to use this new tool and marveling at how some processes are easier to complete. You may be a little nervous to dive in, especially if you weren’t working in Moodle previously. Either way, let’s pause for a second and take a deep breath. Okay? Good. Now that we’re ready, let’s take a quick look at some of the Canvas tips and tricks that we’ve talked about over the summer, all gathered together here for a one-stop primer to get you jump…