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Best Practices, Tips, and Tricks, Technology Tools

Utilizing Library Resources in Canvas

shelves full of books

St. Thomas has a handy tool for helping you integrate library resources into your Canvas sites. The Resource List is easy to set up, saves students money by using existing library resources, connects you with librarians who may be able to provide copyright guidance and management, and simplifies linking.

STELAR has just developed a self-paced, online Resource List training. This training will teach you how to set up your Resource List, add and link items, and identify special considerations such as accessibility and copyright.

For more information on reducing course materials costs for students, please see Greg Argo’s previous post: Reduce Course Materials Costs, We’ll Help.

This post was written by Nancy McGinley Myers, Instructional Designer with the St. Thomas E-Learning and Research (STELAR) Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. To learn more about this topic, please visit our website at www.stthomas.edu/stelar or email us at stelar@stthomas.edu. For more information on training available through STELAR, please see our Training & Events page.

October 22, 2019 by
Accessibility, Best Practices, Tips, and Tricks

Making Your Canvas Site More Accessible

Canvas as a Hub for Accessibility

Glori Hinck and Jo Montie

Glori Hinck and Jo Montie of STELAR recently presented at the InstructureCon 2019 (Canvas) conference on the topic of accessibility in Canvas courses.  It wasn’t that long ago that disability activists were fighting for physically accessible public spaces.  As educators, we need to advocate to make digital spaces, including our online course content, accessible to everyone.  What’s more, all students will benefit from a proactive approach to accessibility, not only those with documented disabilities.  For example, students may have an undiagnosed learning disability or English may be their second language.  Take a few moments to experience web accessibility from the perspective of a student with a vision or hearing impairment or loss of mobility.  Can you zoom your Canvas site to 200% without loss of content or functionality?  Navigate without a mouse?  Understand the content with the volume turned down?  Not sure how to get started?  Review the sites below for more information about accessibility.

Accessibility Resources

Accessible U

The University of Minnesota’s Accessible U website provides a wealth of information on how to make your course content more accessible.  They recommend starting with 6 core accessibility skills:

  1. Headings and Document Structure
  2. Hyperlinks
  3. Video Captions
  4. Bullets and Numbered Lists
  5. Color and Contrast
  6. Image Alt Text

STELAR Accessibility Course Site

STELAR has created a course site for sharing information and resources around accessibility.  Contact us via email at stelar@stthomas.edu if you would like to be added to this site.

Center for Faculty Development

You can also learn more about your role in creating an accessible, inclusive classroom at the Center for Faculty Development’s Accessibility page.

Canvas Accessibility Checker

Did you know that Canvas has an Accessibility Checker?  Simply click on the accessibility icon on the right side of the text editor for an accessibility report on a Canvas page.

 

 

 

 

 

This post was written by Glori Hinck, EdD, an Instructional Designer for the St. Thomas E-Learning and Research (STELAR) Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. To learn more about this topic, please visit our website at www.stthomas.edu/stelar or email us at stelar@stthomas.edu.

July 26, 2019 by
Technology Tools

VoiceThread’s New Features

VoiceThread– the online discussion platform that incorporates voice, video, and images, continues to improve their cloud-based interface. Many faculty and students at the University of St. Thomas use VoiceThread as a way to increase engagement and social presence in online learning.

Here are two new features that will make using VoiceThread even easier and more accessible:

Interactive Video Commenting

Now you can “insert your comment directly into the video’s timeline while also interacting with it dynamically as you record,” according to VoiceThread.   Here’s how it works:

Stop the playback of any video playing in VoiceThread. Click the + button to start recording your comment. You can ask questions about a particular thing right within the video, or describe and draw directly on a certain frame within the video.  You can even move the video’s timeline and comment along the way.  Any movements you make (scrubbing, annotating) while making your comments are recorded right along with your comments so when others view your comments, they see how you are interacting with the video.

Use this feature when you need to stop and ask questions at a specific time in the video. You can also use it to point out elements of a diagram or describe a stop-motion happening in the video.

Closed Captioning of all Comments

VT-captions-ON

Beginning in March, all comments that professors and students make will be closed captioned for accessibility.

This will happen automatically behind the scenes and will appear directly on the comment after processing. To view the captions, viewers need to turn on Closed Captions during playback from the CC menu in the upper-right. With this update, there will be no more requesting that VoiceThreads be sent off for captioning or waiting several days for the captions to appear. While captions are machine processed immediately and probably won’t be 100% accurate, you now have the ability to edit those captions anytime you want.

VT-edit-captions

Simply click the “CC” icon on the individual caption and then click Edit Captions to correct the machine captions.

To find more exciting features being developed by VoiceThread, check out the VoiceThread Roadmap.

 

This post was written by Michael Wilder, an Instructional Designer for the St. Thomas E-Learning and Research (STELAR) Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. To learn more about this topic, please visit our website at www.stthomas.edu/stelar or email us at stelar@stthomas.edu.

 

March 11, 2019 by
Best Practices, Tips, and Tricks

Starting a New Semester in Canvas?

So, you’re getting ready for the spring semester and you want to make sure all the plans and content that were there last semester, (or last year!) are showing up in Canvas just the way you’d expect so you’re ready for a new batch of students.

The good news is that you can transfer the content and assignments you had in Canvas a previous term to your spring section of the same course – you just have to take a few important steps first. We call it “Refreshing Your Canvas Course” so it’s ready for the new term and new students. Doing certain tasks ahead of time will ensure you and your new students are off to a good start in the new semester.  You’ll want to take some time over the next few days to review and refresh your course site.

If you’re copying your course from a previous term, most of the content and activities will transfer over just fine, but other apps, like Panopto and Library Resource Lists, may need to be reconnected so they work with a specific course term and section number. STELAR provides the following checklist to help you think through some of the obvious (and not-so-obvious) course refresh tasks.

  1. Import course content from a previous term or from a Canvas template.  Find many STELAR provided templates in the Canvas Commons (Filter on the University of St. Thomas).
  2. Confirm the course start and end dates under “Settings.”
  3. Refresh and update Assignment due dates. For quick due date changes, use the Calendar feature, accessed by clicking Calendar in the purple navigation menu on the left.
  4. Verify Panopto videos are linked and properly closed captioned (if used).
  5. Use the “Validate Links in Content” tool under “Settings” to check all internal and external links since the source of the online content may have changed since last linked.
  6. Verify links to eReserves and Library Resource Lists (if used). Contact your Library liaison to re-associate your Resource List to your new course term.
  7. Copy (without student comments) and re-connect any VoiceThreads (if used).
  8. Un-publish any Modules you don’t want students to see yet.
  9. Refresh Announcements using the “delay posting” feature and adding a future date for when you’d like them to be made visible.
  10. When everything checks out and you’re satisfied with how your site looks and functions, be sure to click on the “Publish” button at the top of the home page.

To learn more about how to do many of these course refresh tasks, check out the Canvas Instructor Guides. There, you’ll find tutorials and step-by-step instructions for every task in Canvas. And don’t forget about the 24/7 Help Line. Canvas Support is ready to help you with any Canvas related issues via phone call, chat, or email.  Simply click the Help button at the bottom of the purple Canvas menu.

Taking a few pro-active steps to refresh your Canvas course site will go a long way in getting you and your students off to a good start in the new semester.

This post was written by Michael Wilder, an Instructional Designer for the St. Thomas E-Learning and Research (STELAR) Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. To learn more about this topic, please visit our website at www.stthomas.edu/stelar or email us at stelar@stthomas.edu.

January 28, 2019 by
STELAR Events

Upcoming EVENTS from STELAR (December and January)

Take advantage of these hot topics for December and JanuaryDecember Tech Calendar

New Semester Prep: Canvas Course Refresher Sessions (virtually via Zoom)

If your course was previously taught in Canvas and you are getting it ready for a new semester, come learn 8 quick-tips to refresh your course!  These sessions are all offered virtually via Zoom so you can login from your location of choice!

Canvas Gradebook (St Paul)

Canvas One-on-One Consultation Appointments (in either Minneapolis or St. Paul)

Sign up for 30-minute blocks.

Canvas Hosted Training Sessions

Whether new or experienced with Canvas, sign up and attend in December, January and beyond.

STELAR has purchased access to pre-recorded and live Canvas training sessions, available through https://www.cysalesteam.com/instructure/. This is for all St. Thomas faculty and staff. The classes range from beginner (Introduction to Canvas) to topic specific (Outcomes & Rubrics for Instructors) and everything in between.  If you are interested in seeing what is available, you can Browse by Category and look through the Building Block Series, and the Classroom Application Series.

After you create an account, you have ongoing access to an extensive number of trainings (for both beginners and more experienced Canvas users).  You also have access to any recordings from past sessions. Here’s a short list of upcoming sessions of these Canvas hosted sessions:

Canvas Training Series: Assignments

Canvas Training Series: Course Basics

Many more offered in December and January.

Resources You Can Access at Any Point

You’ll want to bookmark these so you continue to see new opportunities showing up on the calendar.

Other Sessions of Interest

Zoom for Advising, Appointment Hours and Tutoring

Accessibility Practices in Zoom Sessions

November 28, 2018 by