Quick Follow-Up to Canvas Survey

First, thank you all for completing the Canvas survey. We are still going through the responses, but there were a couple of items that I thought I would quickly address.

Friday Five: Quick Responses to Canvas Survey Items!

1. 

   Finding Student Credentials:  Next year, the login sheet that students get on the first day of school will clearly indicate that student’s Canvas credentials and 365 credentials are the same. Students also have access to the log-in credential  structure on the high school home page under the Student’s tab. These credentials are slightly different than what we have used in the past.

2. Canvas for Clubs: One response asked about using Canvas for clubs. This is absolutely a possibility and something that is already being done by Key Club and NHS. Any teacher can create a course from the “Start a New Course” button on the lower right of the teacher dashboard. Advisors can then either give students a link to join the course or add each member to the course manually. If you are an advisor and would like help with this, let me know!

3. Quiz Security:  There were a few comments about creating secure environments for testing on a computer.. There are ways to password protect and lock a quiz. Please see me if you would like to explore these features. People also asked about lockdown browsers which would disable other functions on students’ computer while they complete online assessments. This issue continues to be explored.
   

   

4. Canvas in the Summer🌊:  This was a big question: Will I be able to work in Canvas over the summer?  The answer is yes! Your 2017-18 PowerSchool created courses will not be there until the year roll-over occurs (this usually happens sometime in July), but you will be able to build in a shell course and then move everything over. You will also be able to copy everything from your current PowerSchool created courses. Please note, that you will not want to build in your 16-17 PowerSchool courses after June 30th. At this time they become read only which means that you can see and copy everything, but you will  not be able to edit those courses. Here is a video that demonstrates how to copy a course and here are printable directions.
5. Further Support:   I will be in the CAP room for most of the school day next year. I am in the room to help support our cyber program and to help teachers with Canvas and other tech integration questions. Please do not hesitate to call, email, or stop in. Taking this step is the best way to make sure your individual needs and questions are being addressed. If you don’t have time to stop in or don’t know how to set something up, tell me what you want to do and I can hop into your course and set it up for you or walk you through the steps via phone, email, or one of my awesome videos!😃😃😃

11.18.16- Daily Agenda, Calendar, Community, To Do List, Log-ons

1. Daily Agenda-  While we are all using Canvas in our classes and implementing the four goals, we do have great flexibility in how we accomplish these tasks. Staci L is utilizing the Redirect Tool discussed in the 10.14 Friday Five to help her students easily access her Daily Agenda. She created a Course Navigation link to a Canvas Page she created called Daily Agenda. You can see what it looks like here.  Now her students can click on the link in her course navigation and be taken directly to information on each day’s activities. Brilliant idea and one that I will add to the  Ways to Post the Daily Agenda list.

2. To Turn In or To Complete, That is the Question-  Canvas is constantly improving and responding to user feedback. Beginning this Saturday, students’ To Do lists will be changing slightly. Now assignments that are “No Points” or “No Submission”  will be preceded with the word “Complete” and assignments that need to be submitted will be preceded with the words “Turn In”. This will make it clearer to students what type of action they need to take on an assignment created by a teacher. You can see what this looks like here.

3. Calendars- While the universal calendar for courses is extremely helpful there is a word of caution that needs to be shared with teachers and students alike.  Only 10 calendars can display on the calendar grid at one time. Many students may be managing more than 10 calendars as more and more clubs are utilizing Canvas Courses. Please remind students to make sure that they are mindful of which calendars are “clicked” on. Here is more information on how to filter calendars.

4. Canvas Community Groups- Are you interested in connected with other educators who are utilizing Canvas in their classrooms? There are hundreds of user groups that you can join to learn more about how teachers in your content area or with your interests are implementing Canvas and 21st century learning in their classrooms. Click here for information about these groups.

5. Student Log-in Directions-  Many students are forgetting how to log-in to Canvas when they have a loaner laptop. Please remind students that student log-in directions can be found under the Students Tab on the High School Homepage. I have included them here for your convenience. Teachers can find student login credentials on PowerSchool. Click on the Backpack icon for the period the student is in. Next select the student and finally select Logins from the drop down menu. Canvas credentials are the student’s computer username followed by the same @tag as your Canvas Credential. The password is their network password.

9.30.16- Turnitin, Bookmarks, Student Log-In, Parent Access, Grades

This week’s quick Canvas tips and updates!

1. turnitin.com- Turnitin.com has been activated system wide. You can now collect assignments through Canvas but have them run through Turnitin.com’s plagiarism checker. You can grade the assignment via Turnitin or Canvas’ Speedgrader. The grade can then be pushed to PowerSchool from Canvas. Here are  some basic instructions. I would be happy to help anyone who wants to test out this great integration. If you do not have a Turnitin.com account contact Hilary C.

2. Grades- We all Learn!- On the Beginning of the Year Checklist I suggested hiding grades in your course navigation. Since them I have been able to disable grade totals from that feature. This means students cannot see their current average grade in a course within Canvas- they must do so in PowerSchool, the gradebook of record. What they do get to see, if you give them access, is a clear list of all assignments with due dates, whether they have submitted or not, and any feedback given by the teacher. So in short, it is a good idea to have Grades available in your course navigation!

3. Bookmarks- I have had several students come to me not being able to log-in. The problem has been their bookmarks. It is vital that a Canvas bookmark be made for pennridge.instrucuture.com only. If a student bookmarks with any additional characters after the .com the bookmark will eventually go bad. If a student can’t log in, have them close Chrome, reopen and then type in the address (or use the link on the HS homepage). If they still have problems, send them my way!

4. Canvas Log-in Info for Students- This information has been added to the Student section on the high school website.

5. Parent Access: We are ready to provide parents with directions on how to create observer accounts. By as early as the end of next week your students’ parents will be able to view your course materials, calendars, and announcements. Remember parents have view only status and cannot see Quiz questions, Discussions, or any Student Replies. For a complete list of what observers can and cannot do look  Teachers will be told when the directions are sent to parents.