Canvas Updates Week of November 3
Spring 2015 Canvas Course Shells are Open
Spring 2015 course shells have been opened in Canvas. You will find links to all your assigned Spring sections on your Canvas Course List. Feel free to develop 
your courses within these unpublished shells throughout the Fall. TIP: Customize your course menu to include Spring courses in your quick pick list.
Delays in Instructor/Enrollment Updates
If you don’t see your Spring 2015 course shell in Canvas, please be patient. The SIS (My.Maricopa) to Canvas update is experiencing delays, so recent instructional changes/additions within the schedule may not yet be reflected in Canvas. We hope that this situation will resolve itself soon. Please contact the CTL with any questions or concerns.
Course Copy Tips
Don’t forget that you can copy course content from your previous Spring or Fall courses into these shells. Please see our copy guidelines to get started. Don’t forget to use the Adjust Events and Due Dates option to save yourself time. It can take up to 2 hours for copies of courses from one semester to another to be completed (size and traffic determine speed). Feel free to leave the copy page or logout of Canvas while the copy is being made.
Additionally, pay close attention to any error notices at the end of the copy process. Review any alerts reported (posted notice in the import history) and take corrective action. Errors will most often be related to broken links or empty pages.
Maintenance on Roll Call/Attendance on November 9
Canvas will perform maintenance on the Roll Call/Attendance tool on November 9 beginning at 10pm MST. The tool will be unavailable at this time for an estimated 2 hours. Learn more about the Roll Call/Attendance Tool.
Canvas Update Cycle
Canvas is on a 3-week update-release cycle. The beta (preview) release for this cycle was on 10/27, production notes were shared and the release and documentation will follow on 11/8. Follow the release schedule on the Canvas Updates Calendar.
Recent & Upcoming Updates
Strikeouts for Assignments Improve Calendar Functionality
On the calendar, students will see submitted assignments with a text strikeout. This is a visual indicator that work for that assignment has already been turned-in. For instructors, a crossed out assignment indicates that the due date has passed and that all grading has be completed.
Learn More: The Canvas Calendar
Interface Changes Expand Accessibility & Streamline Navigation
Canvas has made a variety of changes to the interface to improve the user experience, enhance navigation and comply with best practices in accessible design. Recent changes include:
- The removal of the Assignments Tab from the Global Canvas Navigation to encourage students to enter the course to find and submit assignments.
- The addition of Term Dates in the Course List to make it easier to identify courses by semester.
- The improvement of contrasting within the calendar and to grade score formatting within the Gradebook.
Be in the Know with Canvas Status Updates
Want up to the minute reports on the status of Canvas and Canvas features? Check out the improved Canvas Status tracker at http://status.instructure.com/. In this interactive interface you can review the current functionality of all the major features from Document previewing to the Media recording tools. Subscribe to Updates to receive notices of issues/incidents in your Gmail.
What’s Next? Get a Sneak Peak!
This week in Beta check out some of the new feature items that Canvas is looking at implementing in the next release. This update includes:
Class Format Designation
Instructors will now be able to specify a course format for each course (online or on-campus). This new option will be located in the Course Settings and will help the college better track Canvas course usage. Learn more about Course Settings.
Moderate Quizzes (a.k.a selective release) Interface Changes
Quiz moderation allows instructors to give certain students more time, attempts or manually unlock an quiz/exam for a single student. The quiz moderation area will be updated to more easily review students with moderation exceptions applied to their quiz. New alerts will also be introduced to warn instructors of pending moderations. Learn more about Quiz Moderation.
New Access Tracking in People
Currently in Canvas instructors could see student activity/participation in assignments, discussions and page views. The tracking data will be expanded to include student access information when a student visits the Course Home Page, Outcomes and Modules areas. Learn more about the Student Access Report.
Review the Production Release notes for more information from the upcoming release. If the testing goes well, these features will become a part of production (live) Canvas environment as early as11/8/2014.
To access the beta environment, go to maricopa.beta.instructure.com and log-in with your regular MEID and MEID password. Note: Any changes made in the beta environment will have NO impact on the live environment. Beta is for testing and review purposes only.
$100k in Grants Available from Canvas
Canvas is offering five grants of $10K for innovative ideas that address lossless learning in face-to-face, blended, hybrid, or flipped classrooms.
Submission Deadline:January 23, 2015.
What is lossless learning?
Loss of quality feedback lowers the quality of learning. In lossless learning the focus is on maximizing feedback so we don’t lose an opportunity to engage and retain learners. Learn more about Lossless Learning.
Ideas for innovative “lossless” projects
- Instruction – Using media to capture direct instruction.
- Participation – Strategies for engaging all involving all learners.
- Engagement – Capturing the attention of students through active learning strategies.
- Assessment & Feedback – Giving students opportunities to demonstrate learning.
Grant proposals should demonstrate the:
- Potential for practical application
- Adherence to open standards
- Breadth of application or reusability of submission
- Innovation/Wow! factor
Canvas Training
Canvas at MCC
The CTL is your partner as you implement innovative teaching, learning and workplace strategies. From general support, to consultation services, and/or tailored workshops, we are here to help you, your department, program or division reach your goals for student success.
The CTL provides day-to-day support for faculty and staff on technology, teaching and productivity issues including Canvas. We offer Canvas services through appointments, workshops and customized sessions for departments or functional groups. Stop by our offices, send us an email or give us a call. We are here for you!
View our learning opportunity calendar.
Visit us on the web at ctl.mesacc.edu.
Email us at ctl@mesacc.edu
Call us at (480) 461-7331
Online Resources, Tutorials & Guides for Faculty
- Canvas 101 is an open enrollment course that will walk you through the basics of setting up a new course in Canvas. To enroll, simply click on the “Join this course” button on the Course Home Page. There is no facilitator, but it is a good series of self-paced exercises for faculty wanting to learn Canvas basics.
- Canvas 102 Demo Videos Pt.1-3 is a comprehensive 3 hour video presentation of all things Canvas for instructors.
- Canvas Guides are available that cover all major features of Canvas by question topic. They are easy to navigate and mostly image-based walk thru demonstrations of how to use a particular feature.
- MCC Center for Teaching & Learning How-To Documents include a variety of helpful how-to guides such as the Getting Started with Canvas in 10 Steps resource.
- MCCCD Canvas Help Area provides how-to documents, and support information to all Canvas users, students and faculty.
CanvasLive Webinars
CanvasLIVE is a free webinar series designed to give Canvas users additional training and a place for members of the Canvas community to share their knowledge. Each session includes a quick tutorial and overview on a Canvas tool or feature, followed by a focused demonstration and a short Q&A. Sessions are archived so if you are not able to attend a live session you can still benefit from the presentation.
- Check out all of the upcoming sessions on the CanvasLIVE Schedule
- Check out the forum which includes all CanvasLIVE Archives
- Have an idea for a future CanvasLIVE webinar? Click to Suggest a Future Topic
Keep Learning Blog
Keep Learning is an education technology blogging project created by the makers of Canvas, Instructure. The purpose of the blog is to engage educators in meaningful dialog around educational technology. Posts are written by educators and technologists around the world. If you would like to contribute, send an email to jared@instructure.com or just visit the site and Learn. Teach. Share.