Tag Archive: LMS

Live FREE streaming sessions from InstructureCon 2014

Canvas InstructureCon 2014 Live Sessions June 17-19

CANVAS – Keynote Sessions Streamed Live from InstructureCon 2014

Join us in the Mesa Community College Center for Teaching & Learning June 17-19, 2014 for the Canvas LMS event of the year, InstructureCon! Keynote speakers and product updates can be accessed online from your home/office via LiveStream or head to the CTL Lobby (AS Building, Southern & Dobson Campus) to watch with the MCC user community.

Tuesday, June 17, 5:30p.m. – 6:30p.m.

CONFERENCE KICKOFF: Josh Coates

Calling All Heroes
Online Access Only, NO CTL LOBBY – Register for the LiveStream – Passcode: instructur3

Josh Coates was an early investor and now CEO of the Canvas LMS.  Hear from Josh on the current state of Canvas and where this disruptive innovation to the educational LMS landscape will go the future.

Wednesday, June 18, 8:00a.m. – 8:45a.m.

DAY 2 KEYNOTE: Luz Rivas

From Apple iiE to MIT to DIY Girls
Online and CTL LOBBY (AS Building, Southern & Dobson Campus) – Register for the LiveStream – Passcode: instructur3

Luz Rivas is the founder and executive director of DIY Girls, an after-school program that encourages 5th grade girls to hack, make and be inspired to pursue technical careers. Inspired by her own computer background fostered in her school, Rivas will discuss her goal to developing future technologists through STEM education. Learn more about Luz and DIY Girls.

Wednesday, June 18, 12:00p.m. – 1:00p.m.

GENERAL PRODUCT SESSION: Jared Stein

Lossless Learning
Online and CTL LOBBY (AS Building, Southern & Dobson Campus) – Register for the LiveStream – Passcode: instructur3

Hear from the makers of Canvas. Tune-in for Canvas updates, future plans, big ideas and more.

Thursday, June 19, 12:00p.m. – 1:00p.m.

GENERAL PRODUCT SESSION: Joel Dehlin

Online and CTL LOBBY (AS Building, Southern & Dobson Campus) – Register for the LiveStream – Passcode: instructur3

Hear from the makers of Canvas. Tune-in for Canvas updates, future plans, big ideas and more.

CTL Custom Service

The CTL is your partner as you encourage and implement innovative teaching, learning and workplace strategies. From general support to consultation services and tailored training, we are here to help you, your department or division reach your goals for student success!

About the CTL at MCC

The mission of the MCC Center for Teaching & Learning is to lead and inspire the advancement of innovative teaching and learning for student success. Learn more about the CTL staff and programs at ctl.mesacc.edu. Visit the CTL Calendar for dates for all upcoming sessions.

Open for Summer

The MCC Center for Teaching & Learning is Open for Summer! Spend some time learning with us in June and July. We are offering sessions on Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, alternative presentations tools, accessibility resources/tips and more. View the Summer Guide Book for details.

Web-Based Teaching & Learning Summer 2014

Interested in Teaching Online? Summer Opportunities

Prepare to Teach Online with CIS 236 & 237 at Mesa Community College this Summer

The CIS 236 and CIS 237 series is designed to help you get started in teaching & learning in the hybrid and online formats. First, experience the ‘student’ perspective and discover new digital teaching tools in CIS 236 and then explore course design and content creation in CIS 237. Instructors will complete the series with practical tips, researched pedagogy and a duplicative structure for building and facilitating an online or hybrid format class.

Advantages of the Open Entry / Open Exit Format

Mesa Community College is offering CIS236 and CIS237 in the Open Exit/Open Exit format for the Summer 2014.

Flexible Learning!

  • Pick your own start date (5/27 – 6/6)
  • Set your own pace over an 8 week period
  • No hard deadlines.

Enroll Today

Enrollment through My.Maricopa.edu.

  1. Complete your Student Information Form
  2. Register for Class
  3. Pay for the course, Learn About MCCCD Tuition Waivers: http://www.maricopa.edu/publicstewardship/resources/tw.php

If you have difficulties registering or have questions about these courses, contact the instructor:

CIS 236:  Web Based Teaching & Learning I (2 credits), Section #16276

Experience using a web-based learning environment from an online student’s perspective. Use communication tools, submit assignments, use evaluation tools, and navigate an online-learning environment.  Introduction to the basics of online pedagogy and lots of hands-on experience with a web-based learning environment and digital teaching tools! Prerequisites: CIS133CA or CIS 133DA, or permission of instructor. Contact instructor for override code.

  • Offered fully online during Summer 2014 (Open Entry/Open Exit) – Choose a start date between May 27 and June 6. Students will have 8 weeks to finish the course from the start date.

CIS 237:  Web Based Teaching & Learning II (3 credits), Section #16277

Discuss theories, methods, and best practices for designing, developing, and delivering an online course including Classroom Assessment Techniques, Flipped Classroom, Quality Matters and more.  Create an online or hybrid course module using a web-based learning environment.  Prerequisites: CIS 236, or permission of instructor. Contact instructor for concurrent enrollment code (allowing students to take CIS236 and CIS237 simultaneously).

  • Offered fully online during Summer 2014 (Open Entry/Open Exit) – Choose a start date between May 27 and June 6. Students will have 8 weeks to finish the course from the start date.
Camp Innovate May 19-May22

Welcome Campers!

Reminders & Pre-Camp Activities for MCC’s 5th Annual Camp Innovate

The Mesa Community College Center for Teaching & Learning 5th Annual Camp Innovate event is just a few days away. We are looking forward to seeing you at your respective sessions Monday, May 19 – May 22 at the MCC Southern and Dobson Campus. So air out your tent and grab your gear to participate around the campfire of innovative teaching and learning!

Your Camping Sessions

You will receive individual email reminders for each session you register for, but you can also review your requested sessions by visiting the HRMS Time & Labor System. After you log-in with your MEID and MEID Password, follow this path, Main Menu > Self-Service > Learning & Development > Training Summary to review your sessions.

See the Full Week Guide for a day-to-day listing and description of all events.

Pre-Camp Activities & Camp Participant Canvas Course

We have created a special camping guide (Canvas Self-Enroll Course) just for you! In this course you will find general information about camp, pre-camp activities, session information/resources, session evaluations, online camp activities and more! Presenters will place all session resources and content into this guide throughout the week. We hope that you utilize this course to find resource, interact with fellow participants!

Self-Enroll Now to Access this Course and don’t forget to complete the Pre-Camp Activities!

Camping Area, Tent Locations & Camper Parking

All Camping Sessions will be hosted in the AS Building; Southern & Dobson Campus. We recommend that you leave your camper in the Northwest Parking Lot (Lot A) which is closest to the AS Building. Review the schedule for specific tent locations.

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Canvas Draft State User Information Sessions

Canvas Draft State User Information Sessions

Introducing the Canvas Draft State

Canvas has recently released the highly anticipated Draft State feature that allows for content in Assignments, Quizzes, Modules, Pages, and Discussions to be in an unpublished (draft) state even if the course is published. Draft content will be invisible to students and excluded from grade calculations.

Draft State will become a standard, permanent part of Canvas on July 5, 2014 and will be activated for all Canvas courses within MCCCD on Saturday, May 10, 2014. 

Teaching this Summer? ‘Opt-in’ to Draft State Now
The Draft State feature will impact all of the major instructional user interfaces within Canvas and will have a small cosmetic impact on the student view of courses. Because this change is anticipated for the middle of the summer session, we highly recommend that you remain ‘opted-in’ to the draft state feature before your summer course starts to avoid any potential disruption, albeit small, for students.

Draft State User Information Sessions
The MCC Center for Teaching & Learning has scheduled a few information sessions to help users with this transition.

Register Now

Registration Instructions

Choose from the following:
Monday, May 12, 9:00 a.m.  –  10:00 a.m. 
HRMS Course #002116, Session #0002; CTL Lab AS Building, Room 175

Monday, May 12, 4:00 p.m.  –  5:00 p.m. 
HRMS Course #002116, Session #0003; CTL Lab AS Building, Room 175

Thursday, May 15, 11:00 a.m.  –  12:00 p.m. 
HRMS Course #002116, Session #0004; CTL Lab AS Building, Room 175

Monday, May 19, 1:00 p.m.  –  2:00 p.m. 
HRMS Course #002116, Session #0001; CTL Lab AS Building, Room 175

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Camp Innovate May 19-May22

Mark Your Calendar for the 5th Year of Camp Innovate at MCC!

Head to Camp This Summer with the MCC CTL!

Monday, May 19 – Thursday, May 22

The Mesa Community College Center for Teaching & Learning will be holding its 5th Annual Camp Innovate training camp Monday, May 19 – May 22 on the MCC Southern and Dobson Campus. So air out your tent and grab your gear to participate around the campfire of innovative teaching and learning!

Camp Innovate is a week of sessions and engaging activities offered every summer at the MCC Center for Teaching & Learning that address excellence in education, technology, teaching and learning.

Visit the Camp web site for more information.

Register Now

Camp Schedule

Event topics will include Accessibility, Digital Tools, Captioning, Screencasting, Lesson Design, Adventure-Based Learning, Multimedia, Retention Strategies, Educational Technology, Canvas and more! See the Full Week Guide for a day-to-day listing and description of all events.

Camp Location & Registration

Camp Sessions will be hosted in the AS Building; Southern & Dobson CampusReview the schedule for cabin assignments.

All MCCCD faculty and staff are welcome. Attend one session, attend one day or attend all, we hope to see you there!  Space is limited, so register soon.

Note: Registration is through HRMS Time & Labor. 
Registration Instructions.

Is Camping Gear Required?

No! We won’t actually be camping. Just bring you and maybe a friend or two to enjoy the learning and community. Light provisions will be provided each day and at the Maker Party! Event Celebration on Thursday, May 22, 3:00 – 5:00pm. Register for the celebration.

Earn a Digital Badge for Participation and More

“Campers” can earn digital badges for participating in sessions, bringing guests and evaluating the event. These digital badges can be added to your professional portfolio. Learn more about using digital badges in education. The MCC Center for Teaching & Learning will track and award badges based on the individual badge criteria.

1st Time Camper Badge –Camp Innovate Digital BadgeAttend 1 Session

Avid Camper Badge  –
Attend 3 or More Sessions

Camp Inspector –
Submit an Event Evaluation

Happy Camper –
Bring a Friend to Camp

Contact Us

Need assistance with registration? Call us at (480) 461-7331 and we will register you. Questions? Send us an email at ctl@mesacc.edu.

Canvas Updates

Canvas Updates Week of March 24

Important Canvas Notices

Summer Canvas Course Shells Delayed

Several people have asked when the summer courses will be created in Canvas. Summer courses have been held, for now, until a fix is in place for the ongoing Daylight Savings Time (DST) issue. The hope is that this issue will be resolved by Saturday, April 12th. Once the fix is in place, instructors will be able to copy courses from one semester to the next without having to worry about due dates/times changing when dates fall over DST.

What happens if the issue is not fixed by April 12th?
The LMS Core Team (responsible for the transition and implementation of Canvas) will continue to assess the situation and advocate for a speedy resolution to this issue. So that faculty can begin their preparations, summer courses may have to be released without a fix in place. Please note that this will only impact course due dates that fall over the DST date of March 9. However, it is best practice for faculty to review all of their due dates/times each semester.

Canvas Update Cycle

Canvas is on a 3-week update-release cycle. The next beta (preview) release is on 3/31, production notes will follow on 4/7 with the release and documentation to be published on 4/12. For information about Canvas updates follow the release page.

March 22nd Production Release – Draft State Option

Here are some highlights of the new features, updates and changes from the March 22nd Canvas Production Release. Note: Features are subject to change based on testing! Some features may be selectively released by MCCCD.

Draft State (Pending MCCCD Release)

Canvas has released the highly anticipated Draft State feature will allow content in Assignments, Quizzes, Modules, Pages, and Discussions to be in an unpublished (draft) state even if the course is published. Draft content will be invisible to students and excluded from grade calculations. Draft State is a Course-level feature option, and will be available on a course-to-course basis once MCCCD decides to enable the feature at the institutional level.

Assignments View of Draft State

The Draft State feature will impact all of the major user interfaces within Canvas (for instructors only). You are strongly encouraged to log-in to the beta environment to explore the features within Draft State to see what this new world will look like! Here is an overview guide to prepare you for the change: Canvas Feature Options: Draft State PDF. Additional documentation will be available in the Canvas Guides when Draft State is officially placed in the production environment.

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Canvas Updates

Canvas User Updates Week of March 3, 2014

Important Notices & Updates

URGENT: Daylight Savings Time Issues

Currently Canvas operates and adjusts based on Daylight Saving Time (DST). Arizona is an exception to the observation of this custom. We believe we will continue to see instances in which due date times (and corresponding “available from” and “available until times”) for assignments and other dated activities will shift by one hour after DST begins at 2 am on March 9.  You are encouraged to check your course (including discussions, quizzes and assignments) to verify the accuracy of all due dates and times after the time change.  

We suggest holding off as long as possible on all course copies to give Instructure time to work on a fix.  If you must perform course copies now, please check your course (including discussions, quizzes and assignments) to verify the accuracy of all due dates and times.  We will update you as soon as we have more information from Instructure on an anticipated fix date. We apologize for the inconvenience. The MCCCD LMS Core team is working diligently with Instructure to resolve this issue.

More Information on Editing Assignment Due Dates/Times

Recent Updates

Here are some highlights of the latest new features, updates and changes from the March 1 Release. Note: Features are subject to change based on testing! Some features may be selectively released by MCCCD.

Outcomes: Learning Mastery Gradebook

The Learning Mastery Gradebook is a feature to help instructors and administrators assess the student learning Outcomes that are being used within Canvas courses. This addition to the gradebook allows instructors using the Outcomes feature to see an overview of student learning based on set Outcome standards rather than grades. Note: Instructors must be using the Canvas Outcomes feature to benefit from this new feature AND must enable the Mastery Gradebook in the Course Features area. 

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Mesa CTL Canvas

Canvas Updates Week of February 3, 2014

Important Notices

Scribd Issues Resolved

Bicycle Sign

For many of you the start of class brought some technical difficulties with the Scribd Preview feature in Canvas. Scribd is the service that allows for file documents to be viewed within Canvas. In the first week of class, this feature was not rendering documents correctly, and so users (students and instructors) were receiving error messages that documents were deleted or unavailable.

This issues has now been resolved and previews should be working normally. Keep in mind that the availability of document previews is always subject to the volume of users uploading and viewing documents across the entire Canvas system. This can cause the previews to delay or even temporarily not display. Some of you may better recognize this phenomenon by the characteristic “bicycle wheels” that never seem to stop spinning when you try to open a document! To help alleviate confusion It is important to let students know about the download option for any files that you share.

New User? More about document previews.
When viewing an uploaded file shared in Canvas, users will have the option of a magnifying glass icon to open the file in the Scribd preview OR a pop-out icon to download the file to their computer.

GUIDE: Files Supported by Scribd

Canvas Connections User Group

Don’t miss the next meeting Tuesday, February 4, 12 noon – 1:00pm, CTL Team Spot – AS Bldg

New and seasoned users are welcome to join us to:

Canvas Connections Logo

  • Connect! Stay on the inside track with all things Canvas.
  • Share! and Learn! with others.
  • Engage! in some great conversations over lunch.

This informal user-focused group will meet bi-monthly to discuss: Features, Best Practices, Upcoming Changes, Issues/Bugs, Teaching Strategies, Design and Feature Requests.

Users should bring their own lunch. Snacks and desserts may be provided.

Join Now!

Canvas Update Cycle

Canvas is on a 3-week update-release cycle. The beta (preview) release for this cycle was on 1/27, production notes followed on 2/3 with the release and documentation to follow on 2/8. For information about Canvas updates follow the release page.

Canvas Updates

February 8 Release Preview – Amazing Features! Big Changes!

Canvas will be implementing a Production Release on February 8. Here are some highlights of the new features, updates and changes. Note: Features are subject to change based on testing! Some features may be selectively released by MCCCD.

Draft State

The Draft State feature will allow content in Assignments, Quizzes, Modules, Pages, and Discussions to be in an unpublished (draft) state even if the course is published. Draft content will be invisible to students and excluded from grade calculations. Draft State is a Course-level feature option, and will be available on a course-to-course basis once MCCCD decides to enable the feature at the institutional level.Draft State Screenshot

The Draft State feature will impact all of the major user interfaces within Canvas (for instructors only).You are strongly encouraged to log-in to the beta environment to explore the features within Draft State to see what this new world will look like! Here is an overview guide to prepare you for the change: Canvas Feature Options: Draft State PDF. Additional documentation will be available in the Canvas Guides when Draft State is officially placed in the production environment.

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Canvas Convo Logo

2nd Annual Canvas Conversations Program Announced

Don’t Miss Out! Canvas Conversations: Creating Your Masterpiece Program Announced

Hosted by Gateway Community College

Gateway Community College, Copper Room 
Friday, January 31, 2014
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Register Today: http://mcli.maricopa.edu/events/canvas-conversationsconference

Description: Please join us for the 2nd Annual Canvas Conversations. Now that nine colleges have officially migrated to Canvas, it is time to reflect on our experiences, learn best practices and fine-tune your Canvas courses. Faculty will present their lessons learned, engage in round-table conversations and dialogue with Canvas experts.

Conference Program:

Time Event Location
8:15 am Registration Begins Outside Copper Room(IE 1302)
9:00 am – 9:15 am Welcome from Gateway Community College Copper Room
9:15 am – 10:00 am Webinar from InstructureHear about Canvas updates from the Instructure crew. Copper Room
10:15 am – 11:00 am Concurrent Sessions Reference Schedule Below
11:15 am – 12:00 pm Roundtable Topics Copper Room
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm LunchLunch generously hosted by MCLI and SMCC Copper Room/Outside(your choice)
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm Concurrent Sessions Reference Schedule Below
2:00 pm – 2:45 pm Concurrent Sessions Reference Schedule Below
2:45 pm – 3:00 pm Closing remarks and raffle prizesTurn in your name badge at 2:45 in the Copper Room for a chance to win great prizes, including a massage, lunch at the PC Cafe Oso and Canvas swag. Must be present to win! Copper Room 

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Canvas Connections Logo

A New Canvas Users’ Community

JOIN US FOR THE FIRST

MCC Canvas Connections! Meeting

Wednesday, January 22
12 noon – 1:00pm

Join the MCC Center for Teaching & Learning *NEW Canvas Users’ Group – Canvas Connections!, a Lunch & Learn Community!

Join Now!

New and seasoned Canvas users are welcome to join us to:

  • Connect! Stay on the inside track with all things Canvas.
  • Share! and Learn! with others.
  • Engage! in some great conversations over lunch.

This informal user-focused group will meet bi-monthly to discuss:

  • Features
  • Best Practices
  • Upcoming Changes
  • Issues/Bugs & Challenges
  • Teaching Strategies/Delivery
  • Design
  • Feature Requests

Users will be encouraged to present or share a specific topics/features. This group will have an informal agenda and will be run by the attendees.

January 22 Meeting Menu:
Appetizer – Welcome
Soup of the Day – Updates, Issues & More
Main Course – Chewing on Chat
Check Please! – Plans for future meetings

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