Important Canvas Notices
Course Deletion
Spring 2014 and older SIS courses (courses with a designated section number) will begin being deleted the third week in September. All course materials and student information associated with those courses will be deleted. These courses will also no longer appear in your course menu, inbox or calendar list.
What does this mean for you?
Please create archives of the courses if you think you want to keep/reuse any of the content. The archive (export file) can be imported into another Canvas course at a later time. Note: A course export does not include student records.
Canvas Community
Canvas launched an updated Community feature for users in April. The Community is a resource for students and instructors to find helpful guides on how to use Canvas, as well as to participate in feature discussions, find best practices and more.
What does this mean for you?
All the links to old Canvas Guides will remain functional, however, we recommend moving any support links you provide to students to the new community guides as the old guides will no longer be updated.
Is Your Canvas Ready? Top Tips
Make sure you are ready for a smooth start this Fall 2015!
Customize You Course List
Access your courses quickly and easily by customizing your Course Menu in Canvas. Remove Spring 2015 and older classes from your list so that you can focus just on the current semester.
Is your course missing? follow these troubleshooting steps:
- Check your All Course List in Canvas.
- Verify that you have been officially scheduled as the ‘instructor on record’ in SIS (My.Maricopa). Instructors assigned to courses in SIS will have access to a Canvas shell.
- Is your course non-credit? Only credit courses are provided Canvas shells. To request a Canvas shell for a non-credit course, contact the MCC CTL at (480) 461-7331.
- If your course is still is not listed (after following the steps above), contact the MCC CTL at (480) 461-7331 for assistance.
Import (Copy) Content
You don’t have to start from scratch! Copy an entire course or select items that you want to copy from a previous course into your Fall course shell. Don’t forget to use the Adjust Events and Due Dates option to save yourself time. Please note 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. Please review the import (copy) guidelines to get started.
Publish Course Items
Publish any quizzes, assignments, discussions, content pages or modules that should be visible to students prior to publishing your course. Publishing the course will not publish items within the course that are still in ‘draft state’. Learn more about Draft State in this short video.
Publish the Course
Don’t forget to publish your course to make it available to students. Once a course is published you can continue to make changes and updates as needed. Courses cannot be unpublished once students have submitted work to the course.
Cross-List (Combine) Sections
Do you want to combine two or more sections of the same class? Combining sections can be a great option for more easily managing courses of the same prefix/# and type (in-person, hybrid or online). When you cross-list all the students will be have access to and participate in a single Canvas course. This does not change the SIS enrollment. Learn more about cross-listing sections in Canvas.
Update Cycle Canvas is on a 3-week update-release cycle. The next beta (preview) release is on 8/17, production notes will follow on 8/24 with the release and documentation to follow on 8/29. Follow the release schedule on the Canvas Updates Calendar.
What’s New in Canvas?
If you did not teach this summer you may notice that there have been many new and exciting additions and changes to Canvas. Here’s a list of highlights:
Assignments, Discussions & Peer Review
Excuse Me! Using Excused Assignments
As needed, you can use the Gradebook to excuse a student from an assignment, discussion, or quiz. You can also excuse a student from a group assignment.
When an assignment is excused, the assignment page and the student grade page will show the student that he or she has been excused from the assignment. Students cannot submit excused assignments and they are not calculated as part of a student’s total grade.
Learn more about Excused Assignments.
A Big Difference! Differentiated Assignments
Using Differentiated Assignments you can create Assignments, Graded Discussions, and Quizzes for certain only a individual student(s), sections, or vary due dates for students in your courses.
How can this feature be used?
- Honor’s & Special Projects – Assign special projects to only the students that need to complete this work.
- Make-Up Work – When a student misses a class you can assign them an individual alternative assignment.
- Varied Due Dates – Creating assignments for different users also allows for different due dates and availability date options for the same assignment. Great for cross-listing (combining) sections that meet on different days of the week.
What will it look like?
When using differentiated assignments with the Gradebook, the assignment appears as a column for all students, but grade cells are grayed out for students who have not been included in the assignment. On the student grades page, students can only view assignments that have been assigned to them.
Grades cannot be assigned for students who have not been included in the assignment, and assignments that are assigned to them, either individually or as part of a course or section, are not factored into overall grades.
Learn more about Differentiated Assignments.
The Easy Button! Assignment Submission Overhaul
The student Submit Assignment link has been moved out of the sidebar and placed more prominently as a (blue) button. The Re-submit Assignment link has also been re-purposed as a button.
What’s Not to ‘Like’? New Discussion Feature
Instructors can allow students to indicate ‘liked’ discussion replies within Canvas Discussions (graded and ungraded types) on a per-discussion basis.
When a discussion has liking enabled, students and instructors will see a gray Like icon within each discussion reply. When clicked, the icon will turn blued indicating that the discussion reply is ‘liked’. A total number of likes will appear next to the link and optionally instructors can elect to have replies with the most ‘likes’ appear at the top of the board.
The ‘like’ feature may also be limited to instructor use.
Learn more about the Like feature in discussions.
Peer Review Goes Undercover
Just in case you missed it in late April Canvas released the first iteration of Anonymous Peer Review. Instructors can now choose to create peer reviews (for Assignments and Discussions) with anonymous responses. This hides the name of the student reviewer from the student with the submission. Note: Instructors will always be able to see the name of the reviewer. Canvas plans on adding more functionality to the peer review feature in the future. Stay-tuned!
Other Changes
Custom Calendar Colors
Canvas now allows users to set their own colors for each calendar in their account. Users can select from one of 15 default colors or insert a Hex code to create any color of their choice. Colors selected by instructors for a course calendar do not effect the student view of the calendar. Learn more about the calendar.
Etherpad Collaborations
Etherpad is no longer available as an option for class collaboration within Canvas. All existing Etherpad collaborations have been deleted. If you are interested in using collaborative documents in Canvas you have the option to use Google Docs or Pages.
Incomplete Quiz Score Icon
A new Quiz icon will display in the Gradebook when students complete a quiz that includes a manually graded question. When students hover over the icon, students can view a message indicating that grading is in progress. Learn more about Gradebook icons.
Module Tracking
A new Module Requirement feature option allows instructors to assign ‘Mark as Done’ for students to progress through course assignments and pages. When this is enabled, students are responsible for marking the module item as done before they can move on to the next module item. Learn more about Module Requirements.
New Files
The Canvas File cabinet has been completely overhauled making it easier to upload, organize and view files. The new interface for files includes creation and modification dates, file sizes, publishing options and more. Learn more about using Course Files.
Persistent Gradebook Customization
When rearranging and resizing columns in the Gradebook for ease of grading, the changes will now persist or remain in place across computers and browsers. Note: changes to the Gradebook in the instructor view does not change the student view. Learn more about customizing Gradebook.
Want even more?
Join Us for a Session
What’s New in Canvas? Personalized & Social Learning!
Explore the new features and updates to our learning management system, Canvas. From Differentiated Assignments to the New Community and “Liking” Discussions to Anonymous Peer Review, join us for a session dedicated to all things new in Canvas! Great for current Canvas users or new users looking to review Canvas features. (Note: Not a getting started session). Pick from the following sessions:
Tuesday, August 11, 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
HCM Course #001826, Session #0008; CTL AS Building – Room 175; Register Now
Thursday, August 13, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
HCM Course #001826, Session #0010; CTL AS Building – Room 175; Register Now
Monday, August 17, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
HCM Course #001826, Session #0009; CTL AS Building – Room 175; Register Now
Did You Know?
Help is Just a Click or Call Away!
Contact the MCC Center for Teaching & Learning for all your Canvas questions at ctl@mesacc.edu OR (480) 461-7331. We are here to help!
Be specific.
When sending emails, please be as specific as possible about your request. Include your name (first and last), the course section number (if applicable) and a brief description of the issue within your inquiry. This will help us address your question faster!
How do students get help with Canvas?
Students seeking assistance with Canvas should contact the MCC HelpCenter at: (480) 461-7217 OR HelpCenter@mesacc.edu. Outside normal business hours students should contact the 24X7 assistance line at 1-888-994-4433.
Out of the Box! MCC’s Getting Started Module for Canvas
Get a jump on your course design with the MCC Getting Started Module. This “Start Here” module includes everything you need to get students going in Canvas and in your course. The duplicative and customizable template includes a home page, welcome letter, syllabus sample, links to important student resources, Canvas tutorials, sample introductory activities and much, much more. This module was designed by the MCC eLearning Committee (according to Quality Matters standards) and can be used with any course format.
Preview & Download the MCC Getting Started Module Template into your course today!
Working with Publisher Resources
Many textbook companies offer a variety of instructor resources that can be can be used outside or within Canvas to supplement your content. Resources range from presentations and test banks to fully integrated applications with assignments and grade books.
Get represented!
Talk to your publisher representative to find out what types of materials are available and get an access account. Cartridges are the most convenient option for loading large amounts of publisher resources into Canvas. If your publisher offers an integration with Canvas, ask for a demo course so you can see how the integration might work for your course and decide whether you would rather keep the systems separate. Note: Security and privacy issues may have to be addressed for any integration of publisher systems with Canvas. Contact the MCC CTL for details.
How can the MCC CTL help?
The MCC Center for Teaching & Learning does not have direct access to publisher information and resources for textbooks. We can act as a consultant to help you in finding your publisher representative, reviewing the resource options available to you and your students, helping you download and upload course materials, and assisting you in integrating special publisher tools.
Canvas Training
MCC Center for Teaching & Learning Appointments, Workshops and Customized Sessions
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 team 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. Stop by our offices, send us an email or give us a call for support or to set-up an appointment. We are here for you!
Online Resources, Tutorials & Guides
Canvas Instructor Orientation 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.
Canvas Instructor Video Guides contain quick and informative video tutorials to get you started with Canvas.
Canvas Guides are available that cover all major features of Canvas. They can be searched by topic (e.g. Assignments, Discussions, etc.) or by user/type (e.g. Instructor, Mobile, etc.) and are formatted as easy to navigate and mostly image-based walk thru demonstrations of how to use a particular feature. Best practice tip? Share relevant Student Guides in your Canvas course to help students be more successful in using Canvas.
Canvas Live provides free webinar trainings on a variety of best practices with teaching and learning on Canvas topics. Join a live session or if you can’t make it sessions are archived for later viewing.
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.
[Student Resource] MCC Canvas101 is an open enrollment, self-paced course that introduces students to Canvas and walks them through the basics of setting user preferences, submitting assignments, replying to discussions, taking quizzes, viewing grades and more! Recommended for all students.
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.
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Important Canvas User Notices
New Canvas 101 for Students Launched at MCC
The MCC Canvas 101 Student Orientation course has been updated! This self-enrolled, self-paced course was first made 2 years ago when MCCCD transitioned to Canvas. It is given out by faculty to orient students to Canvas. It is also published on our MCC eLearning web site, Center for Teaching & Learning Canvas Tutorials and other locations. It is highly recommended that you encourage those students new to Canvas to take this course. This will not only help them be more successful in navigating Canvas to access important course information/activities, it should also save instructional time otherwise spent on technical issues. The easiest way to share this course is to include the web link in your syllabus, welcome letter, getting started activities, etc..
Canvas 101: Student Orientation to Canvas Course – http://tinyurl.com/learncanvas
Keep Your Browsers Current & Clean!
Many of the issues users face with Canvas relate to the web browser. Canvas supports the latest two versions of all the major browsers (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari and Firefox). Although users may be able to access Canvas with older browser versions, they may experience a variety of issues including loss of functionality and worse, loss of work if the browser crashes.
In addition, it is important for browser health and for the usability of Canvas and Canvas features to regularly clear the browser cache. We recommend that users mark their calendar to do this maintenance at least a few times per month or whenever they experience issues like being unable to record video or audio using the Canvas media tools. Some Canvas features also require Flash and the Java plug-in.
A few words on security. Canvas is a secure environment and this can sometimes cause issues with certain multimedia features like embedded videos and tools working or displaying properly due to browser security. It is important to provide links to media and tools, as well as the embedded versions to ensure that students are able to see and interact with course material.
Learn more about Canvas and browser compatibility including security. **Bookmark this resource and give it to students it is extremely valuable!
Resources for Clearing Browser Cache
When in Doubt, Switch Browsers!
One of the first things a user should try when they are experiencing an issue in Canvas is to switch browsers. It may sound like a Help Desk cliche, but a little flexibility in browsing preferences can save a lot of time and frustration. Currently most users are preferring the functionality provided by Google Chrome or Firefox. Internet Explorer is supported, but not recommended.
Canvas Update Cycle
Canvas is on a 3-week update-release cycle. The next beta (preview) release is on 9/15, production notes will follow on 9/22 with the release and documentation to follow on 9/27. Follow the release schedule on the Canvas Updates Calendar.
Recent Changes
Big changes come in small packages! Many of the recent updates to Canvas have been tiny tweaks to functionality that will make your life and the learning of your students better and better! Review all the recent changes from the 9/6/2014 release.
Canvas Course List All-Stars
The Canvas Course list functionality has been changed to allow all users (students and faculty) to more easily manage their Canvas courses. The previous customize option (to control what courses appeared in the ‘quick list’ drop-down course menu) has been combined with the My Courses page. Now users can view all their courses and select which courses to display (using the new star icons to mark favorites) in the drop-down menu all within the same location.
Your course(s) marked as a ‘favorite’ will correspond to your Courses drop-down menu, Canvas Conversations Inbox menu and Calendar menus so it is worth taking the time to customize your course list each semester!
Additionally the My Courses page includes more information about the status of a course including whether it is published or not. Note: Unpublished courses are listed in gray and include a tag which is visible to faculty and students. When students hover over an unpublished course they will see a message stating – “This course had not been published. Students should contact the course instructor for access.”Important Notices
Check Your Course Deadlines!
Most of the United States observes a custom know as Daylight Savings Time. Software is often adjusted to account for these changes, making it easier for course information to transition when the clock does. In Arizona we do not observe Daylight Savings Time and this can be a challenging exception when programming software. Currently users have been experiencing a change in times throughout Canvas where time deadlines are concerned. Users may experience issues with assignment due dates, release deadlines, module locks and other time specific operations within Canvas.
What is happening?
Deadlines may shift by 1 hour earlier then scheduled. This will most likely occur during a course migration/copy process from Fall to Spring when using the Adjust Events and Due Dates Feature. It may also occur when creating assignments with deadlines past March 10.
What is Canvas going to do about it? When will it be fixed? This is not acceptable!
Canvas is aware of the issue and their engineers are working on it. There is currently no ETA for the fix, but we are continuing to follow-up and monitor the issue to make sure it is resolved quickly.
What should I do?
For now it’s simply a matter of making sure the dates and times are correct and fixing those that displaying the wrong date/time manually. Any adjustments made to the incorrect deadlines should remain fixed and you should not experience additional time changing issues. If you need assistance with this process, please contact the MCC Center for Teaching & Learning at ctl@mesacc.edu.
Time to Transition to the New Calendar
Canvas will be slowly removing support for the old calendar. This means that you may experience issues with dates appearing wrong on the old calendar even when you make adjustments. Learn more:
Old vs. New Calendar Overview
Video Tutorial: Using the New Calendar
Chrome 30 Blocks Mixed Content
Chrome has recently updated their security to block mixed content. This means that unsecured multimedia content within Canvas will not display without user action. Learn how to allow blocked content .To keep up with all the latest browser updates visit the Canvas Browser Support Guide. This guide will be continuously revised and is a great resource to share with students.
Canvas Update Cycle
Canvas is on a 3-week update-release cycle. The beta release notes for this next cycle were available on 11/25, production notes will follow on 12/02 with the release and documentation to follow on 12/07. For information about Canvas updates follow the release page.
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The Mesa Community College Center for Teaching & Learning is offering an exciting variety of learning opportunities planned to help you start your semester out right.
Our Start-Up Learning Guide:
See our Start-Up Guide Book for descriptions and dates for more of all of our upcoming opportunities. Check our calendar for updates.
A Registration System Designed to Track Your Growth:
CTL sessions use HRMS (Time & Labor) for our registration system. The system allows for an up-to-date attendance system that integrates with your employee record and allows for wait-lists for busy sessions. Each opportunity has a unique course and session number to make it easy to identify and register for. Please feel free to contact us, ctl@mesacc.edu, if you have any questions or concerns about how to register with this new system.
Register through HRMS – http://tinyurl.com/MCCRegisterNOW
Registration Instructions HRMS – http://tinyurl.com/hrmsregister
Learning Opportunities for August 22 – August 31:
Thursday, August 22, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. 10 Steps to Getting Started in Canvas (C.A.F.E. Credit)
HRMS Course #001839, Section #0004; CTL AS Building – Room 175
Did you know that Canvas can benefit any course format – face-to-face, hybrid and online? Learn how to communicate with your students, post course materials/syllabus, set-up assignments and grades within Canvas in just 10 easy steps.
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. What’s New in Canvas? (C.A.F.E. Credit)
HRMS Course #001826, Section #0003; CTL AS Building – Room 175
Explore the new features and updates to our learning management system, Canvas. Join us for a session dedicated to all things new in Canvas!
Friday, August 23, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Attending to Participation & Canvas Roll Call (C.A.F.E. Credit)
HRMS Course #001963, Section #0002; CTL AS Building – Room 175
How should we measure attendance in a course? Should it be based on a student’s physical presence, participation or a combination of both? In this session we will explore different pedagogical ways of monitoring attendance and how these may affect student success. Work with colleagues to draft an attendance policy and review the features of the NEW Roll Call tool in Canvas to help you implement it.
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. 10 Steps to Getting Started in Canvas (C.A.F.E. Credit)
HRMS Course #001839, Section #0005; CTL AS Building – Room 175
Did you know that Canvas can benefit any course format – face-to-face, hybrid and online? Learn how to communicate with your students, post course materials/syllabus, set-up assignments and grades within Canvas in just 10 easy steps.
Get an A +! Success from Day One CTL Events
Explore a week of activities that focus on the MCC Success from Day One Initiative. From exciting new Canvas tools to engagement strategies, the Mesa Community College Center for Teaching & Learning is your support and resource for innovative education technology and pedagogy. Plan to start your semester with this fun and informative week of activities!
Register Now Registration Instructions
Questions? Contact us at: (480) 461 – 7331 OR ctl@mesacc.edu
Saturday, August 10
8:30a.m. – 12:30p.m. New Adjunct Faculty Orientation
HRMS Course #001830, Section #0001; CTL Workshop Room (AS175), Southern & Dobson Campus
Welcome to teaching at Mesa Community College! This session will cover all the little and big things you need to know about being an Adjunct Faculty Member for MCC. Contact the CTL for more information, (480) 461-7331.
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CTL Open Lab
CTL AS Building, Southern & Dobson Campus
Drop in during any time of the open lab to access resources and help with Canvas or building/planning your course! CTL Staff will be available to answer questions as you work on your classes to get started for the semester. Handouts and computers are available so that you can come in and work and ask questions as you go.
Monday, August 12, 2013
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. CTL Open Lab
CTL AS Building, Southern & Dobson Campus
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. & 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
A+ Achieving a Learning-Centered Syllabus (C.A.F.E. Eligible)
HRMS Course #001201, Sections #0008 OR #0009; CTL Workshop Room (AS175), Southern & Dobson Campus
Engaging students in the learning process begins with the syllabus. In this session we will explore how to construct a syllabus that not only conveys the required MCCCD/MCC policies and procedures of the class, but introduces students to the goals of the learning process. Discover how to build a syllabus that focuses on meaningful expectations, learning objectives and provides students with the resources to be successful from day one. Feel free to bring your syllabus to work on as the last part of the session will allow some time for participants to work together on syllabi.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. New Faculty Experience
CTL Conference Room (AS170), Southern & Dobson Campus
Welcome to MCC new faculty! We are glad you are here. The first-year experience of a full-time faculty member is marked by transitions: the teacher’s focus is continuously expanding to include aspects of the college community that were previously not within view. Mesa Community College ‘s New Faculty Experience, a series of dialogs and seminars, facilitates these transitions by providing information, activities, and interactions that integrate the new residential faculty member into the life of the college.
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Learn more about Excused Assignments.
Learn more about Differentiated Assignments.
Learn more about the Like feature in discussions.
BEFORE Grading in My.Maricopa (SIS)
