Canvas Updates for September 1st 2021

Back in June 2021, Canvas debuted a redesign of their discussion board. Learning Tech rolled out this redesign but then was made aware that the redesign was lacking certain features of the classic discussion board, most importantly the ability to add rubrics. 

On September 1st Canvas is pushing out an update to the redesign that will include rubric functionality for all discussion boards. At this point, if you would like to try out the redesign, Learning Tech would be happy to help you enable it! 

As a reminder, the redesign includes:

For individual discussion topics, the interface has been expanded for maximum space and ensure responsive views.

The following modifications have been made to the page:

• The toolbar has been moved to the top of the discussion thread. 
• Newest replies display at the top of the first page instead of the bottom of the last page.
• Users can sort replies from newest to oldest, or oldest to newest.
• Users can also quickly move to the top of the discussion topic at any time. 

Examples of both the old and new discussion board threads are shown below:

 

Canvas Updates for August 2021: The Enhanced Assignment Experience

 There have been some big upgrades to the assignment experience within Canvas. Let's dive in!

Updated Submission Tracker

The new tracker takes much less space, allowing students to have a larger landscape for completing their assignment. The previous "pizza tracker" took a large amount of space and was distracting to users as it would shrink and expand when the student was scrolling. Also, in its minimized form, it was difficult for students to determine the status of their submission. 

With the newly updated tracker, the information is included next to the attempt and assignment information and remains available in the same format so students know where they are in the submission process and what step is up next. 

The new submission tracker looks like this:

Updated Rubric Placement

In the initial work for this project, rubrics added to an assignment were included in a separate tab. The view has been updated to include the rubric as part of the assignment details so that students can simply scroll to view the rubric and their work. 

Given that rubrics provide critical information regarding the expectations for an assignment, it is important that students can easily view them and refer back to them as needed when completing their assignment. The new placement provides a more intuitive flow and when needed, students can collapse the rubric in order to maximize their work space. 

Also, when a student returns to the assignment to view feedback, the rubric will remain in the same location and default open with any scores and comments left by the instructor made visible to the student.  

Moved Feedback to Comment Tray

Feedback is a critical part of the learning process. Students should not have to hunt for feedback from their instructors; nor should instructors feel that they must create videos that walk students through how to find feedback, which is an unfortunate reality that we've heard, especially within our traditional assignment submission flow. 

To help students get the most out of the feedback provided, feedback has been moved from the separate comments tab and into the comment tray. This allows students to view feedback alongside their work and the scored rubric so that they can fully understand the feedback and make decisions about how they might improve. 

Submission Type Selection Updated from Dropdown to Icons for Each Option 

The new icons look like this:

Respondus Lockdown Browser for Chromebooks

After being in beta testing, Respondus has finally released the final version of their Lockdown Browser for Chromebooks. This extension makes both the Lockdown Browser and Respondus Monitor available on Chromebooks. 

To install Respondus LDB on a Chromebook:

1. Log into the Chromebook and start the Chrome browser.

2. Log into Canvas using a student account, and navigate to the exam that requires LockDown Browser. 

3. Select the link for downloading and installing LockDown Browser.

4. From the Chrome web store, select “Add to Chrome” to install the LockDown Browser Extension.

After you have completed these steps, you will be able to take your exam through Respondus. 

 

Social Annotations: ESU's Hypothes.is Trial

ESU is piloting a trial of the social annotation service Hypothes.is for Fall 2021. Hypothes.is is an online tool designed to allow for collaborative annotation across the web. It can be used to annotate web pages, PDFs and EPUB files.

How can I use Hypothes.is?

There are actually a number of ways Hypothes.is can be used, but we've integrated it into Canvas so that students and faculty can use it without having to create a Hypothes.is account.

Once enabled, faculty can create annotation assignments for content pages they have uploaded. The Hypothes.is LMS app brings discussion directly to course content by enabling students and teachers to add comments and start conversations in the margins of their texts. Collaborative annotation engages students more deeply in course readings and lets faculty glimpse students' insight into the material.

 

How do I set up a Hypothes.is assignment?

 

Using the Hypothesis app within Assignments allows some additional functionality over creating Module Items. Instructors can assess student work in SpeedGrader, assign the reading/annotating to a particular Canvas Group and also set due dates or dates of availability for the Assignment. 

1. Navigate to your Assignments page and click the “+ Assignment” button

2. Scroll down to the Submission Type field

Note: some users may have to click a More Options button to see this field.

3. From the drop-down menu, choose External Tool and click Find.

On the next screen, you will be able to create an Hypothesis-enabled reading by linking to a publicly-viewable page or document, choosing a file from Google Drive, or selecting a file from your Canvas file repository.

4. You will be returned to the Configure External Tool screen

Notice that the URL text box is now populated.

If you’d like to have the document open in a new tab, allowing for more room for the text and annotations, click Load This Tool in a New Tab.

Click Select.

5. Optional: Edit the Assignment name, instructions, due dates, and any other settings you wish to change

You can come back and do this step later if you want.  

6. Scroll down and click Save or Save & Publish

You will see your Hypothesis-enabled reading listed on the Assignments page. When your students click on the Assignment, the web page or document will open with Hypothesis enabled and scoped to your automatically-provisioned private group.

Learning Technologies has a more in-depth tutorial available at https://bit.ly/3j3kjfP
 

Changes to Flipgrid for August 2021

 Flipgrid completed a few tweaks over the summer that are now all available to their users. Check them out below!

A Fresh New Design

Flipgrid has streamlined and simplified their interface. You can preview this new interface in the following video:

Create Topics on Flipgrid Mobile

Instructors can now create topics on the mobile app, rather than having to log into the desktop version. 

Add Music and Backdrops to your Flipgrid videos

With this new feature, you will be able to select the perfect track from our thematic playlists and the song will auto-adjust to fit the length of your video.  You can adjust the volume to suit your vocal volume.

Backdrops are just like a green screen except way cooler and better. Choose from one of the built-in images or upload your own. Plus, you can engage with your content by dynamically switching sides of the canvas whenever you want and add text, stickers, and drawings. 

New Camera Features and Flipgrid Lenses

Flipgrid will consistently be adding new stickers, filters, boards, frames, and more to the camera to better tell your stories. Also, with the addition of Flipgrid Lenses, you'll be able to add more visual interest to your videos. You can preview the lenses in the following video:

 

 

As always, please contact Learning Technologies with any questions about these changes!

Latest Updates to Zoom (with bonus Kaltura content!)

 There have been quit a few updates to Zoom this summer. We'll do a dive into each of them in this blog and include links to Zoom's content so you can learn more. 

Video Waiting Room

You can now add a video to your waiting room (if you use one.) This can be welcoming the attendees, going over any housekeeping or rules, or just be something cute and interesting to look at. Learn more about this and get a downloadable customized video by going to https://bit.ly/3j3CsKw

Zoom Apps

Zoom now has the capability to add certain apps to its platform, rather than having to share your screen and have students participate that way. This is especially helpful for anyone wanting to use Kahoot! or Mentimeter in their meetings. You can learn more about apps within Zoom, as well as what apps are available, by going to https://bit.ly/3kdT29G

Kaltura Integration 

Management of the Kaltura Zoom Integration is now set in the Kaltura Management Console instead of in Zoom. This allows for improved Zoom integration setup and management workflow. You do not need to do anything to enable this change. 

Kaltura Transcoding

Starting on 8/15 Kaltura introduced a new method of transcoding their videos. The new transcoding profile generates a Full HD flavor and a SD flavor for smaller screens. The Full HD flavor is marked as the source and the original source flavor is not retained. Previous content is not affected. The new transcoding profile is applied only to the new Zoom recordings ingested to the system from now on. You do not need to do anything to enable this change.

Add Kaltura Quizzes to YouTube Videos

If you've used the quiz feature in Kaltura and like how it keeps your students accountable for watching course videos, you can now utilize that same feature on top of a YouTube video (think TedTalks, etc.)

 

As always, contact Learning Technologies with any questions about these changes!