Canvas New Rich Content Editor being set as default over winter break

New Rich Content Editor-Canvas

Canvas will be pushing out their updated Rich Content Editor (RCE) on January 16th, 2021 and henceforth it will no longer be optional to use their older editor. To make the transition easier for our staff we will be setting up as default the new Rich Content Editor over the winter break.  Below are some links to help staff better understand and navigate the new RCE.

If you would like to start using the new RCE now, you can. Simply click on ‘Settings’ in your course. On top of the screen click ‘Feature Options’, then click check mark next to RCE Enhancements

Google Assignment Clarification Post

Our department apologizes for any anxiety we generated with our October 4th blog post around Google Cloud Drive Assignments in Canvas. On October 7th, following input from the community when our newsletter with the posting circulated, we rescinded our decision to remove GDCA access on October 14th.

While staff will continue to have the choice in Canvas to use either integration (GDCA or the new Google Assignments), the underlying reasons to transition to Google Assignments remain and we share them below for your consideration.

  1. GDCA will not work after next September and any course content relying on it will have to be recreated using Google Assignments.
  2. Canvas support won’t address tickets involving GDCA apart from telling staff that the issue is likely a limitation with GDCA and the Canvas user should move to the new Assignments.
  3. Google Assignments functions akin to Google Classroom. Students get their own copy of an assignment, and then submit the assignment back to you for grading. Similar to Google Classroom, you will have a folder in your drive of your class where you can look at the progress of the assignments.
  4. By shifting from Canvas’ SpeedGrader and using Google Assignment speedgrader instead, you can still have functionality to quickly grade between students, and return all student work at once. You will also have access to comments and editing rights to their google docs.
  5. In order to be IDEA and 504 compliant as well as use best practices of providing Universal Design for Learning (starting with the end in mind) we want to give our students the most flexibility and access when showing what they know. Unlike the new Assignments, GDCA does not allow for our current UDL/accessibility suite Read and Write for Google to be used. This means that when you create an assignment for a student via GDCA, you are eliminating their ability to use tools that they may need to complete the assignment (ie. speech-to-text, text-to-speech, word prediction).
  6. Google Assignments has the ability to use Originality Reports. As a teacher you can designate up to 5 assignments per course. With originality reports you can compare student work against hundreds of billions of web pages and over 40 million books with originality reports. Allow students to scan their own work for recommended citations up to three times.
  7. Assignments includes all the features of the GDCA, except Canvas Collaborations. Google asserts this feature is coming soon.

Click Here to learn how to use Google Assignments

Based on the feedback received, we have decided to delay hiding access to Google Drive Cloud Assignments (GDCA) until August 1, 2021.

As always, feel free to submit a service request and we will be able to help support you any way we can.

Thanks!

TIS

 

Google Drive Cloud Assignment Going Away in Canvas

The Google Apps LTI for Google Drive Cloud Assignment in Canvas is no longer seeing development support and will stop working altogether next September. To ensure that any Google assignments you might have in Canvas remain viable next year, if you haven’t already done so, please consider shifting to using the Google Assignments integration instead when interested in distributing Google assignments moving forward.  Using Google Assignments in Canvas will yield more functionality, the use of Speedgrader, the use of Read&Write for Google tools, and the ability to easily distribute drive file copies to students. [To hasten our adoption and use of the new Assignments, access to Google Drive Cloud Assignments in Canvas will *NOT be turned off beginning next Wednesday, October 14th. Existing assignments using the tool and access to related student work will remain unaffected.]

* WE ARE NOT TURNING OFF ACCESS AS PREVIOUSLY NOTED. See more below.

MORE INFO:

The Google Assignments tool is designed to allow teachers and students to take full advantage of the collaborative content creation, review, and editing tools built into Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. Differences between this tool and the Google Drive Cloud Assignment tool (developed by Instructure) include the following:

  • Unlike the Google Drive Cloud Assignment tool, which converts Google documents to PDF format upon submission to Canvas, Google Assignments submissions remain in their native format once they are submitted and file ownership is transferred from the student to the teacher (students retain read-only rights).
  • Teachers can freely edit and comment on the original Google Drive files.
  • Grading takes place inside Google Assignments, and grades are sent back to the Canvas Gradebook. Teachers can simply enter point values, or create and use rubrics for grading.
  • Teachers can create a bank of reusable comments that can be inserted into any Google document submitted via the Google Assignments tool.
  • When Google submissions are returned to students, ownership is returned to the student, but teachers retain editing rights. This allows students to turn in new versions of the same file for a resubmission or another assignment.

For even more information on Google Assignments and the reasoning behind this transition, please review these articles: https://www.instructure.com/canvas/en-au/blog/google-canvas-better-together

https://support.google.com/edu/assignments/answer/9381694?hl=en

https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/The-Canvas-tl-dr/New-Meet-Google-Assignments-LTI/ba-p/388622

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*Based on the feedback received, we have decided to delay hiding access to Google Drive Cloud Assignments (GDCA) until August 1, 2021.

Please note, however, that this decision comes with some negative consequences:
  • Canvas has been urging us to hide or remove access to GDCA. This tool was developed 3 years ago and has not been supported by their team for the last year. If staff experience any issues with this tool, neither Canvas Support nor our technology team will be able to provide assistance. Instead, the staffer will be encouraged to move to the new Google Assignments tool which Google has developed, continues to enhance, and is being supported and integrated by Canvas.
    • Please note that there have been a number of staff tickets that Canvas Support hasn’t and won’t address apart from telling staff that the issue is likely a limitation with GDCA and they should move to the new Assignments.
    • Please also note that GDCA will be fully deprecated after this school year, so we have no ability to extend access for the 21/22 school year.
  • Our department was trying to help staff avoid the real limitations of continued reliance on GDCA and avoid issues they may experience next year after GDCA is no longer available. Staff who choose to use GDCA this year will need to recreate all of their assignments using Google Assignments should they wish to use them in the future. We understand the work that goes into creating assignments in Canvas and wanted to help prevent the additional work of having to recreate these assignments next school year.
We apologize for the confusion and frustration that our previous decision may have caused. Please know that our intent was to follow the suggestions provided by Canvas and prevent issues for teachers who choose to use GDCA.

What Do I Do When Apps in the Waffle “Disappear”?

The Chrome Apps Launcher, or “Waffle” waffle as it is more commonly called, appears in G Suite in various places like Drive, Gmail, etc. At times, it is unstable, and therefore drops the connection it has to district apps like Canvas, Savvas Easybridge, Zoom and others. Google admits their apps launcher is sometimes flaky and won’t always present 3rd party apps such as the aforementioned. Knowing that the waffle sometimes might not offer access to some of the apps we frequently use, we recommend bookmarking the Google apps dashboard so that you can always have access to what you need from another convenient place if the waffle is not working: https://gsuite.google.com/dashboard

Consider encouraging your students to also bookmark the apps dashboard so that have an alternate way to access certain apps.

How to bookmark websites in Chrome: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/188842?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en

You may also want to bookmark the direct log in url for these specific apps:

CanvasCANVAS — https://pccsk12.instructure.com

 FrontlineFRONTLINE —  https://login.frontlineeducation.com/sso/plymouthcanton 

   ZoomZOOM — https://pccsk12.zoom.us/signin   OR   https://zoom.us/signin and click Sign in with Google

While not in the apps launcher, another login url for an app some staff have asked about is:

RUBICON ATLAS — https://pccsk12.rubiconatlas.org/Atlas/Authentication/View/Login?idp=5 

If you’re in the mood to bookmark, consider browsing to the DIGITAL TEACHING HUB and bookmarking that site for future reference too.

Canvas and MISTAR Q Sync

Please see the following documentation and video to understand how MISTAR and Canvas work together:

Click HERE for a step by step click doc. [Thanks to Erica Powell for these materials!]

A Digital Handbook on Technology Integration

Richard Byrne operates one of the ed tech world’s best award winning blogs on using tech in the classroom, is a Google Certified Trainer, former teacher, and has been invited to speak on six continents. His blog is consistently one of the best resources on the web to get great tips and tricks, and learn about new tools that provide great opportunities for learning. In his own words: “Over the years I’ve reviewed thousands of educational websites and apps. In reviewing all of those resources I realized that all educational technology serves one of three basic purposes; discovery of information, discussion of information, and demonstration of knowledge. While demonstration and creating demonstrations is the most fun use of technology, the discovery and discussion aspects are just as important. The discovery, discussion, demonstration framework is the basis for all of my professional development webinars.

Get the FREE handbook and subscribe to his blog here: https://practicaledtech.com/free-handbook/

Teachers can now log into the district’s Canvas — 5 Ways to Get Started

A few thoughts on technology and learning…

Learning a new software platform is challenging. We get that. We are learning them all of the time! Please know that we are here to help in the best ways we know how. Outside of the many learning opportunities below, please remember that you can also book a 1:1 appointment with a Tech Integration Specialist who can support you with instructional software like Canvas or engage in thought partnership with you for using technology in your instruction. If you have more technical and hardware challenges, please submit a service request. You can get to either link via the icons below.

What we all understand is that technology moves so fast, and in the shadow of what may become known of The Great Pandemic, our technology challenges have been many. Canvas will be no different. It will be a great challenge to be certain, but we know that Canvas will be powerful when it’s used with a keen eye toward supporting students with more personalized learning opportunities.

Approaching the platform of Canvas with our very core values at the center, and keeping in mind principles of the Triple-E Framework and Universal Design for Learning, along with focusing on creating a student centered virtual classroom, will allow us to transcend the challenges that we face. We all agree that learning happens in many ways, and we all won’t learn the same as we move into a new virtual school year, and Canvas offers a way to achieve what might seem impossible with any other platform. Below you will find 5 ways to get engaged with Canvas. Thank you for your patience and bravery at this time.

5 ways to get started with Canvas

  1. You can log into the Canvas platform by navigating here and using your P-CCS Google credentials: https://pccsk12.instructure.com/
  2. Once you are logged in via your P-CCS Google credentials and you land on the Dashboard of Canvas, you are ready to engage! Explore! Please note the “Help” icon where you will find a wealth of resources that will help you, including a 27/7 helpline phone number.
  3. You will find the “Growing With Canvas” course that is an optional training course, and you are welcome to take the course if you choose. Remember, you won’t see all of your courses or students until the schedules are completed at the building level. Remember too, you can export any course content you or others previously made and then import it into a course. While building a course, look for the “arrow in” icon at the top right corner which is the “Help” for whatever part of Canvas course building you are in.
  4. Outside of the “Growing With Canvas” course, you might also choose to learn via our live and interactive webinars, which also include opportunities to learn more about Zoom which will integrate with Canvas as well: https://bit.ly/pccstechpd
  5. To learn more asynchronously, visit the Digital Teaching Hub Canvas Page: https://sites.google.com/pccsk12.com/dth/canvas

Optional Tech PD for Canvas and Zoom

baby-hey we're here for you

Hello PCCS Staff,

We hope you are having a fun, relaxing, and safe summer. To support the rollout of both Zoom and our new district-wide LMS, Canvas, the technology integration specialists will be offering a number of optional virtual trainings during various dates in the month of August. While there will be a 6-hour PD on September 1st that will include workshop time with colleagues, we know that many teachers and staff want to get started right away. Here is what you can look forward to in the coming weeks:

  1. Engaging Students in Zoom (50 min): In this session, you will learn how to engage with students using the Zoom platform and cover features such as breakout rooms, polling, the virtual whiteboard, and more.
  2. Introduction to Canvas (50 min)*: Canvas will be our new Learning Management System for the 2020-2021 school year. During this session, participants will be able to learn why we chose Canvas, take a tour of the platform, and discuss some of the ways to engage students in Canvas.
  3. Creating in Canvas (3 hrs.)*: Canvas, our new district LMS (Learning Management System) has many features including assignments, modules, quizzes, conditional releasing, and a video studio. During this time participants will learn about these various features, and have some time to collaborate with TIS and other teachers on how to use the platform.

*Please create a free account and use your __@pccsk12.com account email: https://www.instructure.com/canvas/try-canvas (we have confirmed that any content created in these accounts will be able to be transferred to your district account when it becomes available).

To access and add these virtual trainings to your Google Calendar click: http://links.pccsk12.com/aug2020techpd

We have also included a number of other trainings in our calendar, and if you would like to subscribe to our calendar simply click: http://links.pccsk12.com/subscibetotis

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns,

Matt and Rick

Interested in Zoom training this weekend?? SimpleK12 offers a free 30 minute webinar at 10 am on Saturday, August 8th entitled Using Zoom Video Conferencing Tools for Student Engagement.