October is a month to take special note of cybersecurity. This week we would like to highlight some basics of cybersecurity.
October is Cybersecurity Month
Print Canvas New Quizzes
If you would like to have a paper copy of a Canvas quiz for certain students, you can easily do that in New Quizzes. Just click the 3 dots (or TimBits) in the upper, right corner to reveal more options.
After selecting the print option, you will be able to choose the preferred text size.
One other enhancement with New Quizzes is that you can bypass the assignment details screen and get right into building question when you are designing a unit in modules. See below.
If you like these enhancements but mostly have Classic Quizzes in your course, you can begin the process of migrating them to New Quizzes with these directions.
New Nightly MiStar/Canvas Grade Auto-Syncing
If you would like your Canvas grades to automatically sync with your MiStar gradebook each night, that is now possible with just a few clicks.
- Make sure Grade Sync is enabled under Settings/Navigation
2. Once enabled and saved, you can navigate to the Grade Sync from the Course Navigation menu and toggle the option on.
If you need more information about the necessary set up for your Canvas Grades to sync with MiStar, take a look at the resources on the P-CCS Tech website.
Monday Tech Coffee Chat: Supporting Absent Students
This Monday, September 27, we will be holding another TIS Coffee Chat on the topic of Supporting Absent Students. We will talk about how to add an Absent button and set up your information page for Absent students. Sessions are only about 20 minutes long and take place over Zoom.
Start Times (feel free to attend at a time that works best for you):
- High School: 7:00 am Add to Calendar
- Middle School: 7:45 am Add to Calendar
- Elementary: 8:15 am Add to Calendar
Feel free to browse the Session Resources which includes a helpful, technical document for broadcasting your class via Zoom: https://wke.lt/w/s/jd6oHX
Check out the recordings of previous sessions.
Canvas Camp 2021 and Tech Coffee Chat #1 Recordings
Thanks to all who were able to join us during Canvas Camp 2021! We are happy to continue to support you with our Monday Morning Coffee Chats. Below you will find links to recordings from our August sessions.
Studio Q & A-This session covered a lot of the basics of Studio and looked at some more advanced features. The trainer also provided great ideas for how to use Studio as the teacher and how students can use it.
Canvas Q & A– In this session we talked a lot about copying course content. Toward the end, Cory gave a really great introduction to Groups.
Canvas Course Design Considerations– Here’s the session agenda. This training is great for all grade levels and also had a few good nuggets for elementary teachers.
TIS Face Off: Canvas Tips- Matt and Kaelyn face off about their favorite Canvas tips. Recording coming soon.
Last week we had our first Tech Coffee Chat centered around the Canvas Best Practice, Simplifying the Course Navigation Menu. Check out the recording and join us Monday, September 20 for tips on creating an informative, welcoming home page.
New Assignment Enhancements in Canvas
Canvas has made several adjustments and improvements to the student assignment experience. Take a look below.
If you choose “Text Entry” for the student turn-in option, student work will auto-save and they can submit directly on the page.
Scroll through the gallery below to see other assignment options.
If you feel these enhancements will not serve your students, you can toggle them off under Settings/Feature Previews.
Introducing: TIS Monday Coffee Chats
In late August, the P-CCS Canvas Best Practices were published. https://tech.pccsk12.com/canvas-best-practices/
To help you carry out these practices, the Technology Integration Specialists plan to offer brief (20-25 minutes) sessions before school on Monday mornings. We will provide a rationale for the practice, a quick tutorial, and examples when appropriate. Be sure to bring your favorite morning beverage!
Start Times (feel free to attend at a time that works best for you):
- High School: 7:00 am Add to Calendar
- Middle School: 7:45 am Add to Calendar
- Elementary: 8:15 am Add to Calendar
Topics:
- September 13: Simplify Course Navigation
- September 20: Create a Welcoming, Informative Home Page
- September 27: Provide Clear Guidance for Absent Students
- October 4: Post Assignments Online, via Canvas
- October 11: Use Announcement Weekly
- October 18: Use Modules to Organize and Distribute Content
Action Required: Publish Your Canvas Course(s)
Please note that each teacher must manually publish the course(s) they want to be visible to students.
Publishing your course only takes one click! From the Course Card on your Dashboard, click “Publish” (see screenshot below).
Alternatively, you can open the course home page and click the “Publish” button on the right side of the screen (see screenshot below).
As a reminder, your courses in MISTAR have been auto-populated in Canvas and auto-rostered with students. These are the course(s) you should publish and actively use with students. Any manually created courses should either be copied or cross-listed with your auto-populated courses. You can also cross-list multiple sections of the same course following the instructions provided in one of our previous posts.
Canvas Support Office Hours
We hope you had a relaxing and rejuvenating summer break. As you work on getting your Canvas course(s) up and running, we want to offer you support. On Wednesday afternoon (September 1) we will offer office hours via Zoom from 12:30-3:30 pm. Add to your calendar.
If you are looking for other forms of support, the Help option on the Course Navigation Menu has several great options. See the image below.
You can also schedule a one-on-one coaching session with a Canvas representative, also known as a Panda Pro. https://tech.pccsk12.com/panda-pros-coaching/
P-CCS Canvas Best Practices
As we enter our second year with Canvas as our district’s learning management system, it’s important to continue to have it serve as the digital centerpiece for our classrooms. In an effort to foster a more uniform experience for our students and families, staff are encouraged to construct and maintain their Canvas courses bearing in mind these P-CCS Canvas Best Practices.
If you have questions or would like assistance implementing any of these practices, please consider attending a “WorkLab” session on Thursday, August 26 during Canvas Camp or one of the Canvas Q & A sessions on either Thursday, August 26th or Monday, August 30th.
Finally, know your friendly, district Technology Integration Specialists will also plan sessions for each of these items during the first six weeks of school (and sessions will be recorded and posted) as embracing these best practices will help our students.