Need Help with Canvas?

get help with Canvas

Canvas is an important learning tool in our district. We hope that you continue to find it a valuable teaching and communication tool. If you are new to the district or have questions come up about it, we want you to be aware of several resources that are available to you.

First, click the “Help” icon on the Global Navigation Menu. For general and common questions try searching the Canvas guides. If your problem or question is unique and specific to your situation you can chat online or call the Canvas Support hotline. You can be connected with a support agent that can help you almost immediately.

image of Canvas help menu

If you would like to slowly browse resources, please check out our resources at the P-CCS Tech website, https://tech.pccsk12.com/canvas-lms/

Have a lot of questions? You can set up a 45-minute meeting with a Panda Pro. This experience is available through the beginning of September. Find more about this service on their website.

If you are instructional staff working on meeting your PD expectations, please note we have a number of courses including the following listed below (all of them are 3 hours) that can help increase your understanding of how to use Canvas effectively available for you in the Catalog. https://catalog.pccsk12.com/

  • Canvas 1.0
  • Canvas 2.0
  • Canvas 3.0
  • Canvas in the Face to Face Classroom
  • Simplify and Streamline your Elementary Classroom with Canvas

As always, please submit a tech ticket if you have any questions. https://links.pccsk12.com/helpdesk

Cross-Listing Your Canvas Courses

Canvas crosslisting tips

As we approach the new school year, those of you who are teaching multiple sections of the same course might consider cross-listing in Canvas. Cross-listing allows you to move section enrollments from individual courses and combine them into one course. This feature is helpful for instructors who teach several sections of the same course and only want to manage course data in one location. So if you are a teacher that has multiple sections of one course or an elementary specialist that has many different sections, cross listing may be a great option for you and a big time saver. However, this action should only be done before a semester starts. Canvas recommends it be done before a course is published. If it is done after a course is published and notably student work has been submitted, that student work will be lost. Review the slideshow below carefully to help you decide if you want to do it.

Please review this slideshow carefully to review the pros and cons. The slideshow also walks you through the steps to cross-list your courses. Please note that teachers have the ability to cross-list courses but do not have the option to de-crosslist. To de-crosslist sections or for further assistance with cross-listing, submit a tech ticket.

Tips for Cross-Listed Courses

Whether you are new to crosslisting or have done it for awhile, review this list to help run it as efficiently as possible. Crosslisting should only be done at the beginning of a term (prior to any student submissions so to avoid their loss).

Be Sure To:

  • Keep “People” hidden on the Course Navigation Menu to protect student privacy
  • Change the course name so students don’t get confused if their scheduled section meets at a different time
  • If you want to use discussions, set it up as a group discussion so students are only interacting with people in their section

Streamline Your Workflow:

  • You can assign things (especially quizzes) per section to customize availability times and due dates
  • You can sort Speedgrader submissions by section
  • You can sort the Gradebook by section

Canvas Crosslisting Tips by kaelyn.bullock

Prepping Your Canvas Courses for the New School Year

Prep your canvas course

 

We’re excited to let you know that your Canvas courses will soon be visible and ready for action. Canvas is designed to simplify your teaching journey and provide you with a user-friendly platform to engage with your students, organize course materials, and foster a dynamic learning environment.

Course Template

To assist you in creating an engaging and effective online learning space, we’ve prepared comprehensive resources for the course template. These resources include step-by-step guides, video tutorials, and best practices for setting up your Canvas courses. Whether you’re a seasoned Canvas user or a first-timer, these tools will ensure that you’re making the most of Canvas’s features.

Import Previous Content

We understand the value of your time, which is why Canvas allows you to seamlessly import content from your previous courses.  Whether it’s assignments, quizzes, or discussions, the process is intuitive and streamlined. This means you can build upon the successful elements of your previous courses while introducing new and exciting content. Courses from last school year can be found at https://pccsk12.instructure.com/courses at the bottom of the page under “Past Enrollments.” If you need help locating courses from previous school years, check this blog post. Once you have located your previous content, you are ready to import it into your new courses following the steps below.

16 STEPS

1. The first step is to open Dashboard and click your new course.

Step 1 image

2. Click Import Existing Content

Step 2 image

3. Click Select One

Step 3 image

4. Select Copy a Canvas Course

Step 4 image

5. Type the name of your old course.

Step 5 image

6. Click your old course when it appears on the drop down.

Step 6 image

7. Click Select specific content

Step 7 image

8. Optional: Click Adjust events and due dates

Step 8 image

9. You have the option to attempt a bulk shift of due dates or, simply, remove the dates.

Step 9 image

10. Click Import

Step 10 image

11. Under “Current Jobs,” click Select Content

Step 11 image

12. Select the content you would like to include. Do NOT select “Course Settings.”

Step 12 image

13. Note that you can open the option to select specific pages, assignments, modules, etc.

Step 13 image

14. Uncheck specific items you do not want to bring over, if desired.

When all you want is selected, click Select Content

Step 14 image

15. Review any issues that might come up.

Step 15 image

16. That’s it. You’re done.

Step 16 image

Here’s an interactive tutorial

** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **

https://www.iorad.com/player/1992034/Canvas—How-to-Import-Course-Content

Please submit a ticket if you have any questions.

Canvas Updates Summary

Canvas update summary

In case you missed it, here’s a round up of some of the best Canvas updates to be aware of:

Technology Checklist for Summer Break!

summer break tech to-do

It’s almost Summer Break! We hope you enjoy all things summer, but as you close out your classrooms for the year, please ensure these technology items are also taken care of.

Classroom Technology

  • Please comply with the directions of your principal and main office to turn in or secure all classroom technology equipment such as document cameras, microphones, interactive pens, and remotes.
  • Please also secure or take home all District-assigned devices (laptop, Chromebook, iPad, etc.), as well as all personally-owned devices. Please consider plugging in and updating your District Laptop prior to the start of PD in the fall (sometimes updates can take an hour or two if your device is off all summer) – see this blog post about Suggested Laptop Maintenance for reference.
  • Power off projectors/IFPs, sound amps, and desktop computers. Unplug any lamps, power strips, etc. You may leave district printers and copiers plugged in and powered on.
  • If you have a cart of devices, ensure that all devices are plugged in, the cart is locked and plugged in.
  • Follow the care suggestions for classroom audio

Canvas

Rest assured, you really don’t need to do anything to your Canvas page. It will roll over to Past Enrollments and you will be able to copy the content into your new course shell in the fall. If you’d like options and considerations that you may wish to think about for next year, view this blog post.

After June 14, 2023 students will no longer be able to submit or edit any work. Teachers will have until Friday June 16, 2023 to finalize any grades.

Clever

Staff and Students will have access to all clever resources throughout the summer. Clever syncing will be on pause starting on Monday June 12, 2023 giving student’s access to their 22-23 teacher’s pages and links until around mid-August when syncing will resume for the 23-24 school year. If you’re interested in learning how to make the most of Clever in your classroom, consider looking at training and ideas here.

IXL

PCCS’s digital subscription for K-5 elementary students will continue throughout the summer. Students will have access to their NWEA skill plans (which were just updated with any spring scores) all summer. Students will have access to any current teacher starred skills through around mid-August. Students in 5th grade currently will lose access around mid-August when syncing begins for the 23-24 school year as they will then be recognized as 6th graders.

Other District Provided Subscriptions

For the most part if it is a district provided subscription the district will handle any archiving and rostering needs for you. For example, WeVideo, Newsela, BrainPOP/BrainPOPjr, Seesaw for Schools, – there is no action required on your part. If you have manually created classes for things like Epic, Seesaw (grades 3-12 who do not have the Seesaw for Schools subscription), SplashLearn, etc. You may want to archive/delete old classes.

Sharing Digital Content

Whether you are separating from service, working on curriculum, or you are teaching different classes next year there are several options for sharing digital content with colleagues.

Need SCHECH credits?

Leaving the District?

Your TIS team is available all summer to support you – simply put in a tech request at helpdesk.pccsk12.com for technology integration!

Read and Write Extension Update fixes Canvas Formatting Issue

Last week a blog post was sent out with information on the Read & Write extension tool causing formatting issues with Canvas. Texthelp(Read & Write) has released a hotfix to the chrome extension which fixes the formatting issue.

If you are still experiencing this formatting issue, we ask you attempt the following:

  1. Please restart your computer. By restarting the computer and reopening Chrome, the system will attempt to auto update the chrome extension. Please wait a couple of minutes before checking Canvas to see if formatting has been fixed.
  2. If Canvas still shows a formatting issue, you will need to force an update with the Read and Write extension.

This link will take you to a slide presentation that has step-by-step instructions to uninstall the chrome extension and reinstall

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vCRuv23hrPEBlyrM2g49hXtV4fr7adQpuXAXipHskpk/edit?usp=sharing

Please submit a tech ticket if you continue to have issues, or need assistance with the above instructions

Reminders for Semester 2/ Quarter 3 Canvas Courses

Publishing Canvas Courses

As a reminder, please publish your Semester 2/ Quarter 3 courses in Canvas.

  • Students only have access to Published courses.  If a course is Unpublished they will not see it on their dashboard. Please note that you if you publish a course you cannot unpublish a course after you have assigned something to a student.
  • Reminder: It is a contractual obligation to have your course published and an absent support page available to students/families.

Reminder: Customizing Your Canvas Dashboard

As the new semester has begun, some courses may look like they’re not on canvas, when really they’re just not on the Dashboard. Students and staff can all customize the dashboard to show only the courses they wish to see. To customize the teacher or student dashboard to show certain courses please see the graphic below:

Dashboard

 

 

Preparing your Canvas Pages for the Second Semester

Especially for those that have a first semester or Quarter 2 Canvas course ending soon, here are some Canvas considerations:

  1. For high school Semester 1 / Q2 courses, Teachers will have access to make edits, give feedback, and grade assignments in Canvas until 11:59 pm on February 1, 2023 (middle school date is January 31, 2023). After that date, the course will have read-only access. For Year Long courses, read and write access will remain until the end of the school year with the exception of grades for the past terms. Grades will not be editable.
  2. High school students will have access to participate in FIRST SEMESTER courses until 11:59 pm on January 30, 2023 (middle school date is January 27, 2023).  After that date, students will have read-only access to the course (with the exception of quiz questions to which they will not have access).
    • If you do not want students to have read-only access, you will need to update your course settings.
    • If you want to extend student access past 1/30 for assignment submissions, see #4 below.
  3. Students will continue to have access in Year Long Courses to submit assignments with due dates in the first semester unless you have an available until date of JAN. 30 or earlier.  You can edit those dates in bulk by following the steps here.
  4. By default, students enrolled in a Canvas course will lose access to submit material when the course ends. To extend access for students to a Canvas course past the term end date, you must make the adjustment PRIOR to the last day of the course while their enrollment is active. Access cannot be reinstated after a course concludes. If you want to extend access to your students to be able to submit coursework towards a first semester / quarter 2 Canvas course, you will need to change the end date in your course settings to override the term end date in the system at least 2 days prior to the end of the term so it is captured in subsequent syncs. See https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-change-the-start-and-end-dates-for-a-course/ta-p/452354 for more guidance on this matter. An assignment’s available until date may also need to be adjusted. Please note, you will need to bear in mind MISTAR syncing will end due to grade submission deadlines and you may have to work with your records office to update a report card if submitted late work results in a grade change.
  5. Teachers can copy the content from their Semester 1 / Quarter 2 course to their Semester 2 course (and beyond) even after the course has concluded.
  6. TEACHERS please remember to PUBLISH your Semester 2 / Quarter 3 courses no later than the start of the term.
  7. If you’re considering cross listing your courses, please revisit this blog post https://tech.pccsk12.com/how-to-cross-list-your-semester-2-courses/ 

Need Canvas Help?

image of Canvas help menu

Canvas is an important learning tool in our district. We hope that you continue to find it a valuable teaching and communication tool. If you are new to the district or have questions come up about it, we want you to be aware of several resources that are available to you.

First, click the “Help” icon on the Global Navigation Menu. For general and common questions try searching the Canvas guides. If your problem or question is unique and specific to your situation you can chat online or call the Canvas Support hotline. You can be connected with a support agent that can help you almost immediately.

image of Canvas help menu

If you would like to slowly browse resources, please check out our resources at the P-CCS Tech website, https://tech.pccsk12.com/canvas-lms/

If you are instructional staff working on meeting your PD expectations, please note we have a number of courses including the following listed below (all of them are 3 hours) that can help increase your understanding of how to use Canvas effectively available for you in the Catalog. https://catalog.pccsk12.com/

  • Canvas 1.0 (new)
  • Canvas 2.0
  • Canvas 3.0
  • Canvas in the Face to Face Classroom
  • Simplify and Streamline your Elementary Classroom with Canvas (new)

As always, please submit a tech ticket if you have any questions. https://links.pccsk12.com/helpdesk

 

Gamify with Canvas and Ditch Summit

Many teachers have heard of break-out style lessons that build problem-solving and collaboration skills in students. They may be used more often to help engage students as holiday breaks inch closer. Did you know you can create your own digital break-outs with a Canvas module? You can go beyond a one time game and gamify an entire unit with a storyline. Check out the guest blog post on Ditch that Textbook for more information. https://ditchthattextbook.com/gamify-canvas-lms/

While you are there, you might consider signing up for the annual, free Ditch Summit.

In this online “summit” there are nine video presentations from awesome presenters on topics related to tech and solid teaching and learning. Including previous years’ sessions, you’ll have access to more than 80 video presentations!

This year, it’s scheduled for December 12, 2022, to January 6, 2023.

Get registered for free at: DitchSummit.com.

HOW IT WORKS: New presentations are released every day. They remain available until the end of the summit so you can re-watch or catch up on any you’ve missed. They’re pre-recorded, so you can watch them whenever you want until the summit closes. After that, the summit ends and the videos are unavailable to watch anymore.

Sign up for the digital summit at DitchSummit.com.

This year’s speakers include:
Ken Shelton, education leader and techquity advocate
Cornelius Minor, author and consultant, The Minor Collective
Jed Dearybury and Julie Jones, authors and playful learning advocates
Holly Clark, author, speaker, and blended learning expert
Amanda Sandoval, history and EL teacher
Hedreich Nichols, consultant and award-winning educator
Mandy Froelich, educator mental health change agent
Al Thomas, educator, filmmaker, photographer, YouTuber
Michele Eaton, online academy director, author, speaker