Thanks to everyone who filled out the faculty and instructor needs survey.

Overall, we had 116 responses, which is about 20% of the faculty and instructors surveyed. I know you all are busy, so again, thank you for taking the time to let me know what you’re thinking about Canvas.

I’m using the information you provided to design a seminar series that begins this week. Once I have something set up with your department, your fantastic Lead Staff people will send you information about the seminar for your department. I will post announcements and information here as well.

Now, I want to begin sharing the results of the survey with you. This week I will answer the questions that came out of your open-ended comments. I grouped your comments and questions into the following categories: Migration, Assignments & Grading, Media (Audio & Video), General, and Communications.

MIGRATION [back to top]
Will I have access to my RamCT courses if I don’t teach until 2016?
You will have access to all of your migrated courses in Canvas dating back to Spring 2014. RamCT courses from spring, summer, and fall 2014 have all been migrated/copied into Canvas for you, and while you will not be able to access those courses in RamCT after Spring 2016, you will have access to those migrated courses in Canvas. If you create a new course in RamCT for Spring 2015 or Summer 2015, those courses will also be migrated to Canvas. Since the goal is to have all CSU courses taught using Canvas in Fall 2015, you will not have to worry about migrations after SM2015.

How well do quizzes migrate from RamCT to Canvas?
Not everything in quizzes migrates successfully from RamCT to Canvas. You can, for the most part, get all of your quizzes, exams, and test pools. However, there are several things that don’t come over well, or that don’t come over at all, and so I’m sad to report that you will have to do some work reviewing, and in some cases revising, parts of your quizzes. The things that don’t come over include:

  • Feedback text
  • Hot spot questions
  • Either/Or questions
  • Quiz bowl questions

In addition, the matching questions may not migrate correctly. You will want to double check them and revise if necessary. Question Pools in RamCT will come over as Question Banks, and the links between questions in a quiz or exam and the bank will be broken. Finally, you may have to re-enter the correct point values for each question.

ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING [back to top]

Can I post an assignment that will not be graded without getting a grade book column for that assignment?
When you create a graded assignment, Canvas automatically creates a grade book column for that assignment. If you create an assignment that is not graded, then that assignment will not have a grade book column. In Canvas, the Assignment, Calendar, Grade Book, dynamic Syllabus, and messaging tools are all linked, and activity with one of these tools will trigger updates or other activity in the other tools. Whenever you create a graded assignment, for example, you will always get a grade book column, a calendar entry, a listing on the schedule in the syllabus and both student and instructor notifications related to the assignment.

Will Canvas use SafeAssign?
Canvas does not use SafeAssign. In February 2015, ACNS announced that CSU will integrate the anti-plaigiarism tool VeriCite. VeriCite is not a native Canvas tool; it’s a 3rd-party tool that is currently being developed by Longsight.

Who can I talk to about my concerns with VeriCite?
VeriCite does have some nice features, but I have also heard that you have some concerns, and I share those concerns. If you have concerns about VeriCite, I encourage you to reach out to ACNS. I have been relaying all of what I hear, and I believe that it will help if the good folks at ACNS hear your concerns from you as well. The more we share the issues we have with this tool, the better ACNS will be able to represent our concerns when they work with the Unizen consortium and Longsight to improve the tool, or if necessary, to select a different tool.

Is there a way to excuse a student from completing an assignment without affecting the students’ overall grade?
I hope that by the time everyone starts using Canvas this fall that the ability to excuse a student from an assignment will be in place. According to Canvas’ product discussion board, this feature should be available this May or June. For now, an imperfect solution is to leave a dash in place of the score for any excused assignment. If you do this, you must not select “Treat ungraded as 0.” Unfortunately, this solution only works while the class is in session. Once you download your grade book to a csv file, all dashes (or blanks) are automatically treated as 0s in the “Final Score” column. You can, however, delete the Final Score column and use the “Current Score” column when you submit your final grades. The current score column reflects the students’ correct scores.

On a related note, Canvas has Differentiated Assignments. If you have multiple sections attached to a single course, this feature allows you to create different assignments and due dates for each of your sections while still keeping them all linked to one “parent” course. In some cases this removes the need to excuse students from assignments.

Does Canvas have something like “Inline Grading” in RamCT?
Yes, Canvas has SpeedGrader, and SpeedGrader makes use of an annotation tool called Crocodoc. When you use SpeedGrader, you will be able to open and read your students’ files, and you will be able to annotate and comment on those files. SpeedGrader also provides an easy to use rubric tool for fast grading, and you will be able to add comments based on each rubric criterion. You can also add a final comment that will be delivered with the final grade. Your comments can be text and they can also be video or audio comments.

The one gotcha related to Crocodoc is that you have to restrict the assignment file submission types to doc and pdf. The annotation tool does not work with any other file type, and it also doesn’t work with text that is typed directly into Canvas. You can restrict the file formats in each Assignment’s settings.

Does Canvas have an attendance tool?
Yes. Canvas has an attendance tool called Roll Call. You can activate Roll Call by adding it to your menu. Go to Settings and select the Navigation tab. Drag and drop the Attendance tool into the menu list at the top of the Navigation page. Take a look at this guide to learn more about the attendance tool.

MEDIA (VIDEO & AUDIO) [back to top]

Does Canvas provide the ability to create assignments that allow students to record themselves (video and audio) and to review each others' recordings?
Yes. One of the great features in Canvas is the media tool that allows both students and instructors to create short video and audio clips using your computers’ built-in camera and microphone. Instructors can create and embed video and audio on any page that has a rich text editor. Students can record video and audio clips in response to assignments and discussion prompts. They can also record video from within their collaboration wiki sites where they have their own collection of course tools. Finally, both instructors and students can record video or audio comments using the Conversations messaging tool.

Will Canvas allow you to stream video?
Canvas does not have a companion video streaming server. Canvas does have a great media tool that allows students and instructors to record short video and audio, and all of that video will be stored in and served from Canvas. If you want to upload or use video that is longer, then you will have to consult with one of the many video services available on campus. Some of these include:

  • ACNS Online Classroom Video Delivery—http://videoplay.colostate.edu - you have to log in with your eid
  • ACNS Video Lecture Capture Echo 360—http://help.echo.colostate.edu
  • TILT and Online Plus offer video streaming support for their courses.
  • Your department IT shop may offer video streaming support, or may be able to assist you with finding the right solution.

GENERAL [back to top]

Is there a way to embed PDFs in Canvas so that students can read them without opening or downloading them?
Yes, there are two ways to embed and display PDF (and other) files in Canvas. Both file preview functions are powered by “Box,” and overall, the work really well. It is important to use Firefox when you create these inline previews. I was not able to setup inline preview using Explorer. Once they are set up, however, most working browsers will show the embedded files.

Will students and teachers be able to access their courses after the completion of the course?
At the present time, courses are set to open the Friday before each semester begins and to close a few weeks after each semester ends. These are the dates that students can actively participate in the course. You are able to override these dates. Follow the instructions in this guide if you want to set different dates.

COMMUNICATIONS [back to top]

Can we use class rosters to send email to individuals and groups? Can messages sent to us from within Canvas be forwarded to our @colostate.edu email?
Yes and yes. The messaging tool in Canvas, called Conversations, allows you to send messages to individuals, groups, and your entire class. Click on your Inbox at the top right of your screen to get to Conversations. The Conversations Inbox is like an email inbox. You will want to set your notification preferences to receive messages at any email address you choose. Go to your profile settings to set your notifications. Before you decide to forward your messages to an external email, keep in mind that Conversations has a filter that allows you to sort your Canvas messages by class.

Why isn’t there a phone number for the College of Liberal Arts LMS Coordinator?
The LMS Coordinator position for CLA is a part-time position, and I am often away from my desk, so it will be more difficult to reach me by phone. You can call 970-491-2537 on Tuesday in the morning or Wednesday and Thursday from 8:00-4:30. You will always be able to reach me by email, and I will make every effort to reply within 24 hours Monday through Friday if you email me - kathy.zellers@colostate.edu.