Category: Instructional Tools News & Updates

Online Exam Integrity: LockDown Browser Instructor Training

Posted on | celt-comm

logo for Respondus

Join us virtually from 1-1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 1 for vendor-led training concentrated on LockDown Browser.

The agenda for the 30-minute training includes the following:

  • How to use LockDown Browser with Canvas Quizzes to prevent digital cheating in proctored testing environments
  • Instructor settings, including how to use external tools in quizzes without compromising exam integrity
  • The student perspective of taking an exam in LockDown Browser, including installation and troubleshooting
  • Best practices, resources, and tips for success with both applications
  • A chance to ask questions

If you plan to attend this webinar training, please fill out the registration form prior to the February 1 training. All who attend will receive a recording of the 30-minute session.

Please send your questions, comments and feedback to: training@respondus.com

Newly added apps (LTIs) now available in Canvas

Posted on | celt-comm

Logos for H5P, Great River Learning, MyBusinessCourse, ALEKS, and MyEducator arranged randomly in a clusterOver the Winter break, five new LTIs were installed and are available to the campus community. Those five LTIs are:

  • ALEKS
  • MyBusinessCourse
  • MyEducator
  • GreatRiverLearning
  • H5P

ALEKS (for business), MyBusinessCourse, MyEducator, and GreatRiverLearning are publisher applications now available and best used for better content integration.

[2:56 PM] Anderson, Gretchen [CELT]

H5p is an interactive content application, providing a variety of engaging question types that can be added to Canvas. Each instructor license for H5P is $190/year and can be used in an unlimited number of courses. If you would like to integrate H5P into your Canvas course, email celt-help@iastate.edu to request a license.

If you need help with any of these LTIs or other learning technologies, email celt-help@iastate.edu. Doing this will create a ServiceNow ticket and one of our team members will be able to help you. Keep an eye on our website and our Instructional Tools page for more information and guides for each of these LTIs in the coming weeks.

Release and Deploy Updates – November 2021 (Canvas)

Posted on | isucelt

This update will contain all Canvas release and deploy notes for November 2021.

Completed Changes

The November 10, 2021 Canvas update included interface updates and changes to the outcomes page. Specifically,

  • Interface updates: For courses with profiles enabled, clicking the profile picture will no longer automatically flag it as inappropriate content.
  • Outcomes: Outcomes can now be added directly to a group.

Upcoming Changes

The November 20, 2021 Canvas release contains information pertaining to Assignments, Dashboard, Settings, and SpeedGrader. Specifically, the following are included in the 11/20 release:

  • Assignments – Submission Feedback Indicator: Students can now see an indicator on the Submission Details page when new comments have been added.
  • Settings – Settings Tabs: Easily navigate between the different tabs with direct links or return to the previously visited tab with the back button.
  • SpeedGrader – Assignment Text Entry Word Count: Instructors can now view the word count of a student’s text-entry submission within the SpeedGrader.

The November 24, 2021 Canvas deploy was postponed to December 1, 2021. More information about this deploy and its contents will be in the December Canvas summary.

In case you missed it, October’s updates included Gradebook enhancements, search field changes for assignments and grades, and more. Review the deploy notes or our summary of the October release.

Speedgrader submission labels and Gradebook assignment search – Canvas Release (October 16, 2021) 

Posted on | isucelt

The October 16, 2021 Canvas update contains information pertaining to Speedgrader labels and Gradebook assignment search. Specifically, the following are included in this Canvas update:  

  • Sticky Navigation Menus: When a long page is scrolled, the menu remains visible at the top of the screen. 
  • Submission Status Label: Late, Missing, and Excused assignment statuses can now be seen and set from inside Speedgrader.  
  • Assignment Search: The Gradebook now includes two search fields: one for student names, and one for assignment names.  
  • Course Notifications: Users can now set all of their individual User Notifications and Course Notifications from the Notifications page in the user menu. 
  • Accessibility Checker: The accessibility checker is now enabled by default and detects accessibility concerns without needing to open the Accessibility Checker. 

In case you missed it, previous Canvas releases included changes to SpeedGrader, Account Settings, and New Quizzes. Review the deploy notes for more information.

Canvas New Quizzes

Posted on | isucelt

Canvas logo - there is a red circle with shapes on the inside and the word canvas in all lowercase next to it

Instructure has been working on the release of a new feature for the Canvas LMS platform: Canvas New Quizzes. The company has released an aggressive timeline for the implementation of New Quizzes and sunset of Classic Quizzes.

Due to the importance and impact of this Canvas change, the CELT team is developing a testing and implementation plan for the Canvas New Quizzes.

This message aims at keeping you informed of CELT’s plan to address this important change to the Canvas LMS. We will post more updates on our website as more information becomes available. Stay tuned!

If you’re in need of help with a specific issue, you may submit a ticket to the CELT team by emailing celt-help@iastate.edu. Subscribe to updates by visiting this web page, scrolling to the bottom of the page, and entering your email. This will ensure you receive the latest updates and news on instructional tools.

A historical list of Canvas New Quizzes updates can be found on this post.

Syllabus Statements in Canvas

Posted on | CELT

Canvas logo - there is a red circle with shapes on the inside and the word canvas in all lowercase next to it

Today, Syllabus Statements in Canvas will be available to all Canvas courses. Syllabus Statements will feature the required and recommended syllabus statements in Canvas as a way to communicate consistent messaging to students.

This option can be found in your Canvas course navigation on the left side of your page. For all new Canvas courses, this feature will auto-populate and be visible by default under the Home tab. For existing Canvas courses, you will need to follow the steps on our Syllabus Statements in Canvas page to enable this feature.

Instructors will be able to add their own course-specific or instructor-specific statements to the Syllabus Statements in Canvas features, in conjunction with the required and recommended statements. Review the full Syllabus Statements in Canvas page for more information and details on how to add more statements.

Training Opportunities: Box and TurnItIn

Posted on | CELT

There are two upcoming vendor-led training sessions to be aware of for those interested. One will focus on a live demonstration of the new features coming to Box and the second will be a training session on TurnItIn Originality. Details, including registration information, can be found below.

Cybox logoLive Demo: Tips and Tricks on New Box Features 

Thursday, Aug. 12; 1:00 p.m. CST

Join Box expert Milo Parsons as he provides updates on the latest Box features, including annotations and integrations with Microsoft Teams. This will feature focuses on working from various platforms, collaboration, and customizable file requests.

TurnItIn logoTurnItIn Originality Training

Thursday, Sept. 16; 1:00 p.m. CST

This session will be hosted by Chris Vescovi, a Turnitin Solutions Consultant who has been working in Educational Technology for seven years and has trained ISU faculty previously. Chris will introduce you to the new Turnitin Originality product and integration to be available in your Canvas courses after Aug 16. This version of Turnitin has replaced the older Feedback Studio product. Chris will highlight the differences and benefits of the new tool, demonstrate how to enable it for new and existing assignments, as well as dig into any advanced Turnitin features and best practices you may be wondering about. 

Stay up-to-date on other LTI-related updates by subscribing for updates at the bottom of our Instructional Tools News and Updates page. The latest updates can be found below.

Students studying at the ISU Library

Different Methods to Engage Students

January 12, 2022 No Comments

The Spring 2022 semester is quickly approaching. Last week, Senior Vice President and Provost Jonathan Wickert provided guidance for Spring 2022 instruction following the University’s

Read More »

Release: Maintenance windows and deprecated features – Canvas (July 17, 2021)

Posted on | isucelt

The July 17, 2021 Canvas Release contains information pertaining to the following: 

  • Maintenance windows begin. Starting July 15, regular maintenance windows will be implemented between the hours of 12:05 am and 4:05 am local time on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. 
  • Deprecated features will be removed. The Classic Rich Content Editor (disabled at ISU in Dec. 2020) and SMS notifications (disabled at ISU in May 2020) will be completely removed from Canvas. 

The following feature will be enabled during our Fall 2021 technology updates, scheduled for August 16, 2021. 

  • SCORM Launch Links: Additional security measures will be added to ensure only users enrolled in the course where the SCORM content was uploaded will be given access. 

Additional features included in this update but not currently applicable to the ISU environment include: 

  • New Quizzes and Modules: New Quizzes display within the module for students. 
  • Microsoft Teams Sync: Pending approval of ISU’s request to participate in the beta implementation, course rosters can be synced from the Canvas course People page to Microsoft Teams. 

The LMS Enterprise Team will continue to review these Canvas features as they develop. 

Deploy: Terminology, assignments, faculty journal messages, offline exports, and accessibility – Canvas (July 21, 2021)

Posted on | isucelt

The July 21, 2021 Canvas Deploy addresses the following updates and bug fixes: 

  • Feature Option Terminology: The term Feature Option has been renamed to Feature Preview. 
  • Assignments: Students cannot view assignment descriptions for locked assignments; submission types can be changed in an assignment once students’ submissions have been received; Canvas code has been updated to disable notifications for annotations created during a student annotation submission; final grades for moderated assignments can only be released by active graders. 
  • Faculty Journal Messages: Faculty journal entries are only created if the Added as a Faculty Journal checkbox is selected as part of a message. 
  • Offline Export and Hidden Files: Offline exports download media files embedded in pages when the Files tab is hidden for the course. 
  • Accessibility: Account Settings elements include form labels for screen readers and checkboxes include the standard 2px blue outline when focused; in the Dashboard List View, the Notification window retains focus on the New and Dismiss tabs and does not affect the Close icon; when no conversations are selected in the Inbox, the No Conversations Selected text displays an appropriate color contrast; within the rich content editor, the img tag includes standardized role and alt attributes for screen readers. 

Visit the July 21, 2021 Canvas Deploy Notes website for a full description of changes. 

Deploy: Gradebook CSV columns, assignment buttons and notifications, rich content editor, and accessibility – Canvas (July 7, 2021)

Posted on | isucelt

The July 7, 2021 Canvas Deploy addresses the following updates and bug fixes: 

  • Gradebook CSV Column Order: Gradebook CSV assignment columns display in the same order as shown in the Gradebook for an individual user. 
  • Empty Assignment Descriptions: When creating an assignment, the default text has been updated for description content that is blank. 
  • Rich Content Editor: Support for several HTML tags and attributes has been added; the Upload Media window allows the name of the file to be changed before the file is added. 
  • Student Annotation Assignments: Canvas code has been updated to disable notifications for annotations created during a student annotation submission to prevent multiple notifications per submission; the Reassign Assignment button is now supported for instructors. 
  • Mark as Done Button for Pages: The Mark as Done button for students has been moved to the bottom. 
  • Accessibility: The focus indication ring is visible for keyboard users throughout the Files page; within Speedgrader, “The Following Questions need Review” section can be read by screen readers; the General and Advanced tabs of the Table Properties window display an appropriate color contrast within the Rich Content Editor. 

Visit the July 7, 2021 Canvas Deploy Notes website for a full description of changes. 

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