Author: Karen Turpin

SensusAccess – Alternative Media Made Easy

Sensus Access Notices & Flex Workshops Recordings

Sensus Acess Logo

SensusAccess offers two ways for MiraCosta faculty, classified professionals, and students to convert all kinds of documents and files into alternative and more accessible formats:

SensusAccess is available now.

  • A website that allows anyone to upload files including Word or PPT documents, scanned images, PDFs, or web pages and generate accessible alternative types of files and media, including audio, e-books, Braille, and large print. This helps meet accessibility standards and enhance inclusion by supporting diverse preferences and needs of users.
  • A Canvas integration that automatically enables conversion of files uploaded into Canvas into alternate file and media types and languages.

SensusAccess Inside Canvas for Instructors

SensusAccess Inside Canvas for Instructors

Key Features

  • Remediation of inaccessible documents such as image only PDFs into accessible formats
  • Automated conversion of files into a range of alternative media and file formats
  • Language to language translation with a high degree of accuracy

For more information on SensusAccess and its use check out the SensusAccess website and one-page Canvas LTI description.

Filtering Canvas Grades to Only Show SURF Enrolled Students

By default the Grades tool will display all users in the roles Student, Sample Student, Evaluator, and TLC Staff within your Canvas course. This can make grading difficult as the additional roles will mix in alphabetically with your SURF Enrolled students.

For ease of grading, you can filter your gradebook by section to only display SURF enrolled students.

From within Canvas:

  1. Click on Grades
Step 1 Grades Filter
  1. Click the Apply Filters button
  2. Click Sections
Step 2 Click Apply Filters button and Step 3 Click Sections
  1. Select the section number that ends in -SURF
Step 4: Select the section number that ends in -SURF

To display only users in the -OTHER roles 

  1. Select the section number that ends in -OTHER to view only non-SURF enrollment types.
The -other section selection.

To display all users together in the Gradebook

  1. Select the Clear All Filters link on the right side of the Gradebook to view all enrollment types.
Clear All Filters

Custom Filters in Gradebook

It is possible to build a gradebook filter in Canvas that is just right for your grading needs. These custom gradebook filters can be used once or saved for future use.

Stay Up To Date with Changes Happening within Canvas

Visit the new Upcoming Canvas Changes page within the Canvas Community. This page is updated by Instructure and is the central location for communicating all Canvas’s significant upcoming changes. Canvas recommends you click the Follow button at the top of the document so you will receive all updates as they are made available. You may also want to review the upcoming Canvas Release Notes to find out what is coming soon and when. Check the Canvas System Status Updates for real time updates about existing features within Canvas.

Upcoming Canvas Changes
Canvas Release Notes
Canvas System Status Updates
MiraCosta Canvas Server Uptime Report

Canvas Start of the Semester Instructor Checklist

Create or Import your Content

Multiple ways to begin to build your class

Copy from another class in Canvas. Your access to classes you have previously taught in Canvas continues indefinitely.

Copy in an entire course or portions of one from Canvas Commons.

Create your content from scratch in Canvas

Review Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions

  • Verify activities and content in the course are published.
  • Verify dates. Due dates are added to the calendar and the syllabus and serve as reminders to students. “Available from” and “Until” dates will unlock and lock the activity.
  • Verify instructions are accurate and well formatted.
  • Verify assignment submission types.
  • Verify number of quiz attempts is correct.
  • Verify assignment groups are set up correctly. See: How to use Assignment Index Page.
  • Verify assignments are weighted correctly, if using a weighted grading system. See: How to Weight Assignment Groups.
  • Verify discussions are ordered logically on Discussions list page.
  • Verify Quiz “Options” are correct. See: Canvas Quiz Options.

Review Course Details

Final Preparations

  •  Publish your course when you are ready for students to have access to it. This typically is on the morning of or before the official course start date. See: How do I publish a course? NOTE: Some faculty like to publish their courses well in advance of the start date, but only publish a handful of elements of the course (such as the syllabus). This allows enrolled students to “preview” the class.
  • For online and hybrid classes, encourage students to attend a Student Online Academic Readiness (SOAR) workshop. You may also wish to share the Canvas Student Orientation to help any students who are new to Canvas to have a resource for learning the basics.
  •  Especially for online and hybrid classes, send an email to your students through your SURF Roster telling them how to access your course in Canvas.

Cautions

  • Canvas email (Inbox/Conversation) messages will not be sent out if the course is unpublished. Send class messages from your SURF Roster instead, prior to publishing the course.
  • Pay attention to the time stamp on anything you have placed a date on. 12:00 means the very first minute of the selected day. For end dates, it is often best to choose 11:59 PM to ensure you are setting it up on the correct date.
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