Category: Canvas

Canvas Information & Resources

Canvas-Logo

MiraCosta’s Canvas system may be accessed at miracosta.instructure.com – faculty and students log in with their SURF username and password. You’ll also find a button to log into Canvas at miracosta.edu/online. See below for many great resources to help you learn to use Canvas, and earn MiraCosta Flex credit along the way.

Top Canvas Resources for Faculty

  • Canvas Instructor Guides – comprehensive step-by-step tutorials on all Canvas features
  • Canvas Instructor videos – small but useful set of videos on key Canvas features
  • MiraCosta Canvas tutorials – locally created guides on key Canvas features and how Canvas works with SURF
  • 24-7 Canvas hotline for faculty: 1-833-345-2890
  • Questions about how Canvas works specifically at MiraCosta? Contact Karen Turpin, Online Instructional Technologist: kturpin@miracosta.edu / 760-795-6787
  • Do you think Canvas might be down or experiencing errors? Check the Canvas Status website.

Canvas Workshops

Online Introduction to Teaching with Canvas

MiraCosta faculty and staff join a completely independent version of the Online Introduction to Teaching with Canvas. This online course is a helpful way to get up to speed on the basics of Canvas on your own. You may also be interested in joining the free @One version of this class – see the @One catalog to sign up for an upcoming session.

Canvas Flex Workshop Recordings

For accessibility-specific workshops, please see “Canvas Accessibility Workshops” section below..

Flex Credit is available for viewing MiraCosta workshop videos. This is a pre-approved activity (in the Other Activities category Conferences and Presentations).

Canvas Accessibility Workshops

Please refer to the following resources to assist with Canvas accessibility:

Also, the Canvas Accessibility Self-Paced Course provides on-demand support. 

Tour a MiraCosta Canvas Class!

What does a Canvas class look like? Well, there are a number of approaches to designing a class in Canvas. Check out some short videos by MiraCosta faculty. And then go behind the scenes – in Canvas – to learn more!

Flex Credit is available for time spent engaging with any of the above resources. This is a pre-approved activity (in the Other Activities category Conferences and Presentations).

More Faculty Resources

Again, Flex Credit is available for time spent engaging with any of the above resources.

Canvas Faculty and Student Support

MiraCosta’s Online Education department provides support for faculty using Canvas, and MiraCosta’s Student Help Desk provides support for students in Canvas classes.

When local support is unavailable, including evenings and weekends, Canvas provides technical support for faculty and students at the following phone numbers.

Faculty: 1-833-345-2890
Students: 1-877-884-1673

Canvas has excellent “Getting Started” guides for faculty and for students. See above for more faculty training resources.

Faculty and students can also create a helpdesk ticket for support from within Canvas by clicking on the Tech Help icon and then selecting Report a Problem.

Tech Help, Report a Problem

You may also review recent and upcoming updates to the Canvas system, as well as submitting or voting on feature additions and changes you’d like.

Key LTI Tools Available in Canvas

  • Turnitin – originality checking, online grading and peer review
  • Zoom – Live web conferencing using Zoom
  • Studio – Create, manage, and engage with video
  • 3CMediaSolutions – Integrate videos you’ve saved in CCC’s 3C Media Solutions tool
  • NetTutor – Connect students to live online tutors (only for use in online and hybrid classes)
  • Google Drive – enabling tighter integration between Google apps and Canvas
  • Various publisher tools – click to learn more
  • Many other LTI tools (“Apps”) are available – some have been made available institutionally and you can see those in the Navigation tab of Course Settings; others can be enabled by faculty individually; you can see those in the Apps tab of Course Settings. See the Canvas Guide on the App Center to learn more.

Workarounds

Canvas does not have a dedicated journaling tool. It is possible to use Canvas tools to provide students with a place to submit their writings or reflections at various points throughout the semester. This is done by creating a series of assignments within the same assignment group.

How did MiraCosta get to Canvas?

MiraCosta College took on a comprehensive Course Management System evaluation in spring 2016 that led to the selection of Canvas. The college then transitioned away from Blackboard and Moodle and to Canvas during 2016-17 and 2017-18. Starting in summer 2018, Canvas is the sole supported course management system for MiraCosta classes.

One of MiraCosta’s early Canvas adopters, music professor Christy Coobatis, says this about using Canvas in spring 2017:

Has been an extremely successful semester because of it! 

Both students and I loved the program.

I have more and clearer communication than ever before!

Another, Adult High School professor Julie Cord, says:

I am in LOVE with Canvas and I truly feel it has helped support my students and my teaching already in very substantial ways.

MiraCosta Canvas Updates for Canvas Instructors Spring 2017

Hello! You are among over 130 faculty who have published courses in MiraCosta’s Canvas system. I hope the semester is starting well for you and your students, and just wanted to reach out to you with a few items.

Faculty Support Resources

Hopefully you are well aware of all the resources linked at https://tic.miracosta.edu/campus-teaching-technologies/canvas/. In particular, our Canvas Transition Team faculty are making themselves available in the TIC multiple times over the first few weeks of the semester – check out their schedule at the top of the TIC Canvas page. Feel free to drop in and chat about any questions/challenges you may have.

We’re also hearing good things about the 24×7 Canvas support available at 1-877-884-1673. Remember, this comes directly from Canvas, so they don’t necessarily have all the answers when it comes to MiraCosta-specific questions (such as how students get added to your class). But they are great for any general questions and guidance about the use of Canvas.

Student Support Resources

Please recommend the Student Help Desk to your students. They can provide live support that is very MiraCosta-specific. When the Student Help Desk is not available, students may also use the 24×7 Canvas support number. Also, please reinforce with your students the ease of access to these resources simply by clicking the Help item at the bottom of the main Canvas menu (the blue menu at far left once logged into Canvas). There are also two more Canvas-specific MiraCosta student success workshops this semester:

  • Today (Feb. 2), 5-6 pm in CLC 133 – Student Help Desk introduction to Canvas (by Jesse Leon)
  • Monday, Feb. 6, 12-1 pm in OC 1201 – Student Orientation to Online Learning in Canvas (by Jim Julius)

Student Names in Canvas

Please note that unlike Blackboard and Moodle, students are not able to customize their first name from within Canvas. If a student wishes to have a different first name displayed in Canvas for any reason, they just need to stop by A&R and fill out a “Preferred Name Change” request.

Your Feedback

As you are among the first MiraCosta faculty to use Canvas for a class, your feedback is very valuable – as is your students’. Please feel free to contact me at any time with any feedback you may have about Canvas – positive, negative, or anything in-between! I’m especially interested to hear what support resources have been of greatest value to you as you’ve been learning to use Canvas, and what suggestions you have for adding to/improving MiraCosta’s workshops and support offerings.

Thanks and best wishes for the semester,

Jim Julius, Ed.D.

Faculty Director, Online Education

 

Canvas Faculty and Student Support

MiraCosta’s Online Education department provides support for faculty using Canvas, and MiraCosta’s ITS Help Desk provides support for students in Canvas classes. When local support is unavailable, including evenings and weekends, Canvas provides technical support for faculty and students at the following phone numbers.

Faculty: 1- 833-345-2890 

Students: 1-877-884-1673

Canvas has “Getting Started” guides for faculty and for students.

Faculty and students can also create a helpdesk ticket for support from within Canvas by clicking on the Tech Help icon and then selecting Report a Problem.

You may also review stay up to date with changes happening within canvas.

December & Flex Week Canvas workshops

December

The Canvas faculty Transition Team is offering three more Canvas workshops before break.

Workshop: All Hands on Canvas

This workshop is designed to give you open time to work with Canvas in a supported environment. A faculty member who has taught with Canvas will provide a very brief overview of Canvas in the first 10-15 minutes, and from there the time is open for you to become more proficient in your use of Canvas, and to work on developing a class in Canvas, with the support of experienced Canvas users. In addition, attendees may benefit from exploring Canvas resources found at https://tic.miracosta.edu/campus-teaching-technologies/canvas/ .

Date / Time / Location / Facilitator(s):

Tuesday 12/6 – 2:30-4 pm – OC 4612 – Gail Meinhold
Friday 12/9 – 1:30-3 pm – OC 4611 – Billy Gunn
Tuesday 12/13 – 9-10:30 am – OC 4803b – Billy Gunn

You may also be interested in watching a recording of a recent workshop Sean Davis and Robert Kelley offered which included faculty and student perspectives on the experience of transitioning to Canvas.

January – Flex Week

Friday, January 13th will include a full day of Canvas workshops. The day will open with brief presentations/overviews of Canvas from the perspectives of several MiraCosta faculty. Each of those faculty will then lead hands-on workshops on various aspects of Canvas during the day, and the day will end with a facilitated open lab session for those who want to get to work with Canvas.

Tuesday, January 17th will feature a full day of 1.5 hour Canvas open lab sessions with the support of experienced MiraCosta faculty and staff. Attend as many as you like.

Thursday, January 19th we will offer one final hands-on Canvas workshop focusing on page design, an important skill for those who wish to explore possibilities for Canvas use beyond the basic approaches most typically used with Canvas.

Sign up for these via MyFlex when PDP releases the spring Flex schedule!

As always, you may wish to review the FA’s position on the Canvas transition.

Jim Julius, Ed.D.
Faculty Director, Online Education
Vice President, Academic Senate

Canvas Workshops in December

The Canvas faculty Transition Team is offering several Canvas workshops in December.

Workshop: All Hands on Canvas

This workshop is designed to give you open time to work with Canvas in a supported environment. A faculty member who has taught with Canvas will provide a very brief overview of Canvas in the first 10-15 minutes, and from there the time is open for you to become more proficient in your use of Canvas, and to work on developing a class in Canvas, with the support of experienced Canvas users. In addition, attendees may benefit from exploring Canvas resources.

Date / Time / Location / Facilitator(s):

Friday 12/2 – 1:30-3:00 pm – OC 4611 – Curry Mitchell
Tuesday 12/6 – 2:30-4:00 pm – OC 4612 – Gail Meinhold
Friday 12/9 – 1:30-3:00 pm – OC 4611- Billy Gunn & Leola McClure
Tuesday 12/13 – 9-10:30 am – OC 4803B – Billy Gunn

As always, you may wish to review the FA’s position on the Canvas transition.

Jim Julius, Ed.D.
Faculty Director, Online Education
MiraCosta College

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