Category: Quizzes

Canvas Release (2023-06-17): Feature Update: RCE in New Quizzes & New Quiz Updates

Update 1: Rich Content Editor in New Quizzes

Featured Video: Release Screencast: 2023-05-20 New Quizzes Rich Content Editor in New Quizzes

Summary

The Rich Content Editor (RCE) is available in New Quizzes on Production Canvas

Change Benefit

This update provides instructors the ability to utilize the accessibility checker on questions and instructions, add media recordings within New Quizzes, and change the view between the HTML editor and classic view for advanced users. Users can also access a math editor. Additionally, this update provides students with the ability to record audio and video within the RCE of a New Quiz.

Feature Workflow

New Quizzes Build Page with Rich Content EditorNew Quizzes Build Page with Rich Content Editor

When building a New Quiz, instructors can use the Rich Content Editor.

Student View New Quizzes Rich Content EditorStudent View New Quizzes Rich Content Editor

When taking a New Quiz, students can use the Rich Content Editor.

Additional Details

This update completes phase one and phase two of the Rich Content Editor integration in New Quizzes. For more information on the Rich Content Editor integration, see the Re-enablement of the Rich Content Editor (RCE) in New Quizzes blog.

Update 2: Rich Content Editor Supports Third-Party Apps in New Quizzes

Featured Video: 2023-06-17 New Quizzes Rich Content Editor Supports Third-Party Apps

Summary

In New Quizzes, the Rich Content Editor supports adding content using third-party apps.

Change Benefit

This update allows users to easily include third-party tools to provide content in New Quizzes.

Feature Workflow

Rich Content Editor App MenuRich Content Editor App Menu

To insert content using a third-party tool, click the App link [1] and select the desired tool [2].

Rich Content Editor Insert App View
Rich Content Editor Insert App View

When a third-party tool has been selected, users can select  content to insert in the Rich Content Editor.

Update 3: Zero-Point New Quiz in Gradebook Checkbox

Featured Video: 2023-06-17 New Quizzes Practice Zero Point New Quiz

Summary

Instructors can choose to not display a column in the gradebook or student page when creating a zero-point practice New Quiz.

Change Benefit

This change allows instructors to remove unwanted content in the gradebook and prevent confusion for students related to zero-point practice quizzes.

Feature Workflow

New Quiz Do Not Display in Gradebook or the Student's Grade Page Checkbox
New Quiz Do Not Display in Gradebook or the Student’s Grade Page Checkbox

When creating a New Quiz worth zero points, select the Do not display in gradebook or the student’s grade page checkbox. 

Additional Details

When the Do not display in gradebook or the student’s grade page checkbox is selected, the Do not count this assignment towards the final grade checkbox becomes unavailable. If the Do not display in gradebook or the student’s grade page checkbox is not selected, a column displays in the Gradebook and student grade page as the default.

Studio Online Video Learning Platform

Studio Logo

Studio Flex Workshop Recordings

Studio is a video tool integrated inside of Canvas, which MiraCosta began piloting in spring 2019 when it was known as ARC. It is now available to all faculty and students indefinitely through state funding.

With Studio:

  • Faculty and students can easily record webcam and screencast video within Canvas
  • Faculty and students can create and manage a library of videos for use in Canvas (and to share outside of Canvas)
  • Faculty can create discussion activities that are based on video (discussion comments are tied to specific points in the video)
  • Faculty get data on student viewing of video
  • Faculty can add quiz questions into videos; students respond while watching the video; results go directly into the gradebook
  • Students can submit video assignments; faculty can provide feedback directly on specific moments in the video
  • Videos can be automatically captioned and the captions can be easily edited

Studio is available to faculty and students from the blue global navigation bar in MiraCosta Canvas.

Studio is also available to faculty only on the navigation menu within a MiraCosta Canvas course to RECORD or ADD video content.

Studio is also available to faculty only on the navigation menu within a Canvas course to RECORD or ADD video content.

Within the Canvas Rich Content Editor, faculty and students can select Studio from the second row of icons to add a Studio video they’ve previously recorded, or to create and use a webcam or screencast video right there.

Studio location in Canvas Rich Content Editor.

Helpful Guides

Check out an excellent website about Studio that MiraCosta associate faculty member Laura Paciorek created in summer 2020.

Studio tutorials/videos to get you started:

Browser Support for WebCams

Q. I tried using Studio but it keeps saying that it needs to access my webcam.

A. Follow the directions below for either the Chrome or Firefox browser to fix this problem.

To learn more about Studio and Canvas, view the full set of Studio tutorials.

Adding Videos Captioned in YouTube or 3CMediaSolutions to Studio

Unfortunately, videos you’ve already created in YouTube or 3CMediaSolutions will not have their captions preserved when you add them to Studio. Rather than starting captioning over again in Studio, here are some tips from Greg Beyrer of Cosumnes River College:

YouTube: Download the captions file from YouTube. The video must be set to allow community members to contribute captions. If the video already has English captions provided by the creator those cannot be downloaded, but you can tell YouTube you are contributing captions in a friendly language, say Canadian English, and then one-click copy the published captions to the new language. That could then be downloaded. YouTube does not download captions in a file that is recognized by Studio, so you have to convert those captions (.sbv file) into a Studio-friendly format (.srt file). This site does this: https://captionsconverter.com. (from YouTube Captions to Arc – Workaround Guide, where you can also find a video demonstrating the process.)

3CMediaSolutions: Simply download the (.vtt) caption file from a 3CMediaSolutions video, and then upload that file into Studio for the same video. If your video is lengthy, it may even be quicker to first upload it to 3CMediaSolutions and request the free professional captioning rather than going through the auto-caption and edit process in Studio. (from Making Arc Work with 3C Media Solutions, which includes a video demonstrating the process)

Proctorio

Proctorio

Proctorio is an online exam proctoring and security tool, available for use in Canvas courses at MiraCosta through December 2020. Proctorio requires both instructors and students to access Canvas using the Google Chrome browser with an extension installed. It works with Canvas Quizzes but not New Quizzes. Its primary features are:

  1. Locking down the student’s computer when tests are being taken in Canvas so that the student must stay in Canvas and is unable to switch to other websites or programs.
  2. Recording the video and sound (IMPORTANT: This requires students to have a webcam/mic) during test-taking in Canvas; the recording is automatically analyzed for anomalies that could indicate cheating behaviors; anomalies are flagged for review by the instructor.

Feature #1 can be used on its own, if the video-based proctoring is not desired.

You may also be interested in tips on designing “less cheatable” courses and assessments.

Getting Started with Proctorio: Faculty

  • To use Proctorio in Canvas, you and your students MUST use the Google Chrome browser with the Proctorio extension installed.
  • Faculty setup process:
    1. Log into Canvas – ideally on a Chrome browser
    2. Enter the course on Canvas where you want to get started with Proctorio
    3. Go to Settings, then Navigation. Enable Secure Exam Proctor (Proctorio) and click Save.
    4. Click Secure Exam Proctor (Proctorio) on the left course menu.
    5. Now it tells you to Install Google Chrome (if you weren’t using Google Chrome).
    6. Install Proctorio Chrome Extension with the URL it shows for #2. Follow this through and add the extension to Chrome.
    7. Now that you have the Chrome extension, the menu item for Proctorio on the left course menu is gone.
    8. To access Proctorio, go to an exam, edit the settings, and select the check box Enable Proctorio Secure Exams. Then a whole new tab opens to configure your Proctorio options.
  • Use of Chrome with the Proctorio extension installed is required to enable full access to the Proctorio support resources. When you are in Chrome with the extension active, the following support articles will be accessible:
  • You can provide a link to the 3-step Proctorio setup for your students. Again, if you are desiring to use the remote proctoring feature of Proctorio, students would need to have a webcam and mic on the computer where they are doing the testing.
  • Once you have installed the Proctorio extension in Chrome, in Canvas you will see a message at the top of the screen the first time you access each course you are teaching. The message asks you if you want to use Canvas with that course.
    • If you do activate Proctorio within a course, you will also be asked if you wish to add some Proctorio resources to your course (practice quiz, student guide added in the Pages area). A faculty guide will be added in the Pages area and it will automatically open.

Additional Resources

  • Proctorio FAQs
  • Proctorio Guide produced by the Online Education Initiative with an overview of Proctorio’s options and settings.
  • Additional step-by-step guides become available to you and your students after you activate Proctorio within a Canvas course. See above for details on how to do that.

Getting Help

Proctorio email support: support@proctorio.com

Proctorio phone support:
Faculty – 1-760-209-1110 or 1-855-407-1393
Students – 1-760-227-7129 or 1-855-530-0985

Also, once the Proctorio extension (Secure Exam Proctor) is installed in Chrome, it becomes active for faculty and students when they access a Proctorio-enabled quiz in Canvas. Clicking the shield that represents the extension provides access to live chat support and to the Proctorio support website with additional resources.

Proctorio Feedback and Tips

Proctorio has been available via the OEI to CCC schools since 2015. Some highlights of feedback from colleagues around the CCC system:

  • Some colleges are using Proctorio extensively and seem happy with it; others have run into some concerns and have chosen not to promote its use.
  • The biggest concerns about using Proctorio are:
    • Challenges for students in ensuring that they have a proper setup (using Chrome, getting the Proctorio extension installed, using a webcam and microphone if proctoring is required)
    • Challenges for students with Proctorio working properly for video proctoring if they don’t have a strong Internet connection; this can result in the computer freezing and/or exam failures.
  • There are some colleges where they say that due to the above concerns, some faculty are using just the Lockdown capability of Proctorio and not the video proctoring, meaning that students don’t have to have a webcam and mic, and the bandwidth requirements are much less.
  • The practice quiz that Proctorio will automatically add to your course is useful as a way to help ensure that students are prepared to take a real test with Proctorio, but …
  • If you decide to not use the “full” capabilities of Proctorio, but you do want to use the practice quiz that Proctorio installs in your course, you should modify the practice quiz settings to reflect only the Proctorio features you are using.
  • It’s a good idea to include the Proctorio support numbers for students (see above) in any quiz/exam directions in case they haven’t even realized they need to be using Chrome and/or they have not yet installed the Proctorio extension within Chrome.
  • At least one college recommends against enabling the Record the Room option (awkward and disruptive during exam-taking) and the Force Completion option (will require instructor intervention to reset the test if there is any Internet connection issue during the test).
  • Students cannot use a mobile device to complete a Proctorio-enabled Quiz.
  • Proctorio works with Quizzes only, not New Quizzes.

New Quizzes (aka Quizzes.Next) in Canvas

Quizzes.Next was the original name given to Canvas’s alternative quiz/test assessment engine introduced in 2018. As of summer 2019, Canvas has begun referring to this tool as “New Quizzes.” Although originally it was expected that Quizzes.Next would completely replace the original Quiz tool by early 2019, it is no longer clear when this might happen.

Teachers can use Quizzes.Next to create assessments using a variety of question types, including some unavailable in the original Quiz tool. Quizzes.Next assessments are a particular type of Assignment rather than a distinct tool.

Locate New Quizzes in Canvas

  1. Click Assignments in the Canvas course menu
  2. Click the +Quiz/Test button near the top right of the screen.

Quizzes.Next

Getting Started with Quizzes.Next

FAQs and Known Issues

As of summer 2018, Quizzes.Next is in Beta. You may find a few issues as you begin to work with this tool. Check the FAQ and Known Issues, and contact Canvas Support to report issues and get help.

 

Academic Integrity and Canvas Exams

Though cheating is certainly not unique to the online environment, many instructors have  reasonable concerns about opportunities for students to cheat online. These concerns may include:

  • inappropriate access to resources when completing an online assessment
  • copying answers or text found online
  • sharing answers with other students
  • contracting with a third party to complete online classwork

There are many approaches to decreasing the likelihood or ability for students to cheat in the online environment.

Course Redesign ideas:

  • Consider including more formative assessments and activities, and making high-stakes objective assessment a smaller portion of the overall course grade.
  • Get to know your students to help them be more personally invested and to help you recognize individual student voices.
  • Integrate and encourage student use of institutional support resources such as tutoring as part of the learning process.
  • Design assignments that enable/require students to include unique, personally meaningful perspectives and details.
  • Consider combining or replacing objective tests with other methods of assessment, such as projects, collaborative work, writing assignments, and personal reflections.
  • Consider designing tests as open note/open resource so that you do not get caught in an “arms race” with students.
  • Multiple choice and essay questions requiring application of skills and knowledge rather than simple factual recall are harder to cheat on.
  • Consider requiring students to turn in drafts of projects and written work (for feedback from instructor and/or peers) well in advance of a final due date.
  • Include a variety of student-to-student interactions and group activities. For group work, ensure that assessment practices don’t allow non-contributing students to receive the same grade as other group members.
  • Alter assignments and tests from semester to semester.

Proctoring: For objective assessments critical to the learning outcomes for an online course, consider using the MiraCosta Proctoring Center. For students at a distance, the Proctoring Center can help to establish proctoring in other locations. [Note: during spring 2021, the Proctoring Center will have limited availability. Consider using Zoom to proctor objective online assessments yourself.]

Code of Conduct and Instructor Leadership: Discuss with students the reasons why academic integrity is important. Emphasize the benefits (and pleasures!) of truly engaging with course material and learning, rather than focusing on grades. Have students sign or even jointly develop a statement summarizing the expectations and requirements for academic honesty. You might also refer to MiraCosta’s

  • Standards of Student Conduct, AP 5500
    Students must refrain from engaging in … Cheating, plagiarizing, or engaging in other academic dishonesty
  • Academic Integrity policy, BP 5505
    MiraCosta College highly values academic integrity. At the core, this means an honest representation of one’s own work. MiraCosta College also promotes the approach that education is best accomplished as a cooperative, collaborative enterprise in which students are encouraged to work with and learn from each other. The line between academic integrity and collaborative education is not always easy to define and may vary from one discipline to the next and from one instructor to the next. Many aspects of cheating and plagiarism are universally recognized, while others are subject to debate. This policy provides some broad, general guidelines and allows instructors to be more restrictive according to their preferences and practices. Examples of academic dishonesty include but are not limited to:
    A. Cheating: Copying from another student or using unauthorized aids or persons during an examination.
    B. Plagiarizing: Copying someone else’s work or ideas and misrepresenting them as one’s own.
    C. Falsification: Making up fictitious information and presenting it as factual or altering records for the purpose of misrepresentation.
    D. Facilitation: Helping another student to cheat, plagiarize, or falsify.

You might include a question on exams that has students agree to the code of conduct and/or that has students indicate that they have completed the exam on their own without using prohibited resources.

Making Canvas Exams More Secure

When conducting tests through Canvas, the following methods can further reduce the risk of cheating. Note that as of fall 2020, Canvas has two different tools for conducting tests – Quizzes (the original) and New Quizzes. New Quizzes is still being developed; at this time it has both advantages and limitations (view a comparison and/or a New Quizzes FAQ) compared to the original Quizzes tool, but it is expected to eventually fully replace the original Quizzes. Canvas guides for both Quizzes and New Quizzes are given for each item below as applicable.

  • Availability Window – Restrict the availability of the test to a specific date/time range. Quizzes | New Quizzes
  • Time Limits – Limit the time a student can spend on a test once they start it. Quizzes | New Quizzes
  • Disallow Multiple Attempts – Multiple attempts is a great option for a “mastery” quiz where you want students to retake it until they achieve a certain level of proficiency; this isn’t typical of a summative, high-stakes assessment. Quizzes | New Quizzes
  • Delay Per-Question Feedback (Quizzes only) – Providing students feedback on each question can help them learn; delaying the availability of this feedback until after the test availability window is over can help ensure the integrity of the exam. Quizzes [As of spring 2020, if feedback is built into a New Quizzes assessment, it is provided to students immediately and cannot be delayed.]
  • Answer Randomization – Answers to multiple choice questions can be randomized/shuffled so they are presented differently for different students. (Note: In Quizzes this is one setting for the entire quiz; in New Quizzes this is a per-question setting.) Quizzes | New Quizzes
  • Present Questions One at a Time – This can make it more difficult for students to “collaborate” if questions are also randomized. An additional option can prevent students from going back to previous questions, which can further strengthen the integrity of the exam, but can also frustrate students who legitimately realize they made a mistake on a previous question and wish to correct it. Quizzes | New Quizzes
  • Shuffle Questions (New Quizzes only) – This will present the quiz questions to students in random order. New Quizzes
  • Question Randomization with a Question Group/Item Bank – Drawing questions randomly from a pool (or pools) can make it even more difficult for students to productively share questions during an exam. Keep in mind that if your pool contains more questions than the number of questions you are drawing from the pool to go into the exam, you need to be careful about maintaining consistency of the questions within the pool (both in terms of outcomes measured and difficulty of the questions). Quizzes | New Quizzes
  • Calculated (Formula) Questions – Formula questions can include a range of values for one term/variable. Thus, the same question will have unique answers across different quizzes, but the question can still be auto-graded. Quizzes | New Quizzes
  • Require Presentation of ID – if you are not using a physical proctoring center, but you would like students to demonstrate that the person taking the test is the person enrolled in your class, one suggestion is to have students record a brief video holding a picture ID next to their face. If you use Proctorio, this step can automatically be included when enabling video proctoring; if you don’t, you could add an Essay question that directs students to access their webcam through the Rich Content Editor and record this. Of course, this requires students to have a webcam (and still wouldn’t prevent the student from doing this, then having someone else complete the rest of the exam). Quizzes | New Quizzes
  • Restrict Computer Activity During Exam – Technology such as Proctorio enables faculty to require that student’s computer and browser are “locked down” during an exam, preventing students from opening other browser windows or applications, taking screen captures, etc. This requires specific technology on the student computer. Note that Proctorio works only with Canvas Quizzes, not New Quizzes.