Category: Featured

Remote Instruction – Support and Resources for Faculty and Students

Hello, Faculty Community! 

We hope things are going as well as can be expected. We want to keep you updated on the support and resources that are available to our students and you. Please review the following – 

Support for students that faculty are encouraged to share and reinforce:

  • The Student Support Hub in Canvas includes many excellent services featuring live online support experts from the library, tutoring, STEM/Math Learning Centers, Writing Center, Counseling, Career Center, Computer Labs, and Student Help Desk
  • NetTutor was added to all Canvas course menus last month – this allows all students to access online tutoring directly from all Canvas courses; you can remove this from your course menu if you don’t think this would be helpful to your students
  • The Student FAQs document is kind of like a virtual MiraCosta campus – students can find answers to many questions that they would have asked on campus, and find contact information to pursue any needs further
  • The Reshaping Your School Schedule During Remote Instruction document has excellent info for students on good habits for online student success, self-care and mental health tips, online learning netiquette, Zoom tech tips, and more
  • Students who are need of technology resources or have other major life concerns making it difficult to continue their studies, they can self-refer, or you can refer them for support via the CARE form

Support for faculty to better support students:

  • The MiraCosta APC is dedicating staff time to helping faculty reach out to students who are falling behind. Fill out the attached form if you’d like them to work with you and your students.
  • Faculty in need of webcams, headsets, or other resources to help you work from home should fill out the Help Desk request form on the Portal – details about this and additional remote working information is on AIS’s Remote Work Resources site
  • The Remote Instruction Faculty FAQs document includes lots of guidance and resources for MiraCosta faculty at this time
  • Check out the library support options if you want to ensure that students who were using textbooks on reserve in the library will continue to have access to crucial course material
  • Check out the CVC-OEI schedule featuring daily online office hours for faculty as well as a variety of webinars
  • Center of Urban Education – Webinar: The Importance of Equity-Minded Virtual Practices during COVID-19 on Thursday, April 23 at 12 pm.

Take good care,
Sean and Jim

Transition to Remote Instruction Workshop Archives

These are the archives of the workshops that were presented March 23 – 27, 2020

Monday, March 23, 2020

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Friday, March 27, 2020

DirectShare in Canvas (NEW)

Direct Share allows users to copy individual course items to another course and share individual items with other users. This change allows content to be shared directly in Canvas without having to use a secondary repository like Commons.

Assignments Direct Share Release Video Screencast
Start Assignments: Direct Share Video

Tutorials and Guides

Course-Level Features

User-Level Features

Submit Handwritten Work to Canvas using Camscanner App and a Phone

CamScanner allows students to use their phone to scan multiple pages of handwritten homework to a PDF to submit to an online course. The app is available for Android, iPhone, and iPad. The basic version is free and should be sufficient for students to scan multiple pages to one file that can be submitted to a Canvas assignment.

Camscanner App Tutorials for Canvas

Android

iPhone (iOS)

Try These 10 Things To Fix Your Computer Problem Before You Call Support

Troubleshooting computer problems is part of modern life when you teach online. Before you make that support call, try your hand at fixing some of the most common problems yourself.

  1. Check your Course Management System (CMS) Status
    Is it a maintenance time? Or is  Canvas currently experiencing an outage?

     

    1. Canvas Status Updates
    2. Stay Up To Date with Changes Happening within Canvas
  2. Clear Browser Cache (history, cookies, etc.)
    Clearing your browser cache often will resolve the problem by allowing your computer to download the latest version of the webpage and/or software.

     

    1. How do I clear my browser cache on a PC?
    2. How do I clear my browser cache on a MAC?
  3. Try a Different Browser
    If you have cleared your browser cache and things are still not working as you expect try a different browser. Example: if you are using Chrome, try Firefox and visa versa. Ensure that your browsers are up to date. You can always download the latest version free online.

     

    1. Chrome
    2. Firefox
    3. Which browsers does Canvas support?
  4. Restart your Computer
    Many faculty and staff solve their problems with this simple step. Always a good option to try.
  5. Check your Internet Connection Speed
    A slow connection could be why your CMS system is running slow.  Share your result with your internet service provider as necessary to resolve.
  6. Enable Browser Cookies
    Cookies are small files which are stored on a user’s computer. They are designed to hold a modest amount of data specific to a particular client and website, and can be accessed either by the web server or the client computer. This allows the online server to deliver a page tailored to a particular user, or the page itself can contain some script which is aware of the data in the cookie and so is able to carry information from one visit to the website (or related site) to the next.
  7. Enable Java
    It strongly recommended to have the latest version to ensure proper functionality of our online systems.

     

    1. Review ‘What is Java and Why do I need it?‘
    2. Download Java
  8. Manage Pop-Up Blockers
    Pop-up windows, or pop-ups, are windows that appear automatically without your permission. They vary in size but usually don’t cover the whole screen. They are often required for certain online website applications to work properly.
  9. Make sure that your Operating System is fully updated. 
    Neglecting updates could deprive you of important bug and performance fixes.

     

    1. Apple Computer
    2. PC Computer 
  10. Check your Device Settings
    This is a great tool to identify what is on your computer, browser version, plugins, etc. This tool can help you update your computer yourself, and/or can be provided to tech support to assist you further with troubleshooting.

     

    1. What are the basic computer specifications for Canvas?
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