Category: Featured

An Option for Sending Out Midsemester Reports

Hi Folks,

Each semester I send out “midsemester grades” to all of my students.  Students appreciate the heads up, and it often leads to conversations that benefit the students.

For those interested in sending out a “midterm report” regarding your students’ current grade in the course…   consider using the message option in the “New Analytics” feature.  With it, you can customize messages to go out to students based on their grade percentage (e.g., between 90% – 100%, 80% – 89%, 70% – 79%, 60% – 69%, etc.).  This is an excellent way to let students know how they are currently doing in the course.

First Step: Grading and the Canvas Gradebook

  • Complete all grading 24 hours before sending out the midterm reports.  The ‘New Analytics’ feature does not read directly from the gradebook… it has a lag of 24 hours before it is updated.  Once you have finished grading… wait 24 hours before sending out the midterm reports.
  • As part of the grading, place a zero for any assignments overdue that are not submitted (otherwise, they are not included in the grade calculations)

Second Step: Enable the New Analytics Feature

  1. Click on the ‘Settings’ option in your Canvas Course
  2. Click on the ‘Features Options’ tab along the top
  3. Click the ‘New Course and User Analytics’ option
Screen shot for Step 1, 2 and 3.

Third Step: Open the New Analytics Feature

  • From the Home Page of your Canvas course, select ‘New Analytics’
New Analytics button

Fourth Step: Prepare to Send Out Messages

  • Click on the ‘Envelop’ icon.
Envelope Icon

Fifth Step: Prepare to Send Out Messages

  • Provide the lower and upper range for grade percentage.
  • Type the Subject line and Message.  Adjust both to be meaningful and helpful to the students receiving the message.  I tend to say ‘Congratulations’ for all passing grades (A, B, and C), and let students with grades not quite passing that making a change now could help them to pass the course.  For students significantly below passing, I share that a bigger ‘mid-course’ correction is needed, but that it remains within their options.  Share resources, provide advice, and cheer them on.
  • Click ‘Send’
  • Repeat this process for each grade range you’ll be using (e.g., 90 – 100, 80 – 89, 70 – 79, 60 – 69, etc.).
Settings screen for Message Students Who.

Sincerely,

Robert

█ Robert G. Kelley, Ph.D.
█ Psychology Department
█ MiraCosta College

Dropped Students in Canvas – People Roster

Students that drop a course in SURF after the semester has started remain on the People roster in Canvas, but with an inactive role. Students in the inactive role do not see or have access to the Canvas course, but faculty may access activities and grades of an inactive student. This is particularly helpful when a student grade is challenged or if a faculty member is evaluating whether a dropped student is eligible to be reinstated to a course.

People

Within the People roster on Canvas, students that have dropped will have the inactive tag displayed to the right of their name. This identifier will remain next to the student’s name throughout the course unless the student is reinstated to the course. Click the student’s name to access additional information about the student and review the student’s completed activities.

  • You cannot hide inactive students in the People roster.

Grades

Inactive students are hidden by default in the gradebook. To view the grades of inactive students, choose Show Inactive Enrollments in the Gradebook settings. For complete details, see: How do I view grades for inactive student enrollments in the Gradebook?

Course Evaluations in Canvas

Course evaluations are integrated within Canvas for both faculty and students. MiraCosta uses EvaluationKIT to provide this function. When you have a course section that is part of your evaluation process, this page has information to help you ensure it goes smoothly.

Information to share with your students

These directions are for the SURF enrolled students within your course.

Students can access the course evaluation within Canvas, or through an email sent to them from MiraCosta’s course evaluation survey administrator. Provide the link below to your students to help them with the evaluation process in Canvas.

Students must have cookies and pop ups enabled within their browser for the course evaluation tool to work correctly.

Advise students to contact the Student Help Desk if they need assistance with course evaluations. The phone # is (760)-795-6655.

*Note for Instructors: The Student Course Evaluations menu item will NOT work with your Faculty Canvas Sample Student account, or the Instructor’s Student View in Canvas, as those accounts are not SURF enrolled users within your course.

Information for Faculty

As an instructor, you can view your course evaluation surveys from the course navigation menu or from the To Do list within your course. It is important to have the EvaluationKIT Course menu navigation tool available in Canvas in order to show the ‘Instructor Course Evaluations’ navigation menu item. Even if this tool is available in Settings > Navigation, this tool will only show up in your course if there is a course survey associated with your course.

If you modified your course navigation menu, you may have hidden the EvaluationKIT Course menu navigation tool. If you are being evaluated, you must enable the EvaluationKIT Course menu navigation tool so that you will see the navigation menu item ‘Instructor Course Evaluations‘, and your students will see the ‘Student Course Evaluations‘ navigation menu item.

Instructor Navigation Menu

If you have not made any changes to your course navigation menu, this is the default location for the EvaluationKIT course surveys. Remember, this tool will only display if you have a course survey associated with your course. The navigation menu item is displayed as ‘Instructor Course Evaluations‘ in the instructor view.

Default location of Instructor Course Evaluations in the Canvas course navigation menu This tool will only display if you have a course survey associated with your course.

Instructor To Do List

On the To Do list within a Canvas course, you can also view your course evaluation survey. In this area you can view the percentage of students who have responded, as well as the start and end date of your course evaluation survey.

NOTE: Courses with a 1/1/3000 date on the Course Evaluation Survey are NOT being evaluated in the current semester.

Course evaluation surveys are located here on the Canvas course To Do list with % responded and start and end dates. NOTE: Courses with the 1/1/3000 date are NOT being surveyed this semester.

Enabling the EvaluationKIT Course Navigation Menu Tool

If you edited your Canvas course navigation menu, and your course is being evaluated, you may need to add the EvaluationKIT Course navigation tool back to your Canvas course. This is necessary so that you and your students will be able to access your course evaluations in the Canvas course navigation menu.

  1. Click on Settings. You will find this as the last option on your course navigation menu.
  2. Click the Navigation tab.
  3. Find the EvaluationKIT Course option in the bottom list of hidden navigation items.
  4. Drag EvaluationKIT Course from the bottom list to the top list of available items.
  5. Click the Save button
Steps 1-4
Step 5

Questions about Course Evaluations

For questions about student surveys and/or the Course Evaluations & Surveys system, associate faculty should contact their school’s Academic Division Administrative Assistant. Full-time faculty should contact human resources at evalsupport@miracosta.edu

If you are having a computer specific issue with a MCC computer contact the campus Employee Help Desk at (760) 795-6850.

Recorded GIFTS Teaching with Technology Zoom Cast

Greetings Colleagues:

At yesterday’s Great Ideas for Teaching: Teaching with Technology Hy Flex Zoom Cast, we shared ideas about 

1) zoom conference-based grading for papers and larger projects, 

2) using the notes tool in canvas to encourage personalized contact and follow up with students, and 

3) incorporating quiz questions and annotations into video using canvas studio

Video Screen Shot of Technology Zoom Cast

Here is the recording from our meeting.

And here are some links for those who wish to follow up on what we are sharing (remember, we are just briefly introducing ideas, not walking step b step through the how to’s).

  • As Jim J. worked through his ideas, he reminded us of what an amazing recourse the TIC home page is and the practical teaching ideas we can find in our Distance Education Handbook.
  • When Nadia walked us through adding quiz questions and annotations to video in canvas, she highlighted the possibilities. But she also has a video that walks interested colleagues step by step through the how to’s of this tool: embedding quizzes and annotations in videos.

Thanks to all — especially our colleague Arturo Arevalos — for another lively session.

gym sullivan
joyfully celebrating, cultivating, and connecting

Fall 2023 tools and support for online success

Welcome back! Please see below for quick reminders of great MiraCosta resources to help you enable your students to succeed in online environments! If you use Pearson tools in Canvas, please be sure to see the final bullet in the first section for a critical update that occurred this summer.

Support for You

  • Our Canvas start-of-term checklist can help you prepare your classes.
  • The MiraCosta Online Class Quality Guidelines provides MiraCosta requirements and recommended practices for online instructors.
  • Ongoing faculty support – You can set a meeting with our Instructional Designer, Nadia Khan, any time. Note: the Online Mentor program has not yet been renewed – I will keep you informed if/when that becomes available again.
  • Tech Support – Canvas options include 24×7 phone and chat support. Just click the Tech Support button at lower left in Canvas! Zoom and other MiraCostatech support for faculty is available through the MiraCosta employee help desk
  • NEW Panda Pros are Canvas experts who provide free 45 minute 1-1 consultations as well as weekly live “Dear Panda Pros” webinars on particular Canvas topics.
  • MiraCosta technologies supporting online teaching and learning – please see the last section of this email for an overview, with links to learn more.
  • Pearson users! The integration between Pearson and Canvas had a major update following the spring term. MyLab is now called PearsonAccess. Links to Pearson MyLab tools from copied courses will no longer work and must be updated. Please see the Pearson Canvas integration guide for instructors and Pearson Transition guide to learn more, and reach out to your Pearson rep if you need assistance.

Support for Your Students – Please help your students to be aware of and make use of these important services and resources!

  • Student Online Academic Readiness workshops – In collaboration with the library, I’ll be offering a number of these during the first two weeks of summer – see all dates and times on the TASC site and in Canvas announcements. These workshops engage students with resources MiraCosta provides to support them, as well as habits and attitudes of successful online students. Encourage your students to attend and, if you like, find out which of your students participated in order to incentivize their attendance.
  • Online Student Support Access Points – the Student Support Hubin Canvas, accessed via the Student Support button on the left in Canvas, gives quick access to online support from the library, STEM & MLC, online tutoring, writing center, counseling, career center, open computer lab staff, student help desk, health services, CARE team, and more! NEW: The Ask the Spartan chat integrated into MiraCosta’s website provides both automated responses and (brand new!) the opportunity to connect to Live Chat with staff from many student support areas.
  • Tech Support – At lower left in Canvas is a button for students to quickly access Tech Support options, including 24×7 phone and chat support from Canvas, and our local MiraCosta student help desk.
  • Technology Needs? – Be sure to share the form for students to fill out if they need to borrow a laptop or internet hotspot
  • Class Availability in Canvas – Faculty teaching distance education (online and hybrid) classes are expected to make their classes available by mid-day on the Monday of the week in which they begin. To learn more, please see MiraCosta Distance Education Class Authentication Compliance, Start-of-Term Availability Procedures, and Recommendations.

MiraCosta’s Online Education Tools

Click the links for a detailed MiraCosta-specific overview (and often, recorded Flex workshops) for each tool below. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions about these or other resources.

  • Canvas 
  • Zoom – if you’re using Zoom, make sure you’re using a pro Zoom account through MiraCosta.
  • Canvas Studio – enables faculty and students to create videos while inside Canvas. Faculty can create interactive discussion or quiz activities based on video.
  • Pronto is an incredible mobile-friendly and Canvas-integrated messaging platform that’s ready to use in every course.
  • Perusall is a social annotation tool available within Canvas that makes it easy for students to comment/discuss right on a text, document, or image.
  • Lab Archives Electronic Notebook is an online notebook especially useful for translating lab manuals and student notes/work into the online environment.
  • Pope Tech helps faculty detect and correct accessibility issues within Canvas. NEW: the PopeTech dashboard tool added to Canvas this summer provides a course overview for addressing all accessibility issues in a course in one place, rather than having to go item-by-item through Canvas.
  • SensusAccess is a NEW tool added this summer to provide multi-format course material accessibility and file type conversion options for students, replacing Ally. If you notice an S symbol next to your page title and next to items in the Modules view, that’s SensusAccess.
  • PlayPosit – This video interaction tool offers more complexity and options than Studio. Studio is a great place to start, but if you’re looking for more types of interactivity to add to your videos, PlayPosit is great. 
  • Turnitin – help students learn to properly cite sources and avoid plagiarism. Also provides grading and peer review tools for written work. Turnitin includes an AI detection capability for instructors at this time, but please beware of false positives should you use it.

Best wishes for a fantastic fall!

– Jim

Jim Julius, Ed.D.
Faculty Coordinator, Online Education

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