Respondus is a quiz authoring and management tool that allows instructors to create exams, quizzes, and surveys offline that can then be published directly to Canvas. Test questions can be uploaded from a text file, rich text file, or Word document. Existing Canvas tests can be downloaded, saved, and printed.
MiraCosta College has a campus-wide license for the Respondus software allowing installation of the software on any on campus computer or faculty personal computer. Respondus is a Windows application. For MAC users Respondus is available via VMWare.
Download Respondus – You will need your MiraCosta College login and password to obtain the installation password for 2025-2026.
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 link to log into Canvas at the top right hand side of the campus website www.miracosta.edu. See below for many great resources to help you learn to use Canvas, and earn MiraCosta Flex credit along the way.
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!
Canvas Student Orientation – this open Canvas course can also be a good way for faculty to introduce themselves to Canvas from the student perspective. Faculty are also welcome to link directly to this resource within their own Canvas classes to help their students learn key features of Canvas.
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).
And often starting with a Google search is the quickest path to finding something really useful!
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 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 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.
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.
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.
Canvas Studio (Recording, 57 minutes) – 1/17/2023 workshop by Nadia Khan and Karen Turpin – Additional Resource:Presentation Slides
Studio is a video tool integrated inside of Canvas, available to all faculty and students.
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.
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.
Canvas Studio supports an integration with Zoom that allows Zoom to automatically upload recorded meetings into Studio. Here is how you can authorize the Studio Zoom integration in your Canvas Studio Settings.
Zoom provides a reliable, easy-to-use, mobile-friendly tool for live, recordable online presentations, meetings, and discussions with audio, video, chat, screen sharing, polling, and more. It can be used within Canvas or independently.
Zoom Pro is available to all MiraCosta faculty and staff at no charge. Students don’t use the Zoom Pro account but can use free Zoom basic accounts. Nobody at MiraCosta should be paying anything to use Zoom!
The version of Zoom that MiraCostans use changed after the fall 2020 semester; MiraCosta Zoom is now accessed at miracosta-edu.zoom.us rather than conferzoom.org or cccconfer.zoom.us. Faculty need to sign in to Zoom with their MiraCosta College login and password to obtain unlimited pro (“licensed”) access to all features of Zoom, including:
Unlimited meeting lengths and very large numbers of attendees
Recordings “in the cloud” so that you do not need to manage large files of your recorded meetings
Auto-transcription of your cloud-based Zoom recordings
This page includes basic technical how-to information and resources on using Zoom in general, and Zoom use in tandem with Canvas. Please see our separate Teaching with Zoom at MiraCosta College page for more detailed tips about teaching securely, effectively, and accessibly with Zoom.
Log On to Zoom at MiraCosta College
To access your Zoom account via the web go to: https://miracosta-edu.zoom.us Sign in with your MiraCosta College employee account and two-factor authentication (2FA).
How do I get a Zoom account? If you had a pro Zoom account through ConferZoom prior to 2021, it should have been automatically migrated to the MiraCosta Zoom, and there’s nothing you need to do. If you did not previously have a Pro Zoom account, and need to create a MiraCosta Zoom account, sign in to the MiraCosta Help Desk in the Portal and select the User Accounts option.
What if I’m having trouble with my Zoom account? Sign in to the MiraCosta Help Desk in the Portal and click the User Accounts button to request help.
What happened to my Zoom recordings made before 2021? They are still in your Zoom account! The old links to Zoom recordings will still work, but a message will briefly appear when people click an old link. If you update an old recording link with the new MiraCosta Zoom URL (replace cccconfer.zoom.us with miracosta-edu.zoom.us in the link) it will work seamlessly.
What happened to my recurring Zoom meetings I set up before 2021? Similar to your recordings, old links to recurring Zoom meetings will still work, but a message will appear when people click an old link. If you go to your Zoom account, you’ll see that your meetings have been migrated in, and you can get a new invitation. You can also simply update a meeting link created before 2021 with the new MiraCosta Zoom URL (replace cccconfer.zoom.us with miracosta-edu.zoom.us in the link).
What happened to Reports from Zoom meetings held before 2021? They are gone, sorry.
How much storage do I have for Zoom recordings? As of spring 2021, there is not a limit; however, this may change in the future if we do not manage our recordings well. Please delete recordings that you do not need.
Zoom Documentation
The following Zoom trainings, documentation, and resources can help you stay informed:
You can schedule and share Zoom meetings and recordings directly within Canvas, using the Zoom integration. To get started and learn more about the Zoom/Canvas integration, see directions below.
Note: You may also share individual Zoom meeting links and recordings in Canvas without using the integration.
Canvas Integration with Zoom
Enter your Canvas course
Click Settings on the course menu
Click the Navigation tab
Click the 3 dots to the right of Zoom and select Enable.
Click the Save button
Click the Zoom course menu item which will appear in your course menu.
Now you can schedule and access Zoom meetings from inside of Canvas.
Viewing All My Zoom Meetings in Canvas
When you first enter Zoom on Canvas you will see only the Zoom meetings associated with the Canvas course you entered from. To see and access all Zoom meetings within your account, click the link ‘All My Zoom Meetings‘.
Enhancing Student Connection and Communication with Pronto ( Zoom Recording, 1 hr 28 minutes) – 1/14/2025 workshop by Jim Julius, Xuchi Eggleton, Eric Robertson, Maryline Chemama, Arlie Langager, Kristi Reyes, Serena Mercado, Rob Bond, & Lauren Luker
Pronto Open Lab – Learn How to Level Up Your Engagement! ( Zoom Recording, 46 minutes) – 1/17/2024 workshop by Lauren Luker (Pronto) & Jim Julius. This workshop provides an overview of Pronto’s features and how to get started with using Pronto to enhance class communication. This recording requires a passcode: +I2?3aXA
Pronto is an app that works within and outside of Canvas to enable seamless, fun, and effective communication between faculty and students, and among students.
Some stats as of the start of 2025, after three years of institutionally licensing Pronto at MiraCosta:
over 15,500 MiraCostans have signed in to Pronto
over 317,000 messages have been sent across almost 9,300 groups
What Pronto Offers
Real-time Chat Without having to share phone numbers or other contact information, now you have real-time messaging across each class and to individuals. Send text messages, files, images, emojis, and GIFs!
Message Translation Pronto gives everyone a voice by allowing them to send messages in their preferred language, and Pronto then automatically translates messages into the recipient’s preferred language.
Live-stream & Group Video Chat
Broadcast live video to your classes, and record your video sessions for replay. This may be a nice alternative to Zoom for things like office hours, group meetings, and more. Viewers interact using the chat button. It keeps the process smooth. Here is a video from Fabiola Torres of Glendale CC on how she uses the live-stream feature for class.
Chat via live video with up to 10 people simultaneously. Perfect for group projects!
Live 1:1 video chat any time for face-to-face interaction with a student. Or live-stream with a student and they can chat (they don’t have to be on camera).
Announcements Keep your entire course in the loop by sending a message to the whole class. It’s like sending a real-time announcement to your entire class. Keep everyone updated on assignments, tech glitches, emergency alerts, and any other important information you need to get out instantly. You can send one Announcement to multiple Pronto groups at once if you wish.
File Sharing & Storage Share any file type—documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, photos, videos, and more. All files stored in Pronto remain available through Pronto for easy retrieval with no storage limits. Pronto integrates with all reputable cloud storage repositories, including Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, and Google Drive.
Task Management Keeps students organized and accountable by assigning tasks. Tasks allows you to create reminders for yourself or others in groups—attach files, photos, or videos and assign due dates with auto-reminders for each task. Here is a video from Professor Gomez of Glendale CC demonstrating how to assign a task.
Accessibilityand Privacy Pronto is both WCAG 2.0 AA and FERPA compliant. Pronto keeps you connected to everyone without sharing personal contact information.
Viewing Data Pronto lets you know who has seen your messages, so you can decide whether to follow up in different ways with those who may not have viewed a message.
Group Creation Groups you set up in Canvas automatically get a Pronto group. But anyone can also create Pronto groups on their own. Pronto groups created within the Pronto app remain available indefinitely, while Pronto groups tied to a Canvas class will end once the class is completed.
Check out this brief introduction to Pronto from MiraCosta faculty member Tanessa Sanchez:
Pronto Faculty Introduction
Where Can I Access Pronto?
Pronto is available 4 ways:
Directly within Canvas. If you are enrolled in any published course where Pronto is active, you will see the Pronto icon at the bottom left of Canvas, in the Global Navigation menu (you may need to scroll the menu down). Selecting the Pronto icon will open up Pronto to the latest chat you have had open or the course/group with which you are currently engaged.
The first time you use Pronto, you’ll need to provide your MiraCosta email address and then enter a code that Pronto will send to your email. If you are not yet enrolled in any course that is published and uses Pronto, you may need to wait until that occurs for this step to work.
Pronto only becomes active for a Canvas course after it is published. NOTE: this doesn’t happen automatically – Pronto becomes active for a newly-published course once the next synchronization between Pronto and Canvas occurs – this happens daily at 7 pm PST. But if you want to make Pronto active immediately after publishing a course, you can manually enable Pronto in the Pronto course management tool.
Do I have to use Pronto?
No, Pronto is available but you can ignore it. Doing so will still allow your students to use it. If you wish to turn off Pronto temporarily or permanently for a class, you can do that too. (Even if you like having Pronto on most of the time, you may wish to shut it off during an exam, for example.)
If you electively combine course sections into one Canvas course, you’ll need to use the separate Pronto groups associated with each section rather than messaging with Pronto to the entire combined class in order to maintain FERPA compliance. Some notes on this process from MiraCosta professor Serena Mercado:
After publishing the combined Canvas course, the merged course showed up on my Pronto list.
In Pronto, when expanding the course (click the arrow on the right of the course name), it was divided into two sections (with REALLY long names)
Hovering over each name makes three vertical dots appear to the right of the name.
If you click on the three dots, you are given the option to nickname the individual sections, so they are more easily identifiable.
If you teach a stacked course or cross-listed course where different sections are automatically combined into one Canvas course, there are no FERPA concerns as described above, but Pronto will still default to multiple sections. This video demonstrates how to use one Pronto group to communicate with the entire class (all sections).
Technical support, tips and resources
Support for Pronto is provided via the Pronto support site or by contacting help@pronto.io. A few important notes/tips:
Students added to your Canvas class will not be able to use Pronto for the class until the next Pronto synchronization occurs. You can use the Pronto Course Management tool to manually force Pronto to synchronize with a course if necessary.
Faculty can’t see Pronto in Canvas’s Student View. If you wish to experience Pronto within your course as your students would, you need to use your “fake student” account. But rest assured that the student experience with Pronto is just about identical to what you see on the faculty side.
On mobile devices, Pronto will not show up within the Canvas app or inside of Canvas in a mobile browser. Use the free Pronto app (search “Pronto: Team Communication”)
If you manually add anyone to your Canvas class, they won’t be part of the Pronto group that includes you and your students unless you do one of the following:
In the Add People process in Canvas, be sure to click the Section drop-down menu and choose the section that ends in -SURF
If you’ve already completed the Add People process and need to have someone (such as a TA) interacting with your students in Pronto, go to the Canvas course’s People roster, find the name, click the three dots at far right, choose Edit Sections, and then select the section that ends in -SURF
Here are some excellent additional Pronto resources:
Pronto slide deck from MiraCosta faculty Dawn Bell and Mariana Silva – includes ideas for using it with students
Pronto posting schedule – A suggested schedule with ideas for when and what a faculty member might use Pronto for to encourage wide student use
Pronto Help Desk – for students from MiraCosta professor Tanessa Sanchez
Pronto vs. Discord – Discord is a popular tool for free-flowing online class discussions – it has its downsides though as a tool that has not been vetted by the college and is outside of the college’s control
Thanks to Fabiola Torres of Glendale CC; MiraCosta’s Tanessa Sanchez, Serena Mercado, Mariana Silva, Dawn Bell, and Kristi Reyes; and Matt Baugh from Pronto for resources that helped to develop this page.
Directly within Canvas. If you are enrolled in any published course where Pronto is active, you will see the Pronto icon at the bottom left of Canvas, in the Global Navigation menu (you may need to scroll the menu down).