Category: Online Education News You Can Use

Countdown to Canvas: 10 weeks to go

To: All faculty

Blackboard and Moodle will no longer be options for instruction after the spring semester. The official end of our licenses providing access to Blackboard and Moodle is June 30. Please make sure you have extracted all content from all classes for rebuilding in Canvas by then.

This week the final 4-week online MiraCosta Introduction to Teaching with Canvas class begins. Learn more and sign up if you’re interested.
For those who have signed up, watch for an email later today or tomorrow on how to get started.

Next week I’ll start sending more detailed tips about moving classes into Canvas for those who still have that work ahead of them.

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

Adios, Bb and Moodle – Completion of Canvas transition #1

To: All faculty

All fall and summer classes are available now in Canvas for you to begin preparations. Blackboard and Moodle will no longer be options for instruction after the spring semester.

The official end of our licenses providing access to Blackboard and Moodle is June 30. Prior to that, please make sure you have extracted all content from all classes for rebuilding in Canvas.

If you have been teaching classes in Blackboard or Moodle this year, and you have the possibility of needing to work with a student after June 30 to resolve a grade dispute and/or finish an incomplete class, you’ll need to be extra-careful to retain all the records that may be important such as grade details, your feedback to the student, and so on.

If you are still learning Canvas, we have one more upcoming 4-week online Introduction to Teaching with Canvas class, starting Monday, April 23. Learn more and sign up if you’re interested.

Going forward, I will be sending a weekly countdown message with reminders, tips, and recommendations until the closure of Blackboard and Moodle.

Tip #1: Explore the many MiraCosta-specific Canvas resources available to you, including resources specifically about transitioning from Blackboard to Canvas, many of which were created by MiraCosta faculty from the Canvas Transition Team.

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

Online Support for All Students – Please Be Aware and Share!

Online Academic Support Resources for ALL Students

As you finalize your syllabi and course resources, please make your students aware of online tutoring, online writing center, and the 24×7 online ask-a-librarian service. These services are open to all MiraCosta students in any class!

Preferred Name Change Form for Students

A&R has a very simple Preferred Name Change form up for students. Preferred name is the default name automatically used on class rosters and student ID cards, in class systems online (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle), and to borrow items from the college library. This form is linked in two places on the A&R site:

It can be faxed or emailed to A&R so students don’t even need to come to campus. This is especially important as we transition to Canvas since unlike Blackboard, students don’t have a way to alter their first name within Canvas. So, for students who prefer to be known by a different name from their legal/formal name on record, this is a great option.

For faculty teaching at least one online/hybrid class this spring:

Spring Student Orientations to Online Learning

I will offer many online learning orientation sessions this spring – 4 for Blackboard and 9 for Canvas. Please share the schedule with your online/hybrid students and encourage their attendance. You may pull a report from the SURF Class Roster to see which of your students have attended an orientation session if you wish to require this or offer extra credit, as many instructors do. Research conducted this summer shows that over the last 3 years 72.8% of those who attended the SOOL in the same or a previous term successfully completed DE courses vs. a 64.7% DE success rate for students who have not attended a SOOL.

Please Update Online Class Schedule

For all those teaching an online or hybrid course this spring, please make sure your class description is up to date on the separate Online Class Schedule page. Students use this page to learn how to get started with your class, and you can provide other important information there to help students prepare for success. See detailed instructions if needed.

NetTutor Online Tutoring Service

In addition to eTutoring, an online tutoring option for MiraCosta distance education classes is NetTutor. Unlike eTutoring, NetTutor provides extensive coverage up to 24×7 of just about any academic subject, and is available via a link embedded within your class course management system environment (Blackboard or Canvas). The link would take students directly to the subject-specific tutoring area with no additional login required. Also with NetTutor, each instructor may specify “Rules of Engagement” that inform tutors about the approach and resources you would like them to use when working with your students. Contact me if you’re interested in NetTutor for your spring class(es).

Distance Education Requirements and Guidelines

Please review the MiraCosta online class quality guidelines. The document has two parts – (I) Essential elements for all distance education classes as already required in department and college policies (especially AP 4105 and the Syllabus Checklist), and (II) Good practices featuring principles and examples commonly recommended for consideration in online education. See also a 1-page handout and a 50-minute archive of a workshop I conducted last fall on this document.

Captioning Support

Videos shared online with students should be captioned. 3CMediaSolutions is a video storage and streaming system for California Community College faculty that provides free professional captioning as an option when you upload your media to the site. It’s a great way to manage your media and to get everything captioned. You can also work with Robert Erichsen of DSPS to submit media for captioning through a special grant-funded program. Please contact him to learn more: rerichsen@miracosta.edu

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

Spring 2018 Workshops

Sign up

Archives

  • Go to the Workshop Archives to see recordings and resources from the workshops below that were held online.

Workshops

Friday 1/12/18

Time to learn Canvas! What are the options?

8:30 – 9:20 am
Jim Julius, Sean Davis, & Billy Gunn
Audience: Brand new to Canvas and beginners.
Format/Location: Online

View Recording

In this workshop, participants will receive a very brief overview of the Canvas system, which will be the sole MiraCosta course management system starting in summer 2018. Participants will get a tour of the many resources available to faculty that MiraCosta, Canvas, the CCC system, and others provide to help faculty learn to use Canvas effectively. Experienced faculty will provide a quick overview of the features of Canvas by providing a tour of their classes. They will highlight ways that Canvas is similar to and different from Blackboard.

Blackboard to Canvas: Export/Import Essentials

9:30 – 10:50 am
Karen Turpin
Audience: Brand new to Canvas and beginners.
Format/Location: Online

View Recording

View demonstrations of some of the most important processes in migrating from Blackboard to Canvas. Some elements work well to exports from Blackboard and import into Canvas, and these will be demonstrated: announcements, tests/surveys, and discussion boards. After each demo there will be an opportunity for online Q&A.

Bb to Canvas: Re-creating Content & Assignments

11 – 11:50 am
Curry Mitchell & Sean Davis
Audience: Beginners
Format/Location: Online

View Recording

View explanations and demonstrations of how common Blackboard class elements such as files, assignments, folders, and items are best re-created in Canvas. There will be plenty of opportunity for online Q&A during the demonstrations.

Hands on Canvas: Tests/surveys – Bb to Canvas

1 – 1:50 pm
Karen Turpin
Audience: Beginners to Advanced
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611

This workshop is designed to give you open time to work with Canvas in a supported environment, with a specific focus on how to move tests and surveys from Blackboard to Canvas. In addition, attendees may benefit from exploring Canvas resources found on this page: https://tic.miracosta.edu/campus-teaching-technologies/canvas/

All Hands on Canvas: Announcements – Bb to Canvas

2 – 2:50 pm
Karen Turpin
Audience: Beginners to Advanced
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611

This workshop is designed to give you open time to work with Canvas in a supported environment, with a specific focus on how to move announcements from Blackboard to Canvas. In addition, attendees may benefit from exploring Canvas resources found on this page: https://tic.miracosta.edu/campus-teaching-technologies/canvas/

All Hands on Canvas: Discussion boards – Bb to Canvas

3 – 3:50 pm
Karen Turpin
Audience: Beginners to Advanced
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611

This workshop is designed to give you open time to work with Canvas in a supported environment, with a specific focus on how to move discussion boards from Blackboard to Canvas. In addition, attendees may benefit from exploring Canvas resources found on this page: https://tic.miracosta.edu/campus-teaching-technologies/canvas/

Tuesday 1/16/18

Canvas Basics: Materials, Gradebook, Announcements – San Elijo

9 – 10:50 am
Sean Davis
Audience: Beginners
Format/Location: Hands-on in SEC 107

This hands-on workshop is designed primarily to enable faculty to learn the essential Canvas tools typically used for on-ground classes: adding and organizing class materials, using the gradebook, and creating announcements. There will be discussion of how to bring basic resources like this from Blackboard to Canvas. Participants will have plenty of time for hands-on work applying what they have learned.

Canvas: Just the Basics for Beginners

9 – 9:50 am
Karen Turpin
Audience: Beginners
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611 (sign up via MyFlex). OR Simulcast online via ConferZoom (claim Flex credit afterward via “Conferences and Presentations” under “Other Activities” in MyFlex)

View Recording (Captioning in progress)

This hands-on workshop is designed to give an overview of the basic tools to get started with Canvas. Learn how to create announcements, review & sort your student roster in Canvas, create your profile, message students, create assignments, and sort & record grades in the gradebook. Participants will have time for hands-on work applying what they have learned in this workshop.

Canvas: Course Design through Rich Content Pages

10 – 11:50 am
Curry Mitchell & Billy Gunn
Audience: Beginners and intermediate
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611(sign up via MyFlex). OR Simulcast online via ConferZoom (claim Flex credit afterward via “Conferences and Presentations” under “Other Activities” in MyFlex).

Handout

View Recording (Captioning in progress)

If you’ve started using Canvas, and prefer not to follow the standard Canvas module navigational scheme, this workshop is for you. Experienced MiraCosta faculty will provide demonstrations and guidance in how to turn your Canvas course into an attractive learning environment that effectively helps students through the learning process through a friendly home page that connects to rich content pages.

Using Turnitin in Canvas

1 – 2:20 pm
Curry Mitchell & Billy Gunn
Audience: Beginners and intermediate
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611 (sign up via MyFlex). OR Simulcast online via ConferZoom (claim Flex credit afterward via “Conferences and Presentations” under “Other Activities” in MyFlex)

View Recording (Captioning in progress)

Turnitin is a 3rd party tool that can enhance and streamline assessment of student written work. While many think of Turnitin primarily as a plagiarism prevention tool, Turnitin also provides tools that can make the writing drafting, feedback, and formal assessment processes both richer and more efficient. Turnitin works a bit differently in Canvas than Blackboard, so whether you’re experienced with Turnitin in Blackboard, or a beginner with Turnitin, this workshop is for you.

All Hands on Canvas

2:30 – 3:50 pm
Curry Mitchell & Billy Gunn
Audience: Beginners to Advanced
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611

This workshop is designed to give you open time to work with Canvas in a supported environment. Sign up and you’ll receive a survey in advance of the workshop soliciting input on what you’re especially hoping to get help with. You’ll have lots of open time to become more proficient in your use of Canvas, and to work on developing materials in Canvas, with the support of experienced Canvas users. In addition, attendees may benefit from exploring Canvas resources found on this page: https://tic.miracosta.edu/campus-teaching-technologies/canvas/

Grades in Canvas

4 – 4:50 pm
Karen Turpin
Audience: Beginners to Advanced
Format/Location: Online

View Recording

You will learn many ways to manage grades within Canvas, including leveraging the SpeedGrader and Rubrics for efficiency. Participants who attend the online demo will learn more about:

  • Rubrics
  • SpeedGrader
  • Assignment Groups Weight
  • Messaging Students Who… from the gradebook
  • …and more…

Handout

GradingAssignmentsHandout.pdf

Wednesday 1/17/18

Open Educational Lunch Extravaganza

12 – 1:50 pm
MiraCosta faculty panel, MiraCosta student panel, Nicole Finkbeiner
Location: Cafeteria Oceanside Campus

Nicole Finkbeiner Keynote (video, 35 min.) | Student Panel (video, 25 min.) | Faculty Panel (video, 33 min.)

Open Educational Resources (OER) are free, openly licensed materials that more and more faculty are using for their classes – often as a complete replacement for expensive textbooks. Is there really such a thing as a free lunch? Yes – and at this one you’ll not only get a delicious meal, you’ll have the opportunity to hear from panels of MiraCosta faculty and students who are already using OER and other Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) materials. Additionally, Nicole Finkbeiner from OpenStax, a nonprofit based at Rice University with a mission to improve student access to education, will provide a national perspective on the OER movement.

Open Education, OER, Equity, and Justice

Thao Ha & Nicole Finkbeiner
Session 1: 2 – 2:50 pm
Session 2: 3 – 3:50 pm
Location: OC 3608

Take a deeper dive into the OER movement, with Nicole Finkbeiner from OpenStax, a nonprofit based at Rice University with a mission to improve student access to education, and Thao Ha, an OpenStax textbook adopter and leader of the creation of a zero-cost sociology degree at MiraCosta. Nicole and Thao will lead a discussion of the larger concepts around Open Education, particularly exploring issues of equity and social justice. Nicole will share emergent innovation and research findings in these areas.

Exploring, Evaluating, Adopting, Adapting OER

Jim Julius & Lauren McFall
Session 1: 2 – 2:50 pm
Session 2: 3 – 3:50 pm
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611

Participants will go hands-on, exploring curated sites for high-quality Open Educational Resources (OER). Participants will discuss tools useful in evaluating OER quality, and will have the opportunity to explore any concerns with adopting OER. Participants will also consider how faculty can modify OER to fit their needs even better, and resources available to faculty who may need support with replacement of ancillary resources when switching from publisher materials to OER.

Thursday 1/18/18

Canvas Basics: Materials, Gradebook, Announcements

10 – 11:50 am
Sean Davis and Curry Mitchell
Audience: Beginners
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611 (sign up via MyFlex). OR Simulcast online via ConferZoom (claim Flex credit afterward via “Conferences and Presentations” under “Other Activities” in MyFlex)

Handout

View Recording (Captioning in progress)

This hands-on workshop is designed primarily to enable faculty to learn the essential Canvas tools typically used for on-ground classes: adding and organizing class materials, using the gradebook, and creating announcements. There will be discussion of how to bring basic resources like this from Blackboard to Canvas. Participants will have plenty of time for hands-on work applying what they have learned.

All Hands on Canvas

1 – 2:50 pm
Curry Mitchell
Audience: Beginners to Advanced
Format/Location: Hands-on in OC 4611

This workshop is designed to give you open time to work with Canvas in a supported environment. Sign up and you’ll receive a survey in advance of the workshop soliciting input on what you’re especially hoping to get help with. You’ll have lots of open time to become more proficient in your use of Canvas, and to work on developing materials in Canvas, with the support of experienced Canvas users. In addition, attendees may benefit from exploring Canvas resources found on this page: https://tic.miracosta.edu/campus-teaching-technologies/canvas/

Canvas Training and Interactive Workshop – CLC

4:30 – 6:20 pm
Karen Korstad & Angela Senigaglia
Audience: Beginners and Intermediate
Format/Location: Hands-on in CLC 135

This training and interactive workshop is designed for faculty who want work on the basics for establishing a new Canvas course. It will be held in a computer lab at the CLC and interested faculty should come prepared to work on their spring courses. Features that will be covered include basic profile set up, announcements, grade book, modules and pages.

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