MiraCosta Online Tech Changes coming your way

To: All Faculty, IS Deans

Some important updates and additions to the tools available for online instruction at MiraCosta are happening starting next week. Here’s a quick overview of what’s headed your way! Look for Flex workshops and follow-up emails early in the new year to learn more about all of these.

New Rich Content Editor in Canvas

The Rich Content Editor (RCE) in Canvas – the toolbar everyone uses when entering content, discussion replies, etc. in Canvas – is getting a major overhaul. The What is the New Rich Content Editor? Canvas guideis a great place to start learning about it. You may also be interested in a comparison of the old and new RCEs. This change happens next week on 12/23, but it’s possible for you to try out the new RCE now if you like. In a course where you want to try it, click Settings in the navigation menu, then click the Feature Optionstab, then toggle on the RCE Enhancementsoption. This will impact any students still active in your course, so it’s best to use a Sandbox course or one where students are done using Canvas for the term.

New Zoom, New Zoom Integration in Canvas

As you hopefully read in Anthony Ginger’s recent email, MiraCosta will soon start managing its own Zoom. If you haven’t read the email and you are a Zoom user, it’s essential that you do. Many aspects of this change will be seamless; however, a major one that faculty need to be aware of NOW is that access to current Zoom meeting reports will be lost following the change occurring Monday evening, Dec. 21. If you need to hold onto meeting reports for any reason, you’ll need to download them before the changeover. Going forward, another point is that all Zoom links for meetings and recordings will change. You MAY need to update links to meetings and recordings if you wish to use them in the future. Zoom is trying to implement a fix very soon that would seamlessly transition old Zoom links over to the new link– hopefully this will work and you will not need to do that manually. We’ll monitor how well that works and update you in the new year.

With the new implementation of Zoom will come a MUCH improved Canvas integration. For those of you that have preferred to use ConferZoom.org directly to manage your Zoom meetings, you’ll now be able to do basically everything using the new Zoom integration within Canvas. If you were using the existing Zoom-Canvas integration tool, it will be replaced next Tuesday following our Zoom account migration. If you’re interested, you may download an instructor guide for the new Zoom integration within Canvas.

Pronto: New Tool for Mobile-Friendly and Canvas-Integrated Communication

We will have an all-college pilot of Pronto this spring. Pronto is an app that integrates with Canvas and really enhances communication beyond what Canvas provides, enabling group messaging, file sharing, video chat, announcements, and more in a very mobile-friendly way. Pronto has already been adopted by dozens of CCCs, and we had a small group of faculty trying it out late this fall. More information will come when Pronto is ready for everyone to start using, but if you’d like a preview of what it looks like in Canvas, check out a 6 minute video.

New Accessibility Support Tools in Canvas: Ally and Pope Tech

Ensuring your Canvas courses are accessible and inclusive is getting easier. This spring, Ally will automatically make course files you’ve added to Canvas available to students in multiple alternative formats that are device- and user-friendly. Pope Tech is a tool available now in Canvas that will help you perform more complete accessibility checks and fixes than our current tool, UDOIT. UDOIT will be removed in the new year and we’ll encourage all faculty to make use of Pope Tech to ensure our courses are accessible to as many learners as possible.

Goodbye, Proctorio

Very few faculty were relying on Proctorio, and with the discontinuation of funding for this tool from the Chancellor’s Office, it will be removed from Canvas over winter break. If you hadn’t heard that this was a likely possibility previously and you are concerned about this tool going away, please reach out to me so we can discuss alternatives.

Now, don’t obsess about all this over break! Disconnect and enjoy some down time!

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

Upcoming District Wide Zoom change : 12/21/2020 9PM : ATTENTION REQUIRED

What is happening to your Current MiraCosta Zoom Account: 

ConferZoom will migrate your current ConferZoom/MiraCosta Zoom user account and saved recordings to the MiraCosta College District Zoom account 12/21/2020 starting at 9 PM. All Zoom user accounts should be fully migrated after approximately 4 hours. 

Why is this happening: 

Currently all California Community College Zoom user accounts are hosted together, causing issues when individual districts require capabilities not appropriate for the entire CCC population. For example, Canvas can integrate directly with Zoom, providing Zoom Canvas calendar access and the ability to create and manage Zoom meetings directly from within Canvas, however with the combined CCC account this integration has been limited and prone to problems. 

How to Access your Migrated Zoom Account: 

Starting 12/22/2020 you will access Zoom via a new login link and with your MiraCosta credentials. 

  1. To access your Zoom account via the web, please click https://miracosta-edu.zoom.us and log in with your MiraCosta College employee account and two-factor authentication (2FA). We will be updating links on the MiraCosta website to reflect this new link. 
  2. To log into the Zoom app(s) both desktop and mobile: 
    1. Open the installed Zoom app. 
    2.  Select the ‘Sign in with SSO’ button or option at the app login screen 
    3. Enter our ‘Company Domain’  miracosta-edu 
      1. The full domain will show as “miracosta-edu.zoom.us” 
    4. You will be directed to our MiraCosta login portal where you will enter your MiraCosta credentials and 2FA. 

What you need to do after the migration: 

  • Re-apply any custom ZOOM security settings that you had previously applied. 
  • Convert any external embedded links, see below. 
  • If you used your ConferZoom account with multiple institutions, please check with them to verify their Zoom requirements and offerings.  

How to Convert your Current Zoom Meeting and Recording Links: 

If you have shared Zoom recording links or meeting links on a website or within Canvas, you will need to adjust each Zoom link on those pages as follows, although please note that Zoom is working on an update that will automatically redirect old links with an anticipated release date of Feb 2021. If you need people to access your recordings and/or meetings before the update is ready, please follow this step. 

In an existing meeting OR recording link replace the prefix  https://cccconfer.zoom.us with https://miracosta-edu.zoom.us 

Current Link Example 1

https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/12345789

Modified Link Example 1

https://miracosta-edu.zoom.us/j/12345789

Current Link Example 2

https://cccconfer.zoom.us/rec/share/G3yfMk5CtzHxhUkieEZWd2K7Abnc.x7ZwjNtbdrgt

Modified Link Example 2

https://miracosta-edu.zoom.us/rec/share/G3yfMk5CtzHxhUkieEZWd2K7Abnc.x7ZwjNtbdrgt

MiraCosta Zoom Resources: 

If you have any questions comments or concerns about this change please feel free to contact me,  

Thank you 

Anthony Ginger 
Infrastructure Systems Engineer 
MiraCosta College 

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Week Fifteen!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

***You are receiving this newsletter because you are a faculty member at MiraCosta College. I, Sean Davis, am the coordinator of our C3 Teaching and Learning Center***

Lots of local workshops being offered to help us out. People are amazing, right? We just keep going. Pretty remarkable.

3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here. 

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

1 Faculty Workshop: Hands-On Labs in an Online World – Thursday 12/3, 2 pm – 3pm

Lynne Miller, Anthropology, is organizing and facilitating this workshop. Here is a bit from her – 

The workshop will feature four brief presentations:

  • Barbara Juncosa will share her creative use of GoPro to demonstrate critical lab procedures. 
  • Paul Katson will show a video with the students’ at-home lab activities and associated worksheets. 
  • Scott Fallstrom will teach us how to use digital whiteboards to present material effectively. 
  • Dominique Ingato will share ideas for enhancing Labster simulations using virtual tools and activities.

Following the presentations, we will have plenty of time for discussion and Q&A, and maybe even some hands-on activities of our own. 

Access the Workshop 

And, yes, it will be recorded – I will distribute the link later in the week.

2. Tips and Tricks for Remote Proctoring

Sinclaire Tirona, Testing Services Coordinator, informed me about this workshop. Here is her message – 

The Academic Proctoring Center (APC) will be hosting a flex-eligible workshop next week onTips and Tricks for Remote Proctoring. This workshop will be especially beneficial to any faculty transitioning from Proctorio at the end of the year or who just want to learn more about how we proctor remotely using Canvas and Zoom.

Details:

Tips and Tricks for Remote Proctoring
Tuesday, December 8th from 2 pm – 3 pm
Sign up here: https://forms.gle/D2pFnL2msmxpxVEN9

3. Document Accessibility Training (with an emphasis on Canva Documents)

Aaron Holmes, DSPS Access Specialist, let me know about this workshop he is facilitating next week. Aaron provided the following context and information – 

If you are not familiar with Canva, it is a website that allows for the quick creation of fliers/images. Some departments are using Canva to create content for their social media accounts as well as physical fliers when we are on campus. Unfortunately, the documents and PDF files that Canva creates are not accessible right off the bat. That is where the idea of this training came from. To make sure that our digital content is accessible to all of our students, I am offering training on document accessibility. The training will cover the basics of document accessibility (Canva and Word/PDF will be the focus). The training will allow for a question and answer session and will be recorded so that those who cannot attend in real-time can still access the video.

Date: Wednesday, December 9th
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Length: 60-minute training, 30-minute question/answer
Zoom Link: https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/99254075553

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

  1. 3 Ways to Humanize Your Online Course
    This post provides practical and easy-to-use strategies to humanize your course and increase student engagement with each other and your class. 
  2. Ready Made Canvas Course Templates
    Okay, I did not know this existed. So, there are some fantastic templates that you can easily plug into your course and make it “pop.” I made all my visuals and graphics myself. This resource would have saved me hours and hours. Oh well. I hope this helps y’all. 

(1) Question

How do our students feel as we end this most unprecedented semester? Ask them. 

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Week Fourteen!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

***You are receiving this newsletter because you are a faculty member at MiraCosta College. I, Sean Davis, am the coordinator of our C3 Teaching and Learning Center***

Thank you.

3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here. 

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

  1. Canvas 24×7 Support Continues! 
    Jim Julius shared this bit of good news last week! MiraCosta has decided to fund this resource at least through June. This update is a big win for faculty as I have heard from many folks about how this service has been extremely helpful when they have run into a snag trying to get Canvas to do what they want it to do.
  2. Achieving The Dream (ATD) – Open Educational Resources (OER) to Create a Culturally Relevant Classroom
    This resource provides an overview of both culturally relevant teaching and OER and how they work hand-in-hand to benefit our students’ learning experience. Not only do they provide context for these hot topic concepts, but they give some great examples including Black Lives in Astronomy, Equality Archive, and The History Engine. 
  3. The Future of Learning: ACCJC Conversations Among Thought Leaders
    What are things going to look like when we return to the physical classroom? I know that is a question on everyone’s mind. I know I am curious. These conversations may provide us with some ideas for the preparation and execution of post-pandemic in-person instruction. I am attending these, and I hope to see you there! 🙂 

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

  1. Viewing Submission Comments Using Canvas Inbox
    JahB Prescott, faculty in Letters, showed me this helpful trick using Canvas Inbox. Sometimes student replies to our feedback in SpeedGrader can get lost in the mix, but you can always catch up on these by going to Inbox and filtering for “Submission Comments.” 

    Thanks, JahB! 
  2. Dragging and Dropping Assignments and Events in Canvas Calendar
    Lisa Lane, a History faculty member, sent this tip over to me and attributed the credit to Robert Kelley, a Psychology faculty member. Moving deadlines for assignments and dates for recurring events is made easy by simply going into Calendar in Canvas and dragging and dropping the items. Lisa made a quick video showing exactly how to perform this. When copying courses from semester to semester, this tip can be especially helpful to account for Spring Break and observed holidays. 

    Thanks, Lisa and Robert! 

(1) Question

Cliche time – What are you grateful for today? 

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center

C3-2-1 Newsletter – Week Thirteen!

Hello, Faculty Community! 

***You are receiving this newsletter because you are a faculty member at MiraCosta College. I, Sean Davis, am the coordinator of our C3 Teaching and Learning Center***

We have heard it many times – we are trying to do too much right now. Yet, there always seems to be more and more coming in. Remember, these are archived. Please come back to it when it is a good time for you. 

3 resources related to teaching and learning, 2 online tips and tricks, and 1 question for reflection

Looking for archived resources, tips/tricks, and questions?

Revisit the past editions of the C3-2-1 Newsletter here. 

Want to share? 

If you have some resources, tips/tricks, and questions to share, please contribute to the newsletter using this C3-2-1 Form.

C321 Newsletter

(3) Resources

  1. Drive-Thru Farmer’s Market

    Devon Boone, CARE Manager, sent out an announcement earlier this week, and I think it is worth echoing here. Our CARE Team does such a great job providing much-needed resources to our students and our community. Please let students know to be on the lookout for the Drive-Thru Famer’s Market in their email inbox. 

    Here is some of the information from Devon’s message:

    The Campus Assessment, Resources, and Education (CARE) Program will be hosting a “Drive-Thru” Farmer’s Market on Tuesday, November 24th from 1:30pm-2:30pm (or while supplies last) on the Oceanside Main Campus (1 Barnard Drive, Oceanside CA 92056) in Parking Lot OC-3C to provide CURRENTLY ENROLLED FALL STUDENTS with FREE pre-packaged groceries of produce and dry goods including a turkey and holiday food items (first come, first serve), sponsored by San Diego Food Bank.

    You can also volunteer to help the team at a future Farmer’s Market event – Volunteer Form
  2. Tomorrow’s Professor – eNewletter: 1831 – Spotlight on Teaching and Learning: Mid-Semester Check-In

    We all know that check-in with our students is a good idea. However, it can be challenging to decide what to ask, how to ask it, and what to do with the feedback. This post provides some suggestions to help us meet those challenges.

    *This site provides many other posts on teaching and learning, career development, and overviews of research on education.
  3. The Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) – Inclusive and Equitable Teaching ACUE Curriculum Crosswalk

    This resource was brought to me by our Vice President of Instruction, Diane Dieckmeyer. Thanks, Diane! 

    This eBook covers inclusive learning objectives, inclusive assessments & activities, inclusive grading & assessment, inclusive course content, inclusive syllabi… you get the idea – they are inclusive syllabi. If you are looking for ways to be, you guessed it, inclusive, this guide provides some straightforward and practical ways to implement new practices. 

(2) Online Tips and Tricks

  1. Copying an assignment to another one of your courses
    If you are teaching multiple sections of the same course or starting to build your Spring classes, this is a helpful tutorial on how to migrate your assignments from one course to another. Just know that any changes you make to the original assignment will not translate to the previously copied one. Additionally, if you copy the same assignment to the other course more than once, the assignment previously copied will be overwritten with the new copy. 
  2. Exporting grades to a spreadsheet (and back to Canvas)
    If you want to work on your class grades using Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers, you can download a CSV file from the Canvas Gradebook to export the data. Further, you can work on the grades and re-upload the modified file back to the Gradebook.

    This feature is also helpful if you want to keep a record of grades at different points of the semester or at the end of the term. 

(1) Question

Are we okay with things not being the best they can be when nothing right now will meet that standard? Or better – Is this the best that it can be given the circumstances? Or even better – was anything ever meeting the standard of “the best that it can be?”

Stay joyful,

Sean Davis
Joyful Teacher in Residence 
Coordinator, C3 Teaching and Learning Center

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