Learning Tech Roundup

There are a number of updates for Canvas in this newsletter.

1. Extending end dates and times for Canvas classes

   • It is always a good idea to double check your course end date/time in your course settings.

• Our spring Canvas term ends on May 6 at 12:00 am (so one minute after May 5 at 11:59 pm); student and TA access to participate in and edit courses ends then.

• Faculty, edit access to Canvas courses ends May 10 at 11:59 pm

  • You can change the start and end dates for a Canvas course to keep your courses open beyond the official end date, if you need students to continue to be able to submit quizzes and assignments.

  • If you do not do this before the term ends, only a Canvas Admin can reopen the course for you (to request this, please open a help desk ticket).

  • Extending a course end date will keep it “open” for all students in the course, just as reopening a course is all or nothing. All students will still see the course as an open/ongoing course in their Dashboards, will be able to see course content, and will still be able to submit assignments.

    • It is also possible for a Canvas admin to extend access for only certain students; please do not hesitate to request this from me (gcollins1@guilford.edu).

  • As ever, communicating your expectations to your students is key.

2. Please do not add students as observers when they need access to your class

   • I know that students need access quickly (especially in the 3-week); but adding them as an observer may hinder the script that synchronizes Canvas with Banner from adding their full, student access.

   • This script runs at approximately 9 am, 1 pm, and 5 pm, each business day.

   • If you check your Canvas roster after one of these times and it does not match the enrollments you see in Banner, please reach out to the Registrar’s Office.

   • If you have questions or issues with the Banner-Canvas sync, please open a help desk ticket.

3. New quizzes are available

   • I enabled New Quizzes for our campus because some of you noted calculation errors in your Canvas gradebooks when your quizzes were set to take the highest score after allowing multiple attempts. These calculation errors were a known bug in Classic Quizzes; Canvas has fixed this bug in New Quizzes.

     • When creating a quiz, Canvas now asks if you want the Classic or New engine.

   • Some useful resources on New Quizzes:

     • Migrating Classic Quizzes to New Quizzes

     • New Quizzes Feature comparison chart

     • FAQ: New Quizzes

4. Assorted Canvas updates

   • Canvas has a Beginning- and End-of-Course Checklists for Instructors

   • Is Canvas Down? Check the Canvas status page: https://status.instructure.com/

   • Canvas New Features and Release Notes

Jamovi is a "free and open statistical software to bridge the gap between researcher and statistician." It was built on top of the R statistical language, giving you access to the best the statistics community has to offer. Jamovi also provides the R code for your analyses. It is a new "3rd generation" statistical spreadsheet. designed from the ground up to be easy to use. Jamovi is a compelling alternative to costly statistical products such as SPSS and SAS. Jamovi will always be free and open – that’s one of [their] core values – because jamovi is made by the scientific community, for the scientific community.

ITS will be adding it to the Bauman 102 and L020 labs, the King 223 lab, the ITS General Circulation Macbooks, the Ideation Lab Macbooks, and the Amoeba computer (located on the second floor of the Hege Academic Commons).

More information on Jamovi can be found at https://www.jamovi.org/ including:

• 1. • Downloads

     • Features

     • Resources, including

       • Community resources

       • User guides

       • Forum

       • Blog

       • Jamovi library

• Dealing with Zoombombers:

  1. Zoom is sending meeting-security, warning messages when you post meeting links on social media.

  2. One of the best ways to deal with ZoomBombers is to delegate a co-host that can mute folx with open mics or those who attack others.

• Zoom access to Google Calendars: Action needed by 4/25/2021

  1. Zoom calendar integration is the feature that allows you to schedule Zoom meetings directly from your Google calendar. Due to coming feature updates, Google accounts using this integration will be prompted to reauthorize Zoom’s calendar access on Sunday, 4/25. You will see a prompt to authorize access. If you do not confirm re-authorization, you will no longer be able to schedule Zoom meetings directly from your calendar. Details from ITS.

• The Antiracist College: A Chronicle of Higher Education article by Tom Bartlett

• Teaching: Before Rolling Out Post-Pandemic Plans, Let People Grieve: A Chronicle of Higher Education article by Beth McMurtrie

  • It’s critical… for college communities to mourn what was lost, talk about what was learned, and map out a future that may be different, but still hopeful.

• This Google form invites you to share cool things you or your students discovered (I will publish highlights in the next Learning Tech Roundup); it also welcomes topics you’d like to see me delve into in the next issue. Learning Tech Roundups really ARE all about you!

• Make a virtual appointment for one-to-one assistance: ask questions, get pedagogical support, troubleshoot issues, and more! I am happy to help with anything you need.

• Garrett Collins (he / him), Interim Learning Design & Development Technologist: 336-316-2371

• Make a virtual appointment with me at http://bit.ly/garrett_calendar; do not hesitate to email me at gcollins1@guilford.edu if you do not see an appointment slot that works for you.

I wish you and your loved ones health and joy!