Resources for Learning

ONLINE LEARNING: RESOURCES FOR YOU

As an online student, you have a variety of resources available to you through Canisius College. Probably the most important is the Canisius Student Support Site (you may have gotten here through that site.) Below are some other key resources you will need or want to access.

SCHEDULE AND REGISTRATION

Be self-directed in registering for classes. Your academic advisor can help you determine the courses to take, and timetable for completing your degree or certificate. But you need to proactively communicate with them, and use the Canisius Student Profile toolset, located in the MyCanisius portal (righthand side), to ensure you are registered for the right classes.

As always with the internet, technical problems are possible, so be certain the courses you are properly registered for through the Student Profile also appear as spaces in D2L. If you are missing a course in D2L contact the Canisius College Help Desk right away, to be added to that course. If you see a course in D2L you did not register for, also contact the Help Desk to have it removed from your D2L view, and to be certain you are not improperly registered for that course in your student record.

GRIFF CENTER FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

The Griff Center provides various services for Canisius students, in support of academic and career development. Online students can consult Griff Center staff via email or web conference, with support for internships, job search and application support, accessibility, and academic mentoring.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Since we are so dependent on the internet for coursework, the Information Technology Services Department is obviously a major support service for online students. Training materials (including this guide), documentation, and support are provided by the Center for Online Learning & Innovation. But here are some quick tips to get you started with the IT resources you need.

To use email, and participate in your online courses, you will need a Canisius username and password. These are mailed to you once you are enrolled at the college, although you should change the password to personalize it, and make it more secure.

At any time, you can call or email the Canisius College ITS Helpdesk to get help with any problems, or answers to questions you may have concerning information technology in your online courses.

Before beginning your coursework, scan the Quick Guide to Technology Services for Students to get a sense of what information technologies and support are available to you at Canisius College.

Information Technology Basics

If you don't feel like you know much about computers, smartphones or the internet, don't worry! The basics of how IT devices and the web work aren't difficult to learn. It pays to learn about them, since so much work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic will done via web-based tools and services.

Never hesitate to ask the ITS helpdesk (helpdesk@canisius.edu) even the most basic questions. Canisius College ITS User Services and Center for Online Learning & Innovation staff are happy to provide explanations and links helpful in learning information technology. Meantime, click the button below to review some very basic concepts for using computers, mobile phones, and the web:

Information Technology Basics

Some Key Applications Provided by the College

(click to expand each)

MyCanisius

My Canisius, or the Portal, is a handy place. You can log in there by clicking the MyCanisius link on the Canisius College Website (look up above!), or by going directly to (and bookmarking) my.canisius.edu. Once logged in there, in the lefthand menus you'll find everything you need to be a student. And for most of these resources, you won't need to log in separately.

Student Profile

Under "Schedule and Registration" in the MyCanisius Portal, you'll see Student Profile toolset. You can register for your classes here, and get a copy of your registration in multiple formats. At the beginning of each semester, check your registration for each class here against the course spaces available to you in D2L. Report any discrepancies to the Canisius College ITS Help Desk immediately.

The Student Profile also provides lots of vital or helpful information, including:

major and degree information
advisor assignment
GPA
holds
academic standing
degree audit

In short, it's a great toolset for planning and monitoring your academic progress. See the Learn About Student Profile (requires login) resource to get the most from Student Profile.

D2L

Our Learning Management System. Your classes each have their own space in D2L, managed by professors. You'll find self-paced training tutorials for D2L linked in the Quick Guide, within D2L itself, and here:

Here's a basic introduction.

Here's a list of other helpful short tutorials.

Student Email

We call it "Gmail," since that's the technology running it. You can find Google Apps tutorials, including tips for Gmail, linked in the Quick Guide, and here.

Google Drive and Related Apps

Google Apps, and specifically Google Drive, are required in only some courses but very helpful for storage, collaborating with other students, and other things. You can find Google Apps tutorials, including tips for Google Apps, linked in the Quick Guide, and here.

It's possible your professor is using Google Drive to share content with you. If so, this tutorial video will cover how you can log into your Google Drive before accessing the content through D2L.

Zoom

Increasingly online courses use Zoom for web conferencing. If your course uses Zoom, your professor will send you or post a link to the meetings in D2L. You need not pay for a Zoom license, or start a free Zoom account, unless your professor specifically instructs you to do so. It may be a good idea to start a free Zoom account, though, since you can learn how it works, and you will probably use it (or something like it) later in your career.

THE THINGS YOU BRING

To be a student at Canisius College, you should be able to have access to some IT hardware, and possibly software. These are just as important as textbooks but are typical of what professionals in many fields must have as well.

A laptop or desktop computer. Obviously laptops provide more flexibility. Mobile devices like phones or tablets can be helpful, but may not be sufficient to complete coursework.
A reliable high-speed internet connection.
The Chrome Browser. Firefox is also good, too. Both are free.
A webcam. Laptops typically include one, but you'll need to purchase one if you are using a desktop PC.
A USB headset. Here's an example. This combines both speakers and a microphone in a package that blocks out a lot of surrounding noise. But you can use any combination of speakers and microphone you'd like. Be aware that laptop speakers and microphones can be good, but do not provide privacy, and pick up a lot of background noise.

Tips

If you wish to use your smartphone to access coursework, you can access D2L via your web browser. Go to https://d2l.canisius.edu/ .
Install the Google Drive app for iOS or Android, and login using your Canisius Google Drive. (Username will be username@my.canisius.edu instead of your shorter email address.)
Your professor may use Zoom for virtual classes or office hours on the web. Create a free Zoom account for yourself, and learn to use it before your class meetings.
You may have used Google Docs or Apple Pages to create written assignment submissions you then handed in on paper. But your professor may ask you to hand these assignment submissions in through D2L dropboxes. Here's how to convert your Google Docs or .pages files to .docx format. This ensures that your professors have no trouble accessing your work.
You may need to do work on paper, and then submit it to a professor electronically. This is easy to do with camera scan apps available on mobile devices. See this tutorial for one option on iOS: Microsoft Lens App. Android phones can do this through the Google Drive app.
Where it is appropriate, try to help other students with procedural tasks. For example, if you find a really good tutorial on the web for using Microsoft Excel, suggest it to your professor to possibly pass on to students.
When emailing your professors, insure that you are using your Canisius Email Address and not your personal account. This way, the professor knows who you are and your email will not be caught up in the spam filters.

TEXTBOOK REQUIREMENTS

As in any other semester, your classes will likely require you to purchase textbooks and other learning materials. At the Canisius College Bookstore Website, you can search for and order new, used, rental, and digital textbooks.

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