Canvas Conferences

Here at USU, Canvas and Wimba are integrated together for live online classroom based sessions. The tool that allows you to access Wimba live classrooms is the Conferences tool. This post will give an overview of how to create and manage your online classroom (Conference). We will also discuss some common issues that you may encounter and how to avoid them.

Creating a Conference

Start by clicking on the Conferences tool in the left-hand navigation.

Click the Make a New Conference button on the upper-right-hand side of the window.

The Start a new Conference settings will appear and you can make changes to the following options.

Name: Allows you to give your conference a unique name. We suggest changing this to something other than the default Course Conference so it can be easier to find for administrative purposes.

Options: The long-running conference prevents the conference from closing after the duration of the conference has ended. Once a conference has ended it is preserved in the state that it was at the time it was ended. This means that any new course members will be unable to view the archives and you will no longer be able to use the conference for any new sessions. It is best to enable this for frequently used conferences, such as weekly lecture conferences, as the conference will not automatically close and become unusable and the archives will be available to all course members.

Duration: If the conference is only going to be used once and you know the approximate time limit you can specify it in the minutes textbox.

Description: Let participants know what the conference is used for. You can include information such as the phone number and classroom PIN number they can call if they are having audio difficulties.

Members: By default Invite all Course Members is enabled. If you wish to do a special conference with only certain students, uncheck this option and you will be able to select individual students. Keep in mind if you end the conference only those you have invited to the conference will have access to the archives.

When you have finished changing the settings for your conference click the Create Conference button to finish.

Joining a Conference

By default a conference will not be available to students until you click the Start it now button. When you click the Start it now button an invitation will be sent to selected course members with a link to the conference.

After clicking the Start it now button your conference will start and you will be taken to your conference.

The next time you view the conferences page you will see two new buttons, Join it now and End it now where the Start it now button used to be.

Join it now: This will start your conference, students will be unable to enter the live classroom until the instructor enters.

End it now: This performs the same behavior as what happens when a conference passes it’s duration time limit. The conference becomes unavailable except for the archives, to both teachers and students. It is preserved in its current state, new or uninvited course members will be unable to view the archives if any exist. Once you end a conference it cannot be re-enabled.

Editing a Conference

From the Conferences tool click on the title of the conference you would like to make changes to.

The Conference Details will be displayed. The conference details page contains information about the conference, links to archives, and the currently invited course members. To edit the conference click the Edit Conference Button on the right-hand side.

Here you can change the settings of your conference.

If you would like to change advanced settings pertaining to the Wimba live-classroom click on the Manage Advanced Settings… link.

Once you have made any modifications click the Update Conference button to save your changes.

Viewing Archives

From the Conferences page click on the conference you would like to view archives for.

In the External Links section, click the View archives(s) link.

A window will appear listing the available archives. Click on the archive you would like to view and it will open in a separate window.

Best Practices

• If you are going to host frequent conferences such as weekly lectures and hold office hours, you can create just one conference and use the conference description to let students know the times of each. Make sure that the long-running conference option is checked, and do not end it when you are finished with your session. This will ensure that students are not confused as to which conference room to go to.
• Don’t create and end separate conferences for each time you need to hold one, especially for lectures. This can cause problems in the future if new students enroll in your class and need access to archives.
• If you would like to repurpose an existing conference you can use the announcement tool to inform students of the change and re-post the link to that conference.
• If students are having difficulty entering the conference from links sent through notifications to their email, have them enter from the link in the conferences tool.
• If you have given a conference a time duration you may want to add 10-15 minutes and start early so you and your students can deal with technical issues that may arise.

With the start of Spring semester just around the corner we have created a checklist to help you get your courses ready. Below is a brief overview of is included in the checklist.

The Basics:

• Copying your Canvas course
• Update your Syllabus
• Checking content (assignments, quizzes, discussions, etc…)
• Enable the grading scheme
• Assignment group weights
• Ensure that you can see all the sections of your course
• Adding a TA
• Publish course
• Introductory announcement(s) (Optional)

• Copying your Canvas course

See the link below for information on how to copy your course.

http://blog.usu.edu/canvastips/2011/12/05/canvas-tips-and-tricks-dec-5-2011/

When copying your course remember to also copy your settings so your syllabus and homepage settings are included in the course copy.

Update your Syllabus

Check your syllabus for any content that needs to be changed such as dates, and meeting times. If you have linked to a pdf version of your syllabus you will need to unlink or delete the old syllabus link and add your new one.

Click the Syllabus link in the left-hand navigation.

Click the Edit Syllabus Description button.

You can use the syllabus description to post a link to your syllabus, or type or paste the contents of your syllabus in the description.

To upload a syllabus file click the Files tab in the Insert Content into the Page panel.

Click the Upload a new file link and click the Choose File button to browse your computer for your syllabus file. When you have selected

• Checking content (assignments, quizzes, discussions, etc…)

When checking your course content make sure you adjust any due or locked dates. Click below for instructions on how to edit details, and change dates.

Assignments:
How do I edit Assignment details?
Quizzes:
What quiz options are available to me?
Discussions:
How do I edit a Discussion topic?
Modules:
Click the Modules link in the left-hand navigation.

Click the Edit module settings (pencil) button on the module you need to update.

Use the date picker to select a date and enter your time and click Done to close the date picker.

When you have finshed changing your dates and other settings in the modules click the Update Module button to save your changes.

• Enable the grading scheme

Enabling the grading scheme will allow you to publish your grades to banner and display letter grades for assignments. For convenience we have created a default grading scheme that matches USU

In your course click the Settings link in the left-hand navigation.
 

Check the Enable course grading scheme box and click set grading scheme.
 

Search existing grading schemes by clicking the blue magnifying glass to find existing grading schemes.

In the list of grading schemes scroll to the bottom and select USU Standard.

Click the Use This Grading Standard to set the default grading scheme.

Click the grey X at the top of the window to exit the View/Edit Grading Scheme window.

Click the Update Course Details button to save the new settings.

• Assignment group weights

If you need to make any adjustments to assignment weighting you can through the assignments tool.

How do I create Assignment Groups for grading purposes?

• Ensure that you can see all the sections in your course

To see all the sections associated with your course first click the Settings link in the left-hand navigation.

Click the Sections tab to see a list of sections.

If you are missing sections contact the FACT office for assistance at 435-797-9506.

• Adding a TA

At the end of the post below there is instructions on how to add a TA.
http://blog.usu.edu/canvastips/2011/12/05/canvas-tips-and-tricks-dec-5-2011/

• Publish your course

When everything is to your liking and you are ready to teach from your course, you need to publish your course. You can determine if your course is unpublished or published by checking to see if the THIS COURSE IS UNPUBLISHED message is displayed above your course homepage.

To publish your course click on the published link and the Course Setup Checklist will appear.

Click the Publish Course button to finish the publishing process.

• Introductory announcement(s) (Optional)

Once your course is completely published it may be a good idea to send out an introductory announcement letting your students know that the course is available and a message telling them what they need to do next.
How do I create an Announcement?

Styling Options in Courses

Canvas offers several different ways of displaying your course content to your students. By default the Course Stream is displayed in new courses. To change the homepage click the Change Home Page Layout link and you will be be able to select which layout will be displayed to your students. When you have made your selection click the Update Layout button to save your settings.

Page I’ll Design Myself
This will offer you the most ways to customize how content is displayed to your students. The page option will allow you to create your own frontpage with links to your content, including modules, and the assignment list. You can use tables to help you design your page, or if you are comfortable editing HTML you can click the Switch Views link to access the source of the page.

Modules
Modules are a way to organize your course in organizational containers such as weeks, units, or any other structure that works for your course. Modules are also useful for sequencing course materials by having the option of setting requirements and prerequisites. Requirements are tasks that must be completed inorder for the module to be marked as complete. These tasks can require a student to score above a particular score on a quiz, view a document, contribute to a page, or participate in a discussion.
Prerequisites prevent a student from accessing the content of the module until they have fulfilled the indicated requirements.

Assignment List
Assignments in this view are separated into three categories: upcoming assignments, undated assignments, and past due assignments.
Upcoming assignments are any assignments have a due date that is in the future.
Undated assignments are those that have no due date, to eliminate this category ensure that you have specified a due date for all assignments.
Past due assignments are those that the due date has passed. For assignments that have not been submitted and are past due, the date will be bolded and red.

The Assignment List With Syllabus
This view displays your syllabus when students first come to your course, along with a list of assignments and calendar events arranged by due date. This list is automatically populated as you add assignments and calendar events. This feature can save you time if you maintain a timetable in your syllabus. Assignments without due dates will be listed at the bottom. If you are looking for an example syllabus or tips on how to create an effective syllabus see the Online Syllabus Template Tool on the FACT Faculty Resources page.

Files tool
This view is useful for those who use Canvas for supplemental material in their face-to-face classes. This is one of the simplest ways to manage a course in which you just want to allow students to access files like presentations, and handouts. if you have the files already organized in folders on your computer, you can place them in a zip file and upload them into your course. Canvas will automatically unzip the file and your files and folders will be accessible to you and your students. Any modifications to files will have to be uploaded and will replace the existing file.