Update: Migration timeline for tools integrated with Canvas
A number of changes are coming to tools integrated with Canvas. While the Office of Information Technology’s (OIT’s) Academic Technology (AT) team tries to minimize impacts on instructors and students, vendors sometimes make changes that are beyond the University's control. Visit the Upcoming Changes to Tools page for up-to-date information on when these integration upgrades are scheduled.
Canvas Updates
Updated Google integration available in Canvas
Google has a new integration with Canvas that improves security and includes an overall facelift that aligns with other Google products. It works like the existing integration: enabling you to share Google content in Pages and Modules as well as allowing students to work in Google to complete Assignments and Collaborations.
The new integration, labeled Google Assignments (LTI 1.3), is available for use in the External Tool picker menu. The existing integration (labeled Google Apps or Google Docs Cloud Assignment) will stick around through the end of the summer to support legacy content. However, in late May we will hide the current integration so you can only use the new integration when creating content for the fall. See Canvas: Google Assignments and Google Drive for steps to transition any existing Google Cloud Assignments before next semester.
Kaltura Updates
Plan ahead for the Kaltura v7 player upgrade
The University of Minnesota’s Kaltura player will go through a generational upgrade that is tentatively scheduled for August 1, 2024. At that time, much of the University’s Kaltura content will be upgraded to use the new player without issue. However, the upgrade will cause some Kaltura embeds to break. To find out if any of your media links will break in this upgrade, refer to steps for Finding Embeds That Need To Be Updated Before the Kaltura Player Upgrade. Use this information to build an inventory of your Kaltura media embeds that will need to be updated with this player upgrade.
Zoom Updates
Zoom 6.0 upgrade highlights
Zoom 6.0 brings some visual refreshments and enhanced features of their meetings platform. There are some new features to be aware of:
- Flexibility of tools under the More tab: You can now drag and drop tools on the bottom banner into and out of the More tab.
- Multi-speaker view: For large group meetings, you can pin speakers for enhanced visibility.
- Enhanced multi share: Share your screen or app simultaneously while using a Zoom Whiteboard. Multi share behaves similarly to tabs within most web browsers.
See the full description of Zoom 6.0 updates.
Use Kaltura Analytics to see how students use your media
Kaltura Analytics allows media owners and co-editors to better understand how people are watching media recordings (video and audio, Kaltura Video Quizzes, and links to YouTube in Kaltura) published using Kaltura in Canvas and Kaltura MediaSpace. The analytics can capture many details:
- Who has watched your media, from which geographic location, and what type of device they used.
- How long people have watched.
- Which of your media are most popular.
- Specific domains and often specific web pages where your media is published and has been viewed.
See View Analytics about Media Usage for information on how to set up your Kaltura media to capture these analytics and review what and how to use this tool.
Increase student learning with flipped classrooms
Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS) had the opportunity to talk with Victor Barocas about his experience “flipping” his classes. Professor Barocas, who teaches in the College of Science and Engineering, began by flipping a new class he was scheduled to teach in 2018. The results worked wonders. Today, he is working on flipping his third course because this method of teaching has elevated his students' learning and his own satisfaction as a teacher. Read about his experience in Extra Points, “Flipping your classroom: A Conversation with Victor Barocas.”
Join colleagues May 16 for Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)
The University of Minnesota is hosting a virtual accessibility event to engage in conversation, thinking, and learning about access and inclusion on Thursday, May 16, 2024. This year’s theme is “Built Without Barriers” to highlight ways we can write content, create websites, and build our organization to remove barriers for people with disabilities.The event is sponsored by UMN, University of Michigan, and University of Illinois and put together by a volunteer group of dedicated University employees. There is still time to register for GAAD 2024.
This year’s keynote presenter will be Ashley Shew, an Associate Professor in Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech. Her current research is about disabled expertise and disability-led narratives about technologies in contrast to stories that perpetuate ableist stereotypes that are frequently highlighted in public discourse. GAAD will also feature several engaging sessions for people at all levels of accessibility awareness and skills. Check out the GAAD Event webpage for information on more sessions.