You can use a variety of tools for online small group discussions. We have outlined solutions, rated them for the effort required, and identified key considerations.
Resources
Comparisons
You can use a variety of tools for online small group discussions. We have outlined solutions, rated them for the effort required, and identified key considerations.
You can use a variety of tools for online small group discussions. We have outlined solutions, rated them for the effort required, and identified key considerations.
Before selecting a tool to host your next webinar, find out what you need to consider.
Experts & Communities
Share ideas with other members of the University community who are interested in using technology for teaching and learning.
Share ideas with other members of the University community who are interested in using technology for teaching and learning.
The CEI collaborates across the University to advance effective teaching and engaged learning.
The CEI collaborates across the University to advance effective teaching and engaged learning.
LATIS consultatively supports researchers in the design, data collection, and analysis of surveys and experiments in the social and behavioral sciences, humanities, and arts.
OMS is the business owner of Qualtrics for the University and has a team of experts available to help bridge the gap between do-it-yourself and advanced level questionnaire design and survey programming.
Nearly 8,000 students, faculty, and staff at the University of Minnesota are using Qualtrics for their projects.
Participate in discussions and events with faculty, students, and staff who wish to integrate video technology into their work.
Participate in discussions and events with faculty, students, and staff who wish to integrate video technology into their work.
Participate in discussions and events with faculty, students, and staff who wish to integrate video technology into their work.
Surveys at the University of Minnesota are governed by the University Survey Advisory Team (U-SAT).
Good Practices
Take a strategic approach to create a course community that helps students work together and learn from each other.
Take a strategic approach to create a course community that helps students work together and learn from each other.
Instructors can create course sites that are both usable and accessible to the widest range of students possible by organizing their course site with a landing page, modules, and a limited menu, plus following other
Instructors can create course sites that are both usable and accessible to the widest range of students possible by organizing their course site with a landing page, modules, and a limited menu, plus following other
Challenge
Working in small groups on activities and assignments can be beneficial even for "routine" tasks, as students have the opportunity to learn from and help one another.
Challenge
Working in small groups on activities and assignments can be beneficial even for "routine" tasks, as students have the opportunity to learn from and help one another.
Conduct a successful survey by learning how to ensure security and confidentiality, craft email invitations, and achieve higher response rates.
Instructors often use classroom discussions to promote sharing and ideas about a subject matter. Sometimes, discussions can become rote and tedious, or engage only one or a few students and the instructor.
Instructors often use classroom discussions to promote sharing and ideas about a subject matter. Sometimes, discussions can become rote and tedious, or engage only one or a few students and the instructor.
Instructors often spend a majority of classroom time on lectures, leaving little time for other learning opportunities such as group discussion. Capturing content is one method to address this challenge.
Instructors often spend a majority of classroom time on lectures, leaving little time for other learning opportunities such as group discussion. Capturing content is one method to address this challenge.
If you plan to use online exams with Proctorio settings to assess and evaluate student learning, please be aware that the Proctorio tool may cause problems for international users.
If you plan to use online exams with Proctorio settings to assess and evaluate student learning, please be aware that the Proctorio tool may cause problems for international users.
Challenge
Creating videos for courses is time intensive and the process of creating, publishing and sharing your media with students can be overwhelming.
Preparation is key to producing effective instructional videos. Get tips for preparing what you will present, as well as for being on camera.
Challenge
Whether you’re recording audio-only or recording a video, good quality audio is paramount.
Learn how to correctly analyze survey data so results can be used to accurately inform decisions.
See how to design a high-quality survey by understanding when to use specific question types, how to write questions, and how to format and organize the survey.
Learn how to establish survey objectives, methods, institutional review and approval, and sampling to create a successful project.
Challenge
When using pre-assigned breakout rooms, specific guidelines must be followed to ensure students are routed to their designated Zoom breakout rooms.
Challenge
Using Zoom to meet with your students in real-time offers continuity and an opportunity to stay connected.
How-Tos
When videos are uploaded to Kaltura in Canvas or in MediaSpace, they are automatically captioned using automatic speech recognition (ASR).
Issue: You are trying to install a software package that will allow you to get different outputs for your data in STATA 16 and the installation fails.
This article contains instructions on how to access the AppsToGo demo Apps and demo Desktop.
Before using Apps and Desktops through AppsToGo to complete coursework, be sure you understand the following considerations to successfully use Apps for assignment completion.
When you use AppsToGo, you have many choices of where to save (or print) your work. These instructions will guide you through how to turn off the ability to save files to your computer's local hard drive.
This resource communicates known issues with using AppsToGo and directs you where to report new issues.
This article describes how to log in to AppsToGo and access Apps after you have completed Step 1: Install Citrix Workspace (formerly Receiver) and Step 2: Link Your Google Drive in th
This article is for users who use the Citrix Workspace (formerly, Citrix Receiver) application on their computer to access AppsToGo.
You will need to register your Google Drive before accessing AppsToGo. This registration is done via a service called Kumo.
The first page you see after logging on to AppsToGo is your Favorites. All apps that you have access to show up in your Favorites by default.
All students who can access the CSE computer labs automatically have access to the following Apps:
Security
By default, AppsToGo is designed to be secure and is password protected. It is recommended to save your work files to Google Drive or network-attached drive.
Instructions:
To access AppsToGo with Chrome Web Browser on Windows or Mac OS X, you will need to associate the AppsToGo session file with the Citrix application. You should only need to do this once.
AppsToGo provides a portal for users of Windows (mobile, phone, desktop), Mac (iPad/iPhone and OSX), and Android to connect to a collection of virtual Apps.
AppsToGo is a client virtualization service that allows you to use certain discipline-specific software (Apps) on your desktop, laptop or mobile device.
All AppsToGo apps and desktops run from a virtual server. The virtual server looks like a real computer, but the drives don't save data.
This article is intended for instructors/staff looking to add the Kaltura My Media and/or Media Gallery tabs to their Canvas course menus.
Audience: Faculty, Staff and Students
Media Galleries are areas to post, view, and search Kaltura videos related to specific courses in Canvas.
In this article:
You may see the following error while trying to access Kaltura via your Canvas course site:
The Zoom for Canvas Integration allows you to start and join Zoom meetings from within Canvas. This article is for UMN faculty and staff who would like to use Zoom together with Canvas.
Audience: Faculty, Staff and Students
Media Galleries are areas to post, view, and search Kaltura videos related to specific courses in Canvas.
The My Media area in Canvas gives you direct access to your personal Kaltura media collection, both private (unpublished) and published content.
Media Galleries are areas to post, view, and search Kaltura videos related to specific courses in Canvas.
Compare the features of Zoom (umn.zoom.us) and Google Hangouts Meet (
As of February 2018, videos uploaded to Kaltura in Canvas or MediaSpace receive closed captions using automatic speech recognition (ASR).
Use this page to find topics related to managing closed captions on your videos using Kaltura in Canvas and MediaSpace.
Each video uploaded to Kaltura through Canvas has an owner. As the media owner, use video permissions to determine individual levels of access to videos for collaboration.
When videos are uploaded to Kaltura in Canvas and MediaSpace, they are automatically captioned.
When videos are uploaded to Kaltura in Canvas, they are automatically captioned by using automatic speech recognition (ASR).
In this article:
Audience: Faculty and Staff
There are multiple video layout options available for you as a host, co-host, and participant in Zoom.
Layout Options
There are 4 video layout options in Zoom:
Zoom provides several ways for meeting hosts to set up audio and for participants to join audio.
As a host, use this article to inform your meeting setup.
The HCC, or Health Care Component, is a group of faculty, students, or staff who work closely with private health information and are subject to a Business Associates Agreement (BAA) with Zoom to ensure HIPAA complian
As a meeting host, you can split your meeting participants into breakout rooms when scheduling the meeting. This can be useful if you already know how you want to split up your participants.
Use this feature if you want to let someone else host a meeting or webinar that you have scheduled. This may be helpful if you are out of the office or late to your meeting or webinar.
You do not need a webcam in order to join a Zoom meeting or webinar.
Without a webcam, you will not be able to transmit video. Things you will be able to do include:
There are two Zoom account types at the University of Minnesota:
Zoom can change the way you teach and interact with learners, by giving you the ability to hold online office hours with learners anywhere in the world on a one-time or recurring basis.
Host controls allow you as the host or co-host to control various aspects of the Zoom Meeting or Webinar, such as managing the participants.
Host controls include but are not limited to:
The host key is a 6-digit PIN tied to your Zoom account. It is not meeting-specific. You can use your host key to claim host privileges in the following circumstances:
You can use a landline or mobile phone to join or host a Zoom meeting via audio conferencing. This is useful when:
Zoom has international dial-in numbers available for an extensive and growing list of countries throughout the world. Participants from abroad can join UMN-hosted Zoom meetings or webinars via telephone if they canno
Once you have started or joined a Zoom meeting using your iPhone or iPad, follow the steps below to connect to the meeting audio.
You can use the Zoom mobile app to share your entire screen on an iPhone or iPad (as long as you are running
Intended Audience: Students or any user from the University of Minnesota joining Zoom meetings as a Participant or Attendee.
Video
It is a good idea to test your video in Zoom before a meeting or webinar. You can do that either manually or via a test meeting.
You can use Zoom on a computer through a web browser. This lets you use some of Zoom's features without downloading plug-ins or software. However, the web client has limited features.
University of Minnesota students, staff, faculty, departmental, and sponsored accounts who are not in the
This article helps you log into the UMN Zoom platform. For security purposes, Zoom logs out after 120 minutes of inactivity.
The University of Minnesota's Zoom conferencing system now includes a feature that uses automatic transcription to tur
Breakout Rooms allow you to seamlessly split your Zoom meeting into separate sessions for small group discussion, and then bring those sessions back together to resume the large group meeting. As the meeting host, yo
The Meeting Settings page in your
As a host or co-host, you can mute all of the participants in the meeting.
Your Profile page in your
If your camera is not showing up in the Zoom Settings, or if it is selected and not showing any video, these general tips can help.
Zoom offers optimized screen sharing of a full screen video clip. This setting increases the frame rate of the screen share while playing the clip, so that the playback appears more smooth for remote participants. T
Your Personal Meeting Room is the virtual meeting room that is permanently reserved for you. You can start an instant meeting there at any time, or schedule it for future use.
The polling feature for meetings and webinars allows you to ask multiple choice polling questions.
If you are hosting a webinar and want attendees to take a survey or be taken to a specific webpage afterward, you can specify a Post Webinar Survey URL. Webinar participants will be prompted to take a
As a Zoom host, you can record your meeting or webinar.
If your camera is displaying upside down or sideways in Zoom on your Windows PC, you can rotate the camera in your settings until it is oriented correctly.
Becoming comfortable with Zoom's scheduling and invitation features will help you host successful meetings. This article covers:
You can allow someone else to schedule meetings and webinars on your behalf in Zoom.
Zoom offers step-by-step instructions for using Microsoft Powerpoint presentations with screen sharing in their
Follow the recommendations below to keep your Zoom Meetings secure and free from disruption.
You can set a playback range for a Zoom cloud recording that you share with other
You can use Zoom to share your desktop, window, or application with meeting attendees.
If you want other meeting attendees to see what you are working on, you can share your screen by clicking on the Share button in the Zoom toolbar.
Hosts using the Zoom Client for Meetings desktop application can allow mul
You can sign up for the following Zoom trainings through
You can start an instant meeting for screen share (no video) or an audio-only meeting from the
Synchronous class sessions, in which everyone logs in to a web conferencing system at a pre-scheduled time, are one way to create engagement and foster community in your fully online courses.
There are two options to test your video in Zoom prior to a meeting or webinar:
If you are hearing feedback or echoes in your meeting, that means there is a device in the meeting that is channeling your audio back.
Zoom is the University of Minnesota's preferred platform for virtual meetings, remote collaboration, and video conferencing.
You can use the Call-Out feature in a Zoom meeting or Webinar to dial yourself or someone else to join the audio by telephone.
Please Note:
The dual-monitor display feature allows you to see the video on one monitor and the screen share on another monitor simultaneously.
If the video area on your Lenovo laptop looks like a grey box with a crossed-out camera icon, try these troubleshooting steps.
You can watch recordings o
Zoom offers an extensive coll
The Zoom for Google Calendar add-on allows you to schedule and join meetings directly from a Google Calendar event.
Resources
Sound can make or break a multimedia production, whether it’s an audio slideshow, a documentary video or an interactive narrative.
Article from Geekazine on some simple tips that help with making video conferencing of all types a more pleasant experience for everyone.
Helpful points on making a better live recording.
Content chunking, for instructional design, is the strategy of breaking up content into shorter, bite-size pieces that are more manageable and easier to remember.
Content chunking, for instructional design, is the strategy of breaking up content into shorter, bite-size pieces that are more manageable and easier to remember.
Good audio is critical to your elearning success. You might be a great instructional designer and create the most engaging courses possible. But it all falls apart if the audio quality in your course is not ve
In a recent study, researchers identified the design factors that were most valued by participants in terms of promoting an engaging online learning experience.
In a recent study, researchers identified the design factors that were most valued by participants in terms of promoting an engaging online learning experience.
The best discussions keep everyone active, either by sharing or thinking. Even those students who rarely, if ever, contribute can still participate in other ways.
The best discussions keep everyone active, either by sharing or thinking. Even those students who rarely, if ever, contribute can still participate in other ways.
This presentation will introduce a rubric-based method of auditing online courses for their maturity on three dimensions of development.
This presentation will introduce a rubric-based method of auditing online courses for their maturity on three dimensions of development.
This guide consists of introductory comments, worksheets, and action questions in each of the three major phases of Integrated Course Design.
The Canvas Community is a place where you can ask and answer questions as well as search to find answers to previously asked questions.
Good audio is an essential component for a good meeting.
Building branched scenarios with your rapid elearning tools is actually pretty easy to do. These tutorials shows you how to do so.
Building branched scenarios with your rapid elearning tools is actually pretty easy to do. These tutorials shows you how to do so.
You can create collaborations within your groups using Google Docs.
You can see the current groups where you are enrolled using the Global Navigation Menu.
Your instructors may want to create groups within a course but still allow you to form your own group. Joining students groups are easy in Canvas.
If you are able to join a group in your course, you can leave the group a
As a student group leader, you can help manage a group in a course. Group leaders are assigned automatically or manually by your instructor.
You can create collaborations within your groups using Google Drive.
You can share files with members of your group.
Note: All files added to the group will be accessible to all group members.
Canvas Guides is the online documentation site for students, instructors, instructional designers, parents, and learning management system (LMS) admins.
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
Read the full production release notes
You can add a grading scheme to an assignment. You can use search for grading schemes created by your institution or you can create a new grading scheme.
Group sets house the different groups within a course. Once you have created a group set, you can manually create groups in the set or automatically create groups in the set.
Modules are used to organize course content by weeks, units, or whatever organizational structure works for your course.
You can add a personal reminder to your own Calendar for an upcoming event.
If you want to create the same event multiple times for a course, you can create a recurring event. Recurring (or repeating) events creates multiple copies of the event every day, week, or month.
If you cannot find a rubric you want to use in your Canvas course, you can create a new rubric. Once you create a rubric, the rubric is saved in your course for future use.
You can add a rubric to a graded Canvas discussion to help students understand expectations for the discussion and how you intend to score their replies.
You can add a rubric to a Canvas assignment to help students understand expectations for the assignment and how you intend to score their submissions.
You can create appointment groups in the Scheduler. Appointment groups create a block of time where students can meet with you. Students can sign up for appointment times in their own calendars.
When you create an assignment, you can choose to add an external app (LTI tool) as a submission type. External apps must be added in your Canvas course before they can be added to an assignment.
A Canvas event is a non-graded Canvas activity. Events you create on the Calendar will not appear on the Assignments page or in the Gradebook. But they will show up on the Syllabus page and student calendars.
There are many places where you can find Apps to use in your courses. You can add external apps in the Canvas App Center, the Edu App Center, or through vendor-provided tools.
If your institution allows, you can upload an image to display behind the course card in the Canvas Dashboa
When you create a Canvas assignment, you'll add details for the assignment such as the description, file submission types, and point value.
You can add or edit the amount of points on a given Canvas Assignment.
When you add requirements to a module, students must complete all requirements within one module before moving to the next module.
You can choose to allow students to post replies to individual announcements; you can also close an announcement to comments.
If you allow students to reply to announcements, you can also allow students to like replies in an announcement. If an announcement allows liking, users will see a Like icon within each announcement reply.
Once you have filtered student enrollments or sections in your Gradebook, you can arrange the Gradebook columns by assignment name, due date, points, and modules. You can also resize and manually arrange columns.
You can create a graded discussion for a Canvas course group by using the Group Discussion checkbox.
When creating or editing a graded Canvas discussion, you can assign a graded discussion to a specific course section.
When creating or editing a graded Canvas discussion, you can assign a graded discussion to a specific student.
You can assign a student group leader to help manage a group within your course. You can assign group leaders automatically or manually.
You can create a group assignment by using the Group Assignment checkbox.
When creating or editing an assignment, you can assign an assignment to a specific Canvas course section.
When creating or editing a Canvas assignment, you can assign an assignment to individual students.
When you create a peer review assignment with automatic peer reviews, Canvas will assign peer reviews to students automatically once they have submitted their own assignment.
Once you create groups in a group set, you can randomly automatically assign students to those groups.
In a group set, you can automatically create groups for users to participate in. You can also manually create groups in a group set.
If you have a lot of files to add to your course, you can bulk upload them.
This document is a simplified glossary for many important terms used in Canvas.
You can change your Course Home Page to reflect one of five layout options: the Recent Activity Dashboard, Pages Front Page, the Course Modules, the Assignment List, or the Syllabus.
You can change the name of a section by editing your course Settings in Canvas.
Sometimes you want to rename a page name. This lesson will show you the steps of how to rename a page name.
As part of a Turnitin assignment in Canvas, you must specify the settings that are allowed for student submissions.
Canvas Course Analytics, a new tool that provides course-level insights into students’ engagement and performance, is now available.
You can create an online assignment that embeds a document directly from your Google Drive folder. Accepted assignment types are Google Documents, Spreadsheets, and Slides.
As an instructor, you can create a discussion for your Canvas course. This article outlines a variety of options to choose from to customize a discussion.
Folders can be used to organize files in your course, group, or personal files.
You can start a new collaboration using Google Docs in Canvas. Google Docs allows you to add up to 50 users per collaboration, and all users can view and edit a document at the same time.
You can use Google Drive to create a collaboration with a Google Document, Spreadsheet, or Presentation. You can select individual users, groups, or both as part of a collaboration.
A group discussion assignment in Canvas creates an identical discussion topic in each group category.
You can use Microsoft Office 365 to create a collaboration with a Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file. You can select individual users, groups, or both as part of a collaboration.
As an instructor, you can create a new page to add to your course.
When creating a Canvas assignment, you can require students to complete a peer review of another student's work.
You can add your own questions to your quizzes in Canvas. You can create various types of quiz questions. Individual questions can also be added to question groups.
As an instructor, you can enable Turnitin as part of a new Canvas assignment. Turnitin is enabled on a per-assignment basis in Canvas.
You can create assignments on the Canvas Assignments page.
You can create assignment shells from the Canvas Calendar. Assignment shells are placeholders for the assignment until you fill in the assignment details.
Columns in the Canvas Gradebook are only created by adding an assignment in Canvas. If you need to create a column in the Gradebook to use for manual grading, you can create a No Submission or On Paper assignment.
Self sign-up groups allow users to choose the group they want to be in as part of a group set. You can also limit the number of members who can sign up for each group.
A paper from The Internal Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning on Creating Effective Collaborative Learning in an Online Environment.
You can use the Gradebook to curve grades for an assignment.
In this video you will learn how to customize your course home page.
You can delay posting a discussion topic until a specific date by changing a setting in your discussion.
If you are the course instructor or the creator of a collaboration, you can delete the collaboration from Canvas. Deleting the collaboration only removes access to the collaboration in Canvas.
You can delete a section by editing your course Settings in Canvas. You cannot delete a section with users enrolled.
You can delete a discussion or graded discussion from your Canvas course at any time.
You can delete a page if you no longer need it in your course.
If you need to remove an announcement from your course, you can easily delete it in Canvas.
You can delete an assignment from your Canvas course if necessary.
You can disable comments for announcements and have that setting applied to every announcement throughout the entire course. However, you can also choose to close announcements on a per-announcement basis.
You can download a single file from any file storage area in Canvas.
If you want to download all student submissions for an assignment, you can download them from the Gradebook in a bulk download.
You can duplicate a discussion in your Canvas course. When a discussion is duplicated, the word Copy is added to the end of the assignment name.
You can duplicate a page in your course. When a page is copied, the word Copy is added to the end of the page name.
You can duplicate an assignment in your Canvas course. When an assignment is duplicated, the word Copy is added to the end of the assignment name. The copied assignment defaults to an unpublished status.
You can easily edit a discussion you've already created.
Once you have created a group set, you can edit it at any time. Editing a group set allows you to change the group set name, create self sign-up groups, and assign a student group leader.
As an instructor, after you have created a page for your course, you can edit the page at any time.
After the first time you take roll call, Canvas automatically creates an assignment for Roll Call Attendance and adds a column to the Gradebook. By default, attendance is worth 100 points.
If you forgot to add something to your announcement, you can easily edit and add more information.
You can change the date of an Event or Assignment by clicking on the Event or Assignment or by dragging and dropping the Event or Assignment to a different date.
Editing the Syllabus allows you to add text and link files, images, and other course content in your Syllabus Description.
Canvas lets you embed video content within a page.
You can enable an existing grading scheme for your course by editing your Course Settings.
Most likely you will use the SpeedGrader to enter grades. The grades will appear in the Gradebook when you are done. However, you can manually enter and edit scores in the Gradebook.
In SpeedGrader, you can enter grades for student submissions. Grades are automatically displayed in the Gradebook.
When creating a Canvas assignment, you can choose to not count assignments toward the final grade.
As needed, you can use the Gradebook to excuse a student from an assignment, discussion, or quiz. You can also excuse a student from a group assignment.
You can filter your Calendar by courses.
Canvas allows you to access SpeedGrader from an assignment, quiz, or graded discussion.
We recommend the following steps for those who are just getting started with Canvas at the University of Minnesota.
We recommend the following steps for those who are just getting started with Canvas at the University of Minnesota.
How to Access Courses in Canvas
Canvas can be accessed through the MyU portal under Key Links or on the Academics tab, or by going directly to
Before you can evaluate group work, you will need to create a group assignment.
Students always have the option to resubmit their assignments. As an instructor, you can decide how to handle assignment resubmissions.
In some cases, instructors may wish to hold student grades until all assignments have been graded, and then release grades to all students at the same time.
You can use a CSV file to upload changes to the Gradebook. You can upload information for existing assignments, or you can also use a CSV file to create new assignments in the Gradebook.
You can upload SCORM ZIP files as assignments, discussions, or quizzes in your Canvas course. SCORM is a technical standard for many e-learning products and is often used to create course content.
You can use the Rich Content Editor to insert course files from the Content Selector.
You can use the Content Selector to insert and upload course images into the Rich Content Editor.
You can insert links into the Rich Content Editor using the Content Selector.
You can use a Notes column in the Gradebook to keep track of extra information in your course, such as SIS IDs or just general student notes. The Notes column is not visible to students.
If you want to leave simple feedback for your students, you can leave a text comment directly from the Gradebook.
You can create an announcement to share important information with all users within your course.
As an instructor, you can control which links appear in Course Navigation. Canvas includes a set of default Course Navigation links that are shown by default and cannot be renamed.
As an instructor, you can create, edit, and delete rubrics in your Canvas course. Rubrics are used as grading criteria for students and can be added to assignments, quizzes, and graded discussions.
You to manage all Turnitin content and settings within Canvas.
When you create a peer review assignment in Canvas with manual peer reviews, you can choose which students will be assigned peer reviews.
As an instructor, you can manually add students to a group in both published and unpublished courses.
In a group set, you can choose to manually create groups. You can also automatically create groups in a group set.
If you have created a self sign-up group within your course, you can message students who have not yet signed up for a group and remind them to do so.
You can move students within groups. However, changes should be made before assigning a group to an assignment.
You can move and organize the files in your course by dragging and dropping files or using the Move options for each file.
You can move or reorder modules after you've created them. You can manually drag and drop the module, or you can use the Move To option, which is also accessible for keyboard users.
You can move or reorder module items after you've added them to a module.
You can move or reorder Canvas assignment groups after you've created them.
The Canvas newsletter has expanded its focus to include not only need-to-know updates about the Canvas platform, but other topics relating to teaching and learning with technology.
You can view all your course announcements in the Announcements Index Page. As an instructor, you can also create announcements and modify announcement settings.
Assignments in Canvas can be used to challenge students' understanding and help assess competency by using a variety of media. Assignments include Quizzes, graded Discussions, and online submissions (i.e.
In this video you will learn the basics of group creation and group management.
As an instructor, SpeedGrader allows you to view and grade student assignment submissions in one place using a simple point scale or complex rubric.
The Inbox is a messaging tool used to communicate with a course, a group, an individual student, or a group of students. You can use the Inbox to communicate with other people in your course at any time.
The Chat tool can be used for real-time conversation with course users. Any user in the course can participate in a chat conversation and view all chat content.
When self sign-up is enabled for a group, instructors are unable to prevent students from switching groups. However, as an instructor, you can turn off the self sign-up at any time.
If you have permission to publish your course, these directions show you how to publish your course in the Course Home Page sidebar
A moderated assignment supports up to two provisional grades and one moderator grade. However, provisional grades are not included in the Gradebook and are only visible to moderators in the Moderate page.
Leaving an Assignment unpublished allows it to remain in a draft state. Unpublished assignments are invisible to students and excluded from grade calculations.
A common feature in Canvas is the gray or green icon that indicates whether or not an item is published and thereby visible to students. This article covers how to publish/unpublish a module in a course site.
You may be able to remove section enrollments within your course Settings in Canvas. Removing an enrollment removes all associated coursework and grades from the course.
You can remove students from appointments in the Scheduler if necessary.
You can easily reply to any discussion, threaded or focused. However, the reply process varies depending on the type of discussion.
If you have a question or comment about an announcement, you can reply directly to that announcement.
Additional learning tools, sometimes called learning apps, external tools or LTI's, can be added on to Canvas to extend the core functionality and features of the system. The decision to inte
Once a reviewer grades a moderated assignment, the grade appears in the Moderate page as a provisional grade in the appropriate reviewer column. An assignment supports up to two provisional grades from reviewers.
You can run reports to review attendance data for your students. This report is sent to your email, where it can be downloaded as a comma separated value (CSV) file.
View this tutorial to see what students can view with their grades in Canvas.
You can use the Gradebook to send messages to your students. Message subjects are filtered based on specific assignment categories.
You can set the format for a course in Course Settings. Course format shows whether the course is intended to be an on-campus course, a online course, or a blended course.
This lesson will help you use different calendar event dates for each section you have in your course.
If you want to change the Course Home Page to a custom page, you must first set the page as the Front Page.
As an instructor, you can manage the details in a Canvas course.
When creating an assignment, you can choose to set up an assignment with moderated grading.
You can give students extra credit in Canvas using several options.
Once you have added assignments to your Canvas assignment group, you can create rules for the entire assignment group.
For easier grading, you can sort the student list by student name [alphabetically], the date they submitted the assignment, or by submission status.
You can create collaborations within your groups using Google Docs.
You can import your Canvas calendar to Google Calendar. The calendar feed will contain events and assignments from all of your Canvas calendars.
You can subscribe to the Calendar Feed using Outlook 2013 on your desktop. The calendar feed will contain events and assignments from all of your Canvas calendars.
Enjoy this brief overview of Canvas from Instructure.
When you create a quiz in Canvas, you have a variety of options to choose from within a quiz.
The quiz tool in Canvas is used to create and administer online quizzes and surveys. You can also use quizzes to conduct and moderate exams and assessments, both graded and ungraded.
You can add a file to your course by uploading a file. You can also import files using the course import tool in Course Settings.
You can upload PDFs to a page in Canvas.
When you download all student submissions from the Gradebook, you can re-upload the assignment submissions as a bulk upload in your course.
You can import ZIP files to Canvas through Files or Course Settings. Through Course Settings, you must upload the ZIP file to an existing folder in Files.
If you have added a rubric to an assignment, you can view the rubric in SpeedGrader.
You can import courses, modules, assignments, quizzes, discussions, pages, or files to Commons. Imported resources will retain their original published or unpublished status.
The Settings navigation link is where you can easily update and see the different users and sections, and you can also modify the navigation of your course.
A grading scheme is a set of criteria that measures varying levels of achievement in a course.
A peer review assignment enables students to provide feedback on another student's assignment submission in Canvas.
You can view all your quizzes in your Canvas course on the Quizzes Index page. As an instructor, you can also add quizzes and modify quiz settings.
SpeedGrader makes it easy to evaluate individual student assignments and group assignments quickly.
You can view all your course assignments on the Canvas Assignments Index page. As an instructor, you can also add assignment groups, create an assignment, and modify assignment settings.
The Calendar is a great way to view everything you have to do for all your courses in one place. You can view calendar events by day, week, month, or agenda list.
The Collaborations Index Page allows you to create collaborations for users in your course. You can create new collaborations, edit existing collaborations, and delete collaborations.
The Course Navigation Menu is a series of links on the left side of your course that help you and your students access different course areas.
The first few times you create a new course in Canvas, it's a challenge to remember all of the steps required.
The Global Navigation Menu is located on the left side of every page in Canvas. Global Navigation links provide quick access to frequently used Canvas features.
You can get help with Canvas by using the Help menu. Depending on your user role, the Help menu generates a list of resources to help you with Canvas.
There are different icons and colors in the new Gradebook. Depending on how you grade assignments (manually or otherwise), you will see different icons or colors.
Modules control the entire flow of your course and its content. As an instructor, you can add modules, add items to a module, and manage module settings.
You can view all your pages in your course on the Pages Index Page. As an instructor, you can add new pages, edit pages, and manage page settings.
After the Attendance tool has been enabled for your course, you can configure the attendance tool to meet the needs of your students.
The Syllabus in Canvas makes it easy to communicate to your students exactly what will be required of them throughout the course in chronological order.
The sidebar contains the To Do list and other sections that help you know what assignments and events are coming up in all of your courses. The sidebar includes specific items for instructor and student roles.
The sidebar contains the To Do list and other sections that help you know what assignments and events are coming up in all of your courses. The sidebar includes specific items for instructor and student roles.
A paper from ScienceDirect on Using online collaboration applications for group assignments. You may be prompted to log into the UofM Library system to gain access to this research paper.
You can view a course the same way that your students view your course through Student View. Enabling Student View creates a Test Student in your course.
The Gradebook Individual View allows instructors to assess one student and one assignment at a time.
You can view all replies in an announcement by scrolling or searching content. Announcement replies are hierarchical, collapsable, and expandable.
Differentiated Assignments is a Canvas feature that lets you create different due dates and availability dates for assignments, quizzes, and discussions.
You can view section enrollments within your course Settings in Canvas.
Group files include uploaded assignment submissions, files for projects, and other group-related items. By default, each group has 50 MB of storage space in Canvas.
User files include profile pictures, uploaded assignment submissions, and other files uploaded to your personal Canvas file storage area.
If you've previously created an appointment group in the Scheduler, you can view and edit existing appointment groups.
As an instructor, you can view what is happening in groups by viewing each user group.
The Calendar iCal feed is located in the sidebar of your Calendar.
When you can edit course pages, you can view the page history and see the date, time, and author of any changes made to the page.
This resource contains a table of contents of all articles for the Canvas Instructor Guide. It is published and maintained by Canvas.
Canvas helps you access your groups in the Course Navigation menu. Admins sometimes add instructors to an institutional group.
You can weight final grades based on Canvas assignment groups. Selecting this option assigns a weight to each assignment group, not the assignments themselves.
Canvas leverages collaborative technology to allow multiple users to work together on the same document at the same time.
Canvas provides an integrated system for class discussions, allowing both instructors and students to start and contribute to as many discussion topics as desired.
LTI provides a framework through which an LMS (Canvas) can send some verifiable information about a user to a third party.
Files can house course files, assignments, syllabi, readings, or other documents, as well as profile pictures and user-specific files.
A grading scheme is a set of criteria that measures varying levels of achievement in a course.
Groups are a small version of a course and used as a collaborative tool where students can work together on group projects and assignments.
Modules allow instructors to organize content to help control the flow of the course. Modules are used to organize course content by weeks, units, or a different organizational structure.
Pages store content and educational resources that are part of a course or group but don’t necessarily belong in an assignment. Pages can include text, video, and links to files and other course or group content.
Profile and User Settings let you control your personal information in Canvas.
Canvas courses have three essential states: unpublished, published, and concluded.
Commons is a learning object repository that enables educators to find, import, and share resources.
The Calendar in Canvas is a global feature, meaning users can see all courses assignments and events in one place. Calendars can be filtered by selecting or deselecting courses in the sidebar.
An article from Canvas that explains Assignments and Activities in Canvas.
Canvas has a simple, yet powerful, content editor that is available anytime for creating new content.
Scheduler is a Calendar tool that creates appointment groups within a course or group. Students can sign up for a time slot within the appointment group.
Outcomes allow the administration and faculty to track mastery in a course. Users can import Account, State, and Common Core Standards into an account and course.
Chunking is a concept embedded in the world of instructional and information design.
Chunking is a concept embedded in the world of instructional and information design.
Our computer facilities are equipped with up-to-date hardware, as listed in the table below. * - DVD burners available.
EligibilityIT computer labs are available to University of Minnesota students.Current registration is required for fall and spring semester access.Summer registration or registration in
This source is an example of a branching scenario that provides practice in cultural awareness for noncommissioned officers.
The central message of this book is that there ways of creating learning experiences that can sufficiently impact the outcomes for students and instructors.
This is an example of a branching scenario that provides methods for dealing with office issues.
We provide service and support for collegiate instructional facilities/computer labs. Commitments are made to customers and end-users involving service, standardization of technology and processes, security, etc.
Learn how to set up a course shell with the Multi-Tool, a part of the Design Tools package integrated within Canvas, with this DesignPLUS user guide.
Learn how to set up a course shell with the Multi-Tool, a part of the Design Tools package integrated within Canvas, with this DesignPLUS user guide.
View and adjust due-dates for every graded assignment, quiz, and discussion for your entire Canvas course site by using the due-date modifer in Multi-Tool, a part of the Design Tools package integrated within Ca
View and adjust due-dates for every graded assignment, quiz, and discussion for your entire Canvas course site by using the due-date modifer in Multi-Tool, a part of the Design Tools package integrated within Ca
Learn how to use the Multi-Tool, part of the Design Tools package integrated within Canvas that provides additional tools for streamlining the creation of course sites, with this video.
Learn how to use the Multi-Tool, part of the Design Tools package integrated within Canvas that provides additional tools for streamlining the creation of course sites, with this video.
This online book shares the stories of those who are using the principles of Integrated Course Design; you will learn "how different people are applying these ideas in multiple contexts and what happens when they do."
Simple steps for embedding YouTube videos and playlists.
The purpose of this page is to promote the design and administration of online exams that inhibit cheating and prevent the unauthorized distribution of exam materials by use of effective practices in the following are
This tutorial familiarizes faculty and staff with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the importance of protecting a student’s educational record.
Get support information for common issues educators and students have when using Flipgrid, a cloud-based, video student engagement and assessment tool.
Get support information for common issues educators and students have when using Flipgrid, a cloud-based, video student engagement and assessment tool.
Find support materials for educators who use Flipgrid, a cloud-based, video student engagement and assessment tool.
Find support materials for students who use Flipgrid, a cloud-based, video student engagement and assessment tool.
Google Currents brand pages offer ways for organizations to reach out to followers, fans, and customers on Google.
Find help creating, editing and formating Google Forms.
Short article from 9to5 Google on how the use of Google Drive app within a hangout has been removed. Now users are to use the chat box for sharing any Google Driv items.
Learn about Google Hangouts on Google's help site.
The Google Hangouts Meet Help Center can help learn how to start and join meetings and use different settings in the meeting.
Webpage with link to download Google Video Calls (Hangouts) plugin required for most browsers to enter a video call.
Short video from Ronnie Bincer about how Google (Hangouts sometimes auto-mutes participants.
Web page from Google with information on how to start a Google Video Call (Hangout), including how to set up your computer and computer browser in advance.
You can easily communicate with your family and friends through Hangouts in Gmail. You can make phone calls, have face-to-face video calls, and share photos.
Overview of how to use Google Video Calls with Google Calendar, including how to add a video call to a calendar event.
Chunking is a concept that originates from the field of cognitive psychology.
Chunking is a concept that originates from the field of cognitive psychology.
The key is to design tasks that are truly collaborative, meaning the students will benefit more from doing the activity as a group than doing it alone.
The key is to design tasks that are truly collaborative, meaning the students will benefit more from doing the activity as a group than doing it alone.
Presence is the most important best practice for an online course. Learn techniques to establish instructor presence.
Canvas is the University's new enterprise learning management system.
To be effective, online curricula illustrating communication behaviors need face-to-face interaction, individual role play with feedback and discussion.
Learning Tools, also known as learning apps, external tools, or LTI apps, can be added on to Canvas to extend the core functionality and features of the system. UMN has a variety of
Learning Tools, also known as learning apps, external tools, or LTI apps, can be added on to Canvas to extend the core functionality and features of the system. UMN has a variety of apps already integrated and ready f
Fall 2016 (PDF)Spring 2016 (PDF)
Access group work resources from this past Educause concurrent session.
The University protects the rights of students with respect to their education records.
Library Media Services provides comprehensive course support for the integration of media assignments into teaching and publishes related case studies.
To access the Moodle systems below, you must be on the University of Minnesota campus network.
This page contains detailed information about how the Moodle Lifecycle Process affects
This page contains detailed information about how the Moodle Lifecycle Process affects
This page contains detailed information about how the Moodle Lifecycle Process affects
This page contains detailed information about how the Moodle Lifecycle Process affects Moodle for Academic Year
This page contains detailed information about how the Moodle Lifecycle Process affects
This page contains detailed information about how the Moodle Lifecycle Process affects
This page contains detailed information about how the Moodle Lifecycle Process affects Moodle for Academic
This page contains information about how the Moodle Lifecycle Process affects older Moodle instances that predate the
This page describes the lifecycle of Moodle systems at the University of Minnesota.
ReservationsIf you need to reserve a computer classroom, please contact [email protected]
Watch pre-recorded webinars covering a variety of Qualtrics and survey topics
Online discussions are a great tool to extend classroom conversations and learning by getting students to engage with class material online.
Online discussions are a great tool to extend classroom conversations and learning by getting students to engage with class material online.
Find resources for educators who enable in Canvas the online homework, tutorial, and assessment learning materials designed to accompany textbooks published by Pearson Education.
The use of discussion forums as a vehicle for learning is based on the pedagogical tenets of collaborative learning theory, which call for collaboration between participants, experimentation, and open inquiry.
The use of discussion forums as a vehicle for learning is based on the pedagogical tenets of collaborative learning theory, which call for collaboration between participants, experimentation, and open inquiry.
Purchase an iClicker 2 device and/or a REEF Polling license.
The Office of eLearning provides faculty and staff support for Quality Matters,
The Office of eLearning provides faculty and staff support for Quality Matters,
The Qualtrics license grants the University of Minnesota permission to use the software solely for University purposes, and expressly prohibits use by third parties.
Find answers to frequently asked Qualtrics questions.
Learn the basics of using Qualtrics or dive into advanced topics.
If you are considering surveying anyone at the University of Minnesota, you must follow the Survey Project Approval Process outlined below.
An overview of the Quiz Module in Moodle, including links to other useful articles on Quizzes, as well as features of the Module.
How to setup and use REEF Polling by i>clicker so that you can use your laptop, smart phone, or tablet to answer questions in class and review the material afterwards.
Learn about ResponseWare on the Turning Technologies site. It can be used with any web-enabled device and allows participants to view and respond to interactive questions.
YouTube is a video sharing service provided by Google, and all users must abide by Google's terms of service.
Scanners are found in many of our computer facilities.
Quick article from Teacher Tech (Alice Keeler) on how to choose which video has the main focus in a Google Video Call (Hangout).
This source provides samples of branching scenarios for different professions.
This source provides samples of branching scenarios for different professions.
Tips and tricks to help you record quality videos with your smartphone.
If you are an instructor using Moodle course sites, complete the following steps when preparing for the start of a new semester.
Student media assignments engage students in course content and provide opportunities for reflection and deeper learning. See examples from the College of Education + Human Development.
A Website that provides survey-related resources to the University of Minnesota community, including links to technologies supported on campus and information about best practices and community groups.
A resource for students who are assigned group work for their courses.
Irene Duranczyk, Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Development, describes her use of an iPad tablet and Swivl to bring the dynamics of a face-to-face course to an online student during Fall 201
This short, 4-minute video walks you through the process of making a recording using TechSmith Relay.
The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) created this checklist to help instructors create effective online courses.
The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) created this checklist to help instructors create effective online courses.
Learn how to set up a branching scenario properly, no matter what tool you decide to develop it in.
Learn how to set up a branching scenario properly, no matter what tool you decide to develop it in.
Get an overview for instructors and presenters on the Turning Technologies site.
Learn how to set up and use TurningPoint Cloud software and receiver connection.
Move RecordingTo move a recording to your Content folder, follow the instructions below.
This self-paced course contains a series of short videos designed to help instructors learn how to use Canvas.
This LinkedIn Learning video shows how to use the calendar to invite others to the meeting, and activate video chat to see each other along with other features.
In this paper two collaborative activities are explored, namely a simple Case Study (moderate level of structuredness) and the Case Study joint with the Jigsaw (higher level of structuredness).
VoiceThread is a tool that facilitates having online conversations around media.
Compare web conferencing tools available at the University; always start with your objectives before deciding on the tool.
When should you go to the trouble of designing a branching scenario? See some examples.
When should you go to the trouble of designing a branching scenario? See some examples.
Directions on how to add subtitles, closed captioning, and transcriptions to a YouTube video.
YouTube directions for adding subtitles, captioning, and transcriptions to YouTube videos.
Find how-to articles on using YouTube.
Find how-to articles on using YouTube.
Learn answers to commonly asked questions on this YouTube site.
The following are examples of how University of Minnesota groups have successfully used YouTube.
As the host, you can control who meeting or webinar participants are allowed to chat with.
Use the controls below the flowchart to enlarge it. Click on the links in the blue ovals to learn more about each option.
Before Your Meeting or Webinar
Set up Registration.
For public events, set up a Zoom registration page. People with a valid email will receive an email with the link to the event.
Self-Help Guides
This guide walks you through how to gain access to virtual apps available through AppsToGo, the University of Minnesota's Application Delivery Infastructure.
This self-help guide takes you through the basic process of building a Canvas course site from the ground up, starting with creating and linking content, building assessments, and cho
Hold an online meeting using the Google Hangouts App.
Kaltura is a media management platform for teaching and learning purposes.
This self-help guide will help anyone who presents at, schedules, or supports online meetings and webinars through Zoom. To learn more about using Zoom for online office hours or smaller meetings, check out
Zoom, an online video conferencing system, is now available to the UMN community! Compare Zoom to Google Hangouts
User Stories
Why capture a guest expert lecture or presentation on video?
The College of Biological Sciences (CBS) and their Academic Technology team are one of the first units this summer to start the adoption of Canvas at the University of Minnesota.
The College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) is making a big move from Moodle to Canvas this spring. Along the way, they are finding things to learn and like about the new platform.
The benefits of student group work are well documented:
Demonstration videos help students learn because they can both see and hear the proper way to do things at every step.
Simulations provide students with:
Simulations provide students with:
With one of the biggest jumps in Canvas usage from fall to spring semester, The University of Minnesota Crookston is taking big steps towards the full adoption of Canvas.
Demonstration videos: