April 2025

Get help to retain Google Files from past colleagues

Beginning June 7, 2025, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) will delete files that have been closed for over six months in Google Workspace. You can search for files pending deletion from past colleagues to see if there are any you need to retain for your ongoing work. Since moving folders and files of various sizes with various owners and permissions can be complicated, the Google Team has provided a few ways for people to get help. 

After non-emeritus faculty, staff, and students depart (leave, retire, or graduate from) the University, their UMN email and Google Workspace accounts will be closed and the contents within will be deleted after six months. 

If you are retiring or transitioning to another position outside of the University of Minnesota, follow the steps outlined in the Leaving the University self-help guide to make sure you transfer ownership of any important collaborative documents so that they do not get deleted.

Proctorio retiring May 31, 2025

Proctorio, an online exam proctoring tool, will no longer be available for use after May 31, 2025. Honorlock is the new online exam proctoring tool available for instructors to use in Canvas. If you need to use an online proctoring tool with exams, follow the instructions to Transition Quizzes from Proctorio to Honorlock. 

Prepare to submit final grades for spring semester

The end of the semester is coming up quickly! We have a couple of resources available for you to use when submitting your final grades:

Do it Yourself

Use the self-help guide, Canvas: Prepare and Submit Grades to Faculty Center/PeopleSoft, as a checklist. The guide will walk you through how to prepare your final course grades in Canvas and send them to Faculty Center/PeopleSoft. 

Get Hands-on Support (May 1, 1-2 p.m.)

Join Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS) consultants and your peers for a hands-on, active work session to build and modify your Gradebook to prepare for submitting final grades. After a brief demonstration, questions and discussion topics of interest from participants will determine the focus of the session. Enroll in Canvas Gradebook: Prepare to submit final grades. 

Boost Your Canvas Course Site Accessibility by Removing Outdated Content

Take time now to remove course content before copying any courses for the summer or fall semester. This includes removing any pages, documents, files, and media that are old, outdated, and no longer in use. Taking the time to do this work now will save your future self time and energy in meeting the standards for accessible course materials outlined by the Department of Justice in their clarifications on Title II of the ADA. 

Emerging Technologies Faculty Fellows share their experiences

Throughout fall 2024 and spring 2025, Extra Points showcased interviews featuring fellows in the 18-month 

Emerging Technologies Faculty Fellowship Program as part of the Gen AI Explorations series. This month marks the final contribution of cohort participants, and features the following faculty fellows: 

• Mark Collier, Professor of Philosophy at UMN Morris, introduced AI tutors into his class on ethics and artificial intelligence. He created an application called Conversations with Philosophers that allowed students to interact with philosophers like David Hume.
• Rob Erdmann, Assistant Professor of Bioinformatics/Data Science at UMN Rochester, set up a local instance of CodeLlama, an open-source large language model (LLM), for use by faculty and students enrolled in data analytics and other technical courses at UMN Rochester. He is developing new course offerings that engage the LLM.
• Junhua Wang, Associate Professor of Business Communications in the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at UMN Duluth, is intentional about integrating generative AI into her writing intensive business communication class and evaluating the results.

New screen reader technologies available for download systemwide

The University has a University-wide license for any instructor, student, and staff to download JAWS, ZoomText, or Fusion onto a computer with a Windows Operating System.

JAWS is a screen reader, and ZoomText is a screen magnification software. Fusion is the integrated combination of JAWS and ZoomText.

• For downloading onto University-owned Windows computers, use the Software Center: Manage Software on Your University Windows Device.
• For downloading onto personal Windows devices, create a free account with your @umn.edu email address at the Freedom Scientific sponsorship portal. Then, go to the Freedom Scientific Download Center to download the software you wish to use.
• For similar accessibility functionality on Mac computers, VoiceOver screen reader/text to speech and Zoom are features built into the operating system.

Watch the recording from this week’s Accessibility Ambassadors session, Screen Reader Testing, to see screen reader tips and demonstrations.

Canvas Gradebook: Prepare to submit final grades

May 1, 2025; 1–2 p.m.

Join consultants from Academic Technology Support Services and your peers for a hands-on workshop to prepare your Canvas Gradebook to submit final grades. Questions from participants and discussions will determine the focus of the session.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)

May 15, 2025; 9:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

The University of Minnesota is hosting a virtual accessibility event to engage in conversation, thinking, and learning about access and inclusion. This year’s theme is “Committing to Change,” which will spark conversations and enhance understanding about digital access and inclusion. Register today for GAAD 2025 to get access to the day’s events. The event is sponsored by UMN, University of Michigan, and University of Illinois and made possible by a volunteer group of dedicated University employees.

Check out more TeachingSupport events.