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Need to Know

Use Zoom’s Canvas integration to provide remote learners access to live classes

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If instructors would like to provide a hybrid learning option to attend class, they can host a Zoom class session within Canvas for students needing to attend sessions remotely. The Zoom integration in Canvas is easy to set up and include remote learners in the live classroom space. For further guidance on providing accommodations for remote learners, read Hyflex Teaching at the University of Minnesota.

Zoom Notice for Health Sciences Users

Zoom training (15 minutes) is required for all new Health Sciences staff and students prior to the start of this semester:

  • Health Sciences staff or students new to the University of Minnesota must take Zoom: Understand HCC Requirements in order to attend classes or meetings on Zoom that require authentication.
  • Students who are transferring into the Health Sciences and already have a UMN Zoom account need to take Zoom: Understand HCC Requirements training.
  • Once they complete the training, students should allow up to 30 minutes for their completion to be logged in our system. After the 30 minute period, they should log in to zoom.umn.edu. 

Instructors can host a Zoom class session within Canvas for students needing to attend sessions remotely.

Extra Points Reader Survey - Additional Feedback Requested

Thank you to readers who shared feedback about future Extra Points blog post topics. We are still seeking additional feedback. It will directly help our teams plan and write articles that address the real-world needs of instructors and staff. The survey will take less than five minutes to complete. Share your feedback today!

Good to Know

Canvas Updates 

Canvas released some new updates for your use this semester:

  • Discussion Checkpoints allow instructors to set a distinct due date and point values for multiple replies within a single discussion topic. While this feature has been provisionally available since August 2025, it is now ready for wide adoption following an update to the Canvas mobile app. All checkpoint due dates now appear correctly on the mobile To-Do List, ensuring students stay on track regardless of the device they use.
  • Now you can create surveys in New Quizzes with an option to make the results anonymous. Surveys are a great way to encourage low-stakes participation and collect feedback to shape your teaching.
  • Scheduled Feedback in the Canvas Gradebook adds dexterity to an assignment's Grade Posting Policy. Now instructors have the option to release comments and feedback prior to releasing grades. Note: the Scheduled Feedback setting does not move forward when importing course content. If you import an assignment with Scheduled Feedback, go into the assignment and reapply your settings.

Kaltura Updates 

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In Kaltura in Canvas and Kaltura MediaSpace, media owners, co-editors, co-publishers and co-viewers can now organize media items in their My Media page using My Folders. Folders you create are personal to you; other users who have permissions on your media will not see your folders. Read more at Kaltura: Organize Uploaded Media with My Folders.

Tips and Tricks

Set Correct Due Dates in Canvas with the Bulk Due Date Update Feature

Students consistently state they rely on Canvas to alert them to when coursework is due. Start the semester strong by setting up any known due dates for your coursework by using the bulk due date update feature in Canvas. This action item will help your students stay engaged and notify them when coursework is due. It allows you to quickly update all due dates for the new semester in your Canvas course site. If you previously assigned differentiated due dates for sections, students or groups, you can bulk update these due dates within this area as well.

Generative AI in Higher Ed

Fifteen Fellows Awarded Emerging Technologies Faculty Fellowship

Emerging Technology Faculty Fellowship: Teach & Learn with GenAI icon

Teaching Support is excited to welcome 15 fellows to the 2026–2027 cohort of the Emerging Technologies Faculty Fellowship Program (ET FFP). Fellows from Crookston, Duluth and Twin Cities will develop their projects and share insights on how to effectively integrate GenAI to enhance student learning and engagement. The ET FFP participants will be working on projects through the next year with the target date to share their results with the larger community in Spring 2027. Read more about the 2026-2027 ET FFP initiative.

Accessible Bytes

Making Course Content Digitally Accessible: An interview with Dr. Olivia Crandell

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With the Title II Federal Regulations compliance deadline of April 2026 approaching, instructors at the University are revising their course materials to meet the updated digital accessibility policy. In this interview, Associate Professor Olivia Crandell shares how she navigated the challenge of making image-heavy materials accessible, such as leveraging generative AI tools for alt text and prioritizing editable formats over PDFs, so that all students can fully engage in her chemistry courses. Read the Extra Points post, Making course content digitally accessible: An interview with Dr. Olivia Cran

Engagement and Learning Opportunities

Digital Accessibility Challenge

January 26-April 3 (asynchronous; online)

Join your colleagues in building your mastery of the 7 core skills by signing up for the Digital Accessibility Challenge. There is still time to practice your digital accessibility skills. Participants who complete the entire 10-week challenge will be eligible for 1,000 wellness points at the end of the competition. Sign up today!

Check out more events across all TeachingSupport partners.

Spotlight

 

Targeted Instruction Made Easy: Introducing Canvas Differentiation Tags

Designing a personalized learning experience in Canvas often requires a careful balance between providing specialized support and maintaining a well-organized, manageable course structure. While Canvas Groups and Sections have their function for student organization, Differentiation Tagsis a new tool to help you deliver targeted instruction with even greater precision and privacy.

What Are Differentiation Tags?

Differentiation Tags allow you to create custom labels and assign them to specific students or groups of students. Unlike Sections or Groups, these tags are completely invisible to students. This "behind-the-scenes" layer of organization allows you to categorize students based on specific needs, progress, required accommodations, or any needed way to sort students without creating public-facing labels.

Once a student is tagged via the People page, the tags become a selectable option in the "Assign To" field. This means that you can deliver specific assignments, quizzes, and even entire modules to just the students carrying a particular tag.

Benefits for Personalized Learning

The true power of Differentiation Tags lies in the flexibility they offer for responsive course delivery and design. Because tags can be created quickly and adjusted throughout the semester, they are ideal for a multitude of instructional scenarios:

  • Tiered Assignments: Easily provide challenge or extension work to students who are ready to go deeper into a topic, or offer scaffolded versions of an assignment to those who need more support.
  • Discreet Accommodations: For students who require additional time or alternative formats, tags provide a professional and private way to manage these needs without cluttering your "Assign To" lists with individual names.
  • Language Support: If you have a cohort of students who benefit from translated materials or supplemental language resources, you can tag them to ensure they receive those specific files directly.
  • Make-Up Work: Tagging students who were absent or need a retake allows you to reopen assessments for a specific subset of the class.

Benefits for Instructors

Beyond content delivery, Differentiation Tags streamline the administrative side of teaching. They enable more powerful filtering in the Gradebook, allowing you to view the progress of specific student tags at a glance. Additionally, tags integrate with the Canvas Inbox, making it easy to send targeted communication to a specific "tag set" without having to manually select names from a roster.

This tool replaces the need for long, manual lists of students with simple, reusable labels that reflect your current needs.

Getting Started with Tags

Ready to try it out? Head to the People page in your Canvas course to create your first Tag Set.

  1. Define your tags: Think about the common "sub-groups" you frequently manage (e.g., "Extension Group," "Make-up Lab" or "Section A-Support").
  2. Assign tags to students: Apply these labels to individual students based on your current course data.
  3. Apply to content: Use the "Assign To" box on your next assignment to see how much faster it is to target your instruction.

For technical details and step-by-step instructions, check out the following resources:

This story is reprinted from Dr. Christopher Mechell’s Extra Points blog post, “Targeted Instruction Made Easy: Introducing Canvas Differentiation Tags.”

Additional Resources