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Canvas Assessments

Overview

Assignments are a type of Canvas assessment tool that allow students to submit work via text editor, uploaded documents/videos/files, or third party integration (like Panopto, Cengage, etc.). It puts all student submissions into one place for easy downloading, reviewing, and grading.

Tutorials

Overview

Discussions can be used either formatively or summatively to engage peers with one another on Canvas. Learn more about discussions and how to create them below. To view all Discussion-related Canvas tutorials, see the Canvas Instructor Guide.

Tutorials

Discussion groups may foster increased student engagement by making discussions more personal, allowing students to engage with a few peers rather than a large class.

Overview

There are two options for quizzes. Classic quizzes - what you're probably used to and turned on by default; and New Quizzes - a new option with some additional question types and new interface. New Quizzes is not fully done and still has some issues but you can turn it on and use it if you wish!

Compare what is available between the two. Eventually we will be moving to New Quizzes, but not until all the features we need are available. The tentative date for fully moving to New Quizzes is Summer of 2023. 

Tutorials

Classic Quizzes

New Quizzes

Overview

Rubrics are an excellent tool for making grading easier, less arbitrary, and give students more structure in knowing how to do the assignment. Rubrics are typically comprised of rows and columns. Rows are used to define the various criteria being used to assess an assignment. Columns are used to define levels of performance for each criterion.

Rubrics, and their criteria, can be set up as scoring or non-scoring rubrics and attached to discussion boards, assignments, and quizzes(classic)/quiz questions(new).

Tutorials

Share a Rubric with Colleagues by emailing eLearning:

  • including a link (URL) to your rubric, or
  • the contents of your rubric

Importing a rubric is not native to Canvas. This requires the download and use of Tampermonkey and code that was written by others that may or may not work/be current. Use at your own discretion.

How to Import a Rubric | How to Import a Rubric

Overview

You can use surveys to receive feedback from your students or give them some extra points by responding to a survey. Graded surveys appear in the Syllabus, Gradebook, Calendar, and To Do Lists.

Notes:

  • Student Analysis for surveys must be downloaded as a CSV file. Item Analysis is not available for surveys.
  • The anonymous option can be enabled or disabled before or after a survey has received submissions, allowing a user with sufficient permissions to see a student's identity and responses. To collect fully anonymous survey responses, you may want to use a third-party survey tool.

Tutorials

Canvas Content

Text Editor

The Rich Content Editor provides a condensed toolbar that is grouped by common icons and interactions along with a field in which to enter that content. The content editor that is available anytime for creating new content. The Rich Content Editor is used in features that support the editor (Announcements, Assignments, Discussions, Pages, Quizzes, or Syllabus).

Tutorials

Overview

Modules allow instructors to organize content to help control the flow of the course. Each module can contain files, discussions, assignments, quizzes, and other learning materials.

Tutorials

Overview

Canvas pages are a place where you can add content, video, images and links to files and external sites. They are great to provide students with context and descriptions for the resources you are sharing, rather than relying solely on the item-by-item structure of Modules. Pages work best when used in conjunction with Modules or linked to other places in the course such as the Homepage or Syllabus.

Tutorials

Overview

Files can house course files, assignments, syllabi, readings, or other documents, as well as profile pictures and user-specific files. Instructors can lock folders and files so they can only be viewed by direct links or only unlock on a specific date.

Tutorials

Canvas Grades

Overview

The Canvas Gradebook is a useful feature for students to keep track of their performance in the class and quickly identify if they have missing assignments. For instructors, it is a great place to also track individual student performance in a class as well as review summaries of collective student performance on assignments, quizzes, assignment groups, and the total course grade.

Tutorials

Overview

Speedgrader is a feature found in individual assignments and quizzes. It allows you to quickly toggle between student submissions and provide feedback, either manually or using a rubric. It is useful because it really does help you grade...more speedily!

Tutorials

Canvas Course Settings

Canvas Groups

Overview

Groups in Canvas are a great way to foster collaboration in the on-line classroom and make it easy for students to submit singular items as a group and for you to grade the group collectively rather than at individual levels.

View an overview of Canvas groups Canvas Icon .

Tutorials

Canvas Attendance

Overview

The Attendance (Roll Call) tool is an app in Canvas used for taking attendance. The Attendance tool can be used for online or face-to-face courses. The Attendance tool always appears as a visible Course Navigation link, but it cannot be viewed by students, so hiding the link in Course Settings is not necessary. However, if you do use the Attendance tool, students can view their attendance report through the Roll Call Attendance submission details page.

Before you use this tool - please be aware of all the issues:

  • Issues with cross-listed courses. You will need to take attendance separately for cross-listed courses. 
  • Can’t use it for grading without high potential for error
  • Can’t edit points without messing up the Grades
  • Can’t delete, rename or un-publish attendance assignment without causing Grade errors

Tutorials

Canvas Outcomes

Overview

Best practices in alignment! Learn how to create course-outcomes and how you can then incorporate those outcomes into Canvas rubrics for assignments.

Note: If you're doing program or campus outcome assessment, make sure you've requested them added to the institutional repository and you're importing the institutional outcomes from there into individual courses.

Tutorials

Overview

These materials will discuss how you might integrate our campus-wide learning outcomes into rubrics and assignments of your course. This is typically useful for assessment purposes or to give students feedback of how they are doing when it comes to meeting degree outcomes.

Note: If you're doing program or campus outcome assessment, make sure you've requested them added to the institutional repository and you're importing the institutional outcomes from there into individual courses.

Tutorials

Adobe Tutorials

Overview

Adobe Sign is an e-signature solution that allows you to sign and send documents digitally. Adobe Sign allows tracking and management of signatures with PDF, Word, and other various formats.

Tenure Tutorials

Adobe Sign can be useful in many different contexts, but is often used during the tenure process here at Green River. Below are some videos on how Adobe Sign might be used in this context.

Annotate Pro Tutorials

Overview

Annotate Pro is a browser based tool to help you give feedback.

Tutorials

Support

Student Engagement Apps

Overview

Badges in Canvas, is run by Badgr Pro (care of the State Board of Technical and Community Colleges). All faculty and students have a Badgr Pro account (Green River Badgr Pro Login here).

Tutorials

For a detailed tutorial page on Badgr Pro, please visit this Canvas community page.

Overview

BigBlueButton is a built-in web-conferencing tool in Canvas that can be used for virtual lectures, virtual office hours, one-on-one meetings, or any other synchronous interactions.

Tutorials

For a detailed tutorials, check out the official support page for BigBlueButton.

Overview

FlipGrid is a Microsoft product that can be integrated into Canvas to create a video discussion. Students will need to log in using "Microsoft Login" and use their Green River College email credentials.

It can be a bit clunky to use as a student, so make sure that your students can get support from you and are at a technological level to be able to troubleshoot and not have it be a barrier.

Tutorials

 

Overview

Hypothes.is is a social virtual annotation tool to use in Canvas with websites or PDF documents. This allows you to grade (or not grade) virtual annotations on a page and allow students to talk with each other and to a text.

 

Want to try it out? Enroll in a Hypothe.is Example course.

Student Support

Tutorials

Question

Overview

We are SO EXCITED that Pear Deck is now integrated right into Canvas, which means that you can turn a Pear Deck session right into an assignment.  This gives your students in Canvas instant access to the Session without needing a Join Code or Link, like they do in a traditional Pear Deck presentation Session, and it is shown in the gradebook.  

Logging in to PearDeck for the First Time

The first time you log into Pear Deck, you will need to log in using your Green River email credentials.  Watch this short video to get an overview of the steps.  

Tutorials

Article 2: details of Accordion 2

Article 3: details of Accordion 3

Additional Article: details of Additional Accordion

Tutorials

Zoom

Overview

Zoom is the college's primary web conferencing app, utilized by a majority of campus for online activities.  Zoom has also been integrated into Canvas, allowing one to schedule and open a Zoom meeting directly through the Canvas interface, as well as have recordings move automatically over to Panopto.

How to Get a Zoom Account

IT is in charge of handing out Zoom accounts.  You can email them or enter a ticket using their web tool.  eLearning is unable to hand out Zoom accounts and only handles troubleshooting and training.

Tutorials

Overview

Zoom has different capabilities, depending upon what you want to do during your meeting or class.  Here are some options:

Tutorials

Overview

Once you're done with Zoom you'll want to put the recordings in a place students can find them. We don't have a lot of space in our Zoom storage, so we appreciate your support in moving recordings that will be reused. You can set up Zoom/Canvas/Panopto integration to have it move the recordings automatically (by creating your Zoom session in Canvas class or integrating it into a Canvas class).

Tutorials

Overview

It's important that you keep your Zoom application up to date to make sure that bugs are fixed and you get the latest abilities within the app.

Update Zoom Desktop App

  1. Open the Desktop Client by:
    • Selecting the app logo in your Taskbar/Dock.
    • Searching for Zoom from the Windows menu and selecting the Zoom app.
  2. Select your profile picture or avatar.
  3. Select Check for Updates.
  4. Wait for the pop-up to run and when Install appears, select it.
  5. Now your Zoom app is up to date.

Panopto Tutorials

Overview

Panopto is a video creation software and video streaming service located within Canvas at Green River College. You can create audio recordings, webcam recordings, shared desktop recordings, PowerPoint recordings, or mix and match. It also has a live webcast option. Then, within Canvas you can share the recordings with students by embedding videos on pages or creating quiz questions within the video and making the video an assignment.

Tutorials

Book Publisher Apps

Overview

Achieve is a learning management system my Macmillan Learning. An overview of Achieve as well as some more specific videos can be found at Achieve | Online Learning System | Macmillan Learning US.

Overview

Cengage is a provider of course materials for higher education. They offer a wide variety of resources from etextbooks to online learning platforms. the instructor support site for Cengage products can be found here.

Specific Products

Below, you'll find links to where you can learn about specific Cengage products.

Overview

MyLab & Mastering is a web-based product of Pearson and can be used as an LMS for your course or integrated into your current LMS (Canvas, for example). You can find more information about MyLab & Mastering at their main website.

Overview

McGraw-Hill Connect is a web-based assignment and assessment platform which features performance tracking and LMS integration. The general site for McGraw-Hill Connect can be found here, while the corresponding support site can be found here.

Overview

Pressbooks is a online software that allows faculty to create their own textbooks, or search other open educational resources (OER) textbooks that have been created by others and reuse them or use and edit them.

Tutorials

  • Sign up for Open WA Pressbooks ( PDF) ( VIDEO)
  • Log in to Open WA Pressbooks ( PDF) ( VIDEO)
  • Search Pressbooks for Existing Textbooks ( PDF) ( VIDEO)

Math Dept Apps

Overview

ALEKS, which stands for Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces, is an online learning program by McGraw Hill that features adaptive resources and assessments. ALEKS supports subjects such as Math, Chemistry, Statistics, and more. To learn more about ALEKS, visit their main website or their support page.

Hawkes

Hawkes Learning is an educational courseware platform providing instructional content and mastery-based learning to enhance student success in college courses, most notably, Mathematics.

How do I write mathematical notation in messages, inline text, etc?

You can open the instruction here for how to insert an inline equation in the body of a text.

I’m giving a test in WAMAP. Some of the questions that I’ve chosen have videos. Do I need to mess with the code of the question to remove the video?

No!  You don't need to modify the coding of the question to get rid of the video(s).  You can change a setting on the assignment, whichever assignment that is intended as a WAMAP Exam, to hide all embedded videos in the questions.  Open the instruction here for how to hide embedded videos of questions in an assignment.

How do I add questions from other assignments to my current assignment?

You can open the instruction here for how to add questions from other assignments to your current assignment.  **Note:  You'll find that the later half of this instruction is divided into two sections, one is for new WAMAP users and the other one is for experienced users.

How do I move items around in my course quickly?

You can follow the instruction here for how to quickly move an item around in your course.

How do I adjust time limits for accommodations?

You can open the instruction here for how to adjust the time limits for accommodations.

How do I add a picture of myself?

You can open the instruction here for how to add picture of yourself on WAMAP.  **Note:  This instruction is applicable to both instructor and student accounts.

How do I change the due dates of assignments easily?

You can easily change the due date of an assignment or many assignments with the Calendar feature of WAMAP.  Open the instruction here for how to change the due date of an assignment with the WAMAP Calendar.

How do I check attendance?

You can open the instruction here for How to Check Attendance.

Can you import into Canvas and still use discussion board in WAMAP?

Forums can be exported, from WAMAP to Canvas, but they come into Canvas as Canvas discussions and the replies don't get reported back to WAMAP.

How do I add a picture of myself?

After logging in, click on the settings icon next to your name in the top right of the page. Next to picture, click choose file and choose your picture file. 

How do I add questions from other assignments to my current assignment?

​In the questions menu of the assignment, under potential questions, click select assessments. From there, choose the assessments you’d like, then click use these assessments. You’ll then see only questions from those assignments from which to choose to add to your current assignment.

How do I adjust time limits for accommodations?

​Click on roster from the course page. Click on the settings icon that looks like a gear, next to the student’s name. Choose student profile and options in the menu. Change the time limit multiplier from 1 to whatever you’d like. For example, changing this to 1.5 would give the student a 45 minute time limit on an assignment that normally has a 30 minute time limit.

How do I browse WAMAP questions based on a certain topic (rather than a specific keyword)?

​From within the add/remove questions page of an assignment, click the select libraries button (under potential questions). Navigate to your desired topic or subtopic (for example, to get to questions about the quadratic formula, click algebra, then click quadratics, then check the quadratic formula box). Once your topics are chosen, click the use libraries button at the top. Then click the search button (next to the add questions button).

How do I change the due dates of assignments easily?

​You can drag and drop the assignments to change their due dates by navigating to the course, clicking the calendar link, clicking enable drag-and-drop editing, and moving assignments to your desired due-dates. 

How do I check attendance?

​Click on roster from the course page. Click on the view login grid link. This will show a table of how many times each student has logged in on a given day. By default, the last week is shown, but you can change the date range by adjusting the calendar dates shown above the table.

How do I move items around in my course quickly?

​Click on the quick rearrange view (next to Instructor View and student view). You can click on blocks and folders to “open” them, move content in and out of blocks, and change the order of your course items. After things are arranged as you’d like, click save changes near the top. 

I can’t see my course. How do I change the courses I see when I log in?

​On the home page of your WAMAP account (the page you see after logging in), click the change course order link (below add new course). Here at the display order page, you can change the order of your courses, moving the ones you want to see on the home page to the list of displayed courses and the ones you don’t want to see to the list of hidden courses. 

I’m giving a test in WAMAP. Some of the questions that I’ve chosen have videos. Do I need to mess with the code of the question to remove the video?

​On the home page of your WAMAP account (the page you see after logging in), click the change course order link (below add new course). Here at the display order page, you can change the order of your courses, moving the ones you want to see on the home page to the list of displayed courses and the ones you don’t want to see to the list of hidden courses. 

What about class evaluations?

​There are a variety of options available, see the Student Evaluations page for options and to request evaluations. Contact facultyevaluations@greenriver.edu with questions.

 

Comm Dept Apps

Overview

The Communications department has purchased this tool for their Public Speaking classes. It's a tool that allows students to submit video assignments and instructors to grade them with video, leaving comments in particular places in the video, as well as with a rubric.

Common GoReact Links

Tutorials

Support

Overview

ctcLink is Green River College's student information system (SIS) and is the software known as PeopleSoft. This is where students can enroll in classes, pay tuition, gain financial aid, among other things. It also is where faculty can see their class rosters and submit final grades. 

Tutorials

  • How to Look up a Timestamp for a Student Enrollment (PDF)

Support

🚫 Canvas Mobile App

While Canvas does have a mobile app, many instructors have encountered serious issues with their courses as a result of students accessing their course through the Canvas mobile app. Among these issues is the ability of some students to access pages, files, and assignments that the instructor has hidden or unpublished in the course.

Because of this ongoing issue, it is recommended that instructors not make students aware of the Canvas app, but instead point them towards the Canvas website in cases where students need to interact with Canvas on a mobile device.

Plagiarism & Proctoring Apps

Overview

Respondus LockDown Browser is a virtual proctoring service for quizzes inside of Canvas. It can be just a locked down browser or it can be that plus a webcam recording of the student taking the quiz. Please review this article on the pros and cons of virtual proctoring before using this service.

Respondus LockDown Browser now has a Chromebook option, but some running start students may not be able to use it because of restrictions from their school districts. If this is the case, copy the quiz and set Honorlock up for the particular students who need it.

Tutorials

NOTE: if you import your course contents from a past course and want to use LockDown Browser for your course, you MUST click on the LockDown Browser navigation link to complete the integration with your course and finalize settings.  Even if you change no settings from the previous quarter, this step must be done, or your students will be unable to access quizzes that use LockDown Browser.

Important Note

We can not support the use of room/environment scans when using proctoring software.  In 2022, a federal judge sided with a student in a lawsuit against Cleveland State University in Ohio, stating that they are unconstitutional.  (source: NPR)  For this reason, we strongly recommend that environmental scans are not used when setting up Lockdown Browser-based exams.

Overview

Turnitin is an Internet-based similarity detection service available to instructors within Canvas. It can be used to check for similarities between student submissions as well as online sources.

Tutorials