Video Captioning Service- Now Available!

Our goal is a simple yet important one: Make instructional video content more accessible. A collaboration of TLT, Library, and Disability Services is working on this process for proposal submission, review, and selection. Limited funding for video captioning and transcription services has been granted for the upcoming academic year, so get your proposals ready!

Things you need to know:
  • The proposals are semester based. To be considered for 19/Fall courses, you will need to submit a proposal by August 8, 2019. Mid-semester proposal will be considered if funding permits.
  • Based on funding limitations, we cannot guarantee all proposals will be accepted. Priorities will be based on the content frequency (required over several semesters or across multiple courses), the number of students in the course(s), the quality of the audio/video (compliance with best practices of instructional video), etc. For more details, please see the scoring rubric.
  • Two-step review: Once proposals are accepted to move on to the next steps, faculty members will be provided a Cielo24 account along with steps and a checklist for pre-upload review. At that point, faculty will be able to upload their proposed video to the platform for final review (The video uploads will be in a queue for our authorization, on the Cielo24 platform).
Additional Considerations:
  • Our team will also provide support for faculty to better apply instructional videos in their teaching. For example,
    • TLT office will provide consultation on video editing and best video practices and tools.
    • Wolfgram Memorial Library will provide information about copyright, fair use, and existing alternate content that may be more recent or otherwise helpful, etc.

 

Here is the first step – submit your proposal through this link.

 

Also, please visit the Instructional Media and Video course on Canvas for more information on best practices, multimedia tools, and copyright and fair use practices.

News and Notes from TLT – Summer 2019

In this issue: 
  • Fall ‘19 Courses in Canvas 
  • Inactive vs. Deleted Students 
  • NEW Canvas add-ins: Poll Everywhere and Screencast-O-Matic 
  • Accessible Course Content (coming soon: Video Captions and Transcripts) 
Fall ‘19 Course Load Date – Available in Canvas by the end of the day on June 18th. 
  • To customize your dashboard – in the Courses tab, select the star next to the courses you want to see on your dashboard 
  • If you are interested in getting a head start building your courses, create a Master Class and import the content once courses are loaded. Videos and Guide. 
  • When it’s time to import your course content, be sure to “select specific content”. This will not only prevent duplications, but also prevent unwanted content/settings to transfer.
    • IMPORTANT: If you chose to import ALL, including course “Settings”, and have manually altered course dates in your previous course, those old dates WILL transfer. This may prevent students from participating in your course
“Inactive Students”   

Beginning June 10, 2019, any student who is removed from a course after the start date will be listed as “inactive” in Canvas, instead of disappearing completely. This improvement will allow you to retain submissions, attendance information, etc. within the course. 

Coming Soon! Poll Everywhere in Canvas starting Fall ‘19 

Poll Everywhere will soon be integrated into Canvas. You will be able to: 

  • Import your course roster, automatically giving your students a participant account 
  • Send scores from your poll to the Canvas gradebook
  • Add polls into your course Modules
  • For more information or to get an account, email TLToffice@widener.edu.
*NEW* Screencast-O-Matic in Canvas 

Did you know you can screen capture within your Canvas course? The Screencast-O-Matic integration has been added university wide, allowing you to create instructional videos with a few simple clicks. 

Accessibility 

As you prepare your courses, keep accessibility in mind. For more information on creating an accessible Canvas course and creating accessible documents check out the Digital Accessibility course in Canvas

Coming Soon! Video Captioning 

Widener will soon be offering video captioning through Cielo24. If you have instructional videos and want to learn more about the new captioning service, email captions@widener.edu.

News and Notes from TLT – Spring 2019

As the Spring ‘19 semester winds down, it is time for another TLT update…  

Canvas Course Uploads 

Summer ‘19 Courses- Your Summer ‘19 courses were added into Canvas this week.  Now that your courses are loaded, you are able to import your content from a previous semester or from your Master Class. For more information on building and maintaining Master Classes, view the guide and short videos.  

Fall ‘19 Courses– Your Fall ‘19 courses will be loaded into Canvas 10 weeks prior to the start of the semester. You do not need to wait for the upload to build your courses. Simply create a Master Class now and you will be ready to import your course content!  

TLT-led Workshops 

New dates and times, PLUS a new session on utilizing classroom technology! Sign Up Here       

(Hint: Here is the full LIS Event Calendar– Bookmark This Page!)

*Spring ‘19 Breakfast Series*  How Can I Engage My Students in Canvas and Beyond?

Come join TLT for a light fare breakfast during this three-part series to increase student engagement in your Canvas courses. Sign up to attend any or all of these workshops, in any order you wish.

a. Engagement: Student Teamwork

Collaborations, Groups/ group assignments, Wiki pages, Flipgrid 

b. Engagement: Constructive Feedback  

SpeedGrader, Audio and Video, Journaling, PollEverywhere 

c. Engagement: Rubrics and Grades  

Experiencing Rubrics, Turnitin (new Plagiarism Framework)New Gradebook 

Making the Canvas Commons Work for You 

Did you know you can share instructional resources (rubrics, quizzes, pages, etc.) with your colleagues within Canvas? 

“Commons is a learning object repository that enables educators to find, import, and share resources.” In this session, you will explore the free content available to you and learn how to create and utilize a shared resource center for your faculty groups. 

*New*  Getting Comfortable with Your Classroom Technology 

Do you know… 

     How to black out projection without turning off the classroom projector?       How to take advantage of the dozens of Zoom ready rooms?                                   How to incorporate screen sharing from students? 

Topics covered:

  • Classroom controls 
  • Zoom 
  • PrideShare 
  • Tips and tricks 
Training feedback from your colleagues… 

“Real time polling can be an effective pedagogical tool to gauge what students know or don’t know before you begin a subject, and to assess what they’ve learned after you’ve covered something. I had been using Kahoot! but found it to be a little goofy for college level classes and a little difficult to integrate into power point presentations. PollEverywhere offers a more professional presentation and is much easier to utilize in presentations. Following the TLT training I was able to convert my polls from Kahoot! to PollEverywhere, and given the ease of PollEverywhere, am working to add more polls to my presentations.” 

~Stu Eimer, Associate Professor, Sociology 

“My attendance to a workshop on Canvas’ different capabilities regarding Student Teamwork was excellent. I used it almost immediately as I was trying to schedule my field work with students. We went right to “Collaborations” and were able to create a shared document, just like a google doc, that met our needs perfectly. So easy and convenient. And I would never have known that capability was there without our Teaching and Learning Technologies team.” 

~Nadine McHenry, Professor, Education 

“I highly recommend the Canvas training sessions!  I thought I had my Canvas courses working pretty well, but Jessica taught me how to use groups much more effectively- uncovering functionality I never knew existed.” 

~Mark Paterson, Clinical Assistant Professor, Physical Therapy 

January 10th – Canvas Trainer Returns to Widener

Mark your calendars!

We are excited to announce that the excellent Canvas trainer that came to Widener’s Bridge Week in May will visit us again (virtually this time).

There will be two 50 minute live sessions that faculty can attend virtually via Zoom or in person (more details on location to follow).

January 10, 2019
  • 1:00-1:50 PM – Take Student Engagement to the Next Level in Canvas (while taking advantage of some time-saving features for faculty).
  • 2:00-2:50 PM – Incorporate Rubrics, Outcomes, and ILOs in Canvas. We’ve made it easy!

Any questions, please contact TLToffice@widener.edu

 

Say Hello to LinkedIn Learning!

On December 18th, Lynda.com will become LinkedIn Learning

We’re excited to let you know that we’ll be upgrading one of your learning and development benefits, Lynda.com, to LinkedIn Learning. LinkedIn Learning has the same great content as Lynda.com, and it will provide a more personalized experience.

Accounts will be upgraded on Tuesday, December 18th, at which time you will no longer be able to access Lynda.com.  But don’t worry, all your learning activity and history will be seamlessly transferred to LinkedIn Learning.  After the upgrade is completed (we expect it to take up to ~18 hours), you’ll receive an email to activate your LinkedIn Learning account.

More information on the upgraded LinkedIn Learning environment is available here.  Answers to questions like “What if I don’t have a LinkedIn account?”, “Do I need to connect my LinkedIn profile?”, and “Will my administrator have access to view my LinkedIn activity on my personal account?” can be found in the LinkedIn Learning FAQs.

We look forward to the upgrade and seeing how LinkedIn Learning helps you continue your growth and success!

New Faces in ITS: Leyi Zhu

 Leyi Zhu has joined Widener’s TLT team as an Instructional Designer. She looks forward to collaborating with faculty to develop engaging learning experiences for our students, and exploring effective teaching and learning strategies and digital pedagogy practices within the entire Canvas ecosystem.

Leyi earned her master’s degree in Instructional Psychology and Technology from the University of Oklahoma. She also has a master’s degree in Business Management from Zhejiang University in China. Prior to moving to the United States, Leyi worked for over six years as an auditor and financial analyst.

In her spare time, Leyi enjoys reading with her two daughters and encourages them to create stories of their own. If anyone has any ideas about engaging children in storytelling or good books to recommend, please share them with her. Leyi’s office is in the TLT space by the FISHtank (Wolfgram Library, 1st floor).

Canvas Launch: Mission Accomplished.

Faculty, pat yourselves on the back!

With the fall semester in full swing, I am pleased to share some information about the very successful switch to Canvas.

Without a simple migration tool available, our faculty found themselves facing the feat of rebuilding their classes in Canvas. While it was understood that the intuitive Canvas platform makes it easy, the work seemed daunting at first. The TLT team set a plan in motion 1 year ago, providing learning opportunities that included interactive workshops, 1-on-1 sessions, and online self-paced courses and tutorials.

The great news is that so many faculty also used the migration as an opportunity to rethink pedagogical approaches, integrate new student-centered learning activities, and add project-based learning experiences. As of October 1st, instructors  of 95% of all courses that could benefit from using Canvas had done so.

A few additional points of pride (October 1, 2018 data): 

23,094 – the number of student enrollments enjoying learning in Canvas

494 – published quizzes in the online, easily graded Canvas space

908 – published graded discussion forums (contributions are assessed and measured)

8,769 – published assignments (mostly using the Speed Grader easy grading tool)

778 – “class calendar” items (also accessible by students on mobile devices)

2,139 – daily unique student visitors using the Canvas app

2,942 – daily unique student visitors using a mobile browser

Opportunities to keep learning

Sign up for any of the ITS fall training events. There are three different workshops on Canvas and OneDrive you can attend, or reach out to TLToffice@widener.edu for support.

SPRING 2019 courses are loaded in Canvas!

Go ahead, jump in.  We have streamlined the template further and have even added a bonus Faculty Notes page that offers startup tips, like how to import your existing Canvas content into the next semester. You are free to begin customizing your home page and adding content. We are here to help if you need us!

Canvas 24/7 Support Hotline (Faculty): (833)735-0335

Located in the left-hand navigation of your Canvas account, you can access the live chat and phone number to the hotline.

For additional assistance, email TLToffice@widener.edu, or call 610-499-4090.

Highlights of Asset Management 2018

ITS replaced hundreds of computers across the three Widener campuses during our annual asset refresh project.

ITS staff are happy to close the books on a successful asset management cycle.  (Asset management is the fancy term we use for “computer equipment replacement.”) We’re even happier to note that we improved your satisfaction rating while replacing more than twice as many computers as last year.

In May and June, we installed 458 new systems, compared with 197 last year.  Despite the greater volume of work, recipients of new computers gave us higher average satisfaction scores on post-installation surveys (4.73 vs. 4.34 out of 5).

New computers in room 102 of the Quick Center on the Widener University Chester Campus.
Quick 102 was upgraded during asset management this year.

Over the past year, we spent a lot of time thinking about how we could streamline and improve the process this year. We’re pleased that the changes we made could enable us to improve our efficiency while improving the experience for our clientele.

While ITS monitors this project year-round, the most visible component of the process involves the replacement of computers at the end of the Spring semester.

Lab and classroom updates

In addition to faculty and staff computers, we also upgrade lab and classroom equipment at this time each year. Lab spaces in the following rooms were updated during this cycle:

  • Quick Center  102
  • Founders  107
  • Bruce Hall  8
  • Kirkbride  346
  • Freedom  303 & 322

We also upgraded instructor stations in four Academic Center North (ACN) classrooms, plus Kapelski 225A, Kirkbride 447, and Bruce 10.

Going forward

We will schedule remaining deployments over the summer for clients that were not available during the deployment window.

Please contact Client Success if you would like to share your thoughts and ideas about how our asset management process can continue to improve.

Cutting Over to Canvas: T-minus 3 months!

Attendance at Bridge Week Tech Tuesday was even greater than expected! Thank you to all that contributed to this full day of faculty development. The Senior Trainer we brought in from Canvas shared how impressed she was with our beautiful campus and your thoughtful questions.

Have you downloaded the Canvas apps yet?

Recent Canvas News

All Fall ’18 courses were loaded into Canvas on May 1st. The template has been polished and streamlined for greater efficiency. A few additional notes:

  • Customize your dashboard – in the Courses tab, select the star next to the courses you want to see on your dashboard 
  • For help with importing materials into your classes, visit Passport to Canvas: Add Course Content- Files  
  • 24/7 Canvas Support is available via live chat or phone (833) 735-0335. They have already provided exceptional assistance to hundreds of callers over the last few months; take advantage of their expertise if you need it!

Important dates coming up

Per our previous Canvas blog post:

  • All instructional materials on CampusCruiser should be downloaded prior to the start of the Fall ’18 semester. There is no direct transfer of materials from CampusCruiser into Canvas, so do allow yourself the time to accomplish this task.  
  • For guidance on bringing course content into OneDrive, visit: Passport to Canvas: O365 & Your Files. This self paced course also contains dozens of guides and short Widener-specific videos to help you navigate the transition.  
  • If you feel you will need assistance from TLT to get your classes up and running, be sure to schedule help via TLToffice@widener.edu before July 31st. August will be a very busy month for TLT and we want to make sure you get the support you need.  

Your Textbooks and Canvas 

Publisher content for the following textbooks have been integrated: 

  • Cengage MindTap 
  • McGraw-Hill Connect 
  • Pearson MyLab and Mastering  

To use this content in your course, you will need to enable the link in your course navigation. For help with adding a textbook to your course, visit: Passport to Canvas: Linking Online Textbooks. 

BIG NEWS! Weekly, Interactive Canvas Workshops throughout Summer

Light fare provided. Please join TLT for a series of two live, interactive Canvas workshops! Each session will focus on various features and functionalities necessary to get your classes running smoothly. These interactive workshops will run for 90 minutes in the FISHtank- Wolfgram Library. All sessions will be capped at 12 participants, so sign up soon! 

WORKSHOP #1: Using Your Syllabus to Drive Your Canvas Course: Mastering Files, Settings, and Modules

In this work session, you will use your syllabus to design the organizational structure of your Canvas course. You will export your files from CampusCruiser, understand accessibility and file sharing permissions, and design your course layout.  

WORKSHOP #2: Meeting Your Learning Objectives Through Assignments, Assessments, and Discussions

Join this session to dive deeper into Canvas by designing assignments, assessments, and discussions in your Canvas course. We will discuss various settings and uses of each tool and start building your content! 

T-Minus 4 Months

Summer Term Courses are loaded into Canvas! 

When you log into Canvas, you will see that summer’18 terms and courses have been added to the dashboard. If you do not see them on your dashboard, check the Courses tab.  Courses can be built right in the template or imported from a previous semester.  Fall ’18 courses will be loaded into Canvas on May 1st.

Passport to Canvas Training (Self-Paced Course) 

Do you prefer self-paced learning? If so, join the newly published Passport to Canvas Training course and get ready to travel the world of Canvas with TLT.  Your voyage through the continents explores everything necessary to get your files off CampusCruiser and shows you how easy it is to create an engaging course within Canvas. Once you have joined the course, keep an eye on the Passport announcements on your Canvas dashboard, as we’ll keep you informed of any additional helpful material we add. 

Important Deadlines 

ALL of your teaching materials need to be downloaded from CampusCruiser before the start of the fall’18 semester. If you are not sure how, join the Passport to Canvas Training course and watch a short video in North America titled: “Getting Your Files Form CampusCruiser to Canvas”. Additionally, if you feel that you will need assistance from TLT to get your Canvas courses up and running, please contact us to schedule assistance (TLToffice@widener.edubefore July 31st.  We would love to work with you one-on-one or in small groups before the start of August. In August, TLT will be very busy supporting new faculty, updating classrooms, and preparing for kick off events, and our time will be quite pressed. Schedule time with us today!