Canvas Update

Things are progressing well on the Canvas implementation project. We know that many faculty members are eager to begin learning the new system and building courses, so we wanted to report on our progress so far:

  • Loaded faculty, staff, and students into Canvas and connected their logins with our single sign-on process
  • Created an easy-to-remember address: http://canvas.widener.edu
  • Collaborated with our Canvas project team and group of faculty volunteers to build a default course template
  • Activated the 24/7 Canvas help desk, which offers both Chat and Phone assistance to the entire Widener community
  • Enabled an interactive Course Setup Checklist for all courses.

We are currently finalizing your training options. You will have flexible and unlimited access to training on features and best practices. Options include:

  • Live Canvas-led interactive training webinars (WU-paid subscription)
  • Recorded Canvas-led webinars
  • Lynda.com Canvas courses.
  • TLT workshops in the FISHtank
  • Librarian-led content assistance via training, guides, and workshops
  • Small group and 1-on-1 assistance

Logo for Canvas by Instructure

We will load Fall 2017 template courses before the end of October. Your students will not be in the classes, but you will have the opportunity to build your courses.

We will load Spring 2018 template courses into Canvas no later than the middle of November.

Just as a reminder, the CampusCruiser portal will continue to include your classes through the end of summer 2018. Here is a link to the ITS blog with the full Canvas implementation timeline.

Coming Soon: Training options and details!

 

Top 25 Lynda.com courses at Widener

Since ITS started offering all faculty, staff, and students unlimited access to Lynda.com in late April 2017, 659 unique people have viewed over 6,800 videos.

tile_lyndalearning_logoSince ITS started offering all faculty, staff, and students unlimited access to Lynda.com in late April 2017, 659 unique people have viewed over 6,800 videos. Here is the list of the top 25 videos for our community so far, ranked by the number of unique viewers to use a course:

  1. Learning Office 365
  2. Learning Canvas 2016
  3. How to use Lynda.com
  4. Excel 2013 Essential Training
  5. Office 365: Learning Outlook
  6. Windows 10 Essential Training
  7. Learning with Lynda.com
  8. Office 365: Learning Excel
  9. Thomas A. Stewart and Patricia O’Connell on Designing and Delivering Great Customer Experience
  10. Outlook 2016 Essential Training
  11. Excel 2016 Essential Training
  12. Migrating from Office 2010 to Office 2016
  13. Customer Advocacy
  14. Statistics Foundations: 1
  15. SPSS Statistics Essential Training
  16. Office 2016 and Office 365 New Features
  17. Outlook 2016: Time Management with Calendar and Tasks
  18. OneNote 2016 Essential Training
  19. Microsoft Planner First Look
  20. Microsoft Teams Essential Training
  21. Learning Python
  22. HTML Essential Training
  23. Team Collaboration in Office 365
  24. Photoshop CC 2017 One-on-One: Fundamentals
  25. WordPress Essential Training

Understandably, there’s a heavy emphasis on Office 365 and Canvas training so far. It’s worth noting that there’s also interest in both technical skill development in areas such as programming languages and general professional development on business topics, such as customer service and time management.

An emerging trend in the usage data points to faculty who may be using Lynda.com as supplemental learning materials for their courses. For instance, we’ve heard positive feedback about the quality of the statistics package training available. Let us know if you’d like more information about assigning Lynda.com courses and playlists to your students.

Get Started

Just visit lynda.widener.edu. Use your Widener login ID and password—the same one you use for Office 365. Even if you don’t have time to dig into the material right now, search for topics that interest you. You can easily add them to your personal playlist to try out later.

Have a Lynda.com success story you’d like to share? Please let us know!

Start Packing! 6 Tips for the Canvas Move

It’s time to start planning your move.

It seems like a daunting task, but take another look at the transition timeline – you have enough time to pack up and move to your new course home. The key is to plan and be smart about what you pack and how you stay organized!

The infographic below highlights 6 important things to consider and start working on (and Tip 7 is get a librarian involved to help you find accessible course assets if your scanned copies are at all illegible or incompatible with screen readers).

So let’s get started. Take a good look at these 6 tips and plan your move. Want to see more of Canvas? It’s not quite ready or decorated for company yet, but go ahead and peek into the live environment at https://widener.instructure.com/

Any questions, please reach out to canvasteam@widener.edu

1) Now is the time to rethink course design without the constraints of CampusCruiser. You have the chance to take advantage of learning tools like never before. 2) Resist the urge to rush the process. (e.g., Is your content ADA compliant? Are your assignments engaging?) Use the time and support you have well. 3) Structure FOLDERS in MODULES. Include a simple word doc listing components (readings, assignment, assessment, video links); include every element in its module folder. 4) Do not dump course assets into groups (in this case

 

Lynda.com: unlimited tech training for Widener

Thousands of video courses taught by technology, design, and business experts.

Starting immediately, ITS is providing all Widener students, faculty, and staff with access to Lynda.com, an online library that teaches the latest technical and professional skills through high-quality instructional videos. Lynda maintains a very large and up-to-date library of courses taught by experts in their fields. New titles are added every week.

tile_lyndalearning_logoCourses are broken up into bite-size chunks of a few minutes each. You can use Lynda whether you have five minutes or five hours. If you are trying to complete an entire course or playlist of courses, it automatically keeps track of your progress. But you will also find Lynda useful as a just-in-time knowledge base. If you’re stuck trying to figure out a feature in an application, search for it on Lynda. You may just get the answer you need to get back up and running quickly.

What’s there?

There are Lynda videos for every skill level. For beginners with an application, here are just a few of the relevant “Up and Running” and “Essentials” titles in the collection:

  • Microsoft Office 365
  • Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, After Effects)
  • MacOS Sierra and Windows 10
  • SPSS
  • Mathematica
  • Final Cut Pro and ProTools
  • HTML5 and CSS

Beyond a deep collection of technology titles, there’s a host of professional development subjects on topics ranging from project management to social media marketing.

Get Started

Just visit lynda.widener.edu. Use your Widener login ID and password—the same ones you use for Office 365 or CampusCruiser. Try making a playlist of a few courses you’re interested in trying out later.

Lynda.com: unlimited tech training for Widener

Thousands of video courses taught by technology, design, and business experts.

Starting immediately, ITS is providing all Widener students, faculty, and staff with access to Lynda.com, an online library that teaches the latest technical and professional skills through high-quality instructional videos. Lynda maintains a very large and up-to-date library of courses taught by experts in their fields. New titles are added every week.

tile_lyndalearning_logoCourses are broken up into bite-size chunks of a few minutes each. You can use Lynda whether you have five minutes or five hours. If you are trying to complete an entire course or playlist of courses, it automatically keeps track of your progress. But you will also find Lynda useful as a just-in-time knowledge base. If you’re stuck trying to figure out a feature in an application, search for it on Lynda. You may just get the answer you need to get back up and running quickly.

What’s there?

There are Lynda videos for every skill level. For beginners with an application, here are just a few of the relevant “Up and Running” and “Essentials” titles in the collection:

  • Microsoft Office 365
  • Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, After Effects)
  • MacOS Sierra and Windows 10
  • SPSS
  • Mathematica
  • Final Cut Pro and ProTools
  • HTML5 and CSS

Beyond a deep collection of technology titles, there’s a host of professional development subjects on topics ranging from project management to social media marketing.

Get Started

Just visit lynda.widener.edu. Use your Widener login ID and password—the same ones you use for Office 365 or CampusCruiser. Try making a playlist of a few courses you’re interested in trying out later.