Is there a way for students to sign up for conferences or appointments with Canvas?

Yes. Canvas’s Scheduler tool allows you to create appointment groups within a course or group. Students can then sign up for a time slot. You can elect to allow individuals or groups to sign up for appointments. For more details on how to use Scheduler to set up meeting times, visit https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-2640 .

Why am I not receiving notifications or Canvas conversations in my Widener e-mail?

  • If you are not receiving e-mails from Canvas to your Widener e-mail, you will need to review your user notification settings. Please review the “Ways to Contact” and look for communication warnings. Also, be sure to review your notification settings so that you ensure conversations are set to your preferred time frame. For issues with your email, contact the Helpdesk via x1047 or http://quickticket.widener.edu/
  • Visit https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-1286 for notification settings information.
  • If you wish to receive confirmation of the messages you send, navigate to Account → Notifications and ensure that “Announcement Created by You” and “Conversations Created by Me” are set with the checkmark to be notified right away.

Why are my students not receiving notifications or Canvas conversations in their Widener e-mail?

  • Is the course published? Conversations and announcements will only be sent to students after a course is published.
  • Now, even if you publish the course, your students will not be able to access the content if you designate a start date, however, they will receive email messages when you send a conversation or announcement based on the default notification settings in Canvas.
  • Students may have unintentionally filtered/deleted emails. Please contact the Helpdesk to resolve at x1047 or http://quickticket.widener.edu/

Why do some items appear in light gray on my course navigation menu?

Items that appear in light gray on your course navigation menu are still clickable by you as an instructor. If an item is light gray it indicates that it is not currently visible for students.

There are two reasons:

  • You have hidden the link in the navigation menu through the course settings.
  • There is no content in that particular tool. For example, announcements will remain gray until you create the first announcement for the class, at which point it will become visible for students.

How can I get rid of items that I’m not using in the course navigation menu?

To hide items in the Navigation menu that you are not using, first click on Settings, and then Navigation. You will see a list of the items in the Course Navigation menu. Click on the settings icon to the right of each item to choose to Move or Disable an item. You can also drag and drop menu items to reorder your course navigation menu. For more information on hiding navigation menu items, visit https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-2555.

Can I add items to my course navigation menu?

To add other items to your course navigation menu, you can use an app called Redirect Tool. To use this app,

  •  Click Settings in your course navigation menu
  • Click the Apps tab
  • Search for Redirect Tool, then select Add App
  • In the “Name” field, enter the name of the resource that you’d like to appear in your course navigation menu.
  • Enter the URL of the website or page in the “URL Redirect” field.
  • Check “Show in Course Navigation.”
  • Click submit.
  • Refresh your page. The new item should appear in your course menu.
  • A caveat: you should only use Redirect Tool to link to external web sources, not pages within your Canvas course. If there’s a resource that students need to access frequently, consider adding it to your course home page instead.

Asset Management deployment – OneDrive FAQ

If you have not yet set up OneDrive on your local PC, please call the HelpDesk at x1047 or submit a ticket at quickticket.widener.edu.

 

Q: How will my files be backed up?

A: We are backing up your Desktop, Documents, Downloads, and favorites to your OneDrive in Office 365.

 

Q: If you back up my files this week, and I update my spreadsheet on my desktop, will that be updated?

A: We will provide an icon on your desktop to click that will update all changes to your OneDrive backups.

 

Q: How will my files get on my new computer?

A: The technician deploying your new computer will sync your OneDrive so your four folders will be easily accessible (and can be copied back to your new desktop, documents, etc).  You can ask them for assistance with moving these folders back onto your new Desktop, Documents, etc.

 

Q: What about my Chrome bookmarks?  Firefox bookmarks?

A: We will back up all bookmarks for IE, Firefox and Chrome from your old computer and import them to your new computer.

 

Q: I already back up my files to OneDrive.. Do I need to contact the HelpDesk?

A: If you already back up your files on your old computer to a USB, OneDrive, etc., then you are ready!  The HelpDesk does not need to back up your files, but please reach out to us if you have any questions.

Office365 Email Video Guides

Overview

Office365 Overview https://youtu.be/I5GiZ1eIU3k (8m:19s)

Email

Office365: Email Part1 https://youtu.be/BAQ-Z67f9FQ (15m:35s)
Office365: Email Part2 https://youtu.be/UVMbtMi-nb8 (14m:52s)
Office365: Email Part3 https://youtu.be/tXrd-5m69E8 (19m:31s)

Contacts

Office365: Contacts Part1 https://youtu.be/rfMzt755_3s (13m:26s)
Office365: Contacts Part2 https://youtu.be/7NOuhn93DSk (13m:37s)

Calendar

Office365: Calendar Part1 https://youtu.be/WSbkQcnvb64 (5m:46s)
Office365: Calendar Part2 https://youtu.be/1Wqhec2JhCI (16m:09s)
Office365: Calendar Part3 https://youtu.be/Zd2xsTR6WAA (6m:27s)

OneDrive

Office365: OneDrive Part1 https://youtu.be/Yg8925yXBKM (11m:07s)
Office365: OneDrive Part2 https://youtu.be/q0HUJxB8lWM (11m:23s)
Office365: OneDrive Part3 https://youtu.be/PXOVSJqBPr0 (8m:25s)

Tasks

Office365: Tasks https://youtu.be/wQelk-uqKt4 (14m:55s)

Adobe Changes Creative Cloud Licensing Again

Shared device licensing replaces device licensing, while named-user licensing remains unchanged

Adobe has updated its Creative Cloud (CC) licensing model again, this time moving from device licensing to shared device licensing (SDL). This change requires that we migrate all existing university device licenses to the new SDL model in order to access the newest versions of Image result for adobe creative cloud app icon picturesthe Adobe CC apps. Converting from device licenses to SDL is free and automatically available to all device licensed accounts. Named-user licenses remain unchanged and are not affected by this update.

But Why?

You may be wondering what the difference is between the two license models and why we need to do this. Adobe’s response to this question was provided in their presentation “Shared Device License: Why the change to this new licensing type?” In summary, it tells us that SDL provides the following, which is not available with device licenses:

  • The most current version of the Adobe CC apps (device licenses cannot be used to install any apps newer than the 2018 version)
  • Access to Cloud connected Services/Connections like Adobe Sensei, shared libraries, and cloud storage
  • New Cloud First apps: XD, Spark Premium, and Premiere Rush.
  • Complete functionality in Apps like Photoshop and Premiere Pro
  • The ability to sign in to the Creative Cloud desktop on a shared device. (This is a huge benefit to the students that are using these apps in the lab environment; the students are frequently moving back and forth between using the lab computers and their own personal computers.)
  • Resolution for license conflicts when named-users attempt to use computers with a device-based license

Furthermore, all current device licenses will cease functioning by December 31, 2019.

And How?

Signing in to the Adobe CC desktop was discouraged under the old device license model, but will now be required in order to use the Adobe CC apps on a shared device. When you launch an Adobe CC app on a device with SDL, you will be prompted to sign in with your individual Adobe ID (this is not your Widener login ID). The apps can only launch after a successful sign-in. The SDL does not directly entitle you to access any services such as storage, libraries, fonts, stock, etc. However, if you already have these entitlements under your Adobe ID account, these services are now accessible from a shared device.

Another benefit of the SDL model is the protection of students’ work product. Students often forget to sign out after the class or lab session is complete. To protect them and their work/assets, users are periodically prompted with an account confirmation dialog box. This ensures that a subsequent user on a lab computer does not have access to assets that the previous user was working on.

With this periodic license checking and mandatory sign-in process, you may be wondering how you can access the Adobe CC products without an active internet connection. The short answer is that you can’t. The computer must be online so that you can sign in and use the Adobe Cloud services. While you only have to sign in once per session, Adobe continues to check for the license every 90 minutes after the initial sign-in. So, if the machine goes offline, it can only stay offline for 90 minutes before Adobe checks the license again. This is something that Adobe is working to fix.

Named-user licenses

If you have a device license and frequently need to use the Adobe CC apps offline, you may want to consider changing to a named-user license. You should probably consider changing to a named-user license anyway. SDL is ideal for computers in labs or classrooms, but not designed for individual machines with dedicated users. For dedicated users, we recommend named-user licenses. Please contact Linda Peifer (ext. 1037) to request a quote and obtain the current pricing for a named-user license.

If you have any questions or concerns about your Adobe CC device license migration to the SDL, please contact Client Success at ITSClientSuccess@widener.edu or call the HelpDesk for your campus.