Welcome to the College of IST Learning Design eNewsletter
January 2017
Canvas Updates
Canvas released its latest updates on January 7th. Not all of the updates may apply to Penn State’s usage of Canvas. Of note:
Calendar
Student Scheduler Events
When students click the Scheduler button, Scheduler displays all events available to them, even if the students are not viewing a calendar for a specific course. This change helps students view all Scheduler events regardless of Calendar visibility.
Course Imports
Copy a Canvas Course Order
In the Copy a Canvas Course option, the course drop-down menu is sorted in order from newest to oldest terms, then alphabetically by course. This change helps instructors more easily locate terms and courses for course copies.
Faculty may view information regarding updates directly from Canvas
Web Conferencing Tool Update
The University is currently piloting two web conferencing tools, BlueJeans and Zoom. Both tools allow for instructors to engage in multi-person video or audio meetings using software installed on the computer and without the need for dedicated video conferencing hardware. Right now, it looks like Zoom is the leading contender to be adopted by the University.
Some online instructors have already been using Zoom to replace BigBlueButton for live sessions as Zoom’s recordings don’t expire in two weeks.
If you haven’t tried Zoom yet, we encourage you to access your free PSU Zoom account by visiting: https://psu.zoom.us/
Join Us for the Next Online Community Luncheon
The next Online Teaching Community Luncheon will be happening Friday, January 27th from 12-1 p.m. (EST). Please feel free to join us online at: https://psu.zoom.us/my/agarbrick
Please send any suggested agenda items to Amy Garbrick at agarbrick@ist.psu.edu.
Great Events for Faculty
Faculty may be interested in attending Penn State’s Canvas Day on March 17th to learn more about the LMS.
Also, Penn State’s annual Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology is happening Saturday, March 18 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Registration for this event is free and may be done online.
We Are Here to Help!
If you are a University Park faculty member who is still using ANGEL, please know the Learning Design staff is here to assist you with your residential courses and the transition to Canvas!
Residential courses that begin after June 30 and use a LMS must be switched over to Canvas.
The Learning Design staff is here to help you with your transition to Canvas. Just stop by our offices in the 321 area to see how we can best help you.