On Saturday September 14th, between approximately 9:40am and 6:53pm, users attempting to take or access the “New Quizzes” tool received “invalid launch” errors.
The fix implemented by Instructure technicians involved restoring database data from 9:00am, resulting in a potential loss of data entered between the times of 9:00am and 9:40am.
What does this mean for me and how do I know if this affected
my courses?
“New Quizzes” is a tool that is currently in Beta testing available for instructors to use to create and administer online quizzes. Once this tool has been fully developed it will one day replace Quizzes.
While both tools are available, the majority of instructors utilizing online quizzing are using Quizzes and will be unaffected. UW-Whitewater currently recommends that you continue to use the current “Quiz” tool via the “Quizzes” menu inside of Canvas.
If you have any questions or concerns about the outage and whether or not your courses were affected, please contact UW-W Canvas Support.
The UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center (LTC) is pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Winter 2020 Online/Blended Teaching Institute.
Photo by Engin Akyurt
All faculty and teaching academic staff teaching at UW-Whitewater during the academic year 2019-2020 are eligible to apply for the Winter Institute for Online/Blended Teaching. Applications are due Monday, October 28, 2019. Deans will select participants from their College’s pool of applicants. Participants who successfully complete all of the Institute requirements may earn a $1,000 stipend from their respective college.
The Winter Institute prepares for teaching during the following Summer and Fall terms. The Summer Institute prepares for teaching during the following Winterim or Spring terms.
The Online/Blended Teaching Institute is a series of interactive workshops focusing on best practices for teaching online and blended courses. By the conclusion of the institute, participants will develop a course module utilizing best practices for online/blended teaching. To apply: Application for Winter 2020 Online/Blended Teaching Institute.
This year in December, participants will learn about navigating the online/blended environment, designing engaging content utilizing technology, and creating appropriate digital assessments in two face-to-face workshops. In January, you will have the opportunity to practice these skills by participating in two online webinars. You will create a unit for an online course and discover strategies to facilitate interactive online teaching while managing an online classroom. Participants will be able to complete the January portion of the Winter institute remotely!
Dates for the 2020 Winter Online/Blended Teaching Institute:
December 6, 2019: Face-to-Face meeting (McGraw 19A), 9:00 am to 4:00 pm December 13, 2019: Face-to-Face meeting (McGraw19A), 9:00 am to 4:00 pm January 3, 2020: Online webinar using Webex, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm January 10, 2020: Online webinar using Webex, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Submission of final Institute content: January 31, 2020.
For any additional information or questions, please contact the LTC.
Learning Technology Center (262) 472-1004 ltc@uww.edu
Welcome to the Fall 2019 Semester! Here is what you should know for the Fall Semester.
Courses may or may not have a Canvas component. Instructors have the option to use Canvas for their courses, but not all do. If you aren’t sure if Canvas is utilized for your class, be sure to ask your instructor. If you are just enrolling in a course now, be aware that it can take 24-48 hours for that enrollment to move from WINS to Canvas.
Canvas 24/7/365 support is available for all users. Most students are already familiar with the D2L Support Form, but what happens when a student needs help with Canvas? You can contact the Canvas 24/7/365 Support team. You can find the Chat and E-mail options on both the Canvas Login Page and in the Help button in the lower left hand corner after you are logged in.
Self-paced Student Training Course is available. Anyone interested in receiving an introduction to Canvas before the start of the semester can self-enroll in the state provided Canvas Student Training course http://go.uww.edu/canvas-student-training
The UW-Whitewater Learning Technology Center (LTC) serves all staff in acquiring technology skills needed to be successful in a 21st century learning and working environment. Our enthusiastic team of experienced staff and dedicated student assistants assist: Instructional Staff to effectively use technology to support teaching and learning; and All Staff to effectively use technology to enhance communication, collaboration, and productivity related to their work.
Canvas
Canvas is the Learning Management System (LMS) for the UW-System. Canvas is capable of organizing course materials, accepting student submissions, housing online discussions, autograding quizzes, and more. Canvas offers an enhanced teaching and learning experience for you and your students, which includes a streamlined grading experience and easy to use rubrics! As of summer 2019, Desire2learn is no longer available for courses but will remain available until June 2020 to transfer materials.
Grade Posting Policy. Located in the gradebook settings, the Grade Posting Policy can be set to automatic or manual. When set to Manual, grades are automatically hidden (muted) by default which can later be released to students from within the SpeedGrader tool.
Total Grade Calculations with Missing Assignments. Any ungraded items can result in different final grades being presented to Teachers, Students, and/or the WINS, depending on the settings used by each individual. The only way to ensure grades are consistently displayed is to follow these best practices.
Course Combinations. Do you want to combine multiple sections of the same course into a single Canvas course? Follow the steps in the Cross-Listing/Merging Canvas Courses guide. If you need to combine courses that you are not the teacher for or if you have any questions please contact Canvas support.
Internet Explorer 11 Support. Canvas recently dropped support for the Internet Explorer Browser. If you have been using Internet Explorer, please switch to a supported Canvas Browser.
Canvas has a robust technical support service that includes 24 / 7 / 365 toll-free hotline and live online chat interactions. Please use this for all Canvas Questions.
Whether you got an awesome answer from Canvas Support, or if you were wishing they would have provided more information – let us know! We review all support interactions on a regular basis – and we want to make sure you get the support and answers you need!
The official UW-Whitewater App is now available to download. Instructors may find the App useful for communication with students, to see upcoming campus events, and to help students connect with resources. Be sure to authorize the UW-Whitewater App to interact with your course in Canvas. This will allow your students to get assignment due notifications inside of the app. For directions, visit our information page on using the UW-Whitewater App in Canvas.
During the Fall 2019 semester, the LTC will be offering opportunities to work on and learn about Canvas features. Open labs will be available to answer your Canvas questions whether you are working on your current course, or planning for the future. Deep Dives will focus on specific tools can help you in your current courses.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, the LTC is continuing to explore adaptive learning. A small group of instructors is currently exploring using adaptive learning in a variety of courses, with the goal of sharing their experiences using adaptive learning next spring or summer. Additionally, the LTC would like to invite all members of the UW-Whitewater campus community (students, staff, faculty) to two open discussions on adaptive learning this fall.
Friday September 27th from 9:30 am to 10:15 am in McGraw 19A
Friday October 25th from 9:30 am to 10:15 am in McGraw 19A
For more information on the LTC’s adaptive learning exploration, please feel free to contact us at icit-techpilots@uww.edu
Humanizing Your Courses
The 2019-2020 LTC Learn Center workshop series explores creating human-centered learning experiences. Humanized learning leverages the potential of digital technologies to connect with students, foster relationships, and build community. This process blends course design and facilitation, while engaging the cognitive and affective domains of learning.
FALL 2019
What is Humanizing? September 24th 12:00pm – 1:15pm
Facilitation: Presence, Empathy and Awareness October 21st 12:30pm – 1:45pm
Choice, Control, Constructing Meaning, Challenges, Collaboration, and Consequences: Human-centered Course Design November 12th 12:00pm – 1:15pm
Celebrating Teaching and Learning Conference – May 2020 – Save the Date!
Thank you to everyone who attended the Celebrating Teaching and Learning Conference this past may. We will be holding the next Celebrating Teaching and Learning Conference on Wednesday, May 20th, 2020!
Did you know that you can get a weekly email update about what’s going on in the LTC? Every Monday morning, you’ll get an email that contains a summary of the latest items from our blog. To signup for these updates, just fill out the form below!
Turning Point 8
Turning Point is a student response system that allows instructors to integrate polling slides into their PowerPoint presentations or to pose standalone questions. Students can respond using an app / website on a mobile device or a physical clicker. Self paced polling and Canvas gradebook integration is also available.
The cost for students has been greatly reduced for the Fall 2019 semester! The student license has been reduced from $24.99 to $14.99 for a 1 year term.
Additionally, a no-cost pilot is available for new instructors who want to try out TurningPoint in their courses.
Contact the Learning Technology Center for more details!
Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere offers flexible options for interaction in the classroom. Instructors choose from a large variety of poll activities, including multiple choice, open response, live word clouds, clickable images, up- and down-voting for Q & A, and rank order. Students respond on the web or via SMS texting at no cost to them.
If you think you might be interested in using Poll Everywhere but aren’t sure where to get started, consider attending one of the LTC’s information sessions this spring.
Let the learning begin! All UW-Whitewater staff, faculty and students now have access to LinkedIn Learning, which teaches the latest software, creative, and business skills through high-quality online instructional videos featuring recognized industry experts. Lynda.com was bought by LinkedIn in 2015 and this is the roll out of the same great content under the LinkedIn Learning branding.
Explore a wide range of subjects from Microsoft Office (2013 and 2016), Adobe (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Etc) photography, 3D animation, music, and video to graphic design, project management, and web development. New courses are added every week.
Access the LinkedIn Learning library 24/7 from desktops, laptops, smartphones, or tablets. Use the lynda.com app for iPhone, iPad, or Android or log in via the LinkedIn Learning mobile site. Watch entire courses or single tutorial videos as needed, share course playlists, bookmark courses you’d like to watch, or use exercise files to follow along with the instruction as you learn, and much more.
Here are just a few of the collaboration tools we have available! Looking for something else, just ask us!
Webex Teams is a collaboration tool designed for continuous teamwork with video meetings, group messaging, file sharing and white boarding. Get started at: https://www.uww.edu/icit/services/webex-teams
The Cisco Webex Education Connector is now available for use in Canvas! The Webex Connector allows you to interact with Webex Meetings and Webex Teams directly from your Canvas course. It can be accessed by clicking on “Cisco Webex” in the course navigation menu. Get started at: https://spaces.uww.edu/x/74I3AQ
Google Apps are web-based tools available to all UW-Whitewater users. They allow you to create, share and access documents from any internet-connected computer, tablet, or mobile device. Get started at: https://www.uww.edu/icit/services/google
Technology Training
Hands-on training offered focuses on productivity, communication, and collaboration tools. See the schedule at signup.uww.edu
Custom Consulting and Training Services are aimed at helping departments find software solutions to meet their needs. Small-group training sessions can be customized to cover topics relevant to your team and available schedule.
Contact the Learning Technology Center for additional information!
Media Recording Scheduling
The Learning Technology Center (LTC) offers video recording and media production services for instructional use. We now have a new web based scheduling form!
Are you still with us? If so – great, you made it to the end! Be sure
to stop by the LTC throughout the semester to visit. As a reminder, we
are located in McGraw Hall, Suite 120 and are available between 8:00 AM
and 4:30 PM weekdays. We can also be reached at ltc@uww.edu
or 262.472.1004. We’ll always be willing to help, and have plenty of
treats on hand for your sweet tooth. Have a great semester!
Interested in incorporating polling into your classroom? TurningPoint is the campus supported student response system, that allows you to poll your class and display results instantly. Representatives from Turning Technologies will be on campus Wednesday, September 11th. Join us for one of these sessions Virtually via Webex or physically in McGraw 19a to learn more.
Introduction to Turning Technologies
This session will go over the basics of Turning Technologies and everything you need to know to get started. Don’t worry, if you are new to the software we can get you setup with a no cost pilot for your students! Light refreshments will be served.
TurningPoint web is a new, fully web based solution available for use on campus this Fall. Previously, downloading the TurningPoint application was required to run a polling session. Light refreshments will be served.
Over the last six months, several Learning Technology Center staff members have given presentations and workshops at national and regional conferences.
In April, several LTC staff members presented or co-presented several presentations at the UW System Learning Technology Development Council Virtual Showcase. The presentations were “Experiences incorporating a student perspective into an adaptive learning pilot project,” “Piloting adaptive learning with an upper-level professional course,” and “Open Educational Resources (OERs) to help transform students to learners.”
In August, Director of Learning Technology Nicole Weber co-presented “Building a comprehensive online and blended faculty development program” at the 2019 Distance Teaching and Learning (DTL) Conference.Learning Technology Specialist Andrew Cole also presented at the DTL Conference, facilitating a workshop called “Facilitate genuine communication in your online course.” Proceedings papers from the DTL Conference can be found at this link.
For more on the Learning Technology Center, please see the LTC website.
During the month of September, the LTC will be offering opportunities to work on and learn about Canvas features. We will continue to offer workshops throughout the fall semester.
Canvas Open Lab (2 Hours)
We will be available to answer your Canvas questions during the sessions below! Whether you are working on your current course, or planning for the future – stop on by!
Canvas Deep Dives (1 Hour) Followed by Canvas Open Lab (1 Hour) We will focus on a single tool, and dive deep into various options and use cases for how that tool works. The second hour will be available as an Open Lab.
Grades: Weighting grades, Late policies, Muting Assignments, SpeedGrader, setting a default grade, and setting up extra credit.
Rubrics: This will start by touching briefly on rubric creation, but will focus on techniques to maximize the amount of value you can get by building rubrics directly in Canvas.
Are you looking for ways to increase student engagement in your online course? Are you not sure how to best monitor student progress when you don’t see your students in class? Would you like to be able to have resources that more specifically meet the needs of your students, while allowing them to skip things they have already learned? If so, you might be interested in joining the conversation about personalized and adaptive learning on campus! Adaptive learning platforms incorporate analytics with the aim of helping instructors monitor student progress, and use various methods to cultivate individualized pathways to better meet students’ specific needs.
Adaptive learning pathways can function similarly to nodes in a network.
Over the past year, the Learning Technology Center (LTC) has collaborated with instructors around campus to explore adaptive learning. The LTC would like to invite any UW-Whitewater faculty, staff, or student interested in adaptive and personalized learning to our two meetings discussing the state of adaptive learning on campus this fall:
Friday September 27th from 9:30 to 10:15 am in McGraw 19A Friday October 25th from 9:30 to 10:15 am in McGraw 19A
No registration is necessary! Just stop in and join the discussion!
Respondus LockDown Browser (LDB) is a secure browser for taking quizzes in Canvas. It allows students to take a quiz in a locked down environment. When students use LockDown Browser, they are unable to print, copy, go to another website/URL, or access other software programs.
Respondus is offering some instructor training webinars this month! This comprehensive training webinar is intended for instructors who plan to use LockDown Browser and/or Respondus Monitor with online exams. The session provides a detailed demonstration of both applications, including new enhancements that make Respondus Monitor even more effective and easy to use.
Are you ready to learn more? Signup for one of Respondus led webinar sessions below.
KNOWN ISSUE: Some instructors report that Canvas Gradebook columns have been “hidden” from students even through the instructors did not choose that setting. Canvas is working on a fix for the issue. There is a workaround and more information available at: https://kb.wisconsin.edu/dle/news.php?id=10487
On Saturday, July 13, Instructure deployed the latest release to the Canvas environment. The highlights of this release are listed below. The full release notes are also available.
New Features
Grade Posting Policy. Located in the gradebook settings, the Grade Posting Policy can be set to automatic or manual. When set to Manual, grades are automatically hidden (muted) by default.
In-Person Registration