In Canvas, instructors are empowered to control the appearance of the navigation menu in their course. One reason to do this is to direct students to resources in the most straightforward way possible. The best way to direct students is by linking all resources and assignments on the Modules page. This is simplest for students, ensuring that they see all of the linked resources for a unit in the order in which it is organized and presented.
Another reason to control course navigation has to do with the manner in which Canvas handles course files. If the Files link is visible to students, students can access every course file that has been published in the history of a course, even if the link to it has been removed from the Modules page. By directing students to files via a link on the Modules page, you can be sure they are viewing and downloading the correct file.
Canvas provides an excellent step-by-step tutorial for customizing navigation.
FaCIT suggests that most instructors will want to leave the following items visible to students:
Home
Announcements
Syllabus
Modules
People
Grades
NetTutor
Attendance (will not be visible to students, but leaving it in the main navigation section will make it much easier for instructors to see and use)
FaCIT suggests that the following items be hidden from student view, with each relevant item instead linked to the Modules page.
Files
Assignments
Quizzes
Conferences
Collaborations
Discussions
Outcomes
Pages
FaCIT recommends that SCORM remain in the visible section of the navigation while uploading a SCORM unit; after the unit is uploaded and linked on the Modules page, the SCORM navigation link can be moved to the hidden section of the course navigation panel.
Monday, August 1, 2016
SVCC Tech Talks: Internet of Things and Smart Home Tech
Interested in Smart Home tech?
The internet of things refers to physical objects or devices that can be identified, send, and receive data through a network connection. Most of the items considered to be a part of the Internet of Things send information for storage into what is referred to as "the Cloud" - powerful off-site servers that run applications or store large amounts of data. The Internet of Things includes devices that are used in households, for commercial and industrial use, and even personal medical devices.
S Some of the benefits of enabled devices are that they allow control via smart phones and tablets. Some
devices have sensory capabilities that detect characteristics of the environment, or in the case of the FitBit,
characteristics of the wearer such as sleep and activity levels. The data from the devices, such as lights with sensors, can record movement in a room, and adapt to preferred settings during varying parts of the day.
Automation of this nature can be beneficial to some individuals and families. The ability to remotely turn on lights, lock doors, and so on via voice control could appeal to some persons with physical disabilities. The ability to turn off lights when no one is in a room, for instance, could provide energy savings in households with young children.
Some examples of smart devices follow, but do not indicate an endorsement of the product by SVCC or SVCC employees.
Features: 360 degree omni-directional audio, voice control, supported by cloud technology. Echo plays music from a variety of sources and will search the internet for answers to questions, recite the news, and report the weather. In addition, Echo can control lights, thermostats with WeMo, Phillips Hue, Samsung SmartThings, Wink, Insteon, Nest, and ecobe smart home devices.
Control the temperature of your home from your smart phone when you are away from home. The best thermostats will remember your habits and preferences and automatically adjust temperatures based on your habits. Some use motion control and remote sensors to determine when someone is in a room, when you are away from home, or when you are sleeping.
Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors give early audio alerts. False alarms can be turned off from a smart phone. The alerts identify the location and nature of the problem.
Smart security systems include cameras, sensors, and alarms. Some rely on subscription services and cloud data storage. Others will stream live video from a smart device such as an android or IOS phone or tablet.
Smart lighting allows for remote and/or automated control of your home lighting. Some additional features include dimming or adjusting the color of light, syncing lights with movies, tv, or games.
Connected deadbolt locks require a user code to be entered, or recognize your phone as you approach the door. Sensors allow the locks to alert the homeowner to movement outside the door, and can connect with home security service providers.
Detect broken water pipes, leaking water softeners, and receive an alert via smartphone.
Allows user to adjust cooking time and temperature level using a phone app.
Start the coffee maker from your mobile device, schedule and adjust brew time.
This bluetooth enabled kitchen scale allows users to analyze 35 nutrients from a selection of over 8000 food items, create a food journal, and record it all via a free phone app.
The built-in camera takes a photo of food in the refrigerator every time the doors close. Photos are accessed via mobile device. A digital bulletin board/calendar is available. The refrigerator will also play music, allow for online shopping from the screen, and connect to recipe sites. Bored while cooking? The refrigerator can mirror a smart tv screen playing in another room.
Risks: Privacy
Privacy advocates caution that smart devices collect and analyze a lot of user data. The data is generally stored on cloud servers, and privacy advocates fear that the very personal information generated could fall into the wrong hands. In the case of remote surveillance services, the data stream would include live video feeds from every room in a house.In addition, people who dislike targeted marketing may object to the data collection for fear that businesses will utilize the information to direct advertising at the user. Finally, Ethicists have concerns that a smart refrigerator that takes photos of the food in a home and complies a shopping list could be exploited by, for instance, life or health insurance companies.
Risks: Security
Devices that transmit location data could enable tracking of the physical location of a home. The ability to remotely view home data could be used to monitor when someone is home and when the home is unattended. A stolen or lost smart phone that has not been properly password protected could put an entire home at risk. Hackers have already demonstrated the ability to take control of unsecured baby monitors.
Risks: Planned Obsolescence
Smart technologies can represent varying degrees of investment. When a company determines that they will no longer support a product, the investment value decreases dramatically.
Should you invest in Smart Home tech?
Consider investments in smart technology the way you would any other home expenditure. How long will it last? Will it enhance the value of the home? Will it significantly contribute to quality of life? Will it help me to save money, offsetting some of the initial investment?
Before purchasing, it is a good idea to compare brands and features as you would for any other significant purchase to make sure you are getting the best value.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Canvas Tips: Delay Posting an Announcement
There are so many things to do to prepare courses for launch. Canvas has a neat feature that can help you plan ahead for reminders that you like to send to students throughout the semester.
From your Canvas course, access the Announcements feature. Prepare your announcement, then choose the "Delay Posting" checkbox. Use the calendar icon to select the date and time you would like the announcement to appear.
By utilizing this feature, you can pre-schedule those reminders to go out at just the right time.
For a detailed, step-by-step tutorial of this process, view the Canvas Guide at this link.
Avoiding Burnout
In
preparation for the upcoming school year, you may enjoy this article including tips to avoid burnout.
Monday, June 27, 2016
Food for Thought: Best Practices in Online Education from Other Institutions
Facing the prospect of teaching an online course necessarily
elicits a focus on the elements of sound online course design. However, the fun
isn’t over when the course is built. Face to face courses regularly require
instructors to expend time and effort on classroom management; the same is true
of online courses. In fact, some instructors find that online courses require
more time and effort to facilitate than corresponding on-campus courses.
The links below explain the best practices adopted by a
variety of institutions of higher education around the country. Take a look at
the resources to mine their ideas and establish proactive procedures and habits
to implement in your own courses.
Canvas: Extending Quiz Time
From time to time, instructors are asked to extend time on a
quiz or exam for a student with accommodations. Canvas simplifies this process,
allowing instructors to allow extra time on one or all attempts with the
Moderate This Quiz function.
Monday, June 20, 2016
The In's and Out's of Canvas Inbox
One of the more basic functions of an LMS is to facilitate various types of communication between instructors and students. Below are a few tips for using the Conversations tool, also known as Inbox, in Canvas.
- Publish your course before trying to message students.
- Prior to the first day of the semester, you will also need to adjust your course settings so that the start date of your course is prior to the day you wish to send the message. You will need to check the box under the Start/End dates to select “Users can only participate in the course between these dates.”
- SVCC Canvas courses will conclude on the last day of final exams each semester; instructors cannot message students from the course after the course has concluded.
- If a student replies to an email notification, attachments will be stripped from the reply as it is passed back to Canvas. Please make students aware of this, and set up Assignment dropboxes in your course for students to send important files.
· See the following Canvas guides for step-by-step
instructions for using the Inbox.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)