Issue 1: Canvas Resources for Fall 2022
To best prepare you for teaching in Canvas in Fall 2022, Academic Technology will be circulating this newsletter, promoting awareness of features, workshops, and resources available to faculty using Canvas for instruction.
Support documentation
Similar to iLearn, Canvas documentation can be found at https://athelp.sfsu.edu under the Canvas heading. However, Canvas also offers an extensive set of excellent documentation, linked below:
Faculty Resources by Canvas
- Canvas overview for faculty (video by Canvas)
- Course homepage customization (video by Canvas)
- Making course announcements (Canvas documentation)
- Canvas assignments (Canvas documentation)
- Canvas discussions (Canvas documentation)
- Grades and the gradebook (Canvas documentation)
Academic Technology will be focusing our own support documentation (in https://athelp.sfsu.edu) on gaps or issues specific to SF State’s transition from iLearn (or where we find Canvas documentation lacking for faculty needs). Our strategy will be to make use of Canvas documentation as much as possible to benefit from their regular update process and to focus our efforts on specific areas of campus need.
Training resources
As part of opting-in to teach with Canvas in the Fall 2022 semester, you have been given access to the Growing with Canvas course directly within the Canvas environment. This course will guide faculty through the basics of Canvas for building a course and is divided into six distinct modules that cover different functionality within the system. Each of the six modules takes an estimated 45 to 60 minutes to complete. There is approximately 8 hours’ worth of content in this course. Growing with Canvas is designed to be self-paced, and we encourage faculty to complete modules at their own pace.
During the first year of SF State’s iLearn to Canvas transition, we have also been given access to the learning paths training module. Accessing this module is a bit trickier since it’s available through Canvas but is not hosted on Canvas itself. To access this training module, select the Help icon in the navigation bar on the left, then Training Services Portal.
It may ask you to authorize your account. You will want to do so. In the upper right corner, select Launch Training. You will find a wealth of training materials available there, but we recommend the following training content as a starting point:
- Grading and Feedback,
- Getting Started with Assignments and Assessments and
- Course Design and Accessibility.
One-on-One help
Academic Technology has opened a calendar of appointments to best support faculty for their individual engagement needs. If you have a question that cannot be answered by Canvas support or feel is going to take longer than a few minute phone call to the main AT support line, you can book a 30 minute or 1 hour meeting with our staff, and we’ll be happy to assist.
Keep in mind that at all times Academic Technology support is available to support faculty Canvas transition needs during regular business hours. Please do not hesitate to call us!
Have topics you wish for us to cover in a future newsletter? Please let us know via email reply to this message. Have general feedback or questions about the project? Share them on the Canvas Transition Community Forum.
Support
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Academic Technology at at@sfsu.edu or 415-405-5555.
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