Author: Kent Barclay

Endicott Case Study for YuJa now online

Kent Barclay Uncategorized

Associate Dean of Academic Technology Kent Barclay was interviewed in June as part of a series of case studies by YuJa, the college’s media storage, management and distribution application. YuJa is showcasing on their website some select colleges and universities that are using YuJa to enhance teaching and learning at their institution. Endicott has been using YuJa since 2016 so the college was chosen to be one of these case studies. To read the interview and the case study on Endicott’s history and use of YuJa, click on this link yuja.com/case-studies

Professor Allen’s Media and Culture students experience virtual reality

Kent Barclay Uncategorized

The team from Academic Technology demonstrated XR (eXtended reality, an umbrella term for VR, AR (augmented reality), and MR (mixed reality) technologies to the students in Prof Sara Allen’s CMM107- Media and Culture II class on Thursday, Nov 18th. A total of 25 students in two class sections came to the XR Lab in LSB403 and donned Oculus Rift 2 headsets to experience VR (virtual reality) for themselves, many for the first time.

Most students played a game called Beat Saber to get a feel for what VR is all about and some common remarks describing what everyone was feeling were “awesome!”, “amazing!”, “wow!”.

Hedrick Ellis, Endicott’s Coordinator of Instructional Technology and Immersive Learning has been evangelizing with Deans and faculty on the benefits of using XR across the curriculum. Some of the programs that have already adopted VR technology into their curriculum include Nursing, Architectural Studies, Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, Athletic Training, and several athletic team coaches.

Students try out the Oculus Quest in Endicott’s XR Lab

Introducing Canvas’s New Gradebook

Kent Barclay New Feature / New Release

Overview

On Wednesday, September 11, Canvas’s New Gradebook replaces the current gradebook in all Endicott courses.  The New Gradebook offers a number of new and enhanced features to help you input, manage, and release grades to students.

New Gradebook View

New Feature Highlights

  • More filtering and sorting options: Instructors use the View menu to arrange assignment columns by name, due date, points, and modules. You can also filter by  assignment group, module,  section or student group.
  • Crosshairs:  The New Gradebook offers crosshairs and highlighting for improved orientation and rows use alternating colors to help with navigation.
  • Submission status color coding: Instructors can customize the color associated with a Gradebook Status: late, missing, resubmitted, dropped, or excused. Any changes an instructor makes to the default status colors will persist for that instructor throughout all of his/her courses.
  • Grade detail tray: The grade detail tray displays a grading summary by assignment and student, a link to view and download the submission in Speedgrader, submission status options, and comment field.  Additionally, you can click the next and previous links at the top of the tray to advance to another student or advance directly to another assignment for that student.
  • Late and missing submission policies: Instructors can set course-level grading rules to automatically apply to late and missing submissions. Review the Late Policy Instructor FAQ to learn more.
  • Post and hide grade policies: Instructors can set a course-level policy that controls when and how grades are released to students with the Post and Hide Grade Policy options – Watch this video for details

Learning Resources

August and September 2019 Workshops

Kent Barclay Uncategorized ,

To help you get ready for the Fall 2019 semester, consider attending one or more of our upcoming Fall 2019 workshops that are listed in the Google Calendar below.  (click here if calendar does not load)    You can register for workshops by:

Canvas Conferences – Updated User Interface

Kent Barclay New Feature / New Release ,

HTML5 User Interface Update as of April 20, 2019

The BigBlueButton Conferences interface has been redesigned using HTML5 for improved usability. This change makes the Conferences interface faster and easier to use and removes the requirement for extensions or plugins such as Adobe Flash for audio/video sharing and Javascript for screen sharing.

Supported Browsers:  Firefox or Chrome on desktop and Safari or Chrome on mobile devices.  Note: The new Conferences interface is not supported on Internet Explorer or Edge browsers.

To Learn More

Watch this 6 minute Big Blue Button – Moderator/Presenter Interface video

Watch this 5 minute Big Blue Button – Viewer Interface video

Canvas New Features Update

Kent Barclay Uncategorized

Canvas releases new features, updated features and bug fixes on a 3 week cycle which translates to 16 releases per year. Important changes that you should know about as you build your Fall 2018 courses are summarized below as well as on the What’s New in Canvas page. 

  • Student Dashboard List View allows students to view all course tasks in a list format or To Do format. This change helps students manage all tasks across all their courses in a user-friendly format that also allows for user customization.  Learn more about Student Dashboard List View .
  • Non-Scoring Rubrics can be created without point values to create a non-scoring rubric. This feature promotes learning engagement by helping students focus on assignment feedback instead of point values. Learn more about non-scoring rubrics.
  • Rubric criteria can now include a point range instead of an individual point value. Learn more about this rubric criteria range option.
  • Modules, Assignments, Discussions and Pages can be duplicated. The duplication option is located in the Settings menu for each individual item. 
  • Recent Announcements can automatically display on the Home page by changing a course details option.
  • Announcements and Discussions have updated designs to improve accessibility for all users.
  • Student View is available on Home page sidebar so you don’t need to open Course Settings to access student view.

August 2018 Workshops

Kent Barclay Uncategorized ,

Check out the August 2018 Academic Technology workshop schedule.  Click on the session for a full description and RSVP link. If you would like to see them in a list format, click the AGENDA button at the top right of the calendar.(click here if calendar does not load)
PS – While you are here, enter your email on the right and subscribe to our BLOG

Canvas Tips – Spring 2018 Workshop Handout

Kent Barclay Guidelines, New Feature / New Release, Tutorials

For those who can’t attend the Canvas Tips – Spring 2018 workshop this spring, I’ve linked to the Google doc handout that I put together for the session and also embedded it in this blog post.   So, check out the tips for each category by clicking on the hyperlinks for details on how to access and implement the feature(s) and contact me if you have any questions!